As part of the 10 Days of Intentional Parenting, today is a day to record, and to rest.
So I will keep this brief.
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We spent the week focusing on our parenting,
being more deliberate with our children, more careful with our time.
It was amazing.
So I will keep this brief.
---
We spent the week focusing on our parenting,
being more deliberate with our children, more careful with our time.
It was amazing.
Day One: Awake
Day Two: Heart
Day Three: See
Day Four: Listen
Day Five: Record
I will recap the whole week, not separating out the specific days. This picture of Jack is from when we traced our hands and wrote what we love doing with each other on them. I have it hanging on my wall to remind me that the boys love to just spend time with me. They are not particular about what we're doing (throwing snowballs, reading, playing Legos) and it's good for me to keep in mind how ten minutes can bring them such joy.
LOGAN:
One really fun part of the week was having the boys take pictures of things they wanted to remember or capture. Logan wanted to capture his robot;
Bullseye;
the diggers outside;
and his "cage".
JACK:
Jack wanted to take a picture of my new rainboots, "Cause they're so cute, mom."
As well as Flora's four-wheeler;
and Mount Pilcher in the snow.
Jack also wanted to take a picture of me. In my workout clothes. The boys are fascinated with my "exter-size" and think it's funny when I do my workouts while they are awake. Logan will sometimes even join in.
WYATT:
I helped Wyatt a bit with his photo selection. It was really fun for me to try and look at our life from his perspective. Naturally, a good day includes a whole pile of binkies;
And his view from the crib;
As well as his favorite place to be: my arms.
And a photographic account of his day just wouldn't be complete without including his favorite part of the day- when his brothers wake up from naps & come downstairs.
He coos, and they coo, and it's just the sweetest time. All three boys loving each other, happy (at least for a moment) to be awake and reunited in the living room. I love it.
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"Instead of letting life pass by in the hurried blur that society pushes
it at I instead became diligent about slowing myself down enough so that
I could be awake and my heart would be aware, and I would see the world, and then listen to my children. And in all of that I began to create a very profound and beautiful record of life." -Rachel @ Finding Joy
So this week, I slowed down.
There were still moments that were harried.
Moments when I was grouchy or the boys didn't receive my full attention.
But I kept bringing it back.
I took time to capture moments on film, and enjoy them in real time.
I laid on the floor to see our world from Wyatt's view.
I allowed the twins to use the camera, loving the things they chose to take pictures of.
The things they wanted to remember.
I held this guy just a little closer and a little longer before laying him down at nap time each day.
Just being told "this time is fleeting" upped my diligence to savor it.
I took pictures of our "front yard" as the landscape has changed.
With the warmer weather the melting has commenced.
The whole village looks different.
I also took pictures around the house, like the boys' train table covered in Legos.
Building garages with our new Legos was our favorite past time this week.
And I played more with the boys.
Doing whatever they were doing.
Reading stories, flying airplanes or coloring in colorbooks.
I even made this beautiful picture for my own mom,
which I will send off this afternoon when we head to the post office.
I got more real. Real with how our life looks (messy most days, but also fun) and real with my expectations of myself. I put WAY too much on my daily to-do list.
This leaves me with:
A. No time for the children and
B. A useless feeling at the end of the day.
I have resolved to be realistic with how much I can get done, and to let go of what I can in order to make memories with these boys whose childhood is so fleeting.
This leaves me with:
A. No time for the children and
B. A useless feeling at the end of the day.
I have resolved to be realistic with how much I can get done, and to let go of what I can in order to make memories with these boys whose childhood is so fleeting.
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The challenge will resume next week with days 5-10, but on the blog Finding Joy you can get the pages & instructions from the first five days and join the fun.
I appreciate you capturing the reality of day-to-day. It doesn't look messy, honestly it looks fun! I have to agree, you've put high expectations on yourself, I'm guilty of it, too. But it's easier to see in someone else, isn't that funny? I can relate this message easily into my own daily life with the boys. You'd be proud of me, I'm able to let a lot go (especially on the days Blake has school).
ReplyDeleteP.S. Wyatt looks cute and comfy in his outfit :) And you have mad coloring skills!
Yes you do color beautifully! I love that it reminded you of me, and that it has 3 little peachicks! I really love this post. Looking back, I can assure you it goes by too fast, and the fun part can so easily get lost in the hard parts (discipline, chores, repetition...).
ReplyDeleteYou will never regret playing with them. I love you!
P.S. You were fun to play with and I wish I'd done it more!
Shelly, your family is so cute! I found your blog on a different Multiples blog and I couldn't stop reading it. I'm expecting ID twin boys in August and my son will be 21 months at the time (blond and blue-eyed as well!) It's great to see you can manage them all - if the twins are anything like my son then I am in for it! But definitley huge blessings as well :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck in Alaska - I grew up in FL so I cannot even imagine!
Katie