Embracing the Messiness

It wasn't an atypical night at our house. I walked into our room at night to find this.

One of my sweet little mothers had tucked her doll in snugly next to my pillow.

Then I saw that the crib looked like this.

"Buddy" the stuffed dog was snoozing soundly.

And everywhere I went around the house I found more signs of our daughters' loving care of their toys--nestled in beds or cuddled in corners. It was pretty darn cute.

I must admit that some moments I don't think it's cute at all to find dolls and all their trappings all over the house. Sometimes it's just one more thing that didn't get put away before bed. And when those one more things add up, I at times feel exhausted and grumpy.

Other times I can at least appreciate how cute it is before pushing the kids towards bed at the end of a long, loud, busy day. 

But sometimes I can pause long enough to realize that my house won't always be filled to the rafters with toys, noise, and laughter. 

And in those moments I just want to hold my kids tight and pray in my heart that they will start growing up a little more slowly. I want to embrace the messiness of my current stage of life and thank God once more for the privilege of motherhood and the joy of the four sweet children He has given us. 

Yes, it is noisy. Yes, it is exhausting. Yes, it is messy. But I wouldn't trade it for anything.