As I talked about two days ago, last month I attended SNAP, a blogging conference for DIY blogs. There were so many amazing classes that I sat in on and learned so much, but one of my focuses this time was really trying to listen to how I could find and tell my story. I don’t know if I can put into words what I learned except that I have a desire to share more of my personal story with you. I do tons of free printables and fun little projects, but there is OH so much about me you don’t know. I always appreciate a good story teller and reading a blog with a distinct voice. I LOVE Ashley and her honesty and positivity through life, I love Mandi and her crazy fun voice. Just reading her blog makes me want to go out of comfort zone and create something new and off the wall (but beautiful!) I love Kristen and Ashley and their telling of their love stories. I love hearing from Mique and her struggles and triumphs as a parent with a special need child. I love Stephanie and her wild adventures through life, parenting and coping with trials. I could go on and on, but the point is that I want to try it out. I wish I could write and craft words as each of these amazing ladies, but the truth is I know it won’t be the same. And I’ve come to grips with it, but am excited to share it from my heart. I can’t tell you how it will all look, but one new thing I want to start is to share some fun random thoughts and events from my week. So we will start with today:
My name is Kiki. It is not short for anything.
There are many things I pride myself on. One are the 10 little eyes that look at me and call me mom in different ways. I love each of them with all of my heart. Their struggles are mine. Their successes are mine.
I was asked 2 weeks ago from a 5 year old why my baby had such large, bulging eyes. Does she? 😉
It’s been 8 months since our little Zoey bug joined our family. Her birth was one sacred experience after another and when they finally placed her in my arms, I couldn’t have been more grateful for a chubby cheeked screaming baby in my life. She has been a calming influence in my crazy house. (no, really it is crazy).
I just got a note the other day from a friend: “So you amaze me with all you do and with 5 kids on top of all that. My husband is asking me if we should have another one. I am not even close to being as organized and efficient as you are. How do you find life with 5? As easy as you make it look??”
Dear sweet friend, My life is crazy. Have you ever seen a juggler who has all those balls up in the air and you wonder how they will ever catch them all? Well, I am that juggler, but I DO let a lot of those balls drop. One of my biggest personal downfalls is organization. It bugs my husband so bad. Except he still loves me anyways. I remind him of that everyday. However, the amount of those balls that I am dropping now 8 months into having 5 kids is far less that when I just had her. I know you and know how amazing you are. Life is never going to have perfect timing to have another baby, so if you feel like you should, it will all work out. How do I know? My last 2 kids weren’t in OUR perfect timing, but looking back, they couldn’t have come at a better time. Each day my “to do” list is 3 times longer than the “I got done” list. But at the end of the day, if my kids know that I love them to the moon and back and my husband knows that I adore every piece of him then I know I have done my part. Clean rooms, clean dishes and clean bathrooms are a bonus on other days. I have a whole life to figure out how to organize my life and only a few to be the mommy that I want to be. And I fail. I fail a lot. I end up in tears a lot. But I always awake the next day with a determination to do better. And all the stuff you see me create? Well, that is one of those things that is in my bones. I start sewing at 9 pm and finish at 1:30 am because I want to feel ONE PROJECT in my life get done. And I wake the next morning feeling refreshed. I make and create things because it literally keeps me grounded..creativity has always done that for me. But know for each project I do, there is a chore I don’t do. Or an hour (or 4) of sleep that I don’t get. My life is far from the definition of perfect, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. And seeing my friends like YOU be an amazing mom, friend, spouse, and leader in the community makes my heart happy.
AND because this is Mother’s Day weekend, above all, I want everyone to know how I LOVE to be a mother. It is fun (I mean, who doesn’t enjoy making their kids into real live Cabbage Patch Dolls) and stretching and difficult and other times so easy and exciting and at times dull, but there isn’t a day that I don’t fall into bed more in love with each of my babies. Just like the quote I made into a print last week, “There is no one perfect way to be a mother. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply.” I can’t put into words how deeply that is. I have this theory that the Lord’s University is parenthood. No joke. I have never learned so many things from my children, I’ve never seen my faults so big and blaring, I’ve never loved something so deeply that I would give up any and everything for them and never had a desire so much to teach them good things. And I couldn’t do any of it without the Lord helping me and my husband.
I came from great stock. My mom was one of those amazing do-it- all women while maintaining a personal, loving relationship with each of us 5 kids. I couldn’t have asked for a better example. Love you, mom!
Well, that’s a wrap on week 1 of “through the cracks”. Why that name? Two meanings. One, life is often looked at as a whole, especially when someone is reading your blog, you only see what they show you, so perfection seems like it is out there, but I want to share those little and big things that sometimes fall through the cracks. Two, I want you to look through the crack of my front door {figuratively} and see what goes on in my home. I hope you’ll join me and share with me each week too. I want to hear from you. Tell me about your life and what you are going through, or answer the question I pose each week:
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Need a quick gift for the mommas in your life? Check out these quick projects:
