My Heart is Smiling: An organized mess!

That is me today. An organized mess. I have a lot of random 'stuff' in my head (are we are out of baby food? I really need to finish the lease impairment analysis before I leave work tonight - get crankin' Lauren. Not sure if all of the laundry got done this weekend. Did we really need to purchase a new sump pump - seriously, Dan? Are the boys exhausted today after the napless weekend? I need some new clothes.) Although I have a ba-zillion of these thoughts swirling around in my head, I'm confident that I can generate some sort of order, if I just take the time to do it. Sigh! Sometimes I think that I spend more time creating all of my 'to-do' lists than I do actually crossing things off!

Although I am an accountant by day, I believe that I am lacking some of the left-brained characteristics that tend to be present in others who have made a similar career choice. My closets are not organized (although I always have great intentions). I don't pay the bills - Dan does. And other than worrying about whether I have enough money for lunch, I don't even ask him many questions (much less create elaborate excel spreadsheets analyzing our spending penny by penny). And while I'll admit that a trip to the Container Store is very exciting, it is really the thrill of shopping that entices me, rather than the prospect of separating my maternity clothes from my 'regular' clothes.

I don't obsess about having a clean house, I don't 'audit' every bill we receive, I have been known to throw a towel or two on the floor without picking it up for days, and I don't even clean my car on a regular basis (only when it actually starts bothering me). I really just love to play and enjoy my boys. Simple as that. The rest really doesn't matter.

When it comes to matters of the home, I am surprising myself lately. I am depending more on the right side of my brain for guidance and less expecting the answers to be black and white. I find myself becoming more aware of the 'guide posts' that are there, if I just slow down long enough to pay attention to them. Perhaps it is God speaking to me, offering insights when I need them. Or perhaps the insights are my own - remaining there to be of service once the haze of unimportant distractions has been lifted. Not really sure. But I find joy in the smallest things and the emotions derived from these 'so called' insignificant events propel me forward . . . . .happily. And I have proactively decided to take these moments and store them. I store them so that when the flow of good recedes and the ebb of adversity that comes with life decides to show up, I can draw on all of my deposits of good fortune to see me through.

So, my state of mind today ties in nicely with the exact purpose of this blog post. I have a handful of pictures and videos on my computer that I want to share because they make me happy, but they don't individually represent anything in particular. But collectively, they represent everything! Get it??

Check out the art project that Drew, Owen, Evan and I created a few weeks ago. We decided to wait until Dan was golfing all day to create these masterpieces (Dan is truly the 'stereotypical accountant' in our family - worried about us making too much of a mess! Just chill, Daddy-O! We'll clean it up . . .eventually:)

Unfortuately, our creative skills dwindled slightly when making a birthday card for Grandma Niebruegge. I had lofty ideas of paint, stickers (foam and regular), glitter and markers, but ended up with something a bit less 'dramatic.' Still packed in with lots of love though!