We are the Mitchells!: 2013

It is hard to believe we had Christmas come and go already. It went so fast its almost as if we are still waiting for it to come! But it did. And it was great. We didn't go overboard this year, and at first Brandon and I were feeling kind of bad that the kids didn't get that much...but they were VERY Excited with everything and didn't seem to notice what they didn't get! Christmas Eve night was STRESSFUL! The only thing Savanna asked for from Santa was a book case for her room. And Santa delivered it for daddy to put together but the boards got broke in his sleigh! We were FREAKING OUT! Its not like we live in a town that you can just run out to the store or walmart...Its a 90 mile drive and we didn't find it broken until 630PM! yikes! I cried, Brandon wanted to. I didn't want to ruin her Christmas. But Daddy came to the rescue and figured out how to fix it with the limited supplies we have here...and Savanna was happy. She got her book case and was sad when we told her it got broke in Santa's sleigh and we would get her a new one as soon as we could. She wanted to keep this one. Everyone was excited. Memphis didn't know what to think of all the new things and the excitement in the air! He got a little car and he knows its his and refuses to let anyone sit in it...some how we are going to teach him to share. The kids went to bed at 800pm Christmas Eve...they were all asleep by 930 which was a huge shocker! Well Santa must have come between 930 and 1130 because I was in a deep sleep and 3 kids were at my side of the bed hooting and hollering that Santa had come! WTH!?? I told them to get back to bed. They all were too excited so they got in our bed. MISTAKE! It was way too crowded to have 5 people in our bed. Memphis thankfully, was sleeping in his crib. Then at 1200 I hear Savanna asking if they could get up. I said no. At 1230 she asked again. I said no. At 1 when she asked I got up and took her to her bed. She laid there talking and wide awake. At 230 Weylon came in and woke me up asking if they could get up. I took him to Savanna and went to bed. I could hear them in the living room looking at Santa gifts. This went on every 30 minutes, someone asking me if they could get up. Finally we just got up at 400 am. It was a great morning! But we were all soo tired! The good thing about kids getting up that early is that they were all in bed and zonked out by 745 that night! We had a wonderful Christmas and am glad we didn't go overboard. It helped us to focus more on the reason for the Season! For New Years eve this year, we were big party poopers. I had big plans to stay up and celebrate Brandon being with us and ok from his accident last year. Umm, ya, that didn't happen. Very strangely all 4 kids were asleep before 900 pm. Brandon and I went to bed and TRIED to watch a movie. There wasn't any good ones on. So our house was asleep by 1130ish. Poor Savanna wanted to watch the ball drop so bad and she woke up and was so upset that she didn't get to see it. But I knew she would be sad about it, so I recorded the Time Square party. So she got to watch the ball drop later on! A funny thing was, Savanna asked me, "mom do you know what a new year resolution is?"...I said, "yes, do you." She says, "yes, I found out what it was last year right after the new year and I have been waiting a whole year to make a few!" Silly girl. That made me laugh. I found a blog from a lady that was talking about "DROPS OF AWESOME". It really hit me hard and I want to live this year with this advise she had. Because I do find myself dwelling on the things I should have done but didn't. I find myself demeaning myself because I broke my diet. I find myself yelling at the kids for not helping with the chores. Instead of focusing on the good things that I did or they did, I have been only seeing the ones we didn't do. So, Drops of Awesome! Every time you do something good, something kind, something productive, it’s a drop in your Bucket of Awesome. You don’t lose drops for every misstep. You can only build. You can only fill. I drove the kids to school with clothes on and a bra, NOT IN MY PAJAMAS! Drop of Awesome! I MADE a good breakfast, not just plopped down a bowl of cereal! Drop of Awesome! I told the kids I loved them. Drop of Awesome! I got on my elliptical for 30 minutes. Two Fat Drops of Awesome! I unloaded one dish from the dishwasher when I walked through the kitchen on my way to the bathroom. Drop of Awesome! I had a critical thought about someone and I brushed it away and replaced it with love. Drop of Awesome! "When I started thinking about my life in terms of adding these little Drops of Awesome for every tiny act of good, I found that I was doing more and more of them because it’s a lot more fun to do good when you’re rewarded with joy, rather than being guilted about every failure in your past. By the end of the day, I had realized something important. If I was spending time with my kids, really listening to them with attention in the moment, then I was a good listener, regardless of the 50 other times I’d brushed them off or multi-tasked while they were talking over the past week. If I was engaged in sincere prayer with my Heavenly Father, really communing with him and seeking his will, then I was a person who engages in sincere prayer, regardless of how my prayers were (or weren’t) yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. As I added up these Drops of Awesome, I found that in those moments I actually became the person I had always wanted to be. Have you ever said any of these things: “Well, I guess I don’t work out anymore,” because you missed one workout? Or, “I always fight with my brother. Our relationship is broken.” What about, “I’m kind of a nag to my spouse.” Or “I gossip and I always end up hurting people I love.” “I can’t stop spending money. We will never get out of debt.” “My house is always a disaster.” These things are lies, depending on the next decision you make, the next Drop of Awesome you put in your bucket. You may have done these things or have a hard time with them but they don’t define you and you can change this very instant. You may not think you can change permanently but you can change the next choice you make. And as you change that one next tiny choice, you may think, I got this one Drop of Awesome but I may never be able to get another one again. And that’s okay. You made the right choice once. And in that moment you were the person you want to be and that is a triumph. For one night, you were a person who went to bed early. One morning you woke up and the first words out of your mouth were positive so you were a morning person in that moment. Bam! Drop of Awesome. You do not need to wait three months to be who you want to be. Pick up ten things right now and say, “Drops of Awesome! I am someone who takes care of my house. That is who I am. I have proof.” In the end, it’s really about allowing yourself to feel joy and allowing yourself to be proud of the small victories of life. This builds momentum and you want more drops in your bucket and when you don’t get as many, you pick yourself up and say, “What can I do next?” Now, there are a whole lot of religious implications to this because, as a Christian, I believe that you are not the only one adding these Drops of Awesome to your bucket. Christ commanded us to be perfect, but through His atonement, He is with us every step of the way. As an object lesson when I was teaching this to the teenage girls at church, I gave them each a small dropper and I put a 2-quart bowl on the table. I told them that throughout the lesson they would get the chance to put drops in the bucket for every Drop of Awesome they could think of that they’d done. I promised them that we would fill the bowl to overflowing by the end of the lesson. With about 5 minutes to go, we had barely begun to fill the bowl and the girls were looking around at each other nervously. The promised overflow did not look likely. Were they not awesome enough? At that point, I pulled out a large pitcher labeled ATONEMENT and poured water into the glass bowl until it was spilling out all over the table and the towel the bowl was resting on. The class went silent. When we are in a relationship with Christ, striving as God’s sons and daughters to do His will, He pours more into our buckets than we can ever hope to imagine. He can fill us to overflowing with peace, with joy, with perfection, with Awesome. And then what do we do if our bucket is overflowing like that? Where does the Awesome go then? I pulled out an identical bowl, twice the size of the original. Our capacity for joy and light increases. And we just keep working, one tiny drop at a time. And we don’t compare today’s drops to yesterday’s or tomorrow’s. And we live and we love and we repent when we do wrong and we allow ourselves to be glorious, beautiful, and dare I say perfect in Christ, children of God. I believe in a God who loves us and roots for us and cheers for every Drop of Awesome we can manage. Our victories are His victories and He wants us to feel joy. Not later, when we no longer make mistakes, but right now. I’m gonna close this uber long post out with a scripture from the Book of Mormon. I know many of you do not share my faith but I think you’ll find truth in these words: “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.” (Alma 37:6) Small and simple. Tiny drops." What an AWESOME way to think right!? I put this on here because it is how I want to live my life. Not just this year, but if I set this as a goal, it will become easier and easier. I loved the way she taught the girls about the atonement and how the cup overflowed into our own. Wow. What a powerful message. One I won't quickly forget. I love it. So, for my drops of awesome for this week: 1) I did get on my elliptical 3x this week. 2)I did family home evening and had an actual lesson! 3) I didn't yell at anyone this morning. I know it isn't much but I am one that is very critical of myself and focus on the things I didn't do too much. I will have a bigger list soon of my drops of awesome. Weylon looks up to his Daddy so much! He was so excited to look like him for church today!