Life With Five!

Bear with me, I'm gonna get deep here . . .

Life with five kids is . . . craziness.  "Survival mode" has taken on a whole new meaning and most days I feel like I'm just barely hanging in there.  Especially now that school is out and all five kids are home . . . its been a big adjustment.   Just three weeks after having Brooklyn, the first counselor in our Bishopric called me to be in the primary presidency in our ward.  He said, "We know you just had your fifth baby, but you always seem to have it all together and we think you can do it."  Little did he know, I cried the entire way home because I so DON'T have it all together, and I felt like a big fat fake!  One morning, I was doing my scripture study and I came across this quote by Elder D. Todd Christofferson . . . "Many things are good, many are important, but ONLY A FEW are essential."  It hit me like a ton of bricks.  I realized I was treating every little item on my to-do list as something essential.  In reality, almost none of them were.  I knew I needed to make some changes.  Since that day I have been trying to simplify my life, to say no when I need to, to enjoy my kids, and to be ok when my to-do list isn't checked off by the end of each day.  I still have a LONG way to go, but I'm getting there.

It helps that these kiddos are so darn cute.  It's harder to get mad at them when they're stinkers . . .

This one is especially good at reminding me of the essentials . . .

Sibling love . . .

I had to document my first trip to Costco with five kids.  I had no room in my cart for food, but whatever . . .

I love these crazies!!