Finding My Purpose

It doesn't take much to come up with hundreds of reasons to get myself more organized. If I look back on just the past 8 hours, I could list several. 

1) When I got out of bed this morning, I had to dig through the dryer and several laundry baskets to find clothes to wear.

2) The first thing my kids did this morning, besides holler and make a mess of their bedroom, was turn on the TV. They really had no intention of doing much else, other than request some sort of food that they could eat in front of the TV.

3) One of my children had to be told four times to get dressed. And when I turned off the TV to take away this person's distraction, they asked if they could play computer games. (No, I'm not looking for parenting advice. I KNOW what to do. I just need to do it.)

4) My children and I searched dresser drawers, laundry baskets, and the dryer to find clothing they could wear on a cold day, to someone else's house. (It was a Laura and Melissa day, as they call it. -We go to a friend's house every Wednesday possible.)

5) Once everyone was dressed, a little person who wears size 2T turned on the TV again. All three of them planted themselves in front of it. Once again, no one had any other plans. It's like the kids have no idea what to do with their awake time.

6) Ethan and Faith were very willing to start breakfast. The other two had to be "persuaded". One of them refused to eat all together, claiming they weren't hungry. After a while I was told, "What I really meant was I'm not hungry for what you gave me. Can I have cereal?" UH.HUH. That's what I thought.

7) While I attempted to teach Cherith reading and math, Ethan was playing in the bathroom, climbing on the kitchen cabinets, and unwrapping gum.

8) It took 45 minutes to put four kids in shoes, gloves, and coats. Fifteen of those minutes was spent finding socks, shoes, and gloves.

9) While at out friend's house, I realized I had only one diaper in the diaper bag and I did not pack extra pants for my "potty trained, but don't want to stop playing" child. I ended up having to put the diaper on him. Less than 5 minutes later, Ethan smelled quite strongly. Faith could have used a diaper change too. But nope. The big kid was wearing the only diaper I brought.

10) I have no idea how long it took to get the toys picked up and every one bundled back up again. We were definitely having some obedience/defiant attitude problems.

11) When I returned home, I had to put Ethan's pants on Daryn. Neither the laundry baskets nor the dresser produced pants that were his size.

12) During the 30 minutes between arriving home and getting the two younger ones down for their nap, at least 4 fights broke out. Once again, it seems like they just don't know what to do with themselves.

All of this is typical. Some of it is simply life with kids. But a lot of it could be eliminated if there was some sort of structure to our family life. I will admit that I got frustrated several times today and spoke harshly to my kids.

It saddens me that I don't even think of spending time with God's Word everyday. I don't always take the opportunities that present themselves to share the greatness of God with my children. I don't teach them what a treasure His Word is on a consistent basis.

It disgusts me that I snap at them frequently. It annoys me that they don't even listen half the time because they're used to hearing me speak that way. I don't want my kids to think of me as a bossy grump that they can never please. I also don't want unruly kids, simply because I am not consistent in the way that I handle character and behavioral issues.

And the degree of hygiene in our home... I am realizing more and more just how much my family's health is at risk.  I hardly ever remember to have the kids brush their teeth. I used to bathe my kids every night. I switched over to twice a week when I was pregnant with Ethan. But now, I will sometimes realize it's been over a week. I go months without changing bedding. The bathroom does not get cleaned more than once a month. There is mold growing on the kids' bedroom windows. Often the kitchen is piled high with dirty dishes that smell. The kitchen floor is often well sprinkled with crumbs (and yes, I have a crawling, everything in the mouth, baby).

My health is compromised by the toll of physical stress and sleep deprivation. I consume way too many calories in an effort to keep myself awake or as a simple reaction to stress. The amount of sugar I take in has resulted in the onset of infections (or at the least, feeds them). I really need to get serious and shed these extra pounds. I am finding it SO much harder this time around than it was after my other three babies. I have no idea why. But it just feels like such a huge deal and it totally stresses me out.

Wow! Ok... so this is plenty long enough. Here's my organization mission statement.

I will organize my life for the spiritual, emotional, and physical health of myself and my family.