Seventeen from '17

Yesterday another great year drew to a close.  It left as quickly as it came.  Being in my mid-thirties with a husband, two young children, a career, a heap of homemaking to get done, and a dog…well, let’s suffice it to say that it’s the perfect environment for oodles of learning.  And 2017 did not disappoint.   It was a challenging year – even arduous at times.  But when facing a new 365 days – and all the laundry those days will inevitably make – I think I’ve got time to sit and write seventeen valuable lessons from my time in 2017, because, let’s face it, it all comes out in the wash. 

So, without further ado and in no particular order, a few of the things I learned last year.

• Little boys will turn anything…seriously, ANYTHING, into a pretend gun.

• Never ever, under any circumstances, EVER engage in a pro-vaccine/anti-vaccine debate on Facebook.  In fact, it may just be a good rule of thumb to refrain from any strongly opinionated discussion with complete strangers on social media, period.

• Epilepsy is for the birds.

• It takes ACTION.  Whatever "it" is.  Nothing worth having comes easy and nothing will come without action – work hard, do good, no excuses.

• Children may be tiny in stature but they are LARGE in perception.  (Sawyer still thinks we each have a microscopic Jesus just walking around the four chambers of our hearts…). 

• Never spend more than $10 bucks on mascara.  It just isn’t worth it.

• Bad times don’t necessarily end with a flood of goodness.  Often, they quietly fade until after a week or a month (or in some really bad cases, three months), you look back and realize everything isn’t so terrible anymore…and you’re not entirely sure when that changed.  Just thank God for His goodness and sovereignty in the midst those hard times.

• For curly locks, HAIR.OIL.IS.LIFE!

• Knives should never be face up in the dishwasher because a.) hygiene purposes, and b.) so you don’t stab yourself.

• It’s more important to listen than to make a point.

• 82% of parenting is spent watching this…the other 18% is attending stuffed animal weddings that are destroyed by big brother’s dinosaur.

• Let people in … even new ones.

• It really is a second on the lips and forever on the hips … (or stomach, in my case!).

• My sweet, loving, adoring children will never look at me the way they look at their snacks.

• When given an Instant Pot don’t turn to the Facebook groups or look up Pinterest recipes.  It becomes a highly addictive process and you'll never end up cooking because you're too busy pinning.

• It’s ok to be late for church if you’re capturing memories of your little cherubs in their Sunday best.

• Grow in gratitude and be a thanks giver – habits are what most of our days are made of.  Choose good ones.

We were late for church because we
were busy smiling so much!!!

From the Fullness of His Grace,

Lacey