All Together

Last night was another one of those crazy nights that I keep scheduling, and then get into the middle of it and wonder if life wouldn't be nicer for all of us if we didn't have so much going on.  James and I were both away from home watching two different kids in their different activities on opposite ends of town.  The three oldest were left at home to finish making the dinner I started, get it on the table and clean up afterwards, all while keeping Spencer occupied and getting homework done.  There was quite a bit of fighting.  When I walked in the door, James had been home for about two minutes and was heading back out the door with another child.  There were some hurt and tender feelings at home that needed attention, more people eating dinner, and still more cleaning up from dinner.  And the house was a mess, which really didn't help anything.

We finally all came together just before 8pm for family prayer.  As I knelt there listening to Spencer pray, I was suddenly struck by what a precious moment this was.  We were all together, praying.  My mom heart was full of love and gratitude for each amazing member of my family.  A few minutes later, Annie briefly expressed her sorrow at realizing how very quickly Stephen will be leaving our home.  He is a junior in high school.  And I don't think she realizes it yet, but she will be right behind him!  I try not to focus on that too much, but I really started thinking about how much I need to treasure and appreciate every moment we have together.  They mean the world to me! I should act like it.