Living in the Negative...

So I started this post over a month ago...it just really never went anywhere. Until today. Maybe it is because my grad class ended last night and I have 4 days of school left and am starting to see a little time to think for myself again! Or maybe it is a God thing :)

This week has really been a struggle. It is teacher appreciation week and I am loving being spoiled. BUT I really need to drop some pounds and the food is just getting the best of me this week. On top of that I am just stressed with things in general. Then today I see a beautiful Facebook post from a parent of a former student and I knew it was just what I wanted God wanted me to hear.

First off, 28 fifth graders...one week of school left...need I say more :) Second, HAY SEASON. Yes, hay season has begun. We managed to dry up enough to bale wheat this week. Which to those who don't know is not a small process. We chose to bale ours dry which means it is cut, let to dry out, and then baled. It turns out to be a 4 day process. My husband and favorite 3 year old spent many hours in the tractor this week and thanks to family we got it off the field before it rained again. Now, it is time to start on fescue hay. Unfortunately we live a lot farther from the family than we used to and it takes a day just to haul equipment from one side to the other. We are done here at our farm, so now we take on the task of moving everything back to Elkland and get started there. Basically all of this translates into lots of trips from Conway to Elkland, lots of late nights and cold dinners, lots of hours in the tractor for my husband, lots of prayers that nothing breaks, and even more prayers for a break from rain! On top of that we still milk our cows twice a day. That means that Addison and I are the nighttime milking crew. Are you noticing a trend here....ZERO time to do anything in my own house.

Sis and I getting the cows up for milking.
(Don't judge...long day...haha)

My little chore helper.

If you plan on being at my house in the near future...I apologize in advance. Until school is out there is not a chance of it being nice and tidy. Add in the stress of being an adult and life can seem a little on the side of dreary and challenging. It is SOOOO easy to look at everyone's Facebook posts and think "Look at their pretty little life. I bet they don't have to stress about __________." I am too often guilt of this.

Insert brilliant Facebook post... "I'm hoping that I'm not the only mom who feels like this...Sometimes Facebook and Instagram can allow us to see into the lives of other moms who seem to have it all together when I clearly dont!..." She continues to list her frustrations to the tune of getting kids to school on time, taking their "last day of school picture" and creating a side-by-side of their first/last day of the school year, being late, being overweight (can I get an AMEN here), not always making a home cooked meal, having that perfect clean house, not having a million loads of dirty laundry to wash, or in my case 5 loads to wash and at least 2 that still need put away, lack of fancy vacations, an excess of income....and the list could go on. At this point in her beautiful post was what I needed to hear most...

"It was as if the Lord said STOP! Am I not enough for you? Look at the treasures I have already given you!" 

That is just what I needed to hear in my life. I have a job that I can be late to if needed. :)  I have two beautiful children who make me laugh and smile constantly. I have a husband who literally and figuratively breaks his back every day. We have a dairy farm that we are blessed to have. We have the ability and health to work our tails off everyday. We have family that is there to support us and lend us a hand. We have friends who are there for use all the time. We have a roof over our head, a washer and dryer to clean our clothes, heck we have clothes to even wear! I am blessed with the opportunity to work towards my doctorate degree. 

Sometimes we just need to stop and thank God for the many blessings we do have. Contentment has always been one of the greatest challenges in life, but with God we should always be content. I guess that is my new summer challenge (aside from lose about 40-50 pounds...hahaha). May your day be blessed and have a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! 

My blessings from the great Lord above!