My baby girl turned 10 on Sunday! It's hard to believe it's been a whole decade since she made her entrance into this world. Goodness, I love her and all of the sunshine she brings into my life.
My girl loves a good party and this year I let her take the reigns. She and Luke put on a fun magic show and picked out board games to play. She also wanted to have a pasta bar called "Maddy Mae's Cafe" for dinner, and a chocolate-strawberry cake for dessert. Luke helped me make a big banner and buy big, gold balloons for her special day.
It was so fun and just right. I am noticing the older I get, and the older my kids get, the simpler I want life around me to be. I've found myself in the last year or so cutting out a lot of unnecessary things on my to-do list or anything that adds more stress and costs more money. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good party. I love the process of organizing and decorating for it, I love gathering our family together, I love making my loved ones feel special, and I love creating new, meaningful traditions. But I've learned I don't have to spend a ton of time and energy creating these special moments. My kids are pretty happy with fun balloons, a colorful banner, and a cake made just for them.
And this lesson doesn't just relate to special occasions for me. It is in the everyday too. It can be in the most small and simple moments each day that I find the most joy and fulfillment and clarity -- when focusing on the things that matter most.
It will probably take me a lifetime to figure it all out because I am one that loves to do and see and cram and create as much FUN and MEMORIES and BEAUTY as I can into our family life, but I am trying. Step by simple step, I am trying.
"Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light. It comes from placing our attention and efforts on the basics of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It comes from paying attention to the divine things that matter most. Let us simplify our lives a little. Let us make the changes necessary to refocus our lives on the sublime beauty of the simple, humble path of Christian discipleship -- the path that leads always toward a life of meaning, gladness, and peace."
--Dieter F. Uchtdorf
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