In The Trenches?

Today is Kobe's birthday party. Five years old! This is the life. Somedays feel long, they feel like I argue, prod, clean up, fix, get frustrated...all day long. It feels like I'm in the trenches. And then I stop and think. I think of these four little boys who need me and who love me and who are not 'getting in the way' of what I need to get done. They ARE what I need to get done. Even as I am going through this time period, I know, I just know that I will look back someday and long for these days. I will long for the days of my boys being litte, being boisterous, of crying for a kiss on their owie, of hearing the words 'Mom, _____ just hit me!' I KNOW I will miss this. So why do I complain about it? Why do I feel like some days will never end? Why do I get so frustrated? Why can't I just relax and ENJOY it?

Lord, please help me to live life now. Please help me to be content and to be thankful in every circumstance. Not a guilty I-need-to-be-thankful thankful, but a truly heartfelt thankful. Lord, please change my heart, please help me parent in view of your eternity. Help me to savour every minute of what you've given me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.