"I'm doing kids."

We all have those days, right? Maybe those weeks? When you just feel tired and at the end of your fuse all the time. Poor JP takes the brunt of it.
Lately I've been stressed out about a number of things, but mostly selfish things. I get angry when my days have been so busy that I realize I haven't showered in three days, and rarely get dressed up or do my makeup. I get mad that I have to get up with the kids in the morning whether or not I feel rested. I feel victimized when I don't get to have "me" time. I get frustrated that I can sweep and mop the kitchen floor and then a half hour later you can't even tell. (holla for me, moms)
The other night after the kids went to bed, JP and I sat down and watched the show Kids by the Dozen on TLC. We love watching that show and 18 Kids and Counting. Believe it or not, I would LOVE to be one of those families. Call me crazy, but it just looks like so much fun! Even on the crazy days, nothing is better than family, and lots of it.
Now, on 18 Kids and Counting, the Duggar family household seems to be ALWAYS put together and organized. Their HUGE house and its industrial-sized kitchen are never messy. The kids are all dressed nicely with their hair neatly combed. It's great and something I applaud, but not something I could picture in my future as being realistic.
This night, however, we watched the Jeub Family on Kids by the Dozen. They have 13 kids, 11 of which live at home -- a 3 bed / 2 bath house in the country (That's what we live in right now!). The kids looked normal...dressed in play clothes with grass stains on the knees, boys with tossled hair or ballcaps. Their house was cluttered (hard not to be, I would imagine) and they always seemed to be bumping into someone or something. But they were HAPPY, and more importantly, the mom was happy. A cluttered house, a messy yard, grocery store nightmares, laundry nightmares, and kids needing something every time you turn around didn't seem to phase her. "How does she not just freak out," I thought.

Then Wendy Jeub said something to the effect of this:

"I'll probably never have a beautiful yard, but I'm not doing beautiful yards. I'm doing kids."

Her quote hit me like a ton of bricks, because I knew that was the big difference and the change I will need in my life if we want to see our dream of a big family come true. If I can't be stylish, if I can't have a huge, pristine house, if I don't get the princess sleep I want, I hope I can look at life as Wendy does and realize that those things aren't what I'm doing in life. Even when it's just JP, Rae, and Ruby. I'm not doing fashion. I'm not doing perfect. I'm not doing "me" time. I'm doing family.
Thanks for the reminder, Wendy.

Speaking of family --
Enough with the chatter. Here's what you really want. Pictures. :)

Scraping the snow off of Daddy's truck.

My little helper

Ruby is all smiles

Could those curls be any sweeter?