A quiet house

My house is quiet, except for the hummmmm of my refrigerator and the clicking of my keyboard. Brad went to sleep a few minutes after the kids did and here I sit. I can't describe how rare this is in our household. I am simply never the last one up, so I really don't know what to do with the silence. At least at first. Then I start to compose my thoughts and dwell on my to-do list. I am bit overwhelmed by what I have to accomplish by the end of January, in addition to my already full schedule.

Last September, I completed all my training to be a Certified Childbirth Educator. Upon completion of the course, I was given several months to complete some required reading and submit comments (translation: book reports!). I have finished two of the three books and started reading the third one while I was working out tonight. It really slowed down my mile! The book I just finished, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin, is far and away the best book I've ever read on the topic. And, truly, I've read many.

Childbirth and family education is one of my passions. I've been teaching expectant families at Abbott Northwestern Hospital http://www.abbotnorthwestern.com/ for almost 2 years now and I love it. At first, it was a way for me to keep my head near maternal-fetal medicine (I had prepared to go to medical school before having so many children so quickly). Now, I just do it because it is fulfilling and I feel a sense of mission about it.

I do all the management for our company, First Day PHOTO! http://www.firstdayphoto.com/ and that means I have to get employees' tax forms in the mail. I've also got a filing deadline approaching with the IRS. I think I'd rather stick with the book reports.

So, here in the silence, I get a little overwhelmed and then pause. This was a great day. We got to go to church as a family for the second week in a row (yay!), we spent some unhurried time together, I worked while the kids were napping and now I remember what is important. My God is in control, I just have to rely on His strength and pay attention. Everything else is just details.

I think I'll leave you with a quote from Jacob, our four year old. This afternoon, as I was walking out the door for work, he said, "mom, the house would look beautiful if we cleaned all the rooms at the same time." Kissing him on the forehead, I said, "yes honey, it would."

There's always tomorrow.