Most of the world is in a position of quarantine at this time. Of course that can come with some stress and anxiety for many different reasons. As a mom that has been on the go for the past 15+ years, I actually can’t remember a time in my life where we were at home for 2 weeks straight without something to do! To be honest, I have always been envious of this life. So often I long to be at home, have limited work to do and have the ability to organize, catch up on laundry and enjoy quality time with my children. I would say the image is a mixture of a Disney fairy tale, The Container Store catalog and Pintrest… all wrapped into one! If you have been on the go for far too long, this may resonate with you. If you are a stay at home mom, you may think I am NUTS for wanting to be home more. All in all, I believe that we always want what we don’t have.

It has been 72 hours and I can tell you that nothing in my house has been fairy tale like or organized. I did manage to wash all of the throw blankets and sheets this weekend and I felt like a champ until I noticed that my family didn’t stop wearing clothes all weekend and my baskets already filled back up! You win some… you loose some!

I still feel like amongst all of the craziness, uncertainty, stress and anxiety… God gives us so many blessings. I am so blessed that life has literally stopped around me. This gives me the ability to actually PLAY with my children! To READ my babies books, upon books… with no where to be. Unfortunately, being involved in multiple, it makes it easy to miss out on these moments.

Here are my hopes for the next couple of weeks.

–Be Present! How often are we always on the go? Take the gift of time and choose to be present in the moment.

–Simplify my life! I personally know I have too much stuff. Instead of feeling the need to ADD to my collection, I am looking to simplify. Donation and trash!

–Clean out the back stock! In addition to simplifying my life, I would love to use the food in my freezer, the extra cans in my pantry and the soap I haven’t touched in my closet. Now is the time to use what we have. Try not to consume more, purchase what you need and get creative with the ingredients you have.

–Complete projects! I have had a gallon of paint for months. I purchased it to paint the wall in my master. Now is the time! We have had pictures to hang and projects to do. Now is the time.

–Read! I have bought so many books, from adult coloring books to self help and bible studies. Now is the time to read them and let them do what they are intended to do. Refresh your soul and declutter your mind! You bought them for a reason.

–Crafting time! I have tons of crafts that I buy and “store for later”. Well… this is later and now is the time to craft! Don’t have crafts? Make homemade play dough! If you children are older, make picture books online or goal charts!

–DANCE!! I have always loved a good dance party. Nothing is better than a good dance party! Turn on the music and dance your hearts out. Even my husband busts a move from time to time 🙂

Enjoy the time with your loved ones! If you don’t have children at home, take care of yourself. Reflect, pray, rest, restore, create and connect with those you care about.