The news that I was carrying a baby girl came via a phone call from my then midwife. I was playing the “please don’t pee all over” game… I mean, changing the diaper of my 18 month old son in the back of my SUV that was parked at my husband’s office. My almost three year old was still safely contained in his car seat. I called my husband immediately and asked him to come out the car to talk to me. So many tears and hugs and laughs and smile were shared. Six speedy months and a job change for my hubby later, on a crisp November morning, our sweet daughter was born. Welcome to our chaos, baby girl!

The next six weeks from her birth to Christmas were a blur. The fog that naturally accompanies having a newborn was intensified by the holiday’s swift approach. The snow was softly falling as we scurried around preparing for Christmas day at my sister-in-law’s house. We tried to make the most of the children sleeping, meaning, I was stressing out wrapping the last few gifts, packing the food, making breakfast, and nursing the baby. The smell hit me as soon as I opened the door to boys’ room to get them up for the big day. Both boys’ hair was plastered to their sweet cherub faces. I called to my husband that it wasn’t looking like we were going to make it to his sister’s. We spent the next thirty minutes cleaning up the mess in their beds, showering them, and starting laundry. They were acting totally normal, so we decided to go, assuming it was something they ate. Their shoes were on and I was gathering the food to pack into the car when I heard the splatter that could only mean one thing: we weren’t going anywhere for Christmas.

I cried. I cried the kind of tears that only happen in the postpartum days. Illogical tears where part of you is laughing at yourself but you can’t not cry. Then as I wrestled with my emotions for several hours, it dawned on me that I had shoved my family to the side over the last few days in my anxiety to prepare for the holiday. I had made preparing for the holiday, in hopes that the kids would enjoy the day, more of a priority than actually enjoying the time with my family. Talk about a slap in the face. A welcome slap. A slap that woke me up to how much more intentional I need to be with my time and the maintenance of my priorities.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.” Romans 5:3-5

Life with three children three years old and younger is… probably nearly exactly what you’re imagining. A balancing act to rival all others. Well, perhaps balance isn’t the right word, since there is really no such thing. There are only priorities that move up and down in importance and get all jacked up if I’m not careful. I find myself being forced into introspection, finding my core beliefs and values, and setting my priorities. Living all the various roles I maintain, Christian, wife, mother, daughter, friend, granddaughter, Church member, business owner, etc., I am forced to daily evaluate whether or not my schedule and plans fit into the priorities I have set for myself. An incredible tool to help me maintain my priorities is Bonvera®. One of the last things I want to be spending my time on is going to the store to buy things we use every month (like toilet paper, paper towels, and diapers just to name a very few of the over 10,000 products that will be available at the launch of the company). I can just have them shipped to our house at a great price. Living a life of my priorities rather than just my obligations is being made simpler in a few key ways: saving time and money via this Compensated Marketplace, Bonvera. We will be able to save time ordering things we are buying anyway rather than packing up the kids, driving across town, unpacking them, loading them into two carts, wheeling all over the store, paying, packing them back into their carseats, loading the stuff into the car, driving home, you get the picture… And we will be saving money because the products will be priced competitively and we will be able to get even bigger discounts, and that’s not even mentioning the opportunity to earn an income.

Aside from Bonvera, I’ve learned a few other things that I simply need to practice. Writing down my priorities in order of importance is a physical reminder of where I need to be spending my time. If a task or event doesn’t fall into my priority list or if there is a task or event higher on my priority list, my schedule and to-do list need to concede accordingly. These days, it seems to be things along the lines of, “Do I nurse the crying baby or wipe the bum of the toddler on the potty or let the dog in?” The most important thing I absolutely must do daily is make sure to get time in God’s Word. Framing my day in this way keeps me from martyring myself for my children or husband and allows me to serve them, instead. It would be a lie to say that I make this time for God everyday; always a work in progress.