One Loud Fam

The Lord has been bringing reminders to me from my past recently. I think the Lord knows what we can handle because, even a year ago, those memories may have brought more sorrow than joy. Today, though, I can think of times gone by and be thankful for the memory. Those memories are a part of me and my family and have shaped who we are.

For several years we lived a little distance away from our extended family, so our church and work family became our support network during those years. One of the families we worked with had 3 children very close in age. The license plate on their vehicle read 1LOUDFM, at least that is what I think it said. The meaning behind I do remember clearly, though; one loud family.  The best part of their license plate was that they took great joy in being "one loud family".  It wasn't that the family members were being rude or disrespectful, it was that they truly enjoyed being together and sharing their lives.  The kids were teenagers and young adults involved in multiple activities and they all supported one another.  At the time we only had one son and I remember thinking that my life was very different, but respected them for how they treated one another and enjoyed being together.

Now my children are 14, 12, 10 and 3.  I have "One Loud Fam".  I think the Lord sent the reminder from my past to be grateful for my "one loud fam" and to treasure the time we have together.  I am an introvert by nature and enjoy quiet time to regroup and re-energize.  There was a time when I would have felt the weight of "one loud family", versus the joy of "one loud family".  Quiet time does not exist for me, but now my energy comes more from enjoying the moments we have together.

The years that my children will be in my home are fleeting and I know that I will miss the busy-ness and noise when they are gone.  I love watching my kids enjoy one another.  My oldest son loves Christmas and thinks that Christmas decorating should start before Thanksgiving.  I woke up one day last week to him hanging all the lights outside, switching out the Fall decorations for the Christmas decorations and rearranging the living room furniture so that the tree would fit in front of the window.  He was so excited that his enthusiasm rubbed off on his sisters and brother and they were caught up in the excitement, too.

I had a quick thought of this time last year when he did the same thing because of his excitement and remembered that I was a little grumpy with him because of the mess I walked into, and not thankful for his enthusiasm and help.  I told him that I would just close my eyes this year to the mess and went to turn the Christmas music on and join in his excitement.  He mentioned that I was a little grumpy last year and gave me a hug and went back to work.  At the end of the day, the decorations were up, I cleaned up the mess without grumbling, the house looked beautiful and we enjoyed one another.  My blessings do overflow!

P.S.  Even if you don't have "One Loud Fam", I hope you enjoy the blessings and the people in your life today!  And when I am grumpy, remind me to do the same!