don't add to it all.

We were out in the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping with the kids when I looked at Nick and said...

"Think we could have a little last minute Christmas drop-in? 

Just a few friends + treats one night this week? 

He just stared at me blankly. 

I stared back. 

"Maybe just a few friends? You know, when we get back from Christmas, we'll be about to have a baby and we won't see people for a while? I could just make some treats, have some music? This will be the first year we haven't had a Connolly Christmas party!"

More blank stares. 

It's because he knows. He knows that in the next 10 days we have to package a trillion Naptime Diaries orders, get ready to launch a network, keep writing a blog, finish a few blog designs, wrap up a mentorship program, he has to preach once, we have to celebrate advent daily with our kids, pack for a two week Christmas trip, buy a van, host community group + discipleship, buy the rest of our Christmas gifts, have house guests, be married people, and finish writing a SheReadsTruth plan. 

And while it wouldn't be a huge massive undertaking to throw something on Facebook, text a few friends, make a dip and some cookies and sweep the floors -- he knows I'm the queen of the add-ons when I already have too much on my plate. 

So I'm learning. 

I'm awful at "making my yes a yes and my no a no" and I'm awful at jumping at spontaneous opportunities. I really want to to be spontaneous. I really want a spontaneous life. 

And it's just not the season for that. The more I say yes to the spontaneous, the more I find myself apologizing when I don't meet the expectations of the already agreed upon. 

So this week I had to say no to a last minute nut-cracker performance. 

And designing another lockscreen. 

And a baby announcement that would've been fun to make. 

And now - a Christmas party drop-in. 

I still think the "doing it all thing" is a silly myth based off the fact that we, as women, refuse to define what "it all" is for us. I've said it once and I'll say it again. I have to do it all. But my all should look very different from everyone else's and when I get tripped up is when I started looking at everyone else's all. 

And now, I'm slowly learning that constantly adding to and redefining "my all" is incredibly dangerous and rude to the people that I'm already committed to. It's not because I don't love other people that I don't say yes to all the things that crop up, but it's because I want to love well the ones who are already holding my yes. 

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Today's #12deals of Christmas deal: a free 18x24 print for one of our customers! 

We'll draw the winner at the end of the day, find out which large print you'd like, and send it out before Christmas! This is a $65.00 value, so hop on over and place an order to enter!