Call Me Mary...

My husband’s brother and his family are coming for a long weekend.  So today in the middle of a soccer tournament I decided we better get cleaning before our company comes for the weekend!!

I get like this every time we have visitors.  I try to make everything in the house look perfect and plan elaborate meals and desserts.  I get a little charge out of comments like “Oh your house looks great!  How do you do it?”  My original list included such things as “hang the Bakery sign in the kitchen”, “paint the table and bench legs of our dining set” in order to have a more Farmhouse look, and “buy a new set of silverware” (what happens to the spoons?).  Honestly if time would allow I’d add “install subway tile kitchen backsplash” to the list.

Ridiculous.

I tried to recruit some help however my kids were tired after two soccer games and they were less than enthusiastic…especially after two additional neighbor boys were added to the mix.

I was reminded of the story of Mary and Martha.  Martha invites Jesus and his friends over for dinner then throws herself into a flurry of preparations while her sister Mary hangs with Jesus at his feet.  She gets more and more annoyed that Mary isn’t helping her and finally points this out to Jesus.  He sort of laughs and replies that it is Mary who has the right idea.  Apparently he is more interested in conversations and good company rather than the food and condition of the house!

I’m pretty sure this story applies here.  After all, our company has four children coming with them.  So altogether we’ll have nine kids in the house ages 12, 10, 9, 7,6,5,4, 2, and 1!

I’m pretty sure about five minutes after they arrive toys and cracker crumbs will be strewn everywhere and no one will be able to tell whether we cleaned or not!

I’m pretty sure our guests are coming for our company and conversation.  They aren’t expecting gourmet meals and a showing of our house…they aren’t in the market to buy!

So I’m taking a cue from Mary.

We did get a little cleaning done.  Isaiah mowed the yard while I vacuumed.  Eli swept and swiffered the floor while James dusted. Luke worked on toy pick-up.  And everybody chose a bathroom to clean.

Usually if company is coming I follow along behind to make sure everything is perfect.  But not today.  Instead I headed out to the backyard to swing Lizzy in the shade.  The boys (and neighbors) made forts upstairs and proceeded to have an all out Nerf war!  Isaiah missed an entire swatch of grass out front.  Everything higher than 4 feet high is still covered by a layer of dust.  And about two minutes after Eli finished the floors Lizzy dumped out our shoe basket and now the kitchen floor is covered in grass clippings.

Clean enough.

I did get to the store and planned a couple of crockpot meals.  We’ll make brownies from a box and I picked up the stuff for orange floats.  I think we’ll plan on pizza delivery at least once!

The kids will love it.

I’m so excited to see them!  I’m going to sit and chit chat and drink wine with my sister in law.  I’m going to play cards with my niece and watch my nephews light fireworks for Pioneer Day.  I’m going to marvel at how much their littlest one has grown and changed and I can’t wait to hear her little voice.

I’m going to sit at the feet of our company and take them in.

This weekend I’m going to be just like Mary.