Psalm 47:1
"Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy."
Her side:
Joy. There is no better way to describe the feelings I get when I see my children, hear them giggling, hear 'I love you's' and seeing their smiles.
There is no better way to describe the feelings I get when I hear from the back of the car, "Mom! We're holding hands!" that is followed by giggles of joy.
Just this morning, as I sit and finish my breakfast with my son, the girls are running up and down the hallway giggling and Amie yells at me while she runs, "Mom! We're playing tag!"
One of the major pro's of having our oldest be only 3 1/2? They play together. They are usually on the same page and like the same things. It makes it easy, most days. Hearing our children (and yes, sometimes all 3 at the same time) play together, giggling together, having fun together, is the best thing I can hear during the day.
This morning our day started off before 6 am, though I didn't get out of bed until after, with the girls crawling in bed with me. Waking up with a head ache and major body aches I was sure it was going to be a long, hard, stressful day, but after breakfast I heard the sweet sound of our girl's giggling and playing together. I saw our kid's sweet smiles and knew, just knew, that God had shook his head at me with a small smile like a parent would and probably thinking (though lets be real, we never really know what God is thinking) "If you just trust Me, you will see things are GOOD." It is just amazing how fast a day can turn with the simplest things
So Joy. Joy is what I feel today. Joy is what I need to keep reminding myself as today goes on that it is good. Joy is what I see in our children. And although I may complain and grumble and desire time to myself without being touched, climbed on, kicked, yelled at, etc, I know we/I am blessed. Blessed beyond words.
We are so joyfully blessed.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Every day maddness
Her side:
Mondays always seem a bit more stressful than the rest of the week. Mainly because I have such a short time to do everything since work calls for me to be there at 3:30. But that transition starts early because I have to get the kids up and in the car in enough time to drop off at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It may be a bit chaotic and stressful.
But Mondays are stressful, also, because of the weekend. We get so busy and usually I work 6 hours on Saturday. But since this was Easter weekend I didn't have to work and things still got piled up and busy! So, today I have washed and folded about 3 loads of laundry with some in the wash that will hopefully get switched out before the mildew sits in, which, admittedly, is normal around here. I got one load of dishes cleaned in the dishwasher with the last of my dishwasher soap. That was a HUGE blessing because I thought I was all out. But there are still dishes in the sink just staring at me. The kitchen floor got swept about 3 times just this morning and I am not suppose to be doing any squatting or bending over since I am pregnant. Ha.
I have to take more breaks and rests during my normal, every day chore routine due because of A) Baby Bear and the pregnancy issues (nothing to be really be concerned about) that I am having. All the squatting, bending over, lifting, and just moving has made my body want to begin getting ready for labor. B) The other 3 rascals running around. Amie usually does OK but she has her moments of needing attention. Penelope constantly opening the back door, opening the bathroom door and flooding our bathroom, whining (which has, unfortunately, become quite normal for her) and instigating trouble for her other siblings. Gordie constantly CLIMBING on things. Furniture, his train table, it doesn't matter what it is. He climbs. If Penelope is in the bathroom he is usually right behind her. Playing in the toilet, dumping all the bath toys, unrolling the toilet paper. C) EXHAUSTION. This mainly goes hand in hand with the first two points but I made it separate because this exhaustion has become sort of a problem. It causes blurry vision, lightheaded, headaches, body aches, etc. I clean one area and BOOM! another area is a disaster whether I just cleaned it or not.
With this daily issue and concern I have started to desperately get my children to help out. I give them one task to do. One thing to pick up and clean. Boy is that just the worst kind of torture for them! I mean, seriously, its the easiest stuff they could do like recently, I wanted the girls' room cleaned up. I gave the simple task of putting books away to Amie and putting shoes away to Penelope. I know they can do it, I have seen it. But the complaining, refusing and saying "No" and "I can't" made the task last a lot longer than was necessary. It was, honestly, ridiculous.
And, folks, this is E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y. for me. Mondays are shorter because of routine shift and work, but Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (Wednesdays are FULL days for us) its cleaning up one mess and having another one made to clean up. Its fighting with my children to help out. Its putting the gate up downstairs so I can do the dishes without Gordie climbing in the dishwasher. Its putting the gate up in the hallway and locking our bedroom door so I can take a shower and not worry about them doing something they aren't. Its constantly disciplining during nap time to get the girls to sleep. Its picking up food thrown on the floor by Gordie who is just too tired to eat.
This mommy needs a day of rest and then a day of NO children to get some of this chaos organized/cleaned.
I know one day we will have a clean house, maybe not fully organized, because, well, being honest with myself and my husband, we are not very organized people around here. But it will happen and while we wait for that to happen I have to constantly remind myself and recite this wonderful verse found in Colossians:
Colossians 3:17
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Mondays always seem a bit more stressful than the rest of the week. Mainly because I have such a short time to do everything since work calls for me to be there at 3:30. But that transition starts early because I have to get the kids up and in the car in enough time to drop off at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It may be a bit chaotic and stressful.
But Mondays are stressful, also, because of the weekend. We get so busy and usually I work 6 hours on Saturday. But since this was Easter weekend I didn't have to work and things still got piled up and busy! So, today I have washed and folded about 3 loads of laundry with some in the wash that will hopefully get switched out before the mildew sits in, which, admittedly, is normal around here. I got one load of dishes cleaned in the dishwasher with the last of my dishwasher soap. That was a HUGE blessing because I thought I was all out. But there are still dishes in the sink just staring at me. The kitchen floor got swept about 3 times just this morning and I am not suppose to be doing any squatting or bending over since I am pregnant. Ha.
I have to take more breaks and rests during my normal, every day chore routine due because of A) Baby Bear and the pregnancy issues (nothing to be really be concerned about) that I am having. All the squatting, bending over, lifting, and just moving has made my body want to begin getting ready for labor. B) The other 3 rascals running around. Amie usually does OK but she has her moments of needing attention. Penelope constantly opening the back door, opening the bathroom door and flooding our bathroom, whining (which has, unfortunately, become quite normal for her) and instigating trouble for her other siblings. Gordie constantly CLIMBING on things. Furniture, his train table, it doesn't matter what it is. He climbs. If Penelope is in the bathroom he is usually right behind her. Playing in the toilet, dumping all the bath toys, unrolling the toilet paper. C) EXHAUSTION. This mainly goes hand in hand with the first two points but I made it separate because this exhaustion has become sort of a problem. It causes blurry vision, lightheaded, headaches, body aches, etc. I clean one area and BOOM! another area is a disaster whether I just cleaned it or not.
With this daily issue and concern I have started to desperately get my children to help out. I give them one task to do. One thing to pick up and clean. Boy is that just the worst kind of torture for them! I mean, seriously, its the easiest stuff they could do like recently, I wanted the girls' room cleaned up. I gave the simple task of putting books away to Amie and putting shoes away to Penelope. I know they can do it, I have seen it. But the complaining, refusing and saying "No" and "I can't" made the task last a lot longer than was necessary. It was, honestly, ridiculous.
And, folks, this is E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y. for me. Mondays are shorter because of routine shift and work, but Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (Wednesdays are FULL days for us) its cleaning up one mess and having another one made to clean up. Its fighting with my children to help out. Its putting the gate up downstairs so I can do the dishes without Gordie climbing in the dishwasher. Its putting the gate up in the hallway and locking our bedroom door so I can take a shower and not worry about them doing something they aren't. Its constantly disciplining during nap time to get the girls to sleep. Its picking up food thrown on the floor by Gordie who is just too tired to eat.
This mommy needs a day of rest and then a day of NO children to get some of this chaos organized/cleaned.
I know one day we will have a clean house, maybe not fully organized, because, well, being honest with myself and my husband, we are not very organized people around here. But it will happen and while we wait for that to happen I have to constantly remind myself and recite this wonderful verse found in Colossians:
Colossians 3:17
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
His Side:
24, 15, 13, 18... These numbers don't have an exact rythem to them but each number signifies amount of months before a baby came into our life. The first was born September 12, 2010, 8 days prior to our two year wedding anniversary (24 months after marriage). Six months later we found out we were going to have a second child. So 15 months to the day after our first one the second was born on December 12, 2011. Then came another 4 months later when we found another was on the way, this was confusing as we didn't expect it at all. So 13 months and a day later on January 13, 2013, the third was born. Now here we are with a fourth on the way expected 18 months after the previous child, due July 8th, 2014. This will mean between when this child is born and the oldest's fourth birthday we will have 4 children all under the age of 4. After waiting 15 months to get pregnant we never thought we would find ourself in this position by our 6th wedding anniversary.
When Andrea wasn't getting pregnant month after month when we got married we had started wondering what was it that would make someone wait to purposely get pregnant. To us it seemed obvious that God had a plan if he wasn't wanting us to get pregnant than we wouldn't become pregnant. It wasn't up to us. We accepted that, because we accepted that in that first 15 months the logic has stayed with us. We know that God has a plan for us and the size of our family and because of this we have accepted his graciousness to give us a larger than average family in a very quick time span.
Just because we have accepted it doesn't mean it hasn't come without challenges. Constantly having two children in diapers for the last 2 years 4 months and 14 days (but whose counting) is just one of the challenges. Oh sure if you have doubles you will have two children in diapers, but there is an end in sight. For us we still expect at least another year of dealing with multiple children with diaper needs day in and day out. Also the more children we have the less people are willing to babysit. Oh sure they didn't mind when we had one, or maybe even two, but you add a third toddler to the mix the amount of people willing limits itself to grandparents.
Of course there are benefits too. Ever see those places that say Children 3 and under free? You know who really benefits from that? A family with four children that meet that criteria. How about a dinner plus dessert for five people for $10? That is what you get when you go to the all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, Pizza Street, where 3 and under eat free. Or how about nap time. 3 year olds need naps just like the infant. You plan those naps at the same time and you get at least an hour of freedom. Once at least one child isn't needing a nap you don't even have hope of that. Or how about playmates. When the age seperation of a child is less than 2 years they can adapt to each other's play habbits and still manage to be interested in the same things.
So there are definately pros and cons to this, but for us the biggest pro is knowing we are living in God's will. It can be stressful at times, but knowing that God has intrusted us with his creations to take care of is an honor.
24, 15, 13, 18... These numbers don't have an exact rythem to them but each number signifies amount of months before a baby came into our life. The first was born September 12, 2010, 8 days prior to our two year wedding anniversary (24 months after marriage). Six months later we found out we were going to have a second child. So 15 months to the day after our first one the second was born on December 12, 2011. Then came another 4 months later when we found another was on the way, this was confusing as we didn't expect it at all. So 13 months and a day later on January 13, 2013, the third was born. Now here we are with a fourth on the way expected 18 months after the previous child, due July 8th, 2014. This will mean between when this child is born and the oldest's fourth birthday we will have 4 children all under the age of 4. After waiting 15 months to get pregnant we never thought we would find ourself in this position by our 6th wedding anniversary.
When Andrea wasn't getting pregnant month after month when we got married we had started wondering what was it that would make someone wait to purposely get pregnant. To us it seemed obvious that God had a plan if he wasn't wanting us to get pregnant than we wouldn't become pregnant. It wasn't up to us. We accepted that, because we accepted that in that first 15 months the logic has stayed with us. We know that God has a plan for us and the size of our family and because of this we have accepted his graciousness to give us a larger than average family in a very quick time span.
Just because we have accepted it doesn't mean it hasn't come without challenges. Constantly having two children in diapers for the last 2 years 4 months and 14 days (but whose counting) is just one of the challenges. Oh sure if you have doubles you will have two children in diapers, but there is an end in sight. For us we still expect at least another year of dealing with multiple children with diaper needs day in and day out. Also the more children we have the less people are willing to babysit. Oh sure they didn't mind when we had one, or maybe even two, but you add a third toddler to the mix the amount of people willing limits itself to grandparents.
Of course there are benefits too. Ever see those places that say Children 3 and under free? You know who really benefits from that? A family with four children that meet that criteria. How about a dinner plus dessert for five people for $10? That is what you get when you go to the all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, Pizza Street, where 3 and under eat free. Or how about nap time. 3 year olds need naps just like the infant. You plan those naps at the same time and you get at least an hour of freedom. Once at least one child isn't needing a nap you don't even have hope of that. Or how about playmates. When the age seperation of a child is less than 2 years they can adapt to each other's play habbits and still manage to be interested in the same things.
So there are definately pros and cons to this, but for us the biggest pro is knowing we are living in God's will. It can be stressful at times, but knowing that God has intrusted us with his creations to take care of is an honor.
Friday, April 11, 2014
The sweet innocence and honesty of a child.
1 Samuel 1:27-28
For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord. And he worshiped the Lord there.
Her side:
We are 27 weeks into our 4th pregnancy. The anticipation of this little one is increasing with each day. Every move (or lack there of sometimes), every ache, every pain is the amazing reminder that God is indeed answering our desires and prayers of having a big family.
Baby Bear has hit a few rather large growth spurts the last couple months or so and my belly has grown to a very recognizable "there's a baby in there, we hope" state. And mine and my husband's precious 3.5 yr old daughter (our oldest) is so kind to remind me of the size of my belly. One conversation she and I had recently when I came out of mine and my husband's room:
Me: Thank you.
Amie: Your shirt is really pretty. (Proceeds to touch my belly) But you need to take it off. It makes your belly look really big. You need to take it off so your belly won't look so big.
Me: Well, there really isn't anything I can do about my big belly.
Amie: Why?
Me: Because I have a baby in there. I can't just make my belly small.
Amie: Oh. OK!
Oh such sweet innocence...and honesty. Some of the silliest conversations with Amie recently has all been, one way or another, about Baby. She will say her belly is big because she has a baby in it. She has to sleep with a 3rd pillow, like mommy, because she has a baby in her belly. Her anticipation of when Baby will arrive is such sweetness I cannot always explain it. But I love her and I love her curiosity and honesty.
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