Distractions

It has been a rough morning at my house. The reality that we are moving, and need to be out of here as soon as possible is sinking in, and that has caused me to go on  a major decluttering spree. I got a late start this morning, but I was determined to get my maternity clothes boxed up and go through my kids clothing. That doesn't sound too difficult, right?

Five hours after I started the project, I've barely made a dent. Here I sit blogging, surrounded by piles of clothing. I need to clear my head before I dive back in. It's amazing how many clothes six people can have.

As I was saying, this morning has been rough. I'd start working on the clothes and then someone would need a drink, or someone would would need cleaned up, and then it was time for the baby to nurse, and then Lily and Max both started crying at the same time, and neither of them were calming down. And while I was trying to nurse Max and hold an inconsolable Lily, Anna and Jack decided it would be fun to dump all the clothes that had been put in totes and throw them around the living room. I was ready to scream(actually I think I did scream.) I was beyond frustrated by this point and was ready for the kids to take naps an hour earlier than usual.

But they needed lunch, and while I was making peanut butter sandwiches I started praying. Basically I was asking the Lord to give me self control and patience. And I felt convicted about how I was placing my goal of organized clothes above the needs of my children. I thought of all sorts of arguments and excuses . I thought about how we were getting ready to move, and things had to get done. The conviction remained. It was as if the Lord was saying, "Stop treating these children as distractions."

And that was exactly what I'd been doing. On the outside it may have appeared that I was putting my children ahead of my project, but my heart said otherwise.  I was frustrated that I had to stop what I was doing to attend to my children. I wanted to complete my project by nap time so I could have a break. One of these days maybe I'll realize these crazy days won't last forever, and I'll remember to enjoy this season in my life.

Now I must be off so I can tackle these clothes before my children wake up!

A Great Week!

This past week has been amazing! On Sunday, I turned 26(I know just four more years and I'll be 30!) I had a great day. No diaper changes, laundry, or cooking for me the whole day. Erik did everything, including letting me go over to a friends house while he took care of dinner and bedtime.

On Monday, my sweet Jack turned four. Yes his birthday is the day after mine, and yes every birthday I've had since he was born has been spent making party plans for him, but I don't mind. We took him and the other kids to a local splash park during the day, and that evening both sets of grandparents came over for a cook out and cake and ice cream. Jack's birthday dinner of choice was hotdogs, chips, and corn. My parents bought him a Spiderman bicycle and Erik's parents got him a tent with a tunnel. I don't think his grandparents spoil him at all! :)

Tuesday I had to go to the doctor for my six week postpartum visit. My parents watched Lily, Anna, and Jack so Max, Erik, and I could go to the doctor. Afterwards we spent some time at Barnes and Noble(one of my favorite past times) and then went out to dinner at the Cracker Barrel. 

My birthday present from my parents was a trip to Holiday World(an amusement park not far from where we live.) It was my first time leaving Max, and I was a little worried about how he'd do with a bottle, but he did great. Erik and I were able to spend an awesome day together. With the stress of unemployment and having four small children we needed a relaxing day together.



Which brings me to Thursday. Thursday was the day we were looking forward to with much anticipation. Erik had an interview a few hours away, and we were praying fervently that he would be offered the job on the spot. We didn't know if that would be possible, but we also knew the Lord could do impossible things. His interview wasn't until five that evening, which made it seem even more unlikely he'd be offered a job. Three hours past before I heard from him, and I wasn't sure if that meant things had gone really bad or really well. Obviously my first question when I answered my phone was, "How did the interview go?" Erik nonchalantly told me that he got the job!

After two years of dealing with unemployment, going back to school, and not having much of any steady income I can't even begin to describe the excitement we felt. All we could do was praise God for providing this job. I can still hardly believe it happened. We will have to move again, but we'll only be a few hours away from where we live now.

Yes, I think it's safe to say I had a great week!

Lesson from the Duggars

This probably won't come as a huge shock to those of you who read this blog, but I'm going to say it anyways. I love the Duggars. We don't have cable or satellite, but  I still find a way to watch 19 kids and counting(thanks, Alex!!) 

I bought their latest book shortly after Max was born and loved it. Michelle has a lot of wisdom, and in this book she talks a little about the challenges of raising several small children and how she managed. One thing she says she did to make Christianity attractive to her children was "salt the oats." She decided to make Bible time the most exciting part of the day, and teach her children memory verses by using hand gestures. Whenever a child memorized a verse they would get an m&m or skittle. Doing this, she says, made Bible time the best part of their day.

That sounded so simple! I couldn't help but wonder why I had never thought of making scripture memorization a fun activity. As embarrassing as it is to admit, whenever I'd teach Jack or Anna a verse I'd try to have them sit quietly and repeat after me and turn it into a serious activity that neither of them enjoyed. 

So for the last couple of weeks we've been going back through, My ABC Bible Verses: Hiding God's Word in Little Hearts, and I've been trying to make it exciting. And so far it has been a success! This week we're working on Matthew 5:9, and the kids have gotten the biggest kick out of doing hand motions for each word in the verse. Even Lily(who is 17 months old, but never wants to be left out) gets involved with the hand motions. And, of course, when they can say the verse without any help they'll get an m&m.

How about the rest of you? Have you found some interesting or fun ways to teach your children God's word? Any wisdom that you all have would be much appreciated!! :)

Still Waiting

I found this quote off the girltalk blog particularly encouraging this week as we continue to wait on the Lord's timing to provide a job for my husband.

"Cast away anxiety, resign thy will, submit thy judgment, leave all with the God of all....The ploughman sows and harrows, and then leaves the harvest to God. What can he do else? He cannot cover the heavens with clouds, or command the rain, or bring forth the sun or create the dew. He does well to leave the whole matter with God; and so to all of us it is truest wisdom, having obediently trusted in God, to leave results in his hands and expect a blessed issue." Charles Spurgeon


“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” Psalm 37:5-6

One Month

Max turned a month old last Sunday. I can't believe how fast this month has gone! Max seems to be a laid back little man. Occasionally in the evenings he gets fussy and we can't seem to figure out what's wrong with him, but for the most part as long as he's fed he's fine. Typical man.:)

He's sleeping well. The other night he slept from eleven to six, but he hasn't done that since. He's starting to coo and smile and be more alert. Jack, Anna, and Lily all love him, but Lily especially adores him. Every morning and afternoon when Lily wakes up she walks as fast as she can to the living room to make sure Max is still here and then gives him a kiss.

Before too long he'll be on schedule similar to the other kids so I'm trying to enjoy all the newborn snuggle I can get!

Lily's Favorite Food

Lily absolutely loves blackberries.

She would eat an entire container in one sitting, if we'd let her.

I'm not sure I've ever seen someone this happy after eating blackberries!

The Quiet Game

One of my children is a *bit* of a chatter box(cough-Jack-cough). From the time he wakes up until the time he goes to bed-and truth be told the child has been known to talk in his sleep- there are millions of questions to be answered, stories to tell, and songs to sing. I adore him, and I love listening to him as his imagination grows, but there are times when I need a little break.

Enter the quiet game.

You've heard of the quiet game, right? I well remember playing this as a child, since growing up I was also a bit of a chatterbox(my brother even nicknamed me "Neverend" because he thought I never stopped talking!) Anyways, during dinner one night we decided to appeal to Jack's competitiveness and play the quiet game. We told the kids whoever was quiet the longest would be the winner. Jack and Anna took the game very seriously, and we played it several times that evening.

However, the next morning Jack decided that he wanted to be the instigator of the game. And since Jack is one of the most encouraging little guys you'll ever meet, he wanted to make sure everyone was a winner(Max included.) So he would purposely sabotage his chances of winning by talking and letting one of his sisters win. And now that's the only way he likes to play the quiet game!

Oh well, at least he's not a bad loser.:)