Happy Friday.
The kids are at school .... 1/2 of them. No kindergarten of Fridays.
The washer & drying are running, so is the dishwasher. The dryer vent is ripped, so its fogging up the back door window.
Chad is running his little lawnmower around the kitchen - a birthday present that was a hit.
It's overcast & actually rainy. I know the rest of the country has plenty of snow .... but we were really.really in need of rain. We are grateful.
So there is a candle burning & good smelling food fresh from the oven sitting on the counter.
I have good intentions of cleaning the bathroom & mopping the floors ....
Opening Ceremonies tonight ... we like the Olympics.
Plus a free weekend - together!
There is over 20lbs of meat on the stove waiting to be cooked. Soup for us tonight & all the meat for communion Sunday night at church.
I've been waiting almost a month for a package in the mail ... maybe today??
I've also had pictures to post for over a month.
They were first suppose to be new years pictures. Then birthday pictures. Or school pictures ......
Now they all 3 combined :)
We took them on Molly's birthday.
Sailor was in charge of birthday outfits for her.
Then I just asked everyone else to really quick sit for a minute.
Regan told jokes.
Ben said he was ok with pictures but didn't really feel like smiling.
I love these kids.
Yesterday when it was raining early in the morning & we were just sick enough to all still want to be in bed, a big ol' dose of perspective hit.
Get out of the blinding, overwhelming moments of hard & crazy & too much & I can't do it & they'll never get it & who's idea was it to home school & the bathroom will never be clean & socks will always be lost & shoes missing & closets stuffed instead of cleaned & & & .......
They are moments.
That's all.
The incredible truth is Jesus is in those moments. Grace is in those moments. Peace is there too.
Oh for eyes ... for wisdom ... for joy, then strength to see what is really in those moments. To see them as all strung together making this sweet life.
Right now from where I sit, I see grace ... it looks like a few cheerios on the floor & a wad of kleenex, a sparkie vest, a 1st grade reader, a pile of unfolded laundry, the meat on the counter. Out the window I see the net of the trampoline moving - they must be jumping. The gray skies & bare orchard trees.
Grace.
H0ldfast to it.
Perspective doesn't make life easy. Neither does grace or love. Jesus doesn't even make life easy. He just makes it worth living.
Hard, yes. A mess, yes. Crazy, yep. Sweet, yes. Worth it, completely.
I want to remember them now.
Who are they ..... what are they like.
What's behind the freckles & the blonde hair?
What's inside that boy who has -5% body fat?
What drives the oldest girl who is growing up right in front of us?
Or the outgoing 4 year old?
The baby who is now 2 ...
And the dark eyed middle kid?
I will never graduate from studying them.
So here's what we got ... that one cloudy morning on January 3rd.
The day Molly turned 6 & Jack smiled at Regan's jokes.
The day her hair wasn't combed & he wore that same blasted shirt he wears 24/7.
The day he walked around with a princess wand & he was in a delightful mood, he just 'didn't want to smile at the camera'.
She's this beautiful mix of me & so very different. She's creative & attentive & smart. She loves anticipation & knowing what's happening. She's wear high heels with everything & for everything. She's patient with the kids. She's messy :) She likes, cares about & thinks of detail. I get all the parts of her that scream myself. The so very different parts I'm on a major quest to understand. I know when Regan is 10 & a half that will seem much younger - but she's the oldest and it blows my mind that she's walking right out of little girlhood.
- - -
He's tough & soft & brave & tender & determined & easy going. He's like his dad. He doesn't need me as desperately as his littlest brother anymore. He loves justice & making sure whatever it is is right. He doesn't care how many days in a row he wears the same shirt. He can't keep a secret. He can be genuinely excited over others success. He's a worker, hard & long.
- - -
He's his own person. He is not influenced by the majority. He's not like his brother or his dad. He loves to be close. He does care what shirt he's wearing :) His pain tolerance is through the roof ... but that can't be mistaken for him not caring or feeling. Usually what is on the surface is not what is really going on. He loves to please. He is beautiful. His eyes slay me. He keeps me very aware that I don't have mothering figured out.
- - -
She is the 2nd middle kid. She runs a lot deeper than face value. She isn't like me ... at all. She's eager & determined & self motivated. She wishes her hair was longer. She's here with me right now & says she likes building forts. She has a hunger for knowledge & a very sensitive heart for Jesus. She loves animals more than any of the others. I love how she's just herself.
- - -
She is loud & funny & outgoing & everywhere & loving & loves polka -dots. She is high & low, on & off, up & down .... 47 times each day. She loves hard, cries hard, plays hard. She does everything at full steam. She's more outgoing than almost all of them combined. She is a firecracker. She is so much fun. She mixes pronouns in the most darling way. She dances. She skips. She has wild hair. Rex in a loving way says she has the figure of a garden gnome :) She's beautiful.
- - -
He's 2 now. His vocabulary is growing by the hour. 'Side might be his favorite word, since outside pretty much his favorite place to be. He loves the action of our house. He still lays his head on my shoulder just for loves. He's this mix of the baby of the family & a little boy who will not be left out. The boys think he's ready to join them on the bunks. He chases the cat with his toy guns & eats dog food like candy. He's our baby .... I'm smitten.
- - -
Since they were technically Molly's birthday pictures ....
- - -
The unfortunate fact is the boys don't have birthday pictures .... I'd like to say yet :) but we'll see!
It's lunch time now. Everyone is hungry ... whatdaya know?! And they all just ate breakfast.
Speaking of amazing ... I know right, you're wondering ' we're we talking about amazing?'
Sure we were :)
Rex took me to Tiffanys.
We'll go out with some b&w.
- - -
Psalms 62:8
So trust Him absolutely, people .... God is a safe place to be.
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