5th time around...

We are having a girl!

We would have been thrilled with another boy, but there is quite the excitement for baby girl #1 around here.  When we went in for the ultra sound all of the boys said they really wanted a baby sister, and they were a little shocked when we said, "it's a girl!"  Isaac especially has communicated just how happy he is to finally have a sister.  Peter called this one as a girl from the first time we heard the heartbeat.  He insists that the boys have all had a particular sound, but this one was different.  He has called them all correctly so far.  Fun times!

I'm looking forward to having a daughter, I'm not going to lie; it's intimidating on the one hand, but, on the other hand, isn't anything that is new to us intimidating?  I honestly don't care if she's "harder" than the boys, "adds more drama" to our lives, etc. etc.  I'm a female, and despite that apparent drawback, (according to some random people out there) I think I contribute an awful lot to the world around me.  I am confident that she will, too.  I can't wait to experience this new blessing come June!

Just Laugh

Back when I was a mom of 2, I was visiting a mom of 4.  I remember asking her how she did it.  One piece of wisdom that I gleaned from her that day is to learn to laugh.  At this particular moment in our conversation, all 4 of her kids were demanding her attention at once, and she smiled wryly and suggested that sometimes she tries to just laugh at the crazy circus that motherhood is.

Now, here I sit mother to 4, soon to be five, and that piece of advice came to mind recently.  I've been thinking on it and realizing that it can help to diffuse situations.  

We have had some rough months I'm not going to lie.  I was very sick with this baby girl for the first several months, and often found it hard to get off of my couch.  My youngest 2 especially resent my resting at all and often take those opportunities to crawl all over me or cry in my face.  Add homeschooling grades 2nd and kindergarten, and I was feeling stretched thin.  Thankfully by Christmas the nausea eased.  Then we had the rough reentry into school after Christmas break.  It was at this time when I really began to feel frustrated often with my kids.  I was speaking sharply to them, and I found that I had little patience for their childlike ways.  They fought a lot, (small house, cold weather, 4 boys; any wonder?)  They resisted the schooling I was asking of them, my 3-year-old, while cute-as-a-button, is often a catalyst for chaos, and my teething toddler seemed to be either destroying something or crying all day; save nap time.  I started to feel like we were getting somewhere about 2 weeks ago.  Oh it was still chaos, but the routine was becoming more established, I was feeling better, and everyone had settled back into somewhat of a normal routine.  Then the tummy bug hit.  We all wound up with it, and it was bad.  I haven't been that sick in years.  What's amazing is that today, 4 days after I stopped throwing up, I am still struggling to eat, and the nausea is back.  Hopefully, once my tummy heals from that, It will clear up.  

I have really digressed from my original point which is this:  Yesterday, after another exhausting day of diffusing arguments, what felt like constant interruptions, the need for consistent discipline, and resistance to school, I thought about trying to laugh more rather than giving into my frustration as I have been doing so often of late.  In a Leap Frog movie my kids grabbed at the library, whenever a character says "help" a screen comes up and another character says, "What seems to be the problem?"  I decided to try this with my kids.  We've been training them to say "please help" rather than hitting, punching, kicking, or pushing the offender (boy house here, folks) and I let them know that I was going to be silly if they remembered to ask for help in the right way.  The funny thing is, when we had this little exchange, the angry kid would begin to smile and then laugh, and I would laugh with them.  It did help us to just kind of relax before we launched into the next issue to resolve.  So, while I am still struggling through each day lately, I'm going to try to remember that even God reminds us that laughter is good medicine, and that it can help me be a better, more positive parent, rather than and angry, tired and frustrated one.  This, of course, is only achieved by God's grace.

Co-op Christmas fun!

Christmas is long passed, but it's still memory time for me.  Our co-op had a Christmas party before the holidays, and we all decorated cookies together.  It's been so fun for me and for my kids to have a more consistent network of good friends and other moms.  We all bring different experiences and backgrounds to the group.  We have been blessed to be a part of it this school year.

Christmas became more exciting for my 3-year-old this year.  He is understanding more and more just how fun Christmas is!

Conrad loved him some cookies!

Sam, ever my social guy, has especially loved co-op.  They have started working on basketball skills this fall, and he is loving it!

And Marcus, ever the goober when I try and take his picture!  He also likes co-op.  P.E. activities are his favorite.  He gets the wiggles pretty often, so this has been a good outlet for him this winter.

Thankful for generations

We had a sweet time this Christmas with Peter's family.  I think my favorite moment was when Samuel's Great Grandmother opened a gift which included some of the names that Jesus was to be called (as prophesied by Isaiah).  She just began to read each one and as she did she talked with Samuel about the beauty of each one.  I think as we get older and we have more time to really stop and think about who God is and the gift that His son truly is, we are more and more amazed by it.   She certainly is.  Right now I feel like just about every thought I have is interrupted, and my quiet times are often hurried and distracted, hoping someone doesn't wake early.  While I don't like the thought of every aspect of aging, I do hope that as time goes by and as I have more time to reflect that I will be able to enjoy the wonder of Jesus more and more.

Co-op fun!

Isaac and his preschool buddy, Gianna, having fun with their mustaches.  

The "wild" side of God

A few days ago I saw an interview by the fixer-upper couple Chip and Joanna Gains, and it struck a chord with me in several ways.  When I listened to him describe his wife, and when I listened to her describe herself, I was sitting there thinking that they were describing so many aspects of me:  "good" kid, obedient rule follower, organized, (to a degree), and predictable.  Then they began describing him.  He described himself, and she described him, and those descriptions reminded me so much of Peter:  as close to the edge of the line as possible, risk taking, unpredictable, free, and even a bit wild; even their example of the way he lets the gas in the car get as low as possible before filling up is true of Pete and I.  My dad never let the gas get below half of a tank, and so when I married Peter, I had to get used to getting into the car with the tank on or below empty on a pretty regular basis!  What I enjoyed most about this particular interview was how they wove their differences into something unified, and how they each saw aspects of God in each other's gifts.  This is what God seeks to do in marriage and in relationships in general!  He wants us to see more of what He looks like.  I have loved life with Peter for so many reasons, but I think one of the things I like best is his wild and free side.  He is not encumbered by man's approval.  There is an aspect of God that is this way, too.  I like to think of God as like Aslan, in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe: dangerous and not safe, but so full of love!

Maybe it's because I have so many sons, or because I have enjoyed life more fully since I started sharing life with my wilder half, but there is this adventurous aspect of my man (and in my crazy boys) that I am more and more aware of and feel called to embrace and enjoy.  It's made my life so much better!

The other day I was walking through the house noting just how much furniture Peter has made for us.

He will go dumpster diving, and ride home on his bicycle with a pallet on his back which he has then turned into furniture that adorns our home.

  I would be worried about people's stares as I rode through town on my bike with a new pallet in tow, but for Peter, it's a grand adventure.

 God created all of us with unique gifts, abilities, and personalities.  I think that the more we can embrace that the more we can be unified to one another.  I know for certain that God knew what I needed when He sent Pete my way.  

9 years!

While we were recently at the Outer Banks, we celebrated 9 years of marriage!  On the one hand, it feels like yesterday we were those shy kids falling for each other and choosing to commit out lives to each other.   On the other hand, when I look around at my kids, and the changes our lives have taken since those early days, it does feel closer to 9 years.  I am grateful every day for this man God gave to me to be my husband in this life and father to my sons.  I love him more than words can express.

World's best husband.

Best daddy ever!