Grocery Store Gawkers!

A very kind woman at the grocery store today reassured me that there is hope for mommies of more than your average 2.5 children(really when did we become so obsessed with stats and numbers that we say an average family has 2.5 children). We don't really qualify for AVERAGE anymore.
She said "You have a very beautiful family, you are very blessed, and they are very well behaved, you must run a tight ship" I smiled politely and said "Thank you" hoping that was all she had to say(and it was, PTL) What a breathe of fresh air. I just wanted to hug her, but that may have caused ciaos, and we all know that when your out numbered by small banchee's  you don't even think about doing ANYTHING that might cause ciaos!!! LOL!

Much, much more relieving than the NORMAL...
These all yours?
How old are you?
Wow Girl you've got your hands full.
You know what causes that right?
How do you afford all of them?
surely your not having any more.
and my favorite(please note the EXTREME sarcasm)
All the same father?!?
REALLY?!?!?!?!?

Those kind of comments usually leave me hurt, angry, and feeling like I have done something... wrong, crazy, or unheard of... by loving my husband and allowing the Lord to bless us with the amount of  kids we have, and let me just say we are BLESSED!

So... after my afternoon trip to the grocery store for more milk(because at the rate we go through milk it may be a good idea for us to buy a cow) took me a whole 45 minutes instead of the AVERAGE 5 minutes. My encounter with this wonderful woman had me thinking(on my incredibly loud 5 minute drive home because the kids were debating over which lunchable is the best, yes my kids occasionally eat lunchables, don't judge me) Yes I am blessed, with 4 beautiful children who are very well behaved. Although it took me 8 times as long to get milk from the store I had the blessing of corralling all the kiddos into the car for an exciting trip to the grocery, buckling Abbi and kissing her sweaty little forehead, listening to her say "Mommy et buckled" which is her new favorite thing to say in the car, refereeing the near knock down drag out to see who gets to sit in the "cool cart", and teaching my kids to be productive, behaved citizens by giving very clear instructions about keeping your hand touching the cart at all times before we even exited the car(15 minutes) Herding us through the crowded isle to get to the back of the store where the milk is after hearing "mommy can we please have this" at least 50 times(and yes I gave in on the lunchables because they were only 88 cents and worth it to know there is a quick snack when needed in the next few days) making our way to check out and reminding the boys that you cant lean on the thing that weighs the bags or the machine freaks out and freezes up on you, and almost running over said wonderful comment lady trying to get out of the store while telling Ethan that he was the line leader and he had to keep his feet moving or we would all fall over top of him, then trying to get everyone into the car without... anyone getting ran over, denting the bmv parked too close to the minivan, smashing fingers in the door, or dropping groceries! Once I had accomplished that(25minutes) I breathed a big deep breath of relief while strolling in silence to put the SEMI that they call the "cool cart"(you know the buggy with the cute car attached to the front that's impossible to drive) back into the cart coral. She must have heard that sigh because she snickered and then uttered her kind words! Then ensued the card ride home with those 4 overexcited kiddo's(oh the power of a lunchable!) I'm the coolest mom on the block. We pulled in the driveway and the kids jumped out to tell their friends "My mom bought lunchables" which lead to high fives all around!! SUCESS!!

So here's to all you not so AVERAGE mama's out there, who are toting around more than half a child, :)
Breathe, you are so blessed. Even though sometimes you feel so blessed you could pull your hair out, and it takes you longer than anyone else to do anything else, these moments will go by so quickly and then you'll be wishing you had a bunch of banchee's crawling up your leg all day long. It's worth being tired, it's worth not being fashionable, it's worth all the looks and rude comments(even from good friends and family members at times), it's worth being not AVERAGE anymore. Average is boring, Blessed is anything but boring!

The next time you see a not so average mommy out there, give her a smile and an encouraging word, it may just make her day. PLEASE, PLEASE, don't make any of the stupid comments that I listed above(or anything that even closely resembles them).

I choose to be BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE and the Lord has giving me so much joy by giving me those blessings. It may not always be easy but he gives me the grace to get through everyday, and some days he graces me with a sweet lady with a kind word.

Scrubbing toilets and talking to God.

So... I know right? Blog neglect. I am guilty, but for good reason.
Some of you may or may not know that I started a new job. For the first time in quite a while I am working outside of the home. The Lord has provided for Kevin to work from home, and keep the younger kids, while I work and the older kids are in school. We prayed about it for a long time and came to the conclusion that this is what is best in this stage of our lives. We are all loving it!! I started about a month ago, the kids have LOVED being home with daddy, and I must say that Kevin can keep a pretty good house(shhh, don't tell him I am letting his secrets out) while I am thrilled to have a little adult interaction(don't get my wrong, I love, love, love being at home with my kids, but every mommy needs a timeout every once in a great while!)
I must say... Cleaning other people's toilets is not the right job for everyone(or anyone) but hey it's got to be done, right? Of all the jobs I have ever had(outside, of course, from being mommy) I truly love this one the most. While I am scrubbing other people toilets and cleaning their toothpaste spit off of the mirror and out of the sink(glamorous right?!?) I have so much time to talk to the Lord.
Today in particular, I was praying that the Lord would provide for a need that we had(and for some things that I just plain old wanted) and wouldn't you know that the lady at that house gave me a 40$ tip!! I am not quite sure I didn't say it out load, I screamed it in my head, PRAISE YOU LORD!!! I was so astounded that he had answered my prayer that quickly. When I was staying at home I usually had to lock myself in the bathroom or take a shower to get in any real, productive, well let's just be honest UNINTERUPTED  prayer time, now I am just talking to him all day long. It is really quite refreshing!
Aside from the better prayer life there are other things that scrubbing toilets has taught me, and they may be as a result of a better prayer life, one of those thing is... That marriage is a team sport, not a competition to see whose best. I think way to many couples have his jobs and her jobs, there is an imaginary, or not so imaginary line drawn and no one dares to cross it. It's bred by pride and entitlement(like so many things in our society today) Where no one wants to ask for help and everyone wants to be the best. I just gotta say MY HUSBAND IS WAY BETTER AT LAUNDRY THAN I AM!!! I hate laundry, everything about it. When I stayed home we always had laundry, whether clean or dirty, piled somewhere. Since he's been at home the laundry is pretty much always caught up!! It's wonderful. I am so thankful to have such a good teammate. God made us to perfectly compliment each other in every way. I am truly best to have a team mate that I can count on and have complete faith that everything will be ok when I get home. And trust me, for those of you who know me, you know that's huge!!!! I am a control freak, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the care of my kids and for a long time I thought no one, not even my husband, could do it as good(or better) than I could. Thankfully, God has blessed our kids with 2 AMAZING parents(lol)!!!!
All kidding aside, we may not be perfect, and we don't do things the same way, but in the end, neither way is better or worse, because we are a team, and the goal is the same... Point our kids towards Jesus and his amazing GRACE!!!