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!!!

Preparing your children for the death of a loved one. The line between honesty and too much information

Sadly, my grandpa's wife, Miss Juanita; the woman who has filled the position of grandma for us, since the passing of our grandmother when I was 8, is very near to death. This is the first family member to pass since our children have been old enough to really know or understand what is going on. As we were on our way to the hospital today, we explained to them that Miss Juanita was very sick and that she would be going to heaven to see Jesus soon. So we told them we were going to the hospital to support Papaw B and say goodbye to Miss Juanita. They each said ok and didnt say much else about it all the way there. They went on talking amongst themselves and playing with their toys.
Once at the hospital, we visited with family, they watched cartoons in the waiting room, and then we took them back to tell everyone bye and give Papaw B hugs. At first we weren't going to take them back, but they were asking and asking to see her. I kept telling them she was sleeping and she needed to rest, but began to doubt my mothering choices.
 (Incident #1 of asking myself the questions... Are my children old enough to experiance this? Should I try to make this a rosey situation for them or give them the details and let them learn how real death is? How much detail is too much detail?)
They seemed to handle seing her very well. She looked to be very peacefully sleeping, they looked on from a distance and said bye to my grandpa after a brief minute, but did not want to hug Miss Juanita(which was fine). As we left, Leah and Carson were very quite, and Ethan said nothing at all. Once we got into the car and got everyone settled Leah broke the silence with her question "Was she already in heaven mommy?" I answered her by telling her she was just sleeping right now(truth) She was ok with that answer and said "ok" Ethan by then almost in tear just starts rattling off the questions
(Incident #2 of asking myself the questions... Are my children old enough to experiance this? Should I try to make this a rosey situation for them or give them the details and let them learn how real death is? How much detail is too much detail?).
 He was just spilling them out... How do you die? Will it hurt when she dies?  So I am trying to answer his questions honestly without scaring him to death, or giving him too much detail. I tell him that for Miss Juanita it wont hurt too bad, she is just sleeping now and then she will go up to heaven. Then he asks "How does she know when it's time to die?" So I told him that because she loved Jesus and she was going to heaven, that Jesus would come to her while she was sleeping and tell her that it was time to come to heaven and she would just stop breathing and go up to heaven(this was my best attempt at giving truth and deatil in what I thought was appropriate doses) He was very quiet for a while after this....
(Incident #3 of asking myself the questions... Are my children old enough to experiance this? Should I try to make this a rosey situation for them or give them the details and let them learn how real death is? How much detail is too much detail?)
Kevin asks Leah if her bicycle is working better since he fixed the tire, kinda trying to change the subject and She says "yes"and then says "I wonder if there will be bikes in heaven, I would like to ride my bike with Jesus" This was follwed by a discussion about how wonderful heaven would be and then everyone went back to talking and playing with their own things. Much to my relief.
Ethan has asked a few questions since we have been home this evening, but they havent really mentioned it all that much. I know the next few days will be filled with grief and joy for all who are involved and I want to properly prepare the kids for what they may experiance, while mainainting their innocence but also respecting their need to grieve and ask questions.
 So here I sit... asking myself... Are my children old enough to experiance this? Should I try to make this a rosey situation for them or give them the details and let them learn how real death is? How much detail is too much detail?
Here's the honest truth. I have no clue what the right answer is. One second I feel like allowing them to experiance all things honestly is a great thing, the next second I feel like I am giving to much detail and a simple yes or no would have sufficed. I've tried to remeber back to when I was 8 and my grandmother passed and how my parents handled it, but that was a totaly different scenario(she passed unexpectidly) and I was a little older.
 I am forever thankful that it is made a little easier because we can rejoice and assure them that she is going to heaven to be with Jesus, her glourious Lord and Savior, and there will be no more pain, and no more tears. I hope and pray that even through tradgedy they can see the reality of God's love and care for his children and that it may bring them one step closer to knowing him as their Savior.
Yet, I still find myself asking "What is the line between honesty and too much information?" "How can I best prepare my children for the grieving process that is to come in the next few days?"
God gently reminds me, as I sit here typing, worrying, wonder... My Grace Is Enough.
 The responsibility of parenting can be overwhelming at times. We all want to shape and mould our children into what we think is best. We want to maintain every environment and annalize every scenario to feel like we have considered the best options and followed through with them. However, most of the time, at least for me, this is when God is patiently waiting for you to step aside and let him work. Use wisdom in each decision that you make, but don't over analize and try to control everything so much that you, and your children, miss what God is trying to teach you through it all.
So in the end... I still dont know the answer, but I am just going to pray that I will have the wisdom to answer questions appropriatly and be there to talk when and if they are ready and pray that God will take care of the rest. Pray for us over the next few days.

Real faith begins, where myself ends!



Wow, June was quite a month! We left our house on May 31st and returned on July 1st, only stopping into the house for a nights sleep in between those dates. I am very excited to see next months utility bills, they should amount to almost nothing. Hooray! Although, amazingly, a clean house can get dirty, all by itself, when you are gone that long. I have no idea how(well...I'll share with you a few reasons later). We really had a lot of fun while we were gone. We met lots of new friends, did many fun activities, and got to see and do things that we wouldn't normally get to see or do outside of these circumstances. Although if we are being honest, it wasn't all giggles and grins. There were a few times I thought "We've lost our minds. What in the world were we thinking?" There were a lot of "Are we there yet's" and just about as many "enjoy the ride's". All in all, it was probably just about one of the best experiences we have had as a family. We have never been on vacation so I guess this could qualify as a vaca with a little(or a lot) of work mixed in!

 You know when you go on vacation you try to prepare your house right? You eat all the food that will spoil. You turn off any unnecessary electronics and other energy eaters. The checklist goes on and on. Well then you come home... your tired, hungry, and have a mountain of laundry about the size of your house to complete, yet you have no food, and no laundry soap(well, at least I didn't). I thought... "Man, I thought I had this well planned out. I should have had someone here set up to greet us with the necessities(toilet paper, milk, bread, LAUNDRY SOAP)"  Well, a girl can dream right?

There are a few other things that went wrong with my "perfect prep" for our house sitting empty for a month. So, I thought I would make a "Top 5" list of things that our travels taught us. If for nothing other than making you laugh!!

1. Check and double check that all toilets are flushed before you leave!! Trust me, after being gone that long, in a house with the a/c turned off, that's a nasty thing to come home to! I thought I had checked all of them but someone had obviously gone upstairs after my final re-check and used the bathroom. I thought someone had died in our house while we were gone!

2. Arrange for the neighbors to somehow get your trash out on trash day. Month old dirty diaper smell in your garage is not coming out anytime soon.


3. Take DVD's that will entertain your kids but not drive you up the wall while you are driving!! I can only listen to certain veggie tale songs so many times before I want to use an ice pick on my ear drum.

4. WE HAVE WAY TOO MUCH STUFF!!!! If my kids can live for a month in the same 10 outifts, and with only a backpack full of toys we need to get rid of some stuff. That exactly what I did when we got home. I went through closets and toys and picked out things that didn't fit anymore or just never get worn or played with or are broken.I do this on a monthly basis with clothes and toys anyways but this time I was really picky. When I was done we had a pile of toys for nana's new house, a bigger pile of toys for the goodwill store, and a bunch of clothes to donate. I feel much better now, but we still have way more than we need. This was a great way to have an eye opening conversation about people who are less fortunate than us and may not have as many nice things as we have. We should be grateful for all the Lord has given us!

5. You need at least a few days to recover your house when you get home. We came home Monday. We have been working non-stop since arriving home to get everything ready for our first preview service this Sunday for The Journey Baptist Church!!! As well as, taking a break in the evening for same patriotic family fun. Enjoying the holiday and the price that was paid so that we could live in this great country! Needless to say, I should have hired a maid. This house is a wreck and it is just getting worse and worse. This is not good for an OCD person AT ALL!! I just keep looking around me wanting to freak out and then I have to tell myself, PRIORITIZE. There is so much to be done. I will be happy to have things settle down next week so we can et our feet under us again!

There are so many more things that could be listed but I will spare you.

However, what I take most from our month of travels, are the many blessings and privileges that we experiences along the way. God taught us to truly rely on him. When we were taking each step into darkness, not knowing what was next, or how he would provide, he would gently whisper, TRUST ME. Our real faith was found when we were at the end of all that we could do, and we watched God provide time and time again. Not only for our needs, but for most of our wants as well. Just another reminder that God is so gracious to me, even when I don't deserve it, when I'm doubting myself, and when I have come to my end... That's when he can use me most!