Learning to ride

Grace has been working on learning to ride her bike on two wheels. Watching her yesterday I realized how we take for granted this accomplishment. She wanted to be able to do it in one day, without practice and without learning to balance. It was a good lesson in perseverance. She got to the point where Daddy would let go and she would make it about four peddles. I think these sort of lessons are not only for the child but that God gives them also for the parent as in Myself. I always wondered why my Dad used his kids in his sermons growing up, now I know.

You might wonder...

Why I haven't been posting much except for pictures. The short answer is I haven't felt like it. The past few months my family has been dealing with so much and I felt God telling me that I needed to rest in him. It has been a difficult road, my sister who is 17 is dealing with fainting spells, my brother who is also young has been in and out of the hospital with different infections that cause him to have seizures, a woman dear to my heart has been dealing with strokes and on Christmas day we found out during Church service that a young man who we taught(Eric and myself) lost his wife. She was in her early 20's and gave birth to a baby a week prior to passing on. Needless to say my heart has been heavy, my burdens hard to carry, and the silence of my savior has been deafening. It is a struggle to trust and yet I know if I did not rely totally on the faith that my God has everything in his hand I wouldn't be able to bear the circumstances.

So if you've been wondering, I am here behind the scenes on my knees clinging to my life verse.

Psalms 119:49-50

49 Remember your word to your servant,
for you have given me hope.
50 My comfort in my suffering is this:
Your promise preserves my life.

No Naps results

So as much as I hate to admit the no naps went well in that instead of an hour trying to get the twins to go to bed it only took fifteen minutes. The hating to admit part comes from that now I have no break during my day and I am quite sad and overwhelmed by that. I know God will help me through and when Mother's day out starts again I will have some time but for the next 4 weeks it will be mentally challenging.

I am an introvert and I need space. Having five kids has opened my eyes to a lot.One being that my introverted personality even gets exhausted by being around my kids. For that reason it is EXTREMELY important I get at least one hour a day alone. Yes I am blessed to have a large family. Hopefully I can embrace whatever characteristics I have that God gave me and do right by these children because sometimes I just want to hide under the covers and never come out.

Naps

Yesterday was very stressful. I do not believe I have any brain cells left for a blog post yet here I am. Lately Micah and Kerith have been asserting their opinion that it is time to give up naps and sleep all together. So basically two hours of my day is spent either putting them back in their room or listening to them scream. One hour for naps and one hour for bedtime. We have done everything from Supernanny techniques to letting them sleep together. Nothing. NOTHING has worked and we have been at this for a while now. Today is an experimental day. I am not giving them a nap in hopes that bedtime will be easier. Less stress for me in that I don't have to spend an hour making them get back in their room or listen to them throw fits and can actually give some time to Titus. Poor boy always gets Mom when she is tired and in meltdown mode. No doubt I will survive this period in my life. Having five children six and under is no joke, thank God he is there, where would I be without him?

Accidental Day

Oh yesterday. It was quite the day. The events of yesterday give a pretty good idea of what life is like with five children 6 and under, and this is just the doings of one child just imagine four more!

Micah:
Cut Jonah and Kerith's hair. Yes we have been working on using scissors although I am not sure he is quite ready.
Fell out of the shopping cart, more like tumbled out right onto the concrete. It scared him. He didn't have a scratch.
Decided he would "cook" while I got dressed. he poured oats into a bowl, dumped cocoa puffs in with it and mixed it with chocolate syrup. He was very proud of his masterpiece.

oh and the night ended by Titus taking his first and hopefully last tumble down the stairs. I know what you are thinking. Doesn't she ever watch her kids? As much as I would like to be in the same room with them 24 hours a day. I do appreciate the occasional clean underwear, after all I have already given up showering in the morning.

Book Reviews!

Ok I know you all love to know what I am reading these days. Well I found a new Author I really like. Karen Witemeyer I actually began with her book Head in the Clouds

I really loved this book. It is set in Texas and not just Texas but in the area of Texas where I grew up. I found myself relating to the main character in her quest to find a husband. It reminded me a lot of how I was in my later teen years helping God a long in his direction for my life instead of following God's leading.

My next book was A Tailor Made Bride

An equally good book although I related better to the characters in Head in the Clouds. Still well worth the read! So if you are looking for something new, something romantic and wholesome check them out!

Today's visitor

I get a kick out of living in farm country there is always a new bug that I haven't seen.
This bug visited us today. Right on the front door.

quick google search led me to find it's a moth. I must say compared to the brown moths I am used to seeing this is by far the coolest moth in the moth family(sorry I am not a bug guru)

God's creations are amazing things!