On the first day of first grade

Our Grace started first grade yesterday! It is SO hard to believe I have a first grader. She is growing to be a wonderful girl and a very good big sister but above all is loving to learn about Jesus.

Friday Funnies:

In no particular order: Top things NOT to say to me in the checkout lane.

1. Boy you have your hands full. UM DUH!
2. Boy you must be busy. Again UM DUH!
3. You are almost like the Duggars. Except that I have five kids and they have 19. Um no thanks I can barely handle my own.
4. Are they all twins? If they were all twins they would all be the same age, no?
5. Are the identical. Usually referring to the two that are twins. Do boys and girls have identical parts?
6. You poor thing. Having kids is a blessing not a curse.

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?

He Never Forgets: Guest Post on Held

I had the honor and privilege to write a guest post for Held and TODAY is the big day that it goes live.
Each word that was written came from God. It is only a part of my story. Only a part of what God has done in life. My prayer is that God will use it in someone's life for his Glory.

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.

the return of the hornworm

These little boogers are called hornworms. They like to eat tomato plants and every year I seem to have a battle with them. I hate killing things even if they are damaging plants I know call me weak. I did however kill a huge ole hornworm this morning by squishing him to death with my sword, um I mean shovel. It will be another battle tonight as I go against these boogers again. I hope to get rid of them ALL this time. I plan on asking God when I get to heaven the point of the hornworm. They can destroy your tomato bush in a day! Believe me...these are not friends to your garden. No siree.