Ordinary Life
I live a very ordinary life.
When I think about my responsibilities as a wife and mother of four young children, it's a little daunting. And let's face it, mundane. Clean, plan meals, cook, feed the kids, wash dishes, do laundry, nurse the baby, change diapers, wipe butts, brush hair, dress kids, tie shoes, kiss booboos, discipline, go to school, go to the park, play, read books, say prayers... There's not much I do that's extraordinary to the untrained eye.
On a rough day, when the kids are especially whiny or uncooperative or disobedient, the blessings aren't as easy to see. I get stressed and overwhelmed and irritable.
Then I look a little closer. Everyday there are moments of pure bliss. And there is always something to be thankful for.
Piper smiles at me like I'm the most important person in the world. Daddy can appease her for a time, but when she wants Mommy, no one else will do. It's a wonderful thing to be needed. Piper is our last baby, so everything she does has become more meaningful to me. I don't want to miss a thing. She sticks her tongue out all the time now. It's so sweet and funny. She is such a content baby. It doesn't take much to get her smiling and giggling. She's got this short fuzzy hair that I don't remember the other kids having. She looks just like Justin right now. And she is learning how to manipulate things with her hands. Her hand to mouth skills are improving, which means I won't have to always put her pacifier in her mouth. She's moving all over the place with a variety of scooting and rolling. She really wants to get up on her knees and crawl. Part of me wants her to, and part of me wants her to stop growing so fast!
Margo is such a funny and spunky girl. She makes me laugh all the time, even when she's being naughty. The best is when she knows she's being funny, and she plays the crowd. Margo is probably the toughest of the bunch. And by that I mean she's a bit of a bully. She knows what she wants, and she's not afraid to do what it takes to get it. That's usually why she gets disciplined. Margo is also such a sweet sister. She loves to help with Baby Piper, comforting her, fetching her pacifier. I love to hear her say, "I'm coming, Piper!" It's also fun to watch her try to keep up with her older siblings. And she's got the best hair. It's a beautiful light brown with lots of blonde highlights. And it's long! At the moment it's crusty and tangled from some raspberry jam she got in it last night though. Margo's got a sweet smile, even if she's missing her four bottom teeth. Of the four, Margo looks the most like me.
Deuce is probably my most challenging child right now. He's pretty demanding, and has a hard time with the word, "no." But he is such a sweet boy otherwise. He loves to play outside. Often it'll be the first thing he asks to do after he wakes up in the mornings. Deuce could ride his tricycle up and down the sidewalk all day long. He's learned how to spin his trike around really fast, which he thinks is pretty cool. He is a great hugger. Although in our house, we call them "squugs (a squish hug)." He's in K4, and loves school. He talks about it all the time. When we walk up to the building together, I have to make him hold my hand. He really wants to just say, "bye Mommy!" and run to see his classmates. I'm not ready for that yet. Deuce is a good friend. He loves playing with his buddies, Ben and Josiah. He also talks about a newer boy at church, Amos. Deuce also looks like his Daddy, but he's got green eyes like me.
Josie has come a long way in the last few years. When she was three, she was given an educational diagnosis of autism. I was never quite sure that it was accurate, but I did know that she was behind other kids her age. Over the past 3 years, working with speech therapists and occupational therapists, she has blossomed into such a smart and delightful little girl. Her ability to communicate was very behind, but she is almost totally caught up. She loves playing with other kids, and she is so friendly. She says, "hi!" to just about everyone she sees. It is such a joy to watch and listen to her read. She's also retaining things that I'm teaching her, including Bible memory verses. It's really fun homeschooling her. Right now Josie has great self worth. She looks in the mirror and sees a beautiful girl. I do too. A beautiful, smart, kind, and funny girl.
All of my kids are great. I know that I can take partial credit, because I'm the one with them the most, shaping them to be well-behaved, thoughtful, kind people. But I can't help but thank God for the blessings they are to me.
Right now Josie, Deuce and Margo are playing upstairs and Piper is asleep in her car seat. This blog post took a while to get typed, because I kept getting interrupted by a crying baby and three bickering children. But now it's quiet, and I'm thanking God again for my amazing family.
And now it's time to get back to being Mom. Lunch needs to be made, socks and shoes need to be put on, teeth need to be brushed...
My life is ordinary. And I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm blessed beyond measure.
When I think about my responsibilities as a wife and mother of four young children, it's a little daunting. And let's face it, mundane. Clean, plan meals, cook, feed the kids, wash dishes, do laundry, nurse the baby, change diapers, wipe butts, brush hair, dress kids, tie shoes, kiss booboos, discipline, go to school, go to the park, play, read books, say prayers... There's not much I do that's extraordinary to the untrained eye.
On a rough day, when the kids are especially whiny or uncooperative or disobedient, the blessings aren't as easy to see. I get stressed and overwhelmed and irritable.
Then I look a little closer. Everyday there are moments of pure bliss. And there is always something to be thankful for.
Piper smiles at me like I'm the most important person in the world. Daddy can appease her for a time, but when she wants Mommy, no one else will do. It's a wonderful thing to be needed. Piper is our last baby, so everything she does has become more meaningful to me. I don't want to miss a thing. She sticks her tongue out all the time now. It's so sweet and funny. She is such a content baby. It doesn't take much to get her smiling and giggling. She's got this short fuzzy hair that I don't remember the other kids having. She looks just like Justin right now. And she is learning how to manipulate things with her hands. Her hand to mouth skills are improving, which means I won't have to always put her pacifier in her mouth. She's moving all over the place with a variety of scooting and rolling. She really wants to get up on her knees and crawl. Part of me wants her to, and part of me wants her to stop growing so fast!
Margo is such a funny and spunky girl. She makes me laugh all the time, even when she's being naughty. The best is when she knows she's being funny, and she plays the crowd. Margo is probably the toughest of the bunch. And by that I mean she's a bit of a bully. She knows what she wants, and she's not afraid to do what it takes to get it. That's usually why she gets disciplined. Margo is also such a sweet sister. She loves to help with Baby Piper, comforting her, fetching her pacifier. I love to hear her say, "I'm coming, Piper!" It's also fun to watch her try to keep up with her older siblings. And she's got the best hair. It's a beautiful light brown with lots of blonde highlights. And it's long! At the moment it's crusty and tangled from some raspberry jam she got in it last night though. Margo's got a sweet smile, even if she's missing her four bottom teeth. Of the four, Margo looks the most like me.
Deuce is probably my most challenging child right now. He's pretty demanding, and has a hard time with the word, "no." But he is such a sweet boy otherwise. He loves to play outside. Often it'll be the first thing he asks to do after he wakes up in the mornings. Deuce could ride his tricycle up and down the sidewalk all day long. He's learned how to spin his trike around really fast, which he thinks is pretty cool. He is a great hugger. Although in our house, we call them "squugs (a squish hug)." He's in K4, and loves school. He talks about it all the time. When we walk up to the building together, I have to make him hold my hand. He really wants to just say, "bye Mommy!" and run to see his classmates. I'm not ready for that yet. Deuce is a good friend. He loves playing with his buddies, Ben and Josiah. He also talks about a newer boy at church, Amos. Deuce also looks like his Daddy, but he's got green eyes like me.
Josie has come a long way in the last few years. When she was three, she was given an educational diagnosis of autism. I was never quite sure that it was accurate, but I did know that she was behind other kids her age. Over the past 3 years, working with speech therapists and occupational therapists, she has blossomed into such a smart and delightful little girl. Her ability to communicate was very behind, but she is almost totally caught up. She loves playing with other kids, and she is so friendly. She says, "hi!" to just about everyone she sees. It is such a joy to watch and listen to her read. She's also retaining things that I'm teaching her, including Bible memory verses. It's really fun homeschooling her. Right now Josie has great self worth. She looks in the mirror and sees a beautiful girl. I do too. A beautiful, smart, kind, and funny girl.
All of my kids are great. I know that I can take partial credit, because I'm the one with them the most, shaping them to be well-behaved, thoughtful, kind people. But I can't help but thank God for the blessings they are to me.
Right now Josie, Deuce and Margo are playing upstairs and Piper is asleep in her car seat. This blog post took a while to get typed, because I kept getting interrupted by a crying baby and three bickering children. But now it's quiet, and I'm thanking God again for my amazing family.
And now it's time to get back to being Mom. Lunch needs to be made, socks and shoes need to be put on, teeth need to be brushed...
My life is ordinary. And I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm blessed beyond measure.
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