Seasons

We all have seasons in our lives. It comes straight from the Word itself. (Ecclesiastes 3:2). And some of those seasons are very hard and last a long time. Like the winters in North Dakota where I am from, but through all the seasons in our lives God is there to help us. Kent and I recently went through a relatively short season of time (4 months) where he was flying back and forth from Texas to Montana to work. He was gone from 2-3 weeks at a time and only home for 1. It was much tougher than I anticipated. Having to deal with the stress of being in the last stages of pregnancy, 12 kids, homeschooling and just trying to make sure everything is up and running was very hard. It seemed that the only time something major would happen was when he was gone. Sick kids the moment he left and ER visits late at nite when my 14 year old could handle the house for a couple of hours. No kitchen sink for a week (that was a fun one) and having to empty my washing machine during the spin cycle for a month by hand until we could get a part for it, were just some of the fun things that I dealt with. 
As I write I think really it wasn't that bad....but in the midst it was hard to keep that perspective. My church family and the mercies of God each day were the only thing that kept me going. 
I don't know how you do it, are the words that I hear most often from other moms that I am talking too. I do it because it is what I have been called to do, its the blessing that I have been given. I don't know how military families "Do It". How single moms and dads "Do It". How parents with kids that have disabilities "Do It". How parents that have lost children "Do It". As that is not anything that I have had to deal with. But I do know that God does only give us what we can handle, even though at times it seems he trusts us with a awful lot, and we weren't meant to do it alone.
For those of you that are reading this, thank you. Thank you for the support, for the compliments, encouragement and prayers that I have received when I needed it most. Please know that I love you guys and am truly blessed by all of you.  
We are now heading into a new season with Kent here in Texas to stay and me at 39 weeks and waiting for the next family member to arrive. I am anxiously awaiting what God is going to do now....

Sometimes your Up.....

Have you ever had a really good day? I'm sure everyone has, and didn't even have to be that you got something great in the mail or checked off a to do list item. As for me I didn't even leave the house! It was just one of those days where the craziness didn't affect the outcome of still getting stuff done. I wasn't stressed and the kids were almost obedient. It wasn't anything spectactular, it was just a day where I went to bed and felt that I had accomplished something. That is rare when your day consists of vaccuming and picking up constantly to have it look a train wreck 1 minute later when the toys are just dumped out and everyone needs a drink or a snack when the dishes were just done and put away. Laundry is NEVER done, only under control.

And then there is the other kind of day.....where even the smallest thing doesn't go right and you burst into tears. Like the item that you ordered on ebay isn't coming because of a inventory lapse and it will take 3-4 days to return the money even though it wasn't your fault. (this actually happened to me today, sadly even the crying part). I don't know about men (I'm not one) but I know about being a woman and we have mood swings, but its not our fault, God made us that way. Combine that with having 1 husband, 11 kids which 1 is a TEENAGE GIRL, and being 37 weeks pregnant (today). and its enough to make your head spin. I have to admit that being pregnant as much as I am I have enormous mood swings.....often. Keeping it together isn't easy, and I am not proud to say that my kids have seen me meltdown.
I am often told how much patience I have, and how great my kids behave. It is only the grace of God and His mercies everyday that me, my husband and all of my children make it through each and every day. I am not superwoman, I can't even remember my childrens age when asked at a park. My reply is I don't know, how old do they look? I do know that God has blessed me with the household that I have and so to not press on would be an insult to Him.

I pray most of your days are bright sunny laying on the beach with a drink in your hand days. When the bad ebay days do come, heed the words of Walt Disney and KEEP MOVING FORWARD.

Learning to Fly

Because I have so many children there are many times that I get so caught up in the day to day survival mode....some days its minute to minute. I often don't slow down, let alone stop to look at how much fun my life really is. Children are so full of energy and do the most amazing things, and way to frequently I forget the innocence that surrounds them and I look at the mess that was made.

We have an age range of the oldest being 13 and the youngest will turn 1 in two days. Its hard to remember the fact that they are just kids and not adults. They don't have the reasoning skills that I do. Logic isn't in their vocab, though it is my lifeline. When my 7 year old son, who the expression a bull in a china shop was written for, puts his baby sister on his shoulders, he doesn't think "this probably isn't a good idea". He thinks, "She will love this."

As I try and teach my children responsiblitly and logic, They teach me to lighten up and not be so serious. Though it stinks to clean up a 22 month old repeatly because he has gotten into the peanut butter jar that wasn't put away properly, its not the end of the world. Life will go on.......Take a picture that you can laugh at on a different day.....

Life is hard enough without worrying over the small stuff. My house will never win any awards. It is always a mess, and we are constantly just trying to keep it livable. I tell people that walk in "I'm sorry for the mess, I would tell you it will look better next time but that would be a lie" But my home is filled with blessings that most do not have.

Thank you to my 11 wonderful children who without them I wouldn't be able to Learn To Fly!!