Sunday, October 31, 2010

Today was a good day...

  I have decided that I am much too sporadic when it comes to writing blogs.  So I'm going to make an effort to be better!  Today was Halloween and we started the day off with a decision to try out a new church.  We have been going to the same church for the 3 months since we moved here and it's not that I don't love the message and the church, but I felt like we were still at square one there.  No one had introduced themselves to us or had made any effort to get to know us or our kids any better.  The decision to try a new church was met with great resistance from our kids.  They were comfortable at the other one and the poor kids move around so much that I felt bad for springing another new thing on them.  But I just felt like God has something more in store for us.  We were met at the new church with smiles and people bending over backward to help us with our kids and getting everyone situated in their classes, which is no small feat.  Then we had a great service with a pastor who talked to us about the difference between being a fan and being a true follower of Jesus.  The message struck me to my core, and I was moved in a way that I have not been moved in many, many years.  I realized that almost my whole life I have been a fan of Jesus, watching and admiring Him from afar but not really having an intimate relationship with him.  And my life and my family's life have suffered because of it.  No more-I made a commitment to really know Him.  And I felt such a peace as I left church.  Bonus-the hubby and kids liked it a lot, too!  And I think my sis liked it as well.  I am hoping to get involved in a small group and hopefully they have one for college-aged kids so Megs can get involved here and start meeting some more people.
  The rest of the day was rather uneventful-everyone took a nice nap except for my hubby who was sweet enough to go clean my car out.  Wyatt went to a costume birthday party and then the boys went trick-or-treating with David and I stayed at home with Linky and handed out candy.  The best part of the day happened when I was putting Wyatt and David to bed and reading to them.  We did a devotional on Jonah and the whale and the boys loved it.  Wyatt asked me how we know when God is talking to us.  I told him that when you ask God into your heart, that he speaks to it.  So Wyatt prayed that God would come and live in his heart.  Then he told me that he could feel his heart beating and he knew that God loves him!  It melted my heart and made me so thankful for my boys.  Then I was laying with little D and he told me that I made his heart happy!  I am just amazed with God-how he took a day like Halloween that is traditionally a pagan holiday and made it full of Him.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude and hope!  Happy Halloween everyone!


Monday, October 18, 2010

I know this to be true...

  I have a million ideas for this blog that run through my head on a daily basis, but it is harder than anything to sit down at the computer and actually write them!  As I'm writing this my sweet baby boy is pulling all of the books off of the book shelf.  *Sigh*  But actually this is perfect because it goes along with what I'm writing about today.  And that is things I have come to terms with having 4 boys (5 including my husband) in the house.  If you do not have children or have only girls, I'd highly discourage you from reading this, because it may contain some highly disturbing material.  So here they are, in no particular order of importance or nastiness.
1.)  My house is perpetually disastrous, aka messy.  Messy isn't even the right word for it, because I can deal with messy.  Unhygienic would be the word-or is that actually a word?!  I am in constant fear of the disease control coming in and declaring my house condemned.  Ok, so maybe I am exaggerating a little, but seriously.  Going into the bathrooms is like a Where's Waldo game.  Where can we find urine in here?  On the wall?  Check.  On the floor?  Check.  On the trash can?  Check.  In the toilet where it actually belongs?  Nah...
2.)  Everyone in this household will grow up with some form of hearing loss.  Between the wrestling, fighting, Wii playing, tattling, laughing, etc.  There is enough noise in my house to rival a rock concert.  Poor Lincoln (the baby) probably secretly hopes he was switched at birth.  He could possibly sleep through an Apocalypse due to the noise level he is accustomed to.
3.)  Toys are completely unnecessary, except maybe to add to the mess.  Things in the household that are apparently more fun are the trash can, toilets, household cleaning supplies, and even better, the toilet brushes used to clean the bathrooms referenced to in example one.  The more diseases or germs that you can get, the better it is.
4.)  The master bedroom will never be the love nest that gurus like Oprah, Super Nanny, and anyone else refer to.  I have never been able to rise above the crack house, mattress in the corner look.  Every time we move I have high hopes of accomplishing the serene haven that I can run to when things get crazy.  But it never happens.  All money used to possibly furnish such a haven is spent on making sure our little angels have a suitable room to trash on a daily basis.  Why?????  Our bedroom is the catch all.  Dirty and clean laundry, school papers, food, and who knows what else can be found in our bedroom.  Not to mention usually 2 of our four children will wind up in our bed during the night.  What love nest?  Which makes me wonder, how did we get 4 children in the first place?!!  But that is a completely different topic altogether...
5.)  There are a lot of wieners in my house.  And I am not talking about Oscar Mayer kind, either.  And my boys are obsessed with theirs.  So I know that that's not the PC term for them, but I find it much better sounding than the correct terminology for them.  As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, I think that that might be their favorite toy.  So disturbing.  And I have to say things to them that I never thought I would, like "get your wiener off the table" or "your brother" or other things that are completely mortifying.  And no, I'm not running a nudist colony.  They just happen to like running around naked.
6.)  Boys have an ENORMOUS appetite, and consequently we never have any food in the house.  I go to the store almost daily and spend a ton, and it is never enough.  I have been tempted to take the boys to the doctor to be tested if they have hollow legs or tape worms.  Whatever it is, I wish I had it so that I could be as skinny as them.  But I'm dreading when they are teenagers, and we have to sell our home to be able to feed them.
7.)  Boys are dirty and smelly.  5 of them in one house is exceedingly dirty and smelly.  Enough said.  See above references.
8.)  Everything in my house belongs to my kids.  I might think that it belongs to me, but once my kids get their hands on it it becomes theirs.  Like the TV, laptop, cell phone, or anything else that might be for my entertainment.  And the nicer it is, the quicker it gets broken.
9.)  I am the only person in the household capable of putting my dirty clothes in the hamper.  It must be a special gift that God only bestowed upon women, because I could literally put the hamper right next to their bed and the clothes would still end up on the floor.  No exception to this rule-not even my husband.  Why do they think it is there?  For decor???
10.)  Although my boys drive me nuts on a daily basis, they make me laugh and I wouldn't trade them for the world.  I am honored to be the mom to 4 of the most handsome, talented boys that I know.  I love them so much.  Urine, mess, and all ;).
Until next time...

Sunday, October 10, 2010

The Beginning

  When it comes to technology, I'm CLUELESS!  I would rather just forget about it than try to learn more about it.  But I've been told by numerous people that I should hop on the blogging bandwagon.  So I decided to give it a go.  I have no idea what direction this blog will take, but I'm open to suggestions.
  So, a little about me for the readers that are sure to start following this blog.  I don't know what I want to do when I grow up.  Never mind the fact that I'm already grown up.  I used to be very smart, and I used to have dreams of working in a big corporation and wearing suits and awesome shoes and living in a big city.  Living a charmed life.  Fast forward about 11 years.  I stay at home with my kids, and my daily wardrobe consists of comfy pants, a t-shirt, and my hair up in a crazy hair concoction.  My hair is in dire need of attention, since I go to the salon about once a year.  If it's a good day with the kids and I don't feel the need to drink before 10 am, I wear fancy comfy pants that don't have food, snot, or excrement on them.  I dress them up with a great piece of Stella and Dot jewelry (my newest love and, ahem, shameless plug) and rock my tennis shoes proudly.  I love fashion, though, and dream about the day that I can wear something in style and fab for 5 minutes without getting kid crud all over them.  I now have the attention span of a nap-deprived two-year-old.  I'm in the midst of reading 5 self help books and I never seem to finish them.  I'm extremely self-critical, so I'm a master at self-deprecating humor.  I'm also extremely sarcastic, love to laugh, and find a good cup of coffee or wine and a good (non-self help) book to be a little slice of heaven.
  I also love my family.  I have a great husband whose career keeps us flitting around the world, and I have 4 adorable, slightly crazy boys who make me insane on a daily basis but also fill my life with laughter.  I love God and I thank Him for his grace and faith in me and hope that I can figure out my life calling and make Him and my boys proud.   Although I am honored and grateful to be a stay-at-home mom, I find it to be a little mind numbing at times. I feel something is missing, and I need to be contributing something else to this world.  I'm hoping that this blog starts me on the right path.  I'm extremely real about my life.  My life is far from perfect, and I embrace that.  I hope that by my telling things how they really are and not sugar coating them, I'll free other people to embrace their imperfections and learn to laugh about them.
  Anyway, my hope is that this blog will be full of musing about life and motherhood, and full of humor and hope for all the other imperfect mommies out there.  Wish me luck!!