Tonight after dinner, Emily and I were going over her scripture memory verse for the week. "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you." We repeat each section over and over then string it all together. Well, when repeating "and I will bless you", Emily stopped thoughtfully and said (stretching her head forward and using finger movements for articulate emphasis)...
"Mom, it kinda sounds like 'bleshoo' after someone sneezes, except this is 'Bless. You.'"
Oh Em....
Its just. Tough.
I don't really consider 6 kids to be a big family. Some do. I don't. Not really. Not when I know several families through adoption and/or DS communities that have 10+.
On a side note, its ironic to me that the Duggars with their 19 kids (and counting) on TLC are so popular but the average child(ren) per household is what? 1.2? Hm.
Anyway, I have people tell me all the time "I don't know how you do it." Which strikes me kind of funny because I look at families with 13 children and think, "I don't know how they do it."
But really, I just think the Lord gives you the grace for the family that He's given you. Sometimes its equally as hard with one as it is with six.
Case in point. Last night Jake had a couple of friends over and offered to feed the kids and put them to bed so I could get out of the house. (Yes, I told you before- I married superman.) But with Kate still nursing, its a given that she goes where I go. And where I went was out to dinner with my mom.
We went to Wild Ginger. It was the first time I'd eaten there and the filet mignon sushi rocked my socks off, if you must know. So there we are, my mom, Kate and I at this nice restaurant. My sweet little baby girl all snuggly in her carrier, suddenly makes a horrific face, followed by a horrific smell. Great.
Then I scoop her up, and go to grab one diaper and the wipes out of my bag (so as not to lug the whole, big, unnecessary bag across the restaurant). Diaper? Check. And as I fish around for the wipes I have this flashback- like in a movie- of myself yelling out to one of the kids, "Grab me some wipes, please!" The voice calls back, "Where mom?" "The diaper bag!" <--- fatal mistake. Sooo... no wipes in the bag. Great. But I think, its okay, I'll wet some papertowels and make it work.
So I head off to the restroom. To which I find no changing station. Are you kidding me??? Now, sometimes I just change my babies on my lap. But this is a full on, new born poop explosion. The creating-a-yellow-circle-stain-in-the-middle-of-the-back-of-her-onsie kind. The can't-pull-the-onsie-off-over-her-head-because-it-would-get-in-her-hair kind. Ok, you get the point.
I took Kate back out to the table (growing yellow circle on the back and all) and hand her to my mom. Then I went back to the bathroom, wet several papertowels, and shoved them into a plastic ziploc baggy I happened to have in my bag. Meanwhile cute 20-something girls in skinny jeans and stilettos are touching up their lipstick in the mirror and looking at me like... well, the weirdo that I was, shoving wet papertowels into a ziploc bag.
My only option was to take her out to the car to change her. But don't think it didn't cross my mind to just change her right there on their booth for all the world to see. Maybe then they'll put a changing station in the restroom, I thought.
Anyway, I did the best I could, came back in and carried on with dinner. We lived. But the point of all of this is to say- that little adventure was with one baby. Not six kids. And it occurred to me that craziness doesn't come from the multitude, it comes from parenthood. PERIOD. The multitude just multiplies it. ;)
So you moms out there with 1 little one or 20. Keep on keepin' on. We're all in this together.
On a side note, its ironic to me that the Duggars with their 19 kids (and counting) on TLC are so popular but the average child(ren) per household is what? 1.2? Hm.
Anyway, I have people tell me all the time "I don't know how you do it." Which strikes me kind of funny because I look at families with 13 children and think, "I don't know how they do it."
But really, I just think the Lord gives you the grace for the family that He's given you. Sometimes its equally as hard with one as it is with six.
Case in point. Last night Jake had a couple of friends over and offered to feed the kids and put them to bed so I could get out of the house. (Yes, I told you before- I married superman.) But with Kate still nursing, its a given that she goes where I go. And where I went was out to dinner with my mom.
We went to Wild Ginger. It was the first time I'd eaten there and the filet mignon sushi rocked my socks off, if you must know. So there we are, my mom, Kate and I at this nice restaurant. My sweet little baby girl all snuggly in her carrier, suddenly makes a horrific face, followed by a horrific smell. Great.
Then I scoop her up, and go to grab one diaper and the wipes out of my bag (so as not to lug the whole, big, unnecessary bag across the restaurant). Diaper? Check. And as I fish around for the wipes I have this flashback- like in a movie- of myself yelling out to one of the kids, "Grab me some wipes, please!" The voice calls back, "Where mom?" "The diaper bag!" <--- fatal mistake. Sooo... no wipes in the bag. Great. But I think, its okay, I'll wet some papertowels and make it work.
So I head off to the restroom. To which I find no changing station. Are you kidding me??? Now, sometimes I just change my babies on my lap. But this is a full on, new born poop explosion. The creating-a-yellow-circle-stain-in-the-middle-of-the-back-of-her-onsie kind. The can't-pull-the-onsie-off-over-her-head-because-it-would-get-in-her-hair kind. Ok, you get the point.
I took Kate back out to the table (growing yellow circle on the back and all) and hand her to my mom. Then I went back to the bathroom, wet several papertowels, and shoved them into a plastic ziploc baggy I happened to have in my bag. Meanwhile cute 20-something girls in skinny jeans and stilettos are touching up their lipstick in the mirror and looking at me like... well, the weirdo that I was, shoving wet papertowels into a ziploc bag.
My only option was to take her out to the car to change her. But don't think it didn't cross my mind to just change her right there on their booth for all the world to see. Maybe then they'll put a changing station in the restroom, I thought.
Anyway, I did the best I could, came back in and carried on with dinner. We lived. But the point of all of this is to say- that little adventure was with one baby. Not six kids. And it occurred to me that craziness doesn't come from the multitude, it comes from parenthood. PERIOD. The multitude just multiplies it. ;)
So you moms out there with 1 little one or 20. Keep on keepin' on. We're all in this together.
Still grateful
The other night I was standing at my kitchen sink doing the dishes. I chore I dread yet somehow I tend to have my deepest thoughts and prayer times there.
I was thinking about and praying for some of my friends that are in the adoption process and remembering all too well the pain of the wait... and more specifically recalling how anxious I was over raising the funds. Jake had so much peace about that part of it, but it really stressed me out. How in the world does one raise over $24,000? In a matter of months no less? Well, let me tell you, "one" doesn't. The Lord does. And I can't speak for others that have raised money to bring their children home, and maybe this is wrong of me (It feels wrong and I feel guilty about this for some reason. Don't judge me.) but I can still remember the name of almost every person that donated. I think its because as the money came in, I was so... shocked... and so grateful. I felt like I was literally, tangibly watching people be Christ to me. An email would come in from Paypal saying so-and-so donated x amt of dollars. !!! SERIOUSLY?! And oh that humbling feeling. Its that same feeling when your friends gather around and lay hands to pray for you. You know you need it, and you're so humbled, but you're so grateful and receive it with an open, needy heart. Whew. Humility. (And I think I feel guilty because financial stuff always feels so "worldly". Like I should still remember every person who prayed for us as well. And I do remember many of those people, but when you're looking at a screen of email after email of people who gave out of their personal resources. Wow.)
But the reason for this post tonight is: I really want those people to know... you know who you are if you're reading this. I sit here, over 2 years after that process, still grateful from the bottom of my heart... to you. Thank you for giving. Thank you for being the church to us. Every bit of that money was raised, and much more. I'm still in awe. Thank you. You were and are a part of Micah's redemption story.
I was thinking about and praying for some of my friends that are in the adoption process and remembering all too well the pain of the wait... and more specifically recalling how anxious I was over raising the funds. Jake had so much peace about that part of it, but it really stressed me out. How in the world does one raise over $24,000? In a matter of months no less? Well, let me tell you, "one" doesn't. The Lord does. And I can't speak for others that have raised money to bring their children home, and maybe this is wrong of me (It feels wrong and I feel guilty about this for some reason. Don't judge me.) but I can still remember the name of almost every person that donated. I think its because as the money came in, I was so... shocked... and so grateful. I felt like I was literally, tangibly watching people be Christ to me. An email would come in from Paypal saying so-and-so donated x amt of dollars. !!! SERIOUSLY?! And oh that humbling feeling. Its that same feeling when your friends gather around and lay hands to pray for you. You know you need it, and you're so humbled, but you're so grateful and receive it with an open, needy heart. Whew. Humility. (And I think I feel guilty because financial stuff always feels so "worldly". Like I should still remember every person who prayed for us as well. And I do remember many of those people, but when you're looking at a screen of email after email of people who gave out of their personal resources. Wow.)
But the reason for this post tonight is: I really want those people to know... you know who you are if you're reading this. I sit here, over 2 years after that process, still grateful from the bottom of my heart... to you. Thank you for giving. Thank you for being the church to us. Every bit of that money was raised, and much more. I'm still in awe. Thank you. You were and are a part of Micah's redemption story.
Gum
Its a good thing Emily's not allergic to peanuts. Because tonight I had to slather her hair, neck and chest in peanut butter to remove the abundance of dried gum.
Yes, peanut butter gets gum out of hair and it works like a charm.
Yes, Emily had THAT much dried gum in her hair and on her body that I had to cover her in it and SCRUB. HARD.
Yes, she woke up like that this morning with no time to "fix" the problem or she'd be late for school, so she spent the day covered in dried gum. (Can you imagine walking around with a sticky neck all day? Yuck.)
No, I don't really know how she got this covered. Except that she must have fallen asleep chewing it.
No, I don't ALLOW my kids to chew gum at bedtime. (Nor that much gum... ever.)
Yes, the gumball machine she got from her Papaw had to be taken away.
Hopefully she's learned her lesson.
Oh Emily. I think even if I just had her, it would be enough to blog about for years.
Yes, peanut butter gets gum out of hair and it works like a charm.
Yes, Emily had THAT much dried gum in her hair and on her body that I had to cover her in it and SCRUB. HARD.
Yes, she woke up like that this morning with no time to "fix" the problem or she'd be late for school, so she spent the day covered in dried gum. (Can you imagine walking around with a sticky neck all day? Yuck.)
No, I don't really know how she got this covered. Except that she must have fallen asleep chewing it.
No, I don't ALLOW my kids to chew gum at bedtime. (Nor that much gum... ever.)
Yes, the gumball machine she got from her Papaw had to be taken away.
Hopefully she's learned her lesson.
Oh Emily. I think even if I just had her, it would be enough to blog about for years.
Mermaidia
What do you do when you've just moved into a new house, your husband is gone for the week, two of your kids are at their grandparents', and its too hot to go outside with the little ones? Why, decorate of course!!!
Next, I took the swatches from that paint and headed to Joanns. I got 4 different fabrics in those shades that I thought would keep with the feminine, whimsical, beachy look. I made a curtain, 4 throw pillows and a lamp shade. My grandmother came over and taught me how to make a ruffle and I love the way it all turned out! I'm so proud! :D
I made two pillows solid, and two pillows with four squares.
I already had a bunch of mason jars for the seashells. And already had some shelves...
I love love love the way this room turned out. The girls loved it, its functional, its CLEAN and organized (for now anyway ;)) and it feels so good to have at least one room of the house finished. The girls have dubbed it "Mermaidia" haha!
I found some string lights that look like starfish and match the color of my mermaids hair perfectly. I get really excited over little details like that. :)
While Jake was in the Dominican Republic, he bought the girls a painting for their room... its an underwater scene with a whale and fish and coral... its beautiful! It totally fits the theme and now they have something super cool from the D.R. so once I get it matted and framed, it'll replace the cork board.
Even Kit and Josefina are happy with the new room so ya know... mission accomplished. ;)
**Big sigh** One bedroom down, 4 more to go!
And how do you decorate when you have a very limited budget to work with? Buy paint and fabric, and make the most of it! I'm so proud of myself! It was a surprise for the girls and I had so much fun doing it.
From the time that we first decided to move and the girls' knew they'd have their own room (as in, not with babies) they said they wanted a "beach" themed room. Ashley has this obsession with seashells (and rocks... but... whatever) so I thought a beach themed room would be perfect for displaying her seashell treasures.
So when we had the house painted, the "big girls' room" got painted a soft shade of aqua.
And the week they were out of my hair the house seemed the perfect time to decorate.
But ya know, beach theme can go about a bzillion different directions. It can be bright and colorful or you could do a palate of whites and light turquoises. It can be hawaiian or it can be sort of nautical. But mostly, beach themed kids rooms can get cheesy and cheep looking really easily. Yuck. So I went to my favoritest inspiration, the Pottery Barn Kids website. ;) And they had all of this super cute summer stuff, but my favorite thing were some whimsical mermaid decals. TOO cute.
So this became the inspiration for the room. More of a feminine, whimsical, underwater vibe, with a pink and aqua palate. PERFECT.
But I sure didn't want to spend the $$ on any of the stuff from PBK. So I took one of the mermaids and traced it (on the screen of my laptop, lol!). Then I did the little trick where you make a grid on the paper and a grid on the wall and draw one square at a time on the wall. Then I got some of those little $3 cans of paint from Lowes and painted it in. Voila, an entire wall filled with a beautiful blond mermaid for just $12! Whoo hoo!!!
I actually changed her up a little from the one on the decals. I changed her tail to be stripes, and I made her eye a closed lid instead of a big dot. And I gave her a fully covered bodice instead of a midriff. :)
So this became the inspiration for the room. More of a feminine, whimsical, underwater vibe, with a pink and aqua palate. PERFECT.
But I sure didn't want to spend the $$ on any of the stuff from PBK. So I took one of the mermaids and traced it (on the screen of my laptop, lol!). Then I did the little trick where you make a grid on the paper and a grid on the wall and draw one square at a time on the wall. Then I got some of those little $3 cans of paint from Lowes and painted it in. Voila, an entire wall filled with a beautiful blond mermaid for just $12! Whoo hoo!!!
I actually changed her up a little from the one on the decals. I changed her tail to be stripes, and I made her eye a closed lid instead of a big dot. And I gave her a fully covered bodice instead of a midriff. :)
Next, I took the swatches from that paint and headed to Joanns. I got 4 different fabrics in those shades that I thought would keep with the feminine, whimsical, beachy look. I made a curtain, 4 throw pillows and a lamp shade. My grandmother came over and taught me how to make a ruffle and I love the way it all turned out! I'm so proud! :D
I made two pillows solid, and two pillows with four squares.
I already had a bunch of mason jars for the seashells. And already had some shelves...
I love love love the way this room turned out. The girls loved it, its functional, its CLEAN and organized (for now anyway ;)) and it feels so good to have at least one room of the house finished. The girls have dubbed it "Mermaidia" haha!
I found some string lights that look like starfish and match the color of my mermaids hair perfectly. I get really excited over little details like that. :)
While Jake was in the Dominican Republic, he bought the girls a painting for their room... its an underwater scene with a whale and fish and coral... its beautiful! It totally fits the theme and now they have something super cool from the D.R. so once I get it matted and framed, it'll replace the cork board.
Even Kit and Josefina are happy with the new room so ya know... mission accomplished. ;)
**Big sigh** One bedroom down, 4 more to go!
Beyond burdened... breaking...
This is the last thing I should be doing right now (blogging) but my heart is so heavy, I feel like its sunken down to the pit of my stomach and is making me sick. And I have to get this out...
On the surface, my day looks like this:
I woke up this morning and nursed my baby. I got myself ready, came downstairs, got my 1st and 2nd grader dressed, fed, and hair fixed. I packed up backpacks and met 2 other moms in the driveway for our morning carpool. After my husband drove all those kids away, I came back inside and got the next 3 kids dressed and fed. Then I loaded all 4 in the car to take Micah to school, only to realize my stroller was in the suburban with Jake. And I cannot take 3 "hand holders" and a baby carrier across a parking lot and into a busy school... without my stroller. It physically cannot be done. So I called my grandfather to meet me at the school and sit with the 3 girls while I took Micah in and got him settled into his classroom.
Now I need to take the girls 30 minutes out to the church, where Jake is, so that I can get the stroller out of the suburban. So that I CAN take my stroller and children into the school to pick him up at noon.
Then I'll bring them all home, feed them lunch and lay them down while my grandfather (the superhero) sits here with them during naptime so I can run over to Abby's school and have the big IEP meeting. Then I'll come home, get the kids up, Ashley and Emily will get home from school, I'll start dinner, feed them all, do homework with the big girls, bathe the little ones and put them all to bed. Then I'll sit on the couch and wait for my husband to get home from youth group so I can hear about his day.
So.
Why, in the midst of this day, is my heart so burdened? Because right now, on the other side of the world, there's a little 11 year old girl with Down Syndrome. She does not have a family because she has Down Syndrome. And she's wasting away at a mere 10 lbs. Unless someone saves her. I know that I cannot. But who will? Most people won't even look at her profile. Most people feel helpless so they don't even look.
And the ONLY thing I can think of are these words "If Jesus is the answer, and Jesus lives in us, doesn't that mean that WE are the answer?" Over and over these words repeat in my head.
So there she sits. If she's still alive as I type this.
On the surface, my day looks like this:
I woke up this morning and nursed my baby. I got myself ready, came downstairs, got my 1st and 2nd grader dressed, fed, and hair fixed. I packed up backpacks and met 2 other moms in the driveway for our morning carpool. After my husband drove all those kids away, I came back inside and got the next 3 kids dressed and fed. Then I loaded all 4 in the car to take Micah to school, only to realize my stroller was in the suburban with Jake. And I cannot take 3 "hand holders" and a baby carrier across a parking lot and into a busy school... without my stroller. It physically cannot be done. So I called my grandfather to meet me at the school and sit with the 3 girls while I took Micah in and got him settled into his classroom.
Now I need to take the girls 30 minutes out to the church, where Jake is, so that I can get the stroller out of the suburban. So that I CAN take my stroller and children into the school to pick him up at noon.
Then I'll bring them all home, feed them lunch and lay them down while my grandfather (the superhero) sits here with them during naptime so I can run over to Abby's school and have the big IEP meeting. Then I'll come home, get the kids up, Ashley and Emily will get home from school, I'll start dinner, feed them all, do homework with the big girls, bathe the little ones and put them all to bed. Then I'll sit on the couch and wait for my husband to get home from youth group so I can hear about his day.
So.
Why, in the midst of this day, is my heart so burdened? Because right now, on the other side of the world, there's a little 11 year old girl with Down Syndrome. She does not have a family because she has Down Syndrome. And she's wasting away at a mere 10 lbs. Unless someone saves her. I know that I cannot. But who will? Most people won't even look at her profile. Most people feel helpless so they don't even look.
And the ONLY thing I can think of are these words "If Jesus is the answer, and Jesus lives in us, doesn't that mean that WE are the answer?" Over and over these words repeat in my head.
So there she sits. If she's still alive as I type this.
And I will go pick up my stroller and get my son from school. I'll go on with my day. I'll click seat belts through my kids' chubby little legs and be reminded that there is a girl who's leg is no thicker than one of my finders.
God please.... God please....
I have no more words.
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