Priorities

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you haven't gotten anything done - one of those days where a little one is very needy?  Today is one of those days.  I have to keep in mind that I am doing my job.  My job today is holding a baby with 102 degree fever who really wants her Mommy.  That's first on my to-do list - top priority.  And second on my list is coaching the other kids from the sidelines.  That's one of the blessings of being home with my kids.  She just alternates between nursing and sleeping and I do my job for today. Pretty much everything else will be wiped off my list - or at least postponed until another day.  It's kind of like a traditional job when some sudden and urgent task arises and everything else gets pushed to the sidelines.

I remember the days when I would feel guilty about sitting here all day.  I would feel guilty that my to-do list wasn't being accomplished.  And, honestly, even now, there is an niggling thought in the back of my mind that I could be doing something else if I could just lay her down or pass her off.  But today I know I'm doing what is most important.  Everything else can wait.

And, thankfully, I have bigger kids that will help me keep everything (just barely) under control. They are happy to help when I ask.  And, when Rebekah is bored, she makes cookies.  What could be better than that?

The Joys of Homeschooling

Homeschooling is such a blessing.  I love it (usually)!  One of the great things about homeschooling is that it doesn't have to look anything like traditional schooling.  And, some days look more untraditional than others.  

Lucas pierced his ear.  OK, he didn't really.  It's held on with scotch tape.  But, what can we label this class as?  Career preparation?  No, hopefully he won't really be into body piercing :)

Rebekah was working on science and her favorite munchkin wanted to be held.  So, she strapped her on with a Maya Wrap and continued her work.  Arianah stayed there happily for a long time.  So, I guess she gets credit for science and mother in training.

Elijah spent part of the morning running around practicing with the nerf gun.  I'm thinking that counts as PE.

Lucas is climbing the doorway.  That has to count as PE, too.

Hannah was helping me put the dewey decimal labels on the school books.  That's gotta count for something.  And, yes, she is doing school in her PJs.  That's another benefit of homeschooling.  At least that's what I hear from the children.

Now Elijah is doing science.  The rain brought the worms onto the patio.  Rebekah mentioned that if you cut a worm in half, you'll get two live worms.  So ... he did!  Typical boy.

Stay tuned.  I'm sure we'll have another untraditional day of school sooner or later.

Never a Dull Moment With Elijah

There's never a dull moment in this house.  A few weeks ago, Daddy was out on the trampoline with the little guys.  They were all having a great time ... until Elijah's mouth met with Hannah's knee.  His front four teeth are fake and he hit hard enough to jam those teeth into his gums and shove them off to the side.  Daddy tried to straighten them out, but he couldn't do it very well.  So, we had to take Elijah to the dentist.  The appliance was so out of shape, the dentist was actually worried about Hannah's knee!  They removed his appliance so they could have a new one made.

We were having devotions a couple of weeks ago and Elijah disappeared from the room.  I asked where he was and we called him back into the room.  I figured he had just walked out to find something more interesting for a three year old.  He came in and I said "What did you do to your hair?"  He said his hair was "wood" (as he grabbed the dirty part in the back) and he cut it.  Of course, being three, he didn't have the dexterity to cut the back, so he cut it front and center.

Jim consented to me cutting his hair to make it almost even.  And a couple of days ago, the dentist put Elijah's new teeth in.  So, he's back in business.

God Is in Control

God is in control.  That’s something we all know in our head.  But in our heart and actions, it’s not always so easy.  It’s one thing to say that God is in control of my life, but it’s often a totally different story to completely turn my life over to Him.  Oh sure, I’ll give him this little part or that little part.  But I want to be in charge of the most important things. 

Jim and I had our family all planned out.  We were out of debt except for a mortgage.  We knew that we could live on Jim’s salary even if it was a struggle.  And it was time to get pregnant.  In other words, we were in control.

I quit working and we had Justin, our first baby.  Everything was going just as we planned.  Then came the recession of the early 90s.  Work at Jim’s job was getting slower and slower.  But there was no doubt in either of our minds that we didn’t want to stop at just one child.  So, even though Jim was barely working, we decided to get pregnant again.  I knew in my head that God could take care of finances and He would provide our needs even with one more baby.  So, we went ahead and had Jessikah - baby #2.  

And, God did take care of us.  Over the next couple of years, Jim lost his job, we lost our house to foreclosure and we filed for bankruptcy, but God always provided our needs.  So, after Jim found a job, I thought I’d really go out on a limb and ask Jim, not God, for just one more baby.  Jim agreed, but this time with the qualification that he didn’t have to change diapers.  (He thinks that deal still stands, even though I tell him that was only for baby #3.)  This time I didn’t get pregnant quite so easily.  It took 5 months and each month I was frustrated and sad when I found I wasn’t pregnant.  But I did finally get pregnant and with that pregnancy, received many nasty comments about being pregnant again.  After all, I had a boy and a girl, what more did I want?

When Rebekah was about 2 ½ years old, Jim started talking about getting a vasectomy.  Although I would happily have had more kids, I was fine with the idea.  So he went ahead and had a consultation and made an appointment for the surgery.  An hour before his appointment he said he wasn’t sure and I told him that this was something he really needed to be 100% sure about.  So he cancelled his appointment.  When I asked him what if we got pregnant, he said “If we get pregnant, we get pregnant.”  I think this was our first tiny step in turning our family planning over to God.

And, the next month I found out I was pregnant.  I cried for an hour when I saw that pink line.  I think I was mostly worried about the stress that another baby would place on Jim, but he seemed to be over it by then.  So, we happily had Hannah, baby #4. 

If any of our children were going to deter us from having more, Hannah would be the one!  She was strong willed and exhausting.  But by then we were starting to discuss the idea of putting God in charge of our family. 

Three years after Hannah was born, along came Lucas – our smiling ray of sunshine.  After he was born, we prayerfully came to the decision that we would leave God in charge of our family.  After all, who could plan our family better than Him?  Of all the things in this world, children are the ones that have eternal value.  Nothing is more important to our Father than His children. 

When Lucas was a little over a year old, we found out we were pregnant with number 6.  We were so excited.  With our planning, babies never came this close together (These would be almost exactly 2 years apart.)  At 10 weeks, we had a scare when I started bleeding slightly.  But the bleeding soon stopped.  However, 2 weeks later I started bleeding again and this time it didn’t stop.  At first I was in shock.  How could I be miscarrying?  I had sailed through 5 pregnancies without any problems and even more importantly in my mind; we had turned our fertility over to God!  I was forgetting that this meant I was no longer in charge.

But, since God saw fit that this baby wouldn't live, I prayed for 3 things.  One was
that the miscarriage wouldn't be too painful, physically.  Two was that I
would be able to see the baby.  Three was that I wouldn't need any medical
intervention other than the guidance of my wonderful midwife.  I had had 5 babies at home and I certainly didn’t want to go to the hospital for this one. 

And God, in His mercy, answered each one of those prayers.  I had only minor cramping.  I delivered what appeared to be a perfectly formed baby complete with umbilical cord and placenta.  He was only about 1 ½ inches long.  We got a chance to hold him.  The kids also got to see this tiny little miracle of life.  And as I struggled through the lonely grief of losing my baby I realized that letting God plan our family wasn’t always as simple as accepting babies when they come.  It also includes accepting when we don’t get to keep those babies.

Three months later, we were pregnant with Baby #6, Elijah.  And once again God saw (and continues to see) me through the complete exhaustion of raising a strong willed child.  And, for now, he is a great source of entertainment for all of us.

Less than two years after Elijah’s birth, I was pregnant once again.  But sadly, we lost that baby, too.  I miscarried at 6 weeks.  As I mourned this baby I was really questioning this whole “God planning the family” idea.  But I knew in my heart that God has everything under control. 

Three months later I was pregnant again.  And just over a year ago, we were blessed with Arianah – baby 7 of 9.  What a sweet blessing she is.  The other kids still fight over playing with her.  And even Justin, our 18 year old, who acted very disappointed at the prospect of yet another sibling, loves that baby sister and loves that she loves him.

So, are we done?  I don’t know.  At my age, I might have to accept that I won’t be having any more babies.  And I leave that entirely in God’s hands.  

Strong Willed Child

My musings for the day.  When my firstborn was a preschooler, I was under the very mistaken impression that I had a strong willed child.  I guess it's just because it's hard being a mom - especially a first time mom.  So, I thought I had it hard.  I did start to realize, however, that he wasn't really strong willed.  He just had a mind of his own.

Now, when my fourth child (who shall remain nameless, but her name is spelled H-A-N-N-A-H) was born, I found out what a strong willed child really is.  She defied me over and over again, even as a baby.  I could go on and on about her strong willed tendencies, but that is not the point of today's musings.  Let's just say discipline was never-ending and thoroughly exhausting.  But I knew I had to be consistent because that is the number one key to discipline.  For years she completely exhausted me.  Then, I remember, at about age 3 1/2 I realized that our discipline was paying off.  I could actually turn my back on her, or (gasp!) let someone else watch her without thinking she was gouing to destroy the world.  I could actually see how her strong willed tendencies could be personality strengths if used in the right way.  (And I see that even more today.)

Fast forward to child #6 (who shall also remain nameless, but his name is spelled E-L-I-J-A-H).   God blessed me with another strong willed child.  Whew!  God must have a lot of faith in me. Either that or He knows I have to rely on him more when I have a strong willed child.  But this cute little guy is pretty much a repeat of Hannah, although very slightly less extreme.  One of the things I regularly tell him is, "You are not in charge."  And very slowly he is understanding that concept.  

But see, this is what brought up these musings in the first place.  He is 3 1/2.  And I finally feel like I can have fun with and enjoy him as much or more than I discipline him.  3 1/2 years of consistent (well, mostly consistent) discipline and follow-through have finally paid off.  I sent him off fishing with Uncle Taco, Hannah and Lucas and I don't have to worry that he will be (very) defiant or fall off the end of the pier.  

So, I'm figuring that's the formula.  For a strong willed child, 3 1/2 years of consistent discipline and follow through and then I can finally take a deep breath and enjoy the fruit of my labor.  Of course, now that I've put that in writing, God will probably send me another blessing to blow that formula out of the water!

Some Things Never Get Old

What is it about a baby learning to walk that makes everyone stop and watch?  It's like we can't control ourselves. If she starts walking, we stop what we're doing and watch her.  She's really good at it now, too. She makes tight turns without falling down.  And she chooses walking over crawling. God's little creations are amazing.

There's Nothing Quite Like a 3 Year Old

I'm telling you, there is nothing quite as entertaining as a preschooler!  Elijah has been cracking me up lately.  Every day he says something that I should write down, but don't.  The last couple of days I have remembered to write some things down.  

Yesterday we were taking a walk to the park and Elijah said “You know what Aria-ranah telled me?  She telled me she wants a baby brother just like she’s a baby.  She telled me that last night.”  Hmmm… comments like that always make me wonder, though.  Does he know something I don’t know?

Today, he brought a little cardboard bee model to Rebekah.  She was going to help him put it together.  He had already punched out the pieces.  He handed it to her and said, “Here, Rebekah, I can’t do the deck-sa-rations.”

A couple weeks ago he was laying on the bed looking at my ceiling fan and said “I was a fan when I was a baby.” 

You just never know what's going to come out of that boy's mouth.  But I'm always curious to see what comes next.