Mosey's Days: children are a blessing

Last night I had this "brilliant" idea...

I thought, hey I should journal as I go through a day again, it's been a while.

I took Iphone pictures as I went through our day
(sorry for the fuzzy pictures, but it's easier and less obvious to tote around)
I also kept this blog post open all day, I wrote as I had time to sit down and jot my thoughts...

A Tuesday in our lives:

7ish am:

I lay in bed, snuggled into my fuzzy warm sheets my sweet baby girl breathing deeply on my chest. I cozy myself in a bit more... This is it, the only moment in my day that will be silent.

I cherish it... I spend this time thinking through deep and treasured things.

I breath deep of her hair again and burning love wells up in my heart so much so that tears spring to my

eyes. I am SO thankful for my Lydia, so beyond treasured to my heart is my precious Princess Sunshine. For she does, bring sunshine into my every moment in a way only she could!

She is mine, and she has started into her first brush with separation anxiety, I savor it, gobble it up every moment of this knowing... She is truly wholly and completely bonded to her mommy, me.

7:21:

I hear singing down the hall and moments later Evie joins us in bed, I smile, kiss her good morning and tell her to snuggle in quietly, moments later Carter J arrives, I smile to greet him as well; and the day has officially begun. Carter wakes up with a "high engine" going at FULL steam, he's ready for more of a wrestling match than a snuggle. I attempt to keep things calm in my now crowded bed and slight breezes of cold air are bursting into my once quiet nest of solitude... I give up and get up for the day a few moments later. I'm not a morning person so as I'm rising I am praying, okay BEGGING the Lord to give me a good attitude to be a gentle and loving mommy today demonstrating His love to these 6 kiddos.

By 7:45am

I find myself standing in the COLD kitchen, I can't get a shower yet because only the younger 3 are up and hubby is already gone for his mens bible study. I'll have to wait, and I feel grumpiness tugging at me. I don't want to talk to anyone and one of my children starts talking the moment she rises and doesn't stop until she goes to bed!

I decide I am going to be BAD and have a mug of chai, but then it happens, my favorite mug is dirty because the child in charge of kitchen duty didn't complete his chores last night.

I stomp into my laundry room close the door and throw a silent tantrum... It's a big one...

"is it to much to ask," I think... "to have MY red mug clean?!" Then I glance up and notice my sign:

"Lord give me the patience to endure my blessings"

I smile to myself, blessings, that is exactly what they are... Grace... give grace.

I CAN wash a cup, I reenter the kitchen with a bit of perspective.

by 8:15

I am sitting at the table while Lydi munches a banana with a mug of chai in my hands to fend off the cold, I glance out at the chilly still morning and it's there, that sign that is the theme of my life:

"Bloom where you are planted"

I smile in my heart

I CAN do this day through the Lord's strength.

I set the timer for Carter J and tell him he has 15 minutes to finish the coloring he is working on and then he needs to start his schedule

8:30am:

hubby arrives back home and allows me to get my shower, I turn on worship music on my Iphone and step into a stream of water that could cook a lobster!

I praise the Lord for His faithfulness, I relish in the song that is playing

"yet I will praise"

8:45-9am:

I am pleasantly surprised that hubby had the kids get going on chores while I was showering, we wave goodbye to hubby and the kids finish up the last bits of those chores not finished, moments later

the young lady that comes once a week to do OT at home with Carter J arrives.

I am BEYOND thankful for this setup, she comes and I teach her everything I know and she takes Carter for an hour and works with him giving him a good hard workout in the sensory room.

This frees me up to write on my blog and do laundry and such for an hour!

He adores her, although often has trouble transitioning into doing what is expected, I often have to help her get him in there, but then I can get to doing other things.

I will cherish every single second she is here, I could never say how much.

and right after that we get our Tuesday morning visit with Grandpa, after he leaves

I cave and let Evie watch a short 30min movie during this time so that Carter can get 100% of the OT time attention today. Taye is drawing, the older two boys are playing with Lydia.

10:00am:

I attempt to start school with Taye, however I quickly discover that his engine is WAY to high, so we break and do some climbing through the cloud (this task is REALLY hard for him with his praxis issues, but he completes it) I get him some mouth tools and he does P.A.C.E.

Unfortunately now I have to step away to work with Carter who is having a meltdown.

10:37:

it was a BIG meltdown, (can't say how hard these are on my mommy heart) but he is done now, and is more regulated after some time snuggling under a weighted blanket. He heads to the kitchen for snack but is still very stuck on drawing the picture he started first thing this morning.

Taye and I sit down to school again, the older boys are reading joke books, Lydia is napping and Evie is having snack with Carter J.

11:15:

I've navigated snack time, moved laundry, helped Jaden get going on school and chatted on the phone with my mom for a few minutes. (I really have no clue how I'd survive without her support via phone daily! My mom is incredible) Lydia is up, having a bottle, I have the boys put on a praise baby so that we have worship music going... I've been cold from the get go and I'm sick of it, starting a fire! Taye and Caleb are playing for a bit, pillow fight war I think.

11:30am:

Our AMAZING piano teacher arrives and Caleb starts his lesson, Jaden finished a lesson so I set him up helping Evie with her preschool workbook, Lydi doesn't want to be put down (remember that separation anxiety) I try to get Carter going on his math, but he runs and hides in a quiet space, I set the timer for him for five minutes, when it beeps he comes out. In the midst of all this I realize I forgot to eat anything this morning, so I'm trying to shovel in some granola as fast as I can! Taye is continuing his free time in his room for a bit.

12:40:

I'm loosing steam now... I knew I would by this point! (I'd love a nap) Carter J has completed math and done his craft time, Taye had his piano lesson, Jaden made lunch for the kids today. I've folded and put away a load of laundry and started the next. Handled a few heart issues with kids and I'm sitting down with a very clingy baby girl snuggled against my chest hoping she might nod off for a short nap here soon. I have sat down 2 times now trying to finish the reading I'm supposed to do for a book study meeting TONIGHT, I never make it more than a few sentences and am reminded of one of the reasons I left our women's study at church. I still have the rest of everyone's school to go, more laundry, need to get dinner ready and spend some time on the floor in the girls room playing with them, this is the point in the day I almost always feel overwhelmed and Carter is heading into another meltdown because he can't let it go that he bumped his hand earlier today... I will close my eyes, and remember, "bloom where you are planted and extend them grace, thank you Lord for extending me grace that though I am flawed, though I want nothing more than to lay in bed with silence at this moment I will trust in You to carry me through."

1:45:

Lydi is napping, I've had a few moments to pray. Taye has been working on phonics, Caleb completed his school, Jaden is reading quietly and Evie and I read several books.

Oh and for fun, a challenge for you, I can read "fox in socks" in 5 minutes with only two mistakes AND do all the voices, can you beat my time?! hahaha (I had Caleb time me!)

Evie is now drawing, and it's time for me to work on pealing Carter away from his art because I just realized that we skipped sweeping on his schedule.

2:11:

EEEEEK! I knew there was a good reason for journaling this crazy day! EVIE JUST READ her first two words EVER! Mat sat... I'm SO excited! Good girl!

Still trying to redirect Carter from art... ugh...

Taye jumped on the trampoline, and read a book aloud to Evie as well (to practice his reading aloud)

Caleb is doing dishes and Jaden is snuggling with Lydia.

Evie of course had to call Granmama and Grandpa to tell them she read!! She's so excited... I am too!

These are the moments that make me ADORE homeschooling my kids.

2:30:

OT break in the afternoon, ALL the kids need some tumbling time.

3:20:

Got Carter back on track on schedule, read several books with Taye, Carter and Evie while the older boys wrestled. Lydia playing on the floor beside me. I adore the quiet time to snuggle with my kiddos, Carter's engine is "to low" now... He wants one more book so we'll do that and he will vacuum.

4:22:

Vacuuming caused quiet the outburst, but it is done... Poor guy. We did his swinging game.

I got dinner in the oven at 4, Taye is getting very disregulated as well, I send him to do P.A.C.E. again.

more laundry done. I spend some time in the girls room playing, helping Evie make her bed and talking through the heart issue of servanthood with her, her big brown eyes melt me to bits... Just gotta say that!

It's 7:06 now,

hubby got home at 4:30ish and I left for my book study shortly after that. It was a big and hard step for me to be willing to attend this study; I have been greatly struggling with being vulnerable, but I know that the Lord is calling me to do this. If I endorse the book, I will let you all know once I finish it, I will say it has to do with grace.

While I was gone hubby graded the boys work, and went over any corrections with them that needed to be made.

I got home at 6:30ish and pulled dinner out of the oven, by this point I am bone tired and rather irritable I blow it almost instantly with a meltdown because I have been trying to either bring him out of one or curb one almost constantly all day. I calm down and apologize to him for snapping at him once he is calm as well. We ate as a family and are going to do our family devotions shortly here before sending kids to bed at various times starting at 8, I'm seriously ready for it to be 8 NOW!

Being the introvert I am, I am generally drained dry by this point in the day;
and yet, I wouldn't change a minute of my life.
I LOVE each of my children and I adore being blessed to be at home caring for them!

This has been a very honest look at a day around our house.

I hope that in some way it will encourage another mama in the trenches of homeschooling, or spd or just basic motherhood. I am not perfect, I didn't accomplish great cleaning tasks or one single "creative" thing in my day. and just for the record, there are several times weekly where I remember dinner AFTER my hubby gets home for work. oops!

I've been honest about my shortcomings, my bad attitudes and my failures so that
you will see my desperate need for the Lord.
None of us can mother, or homeschool or keep a home without fighting our own sinful inclinations;
clinging to Jesus is the only way this calling has true purpose and direction!

Oh and the last thing, we never made it to doing the last thing on Carter's schedule, we'll make it the first thing on tomorrows plan.

Some of you may remember this photoshoot of my children,

CLICK HERE

it went out as our Christmas Card in 2011.

The other day when I told my kids I wanted to redo that session with Lydia now HERE

my kids all jumped at the idea, they were so happy and one of them even mentioned how much

better it would be to do this session without an empty chair.

This time of year, specifically September 27th has been a date of great sadness for me for years,

that was the day we lost our first baby on our first journey of adoption.

But now, 5 years later that date is redeemed. Now my daughter turned 9 months old on

September 27th.

The Lord is so good, His plans are perfect and He gives us such precious little gifts.

He didn't have to choose the 27th for the day she was born in December, but He did.

He knew that September 27th would be precious to me when it rolled around,

He also knew our second loss took place throughout the 27th to the 31st of December,

He redeemed those days as well by bringing our last daughter into our arms on those days!

I could never put into words what this year has been like for us as a family,

such much healing, so much pain in it
and such a treasured bond between these 6 siblings I can't even describe it.

They each love Lydi SO much, they treasure her deeply.

We all treasure her, she is such a precious gift from the Lord

Fearfully and wonderfully made just for our family.

She is the perfect fit

She is our precious jewel

It is also precious to my heart that I was able to have the girls clothes made custom

for this special date, there is SO much symbolism in this session of my crew SO much

Beautiful Brown Eyed Girl Boutique

She is so much more than just an amazing designer of clothes, she is a dear friend and

once I realized that Lydia's 9 mos fell on this date, she helped me create exactly the look I

wanted these pictures to have!

While we may not understand why we had to face a total of 5 losses on our combine adoption

journeys, we do know that the Lord had purpose in those losses.

Or any hardship we face in life, they are all going to be worked to His glory

because we love Him and are called according to His purpose,

and He loves us and desires to draw us closer still to Himself.

"Let Sorrow do it's work, send grief or pain;
sweet are thy messengers,
sweet their refrain.
If they but work in me, more love,
O Christ, to thee,
More love to thee, more love to thee."
~Hinds Feet on High Places~

And so, we continue to walk this broken road of life, together at last