Because I had Kate for 4 years as an only child, I had gotten used to feeling in control of my life and was able to accomplish most of the things I desired to do, such as keeping the house (fairly) clean, getting a healthy dinner cooked on a semi regular basis, keeping us all dressed in clean clothes, taking regular outings to the library, park, etc. (yes, there were days back then that I felt tired and overwhelmed, of course) But...Ha! I had NO idea the amount of energy and patience that would be required to just survive the day with three little people, two of whom have no ability to do anything for themselves! (I'm sure all you moms with multiple kids are laughing at me right now) But I am slowly learning to give up my idealistic view of motherhood and live by grace in the reality of what life really is!
The saying goes that God will not give you more than you can handle...and while that is true, there have been many days where I think He has almost filled my plate to the tipping point. We've had a few bouts of sickness in our household recently, nothing super serious, but I tell you what- when you have three kids who are all in some phase of the same illness, and the daddy and the mama aren't feeling up to par and they are both getting up at all hours of the night patting backs and giving medicine to whomever is crying at that moment...well, it is TOUGH!
My point in saying all this is that God is using all of these overwhelming moments and physical exhaustion to grow me and mold me to be more like Him. Not that I am even CLOSE to where I need to be, but today I am a little bit stronger in displaying the fruit of the spirit (patience, gentleness, self-control...these are specifically the ones that don't come easy to me!) in my daily life than I was yesterday. I can truly say that I am thankful for the challenges of motherhood.
I may not be the mom of my own dreams...(super creative, organized, healthy, ha!)...but I am learning and growing and I hope that looking back my kiddos & I will have happy memories of these crazy times!
I certainly have plently of (at least) laughable memories from the past several months...here are some pics to recap what's been going on lately with this Party of Five:
Dying Easter eggs
My two sweet grandmother's enjoying their great-grands on Easter!
Easter Afternoon...finally after about 20 takes, we got a shot where everyone is looking. I don't expect this to happen again anytime soon. ;-)
Playtime before bed (Noah- left, Asher- right)
Noah loves to swing!
Asher playing with "boy" toys...a new thing for this household!
Daddy pulling double duty!
We went to Aunt Janny's lake house for Memorial Day...
Kate wanted to swim ALL.DAY.LONG.....she was a wrinkly prune when she finally got out!
Love, love, love this sweet fella!
Asher wasn't so sure about being in the water ;-)
The boys checking out cousin Ruby :)
Two cute little tigers getting ready for Clemson football season!!!
And finally...
Father's Day...Oh how we all love daddy!!!
Yes-I know that was a random montage of pictures...but I am a bit behind on updating the blog!
In the past 3 months the boys have started sitting up, crawling, cutting teeth (boo!), eating finger foods, making funny new sounds, babbling, and have just gotten cuter and even more fun (in my opinion!)
And Kate has graduated preschool!!! She will officially be a kindergartener after the summer is over...so I am holding on tight to these summer months...I could seriously cry if I thought about it too hard, so I won't!
Now I will leave you with a quote from the wonderful book I mentioned earlier. These moments with our little ones are brief. And while some days are just plain hard and all I really want to do is take a break and get away, I am trying to remember that soon I will look back on these days and wish they hadn't passed so quickly.
"So while your children are little, cultivate an attitude of sacrifice. Sacrifice your peace for their fun, your clean kitchen for their help cracking eggs, your quiet moment for their long retelling of a dream that a friend of theirs allegedly had. PRIORITIZE YOUR CHILDREN far and above the other work you need to get done. They are the only part of your work that really matters."
AMEN!
Love it!! I need to get that book! There are some days when I honestly am saying to the Lord "are you sure?? are you really sure I'm supposed to have all of these little people here with me???" He assures me he did not make a mistake though :)
ReplyDeleteAmy, you have always been an inspiration to me! You are such a great mom...I admire you even more now that I have three too!!!
ReplyDeleteThis blog entry made me cry. Yes those three babes of yours will be grown before you know it. Enjoy!!! Sometimes I get very nostalgic thinking about my three boys and wish I could have that time again. I remember my sweet mother-in-law, Ruby Putnam, telling me that these days when our children are little are really the happiest of our lives. I was in the midst of it all when she said it, so I really didn't pay too much attention at the time. But she was absolutely right!!!!! You are a great mom and I love you very much!
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