Lately “seasons” keep flowing to mind. I think God has been working on my heart lately! Really has. I love Him. I’m thankful He shows me and teaches me along this journey.
To be quite honest it can be tough at times to do that. I think we have to set our mind to embrace what God puts before us. For me during this season, it is a husband and six kids. I LOVE this season. I really do. Yes, I am not perfect by any means and most of my days are down right busy with little ones, and some days are pretty tough to go through. I am blessed to get to be a stay at home Mommy. I really am thankful for my job. My calling as I call it.
Some days Gideon can’t get out what he wants. Lots of moans, groans, and crying out of frustration. This can wear on any person! Potty training can be tough too when he wants to slosh the pee from the baby potty to the big potty. When he INSISTS upon doing everything the way he has it set in his mind to do. He can be awfully STUBBORN most days too. I love Gideon so much and he has some amazing qualities that none of our others have. He can just be a hard one to parent. With Brian’s help, I EMBRACE him and try to handle each situation that comes up.
Lately we’ve had a few terrible two issues with Titus. Night times have been tough. Waking so many times during the night. So thankful Brian is so willing to get up some with him and lay with him. I’m normally snuggled with Annie Mae in our bed nursing. We moved him into the bigger crib, in with Luke and Gideon to see if that might help. We also added a night light. We shall see. Last night we actually got sleep so maybe all of that helped?!
Adam can be a daily challenge. From getting school assignments complete, keeping room picked up, back pack cleaned out (yes it becomes a portable trash can), staying on task and helping him get enough sleep. We pretty much have to stay “on top” of him even though he’s almost 12!
Those are our daily normal challenging issues. Then we just have the normal things to keep up with. I’m not even including the discipline that goes a long the way… this is just a day in the life of…. sorta….
6ish wake up, 5 min devotion & Prayer before getting out of bed, nurse baby girl
6:30 get the kids moving (especially ADAM), make some coffee, get breakfast started
6:45 get Adam moving STILL
6:50 get Adam moving STILL, most of time not out for breakfast yet
6:50-7:25 Get kids dressed, fed, ready for school (backpacks, lunches, etc..), Annie mae treatments
7:25 load in car and leave for drop offs
7:25-7:45 drop Luke, Gregory & Adam off. Drop Gideon off to daddy who will take him to school at 8 when it opens (he walks him right up the street from his office).
7:45 unload Annie Mae and Titus inside. Get Titus playing.
8:00 nurse Annie Mae, nap time
8-10 Annie Mae naps, Titus helps mommy do house chores (kitchen, random pick ups, laundry etc…)
8-10 Titus and Mommy play or do some “school” (paint, read, play dough etc…)
10:00 Annie Mae up, we continue to play and do housework
11:00 Brian brings Gideon home for lunch. We all eat.
12:00 Naps for Gideon, Titus and Annie Mae (if they all go well, then Mommy gets to do Bible study or nap herself and get some things done during naps).
2:00-2:10 Mommy sometimes runs up to pick up Luke if Granma pops over for sleeping babies. Otherwise Daddy picks him up and drops him off quickly.
2:10 -3:00 Luke has quiet time (movie, reads, homework) after we have visited about his day and have a small snack.
3:00 Dinner prep and kids get up
3:40 daddy home (normally) and brings Adam and Gregory (when Gregory not in football). Dinner prep for Mommy.
4:30 or 5 Dinner and nurse Annie Mae
5ish pick up Gregory from practice
5-6 Dinner clean up (boys and Brian do this or at least help out a ton), sometimes Mommy gets to shower during this time.
6:30 After dinner its baths and get ready for bed. Try to set clothes out for morning too.
7:00-8:00 Night time routine Read stories, Bible story/devotion, prayer, brush teeth and bed.
8:00-9:00 Get older ones out to bed and sometimes tickle Luke’s back (BK) to get them to get on to sleep faster.
8:30 or 9…. Mommy Daddy Time until 11:00 or so
In the night ya never know what will happen!!! ha ha! Annie Mae always wakes to eat. Normally someone wakes needing something!
Sleeping in til 7:00 on weekends would be a TREAT!
I gotta say, I could not parent without my BESTEST guy right by my side. He’s my better 1/2 and handles so much with so much more self control than myself!! He loves being a dad and really helps out in more ways than one! I’m grateful for him and thankful for all he does.
Some would just give up and just want to throw in the towel. Yes, there are days that I joke and tell Brian to bring me home something in a “brown paper bag”. LOL… We don’t drink… but its an on-going joke between us! Or yes, there are days that I’m ready to put a kid on the side of the road with a sign that says “free”. ha ha! Joking! I need grace and a big dose of patience on many days. However, I know that I’m right where I need to be. I know God has me raising 6 kids (15, 11, 5, 4, 2, 7 months) for a reason. He chose Brian and I. I feel honored. I don’t want to complain. I want to be grateful and realize that this season is just gonna fly. It already is. I want to embrace it and have a mindset that Christ would want of me.
How can I embrace my Season of child rearing better? How can God use me in Brian’s life and be a better help mate? How can I live for God’s glory in what He has blessed me with better? These are questions I must ask myself DAILY!
