Here's the thing...

Cool, grey clouds fill the sky, a light breeze comes through the kitchen window, as the 5 princes & princesses of the house run, scream, laugh, and play. The blocks start to gain air and suddenly I get clubbed in the nose by a large, red square. Such is the life of "Mama."

Our girls 

This is a typical day for me. Wake up with the sun, go to bed long after it sets. Cooking, cleaning, disciplining, explaining, deciphering meanings of words, cuddling, teaching, and cautioning. Each day is full. How can the day possibly be full with only 5 kiddos, you ask? I know, I wonder sometimes myself. But when we are everything to each child, at least for now, we don't get much down time!

I always knew that I wanted more than one child. Growing up as the 2nd of 4 children, and Phil growing up as the 7th out of 9 children (God bless my mom-in-law), we never wanted our own child to miss out on having siblings. It shaped us both into different people. I learned to fight thanks to my brothers and sister, and I learned early on that life isn't fair. And, you always have someone to play with. I just couldn't imagine being the same person without my siblings.

But here's the thing - we don't always get what we want, and we sure don't get to dictate how we get what we want. As Jadon is closing in on 8 this year, he finally has some siblings of his own. But some of them may not always be with us. And I can't imagine what that will be like for him or for us when some of our sweet babies go to live with families who will love and care for them forever. It makes me want to cry and hyperventilate all at the same time. Yet, the way we've adjusted to being a family of 7 is all I could have hoped for and more. It's never felt too overwhelming, but it feels just like having a family - as if they've always been ours.

Here's the other thing - I know at some point it WILL feel overwhelming. It will be daunting and it will feel less than rewarding and beautiful. There WILL be a time when we have a child that rocks our world. There WILL be a time when we deal with systemic crap that frustrates us.There WILL be a time when we can't get a child the help he or she needs. There WILL be a time when we lose a child. There WILL be a time when we want to give up. This goes with the territory of what we do, and we knew it before we jumped in.

Working on their bunnies!

I, for one, am thankful for this period of joy & calm. Each child is doing well, learning, growing and showing their little personalities. Jadon loves to be the boss and the girls are helping to put him in his place. And we get to be Mama & Papa. We get to help shape little lives. We have the privilege of loving, playing, disciplining, cooking, cleaning, teaching and showing God's big love for each of his little people.

There are a lot of changes coming up for our family of 7, and I'm not sure I'm totally ready. There's lots of traveling and some other fun things coming up, all the way until the end of the year. I'm a little tired thinking of it all, but that may be the pang of guilt I'm feeling about leaving the kiddos & Phil alone for 4 weeks while I travel to the U.S. in June! We've been planning this trip for a while, and although I don't know how I'll be able to get all these sweet faces off my mind, I know God will help me accomplish what I need to in the States and get back home quickly.

If you'd like to grab a coffee or hear about some of the miracles God used to grow our faith in the last (almost) 2 years, let's chat soon! My calendar for this short trip is already filling up, but I really don't want to miss you! Please let me know when we can catch up & we'll make it happen.

I'm pretty sure the princes and princesses are done resting so I better go make them a snack. Mama duties call...