Degrees of Love
I hope everyone who is a mother out there will understand me when I say you always love your children, but there are days when you REALLY love them, and today was one of those days :-).
It started out with our totally changed plans from last night. On the one night of the year that we plan an outdoor event, God, in His infinite wisdom, gives us a night of severe thunderstorm warnings and endless rain. So much for my 10 yo son's mini-golf party! So instead, having created no plan "B", we ended up with eight 10 year old boys HERE in my uncleaned house. Thank goodness cleanliness is not something 10 yo boys generally fixate on, LOL.
All things considered, the party actually went really well. We let the boys play 4-player rated "e" games on the Game Cube and the fact that we have a ridiculously large TV (It's 50 inch and NOT a flat screen, so it's basically like having a small refrigerator in your living room) certainly helped those that weren't playing to feel involved. We also let them take turns playing benign games on-line on the computer in the living room, so the whole party occured in 200 square feet, and we all lived to tell about it. We consumed our mini-golf course shaped cookie-cake and drank capri suns, open gifts, and played games, and everyone had a great time, and NO ONE even remotely expressed any disappointment over the change in plans, least of all the birthday boy himself. It was one of those proud mom moments. He just totally excepted things, and never once even hinted at disappointment over the way things went. Oh, I love him for that and so much more.
(We had one friend stay the night since he lives a fair distance away, but goes to church at the same church. It gave him and my son a chance to bond more minus the outside influence of their other friends, and I think they both enjoyed it.)
So back to today, we actually got 5 kids dressed, fed homemade waffles, and out the door on time to church. The girls even wore their matching mommy-made dresses...it couldn't have gotten more perfect. Then, my kids all left church willingly afterwards with no real struggles over not wanting to go yet (you have to love it when your kids beg you NOT to leave church). Mimi went home with a friend, and the boys didn't fuss about it. They got the rare treat of playing game cube for the afternoon, and there were NO brotherly disagreements!
Then the icing on the cake: the three oldest spent all week at a local church's music camp, and they had their "show" tonight. After the show, I spoke to the directors of the camp, and they both said what a pleasure my kids were. The one in particular could not believe TJ is only 5 1/2 and said he behaved perfectly and has an amazing attention span, and that he must be "really intelligent" (fron her lips to God's ears, LOL). One of the teachers had actually called my home earlier this week to say how wonderful Scott was and how sweet and encouraging he was (that NEVER happens with that particular child...he's not a bad kid, but he never gets singled out for being GOOD). And Mimi as usually was also complimented. The one director actually said, "You must be doing a really great job with them." WOW, are you sure we are talking about MY kids? And the reality check is that if there is anything to be boasted of, it's all God's doing, but their wonderful behavior this week thrilled me nonetheless.
It's just one of the days that I REALLY love them, because they were a joy for me to be around, and also because they were a joy for others to be around. As I held TJ tonight, I told him it wouldn't be long before we couldn't snuggle like that anymore because he was getting so big, and he said, "Mommy, I'll just bend my legs." Sniff, sniff, if only it was really that easy. But he did promise that he would snuggle with me forever. Does it get any better than that?
I'm blessed that I have four wonderful kids. There were times during our 5 years of infertility that I doubted we might ever have any biological children.
I blessed enought to knock my socks off as my m-i-l just called and offered to take Sari every morning for the week the older 3 are doing art camp at our old church. I will actually have 5
"kid free" mornings, and can work toward our goal of turning the downstairs basement into our homeschool space. I NEVER thought I'd get that chance, and here it is. God is so faithful, He answers prayers you don't even think to say.
until tomorrow,
obm
It started out with our totally changed plans from last night. On the one night of the year that we plan an outdoor event, God, in His infinite wisdom, gives us a night of severe thunderstorm warnings and endless rain. So much for my 10 yo son's mini-golf party! So instead, having created no plan "B", we ended up with eight 10 year old boys HERE in my uncleaned house. Thank goodness cleanliness is not something 10 yo boys generally fixate on, LOL.
All things considered, the party actually went really well. We let the boys play 4-player rated "e" games on the Game Cube and the fact that we have a ridiculously large TV (It's 50 inch and NOT a flat screen, so it's basically like having a small refrigerator in your living room) certainly helped those that weren't playing to feel involved. We also let them take turns playing benign games on-line on the computer in the living room, so the whole party occured in 200 square feet, and we all lived to tell about it. We consumed our mini-golf course shaped cookie-cake and drank capri suns, open gifts, and played games, and everyone had a great time, and NO ONE even remotely expressed any disappointment over the change in plans, least of all the birthday boy himself. It was one of those proud mom moments. He just totally excepted things, and never once even hinted at disappointment over the way things went. Oh, I love him for that and so much more.
(We had one friend stay the night since he lives a fair distance away, but goes to church at the same church. It gave him and my son a chance to bond more minus the outside influence of their other friends, and I think they both enjoyed it.)
So back to today, we actually got 5 kids dressed, fed homemade waffles, and out the door on time to church. The girls even wore their matching mommy-made dresses...it couldn't have gotten more perfect. Then, my kids all left church willingly afterwards with no real struggles over not wanting to go yet (you have to love it when your kids beg you NOT to leave church). Mimi went home with a friend, and the boys didn't fuss about it. They got the rare treat of playing game cube for the afternoon, and there were NO brotherly disagreements!
Then the icing on the cake: the three oldest spent all week at a local church's music camp, and they had their "show" tonight. After the show, I spoke to the directors of the camp, and they both said what a pleasure my kids were. The one in particular could not believe TJ is only 5 1/2 and said he behaved perfectly and has an amazing attention span, and that he must be "really intelligent" (fron her lips to God's ears, LOL). One of the teachers had actually called my home earlier this week to say how wonderful Scott was and how sweet and encouraging he was (that NEVER happens with that particular child...he's not a bad kid, but he never gets singled out for being GOOD). And Mimi as usually was also complimented. The one director actually said, "You must be doing a really great job with them." WOW, are you sure we are talking about MY kids? And the reality check is that if there is anything to be boasted of, it's all God's doing, but their wonderful behavior this week thrilled me nonetheless.
It's just one of the days that I REALLY love them, because they were a joy for me to be around, and also because they were a joy for others to be around. As I held TJ tonight, I told him it wouldn't be long before we couldn't snuggle like that anymore because he was getting so big, and he said, "Mommy, I'll just bend my legs." Sniff, sniff, if only it was really that easy. But he did promise that he would snuggle with me forever. Does it get any better than that?
I'm blessed that I have four wonderful kids. There were times during our 5 years of infertility that I doubted we might ever have any biological children.
I blessed enought to knock my socks off as my m-i-l just called and offered to take Sari every morning for the week the older 3 are doing art camp at our old church. I will actually have 5
"kid free" mornings, and can work toward our goal of turning the downstairs basement into our homeschool space. I NEVER thought I'd get that chance, and here it is. God is so faithful, He answers prayers you don't even think to say.
until tomorrow,
obm
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