Evenings

I know that someday it will be fun to look back and see what we did in our evenings when our children were young. So, I decided to write about it...and share it with you!
Recently my husband's job hours have changed. He now goes to work very early in the morning and gets home in the afternoon (usually around 4). What a joy this has been for our family. Sometimes when he gets home some of the children are still napping and so he relaxes on his recliner...and falls asleep rather quickly (I wish I had that talent!). If the children are awake he will usually wrestle or play with them (I think he is trying to keep moving so that he doesn't fall asleep :) ) After awhile he and the children will go outside and check the garden (lately we have had lots of strawberries and tomatoes). He then will start dinner...yes my husband can cook, and he enjoys it. Katelyn loves to help him and he enjoys sharing his knowledge (did you know that he went to culinary arts school for awhile...before he was called into ministry). During this time I am usually telling Josh all about my day or life in general...he is a very patient listener. Something that is very important to me is that we eat dinner together as a family...and we do every night. After dinner our evenings vary. On Mondays we attend our small group at our friends' house, on Wednesdays we go to church, and on Fridays we usually clean the church together as a family. Our Tuesdays and Thursdays are unplanned. Sometimes we go grocery shopping together. Sometimes we just sit at home and talk while the children play. The children also take baths on these nights. At about 8:30 we start our bedtime routine. The children clean up their jurisdictions (yep, got that name from the Duggars). Brenden cleans up the playroom, his room, and the shoes in the laundry room. Katelyn cleans up the living room, her room, and their bathroom. Makenna helps whoever has a messier job. The kids then have a night snack since we eat dinner fairly early. Then we do family devotions - right now Josh is reading them a Bible storybook with questions. We then sing and pray together. After devotions the kids get ready for bed and head to bed. Josh will then lay with the kids and they love to drive cars on his back. I will feed Hallie and put her to bed. Once the children are in bed, Josh will then check his email/facebook. I will either read, go on the computer, or just chat with Josh while he is on his laptop. Sometimes we get The Walton's from the library or netflix and we enjoy watching that together. We usually head to bed about 11.
Well, that is how we spend our evenings.

T-ball

I am a little behind in this post, but it is still worth sharing. This summer our son had the opportunity to play t-ball with many of his friends from church. Though we do not plan to do many organized sports, it was a fun time of learning for the kids and fellowship for the adults. Our team constisted of 9 children ages 4-6. 6 of the children went to our church.

Who needs Pedals

Never say Never

Have you ever had those times in life where you say "I will never do that."
We all have I am sure...but have those ever come back to say, "That is what YOU thought!"
When I was in high school I was a go go go person. I loved to be busy! I was involved in all kinds of activities and found great pleasure to go from one activity to another. I did not want to be a stay-at-home mom. That sounded boring to me. I did not want to sit at home all day and watch tv (I knew little about parenting obviously). Well, it did not take me long after my first little bundle of joy came into this world that I knew I needed to be home with her. Now, I cannot imagine myself as anything else! I love being home with my kids...which brings me to my next "never".
Homeschooling. I had a degree to teach and I was planning to teach and have my children be in school with me. I was pretty passionate about this - until my first child became school age. I could not imagine sending her away all day. I truly found joy in being with my children. So, a homeschooling-stay-at-home-mom I became... and I LOVE it! I plan to homeschool them all the way through.
I have never really had a plan on how many children I desired to have. I wanted a big family, but really had not put much thought into it. One thing though, was the spacing. I had decided that 3 years was the magic number. For no other reason other than it sounded good. Nope. None of my children are 3 years apart...and I am so thankful. With each child they are getting closer in age and I love that. My children play together so well and enjoy each other.
As I have more children I have found that many of my little "nevers" have become so, well, little. I rock my baby to sleep sometimes, okay many times. I lay with others till they fall asleep. My baby doesn't wear onesies because she sweats in the extra layer. My children sometimes go days without baths. They always play outside barefooted. They play in the sprinkler in their clothes and take baths in their swimsuits. They stay in their jammies all day. We leave the house with dirty faces, unbrushed hair, and mismatched clothes.
God knows me so well...even better than I think I know myself. He knows me now and later. I am so thankful that He changed my heart on each of these "never's". I feel that I am so much a better mom and person because of them! Being a parent is not an easy task, but it is stretching me to be who God wants me to be.