I won’t beg.  but just ask again. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.  I’ll keep posting pictures and stories, but would you please consider helping me with something that REALLY makes a difference in the lives of teenagers?  Help Teen Lifeline equip teens with tools to live life better by supporting our family in the 6th annual TL5K.  <<<just click that link and remember, every bit helps.  Please.  And thank you!  

Well. I’m not sure it makes sense to brag about something that happens so naturally. But, we’ve pretty much perfected the art of being a spectacle. I’d put our shenanigans up against the best. Without even breaking a sweat we can draw a crowd, turn heads, and get 293756361936 questions. A spectacle. But it’s not hard to do when you take up more than your share of space everywhere you go,and your kids are incredibly well behaved (My blog. My biases)…and they are also, well, let’s call it imaginative.

Eating donuts while watching more being made. (just felt the need to clarify why all of their hands are at their faces)

Here are a few of my favorite spectacle incidents…

In the neighborhood. We regularly commandeer the entire cul-de-sac near our house for our kickball league. There could at any moment be baby dolls in strollers at home plate, people in costumes, trading of designated boys ball (Star Wars) and girls ball (Frozen), and shouts of victory (or complete tantrums over defeat). The full glory of all of this, I can’t really put into words. I think the best thing I can tell you is that there is a house on the culdesac in which two elementary aged children live. Although we’ve invited them to join us, they always just stand safely inside their front door and stare throughout the game. Spectacle.

On Mondays, we frequently have a trail of children running out our front door and down the sidewalk together to chase the trash truck and wave.  And anytime we go for a walk or bike ride, we turn heads.

But our true neighborhood spectacle status was probably secured by this. That would be our super seven seen hunting for plastic bugs we had hidden all over the front yard. All of them were dressed the part and very intensely looking through shrubs for treasures. (Thanks, SB for the leftover party favors).  The smirks on the faces of neighbors passing by was AWESOME.

Back to school haircuts. I don’t even really feel the need to say anything more about that.

In restaurants We mostly visit restaurants where we go through a line to order. This means we have our food faster and it is easier for the kids to order for themselves. And ordering for themselves is completely necessary to enforce the “you chose it, you eat it” rule. When the sweet person taking our order reads it back they are nearly out of breath by the end. Then we take up several tables, make multiple trips to the bathroom and to get water refills and have conversation volume levels continuously on the rise.

In the grocery store.

The grocery store is always an adventure.  Which is why I rarely go with all seven anymore.  But one story takes the spectacle cake. Recently I had the super seven in Sprouts. It was Monday afternoon right after school and I literally needed 3 things. Well, we didn’t even make it in the front door before the littlest tribe member declared he had to “go”. So we went. And stayed in there for 25 minutes. No.stinkin.joke. But that’s not even the story (although it could be). By the time we went back out into the store, I was a hot mess and In A Hurry. And no one else was. Testmypatience. As I scooped the pinto beans while corralling kids, hissing under my breath, and trying to fake a smile for the crowds, a sweet lady came up and started the question routine. I know to expect this multiple times anywhere we go, but this time it was different. Her questions weren’t curious. They seemed a bit concerned, or at least like she really felt the need to know our story. Iaintgotnotimeforthat, so, as kindly and firmly as I could we parted ways and off we went to our next stop- frozen pizza.  BUT she found us again and this time held out her hand with a bit of cash because she “just really wanted to help us with our groceries”. Honestly I was dumbfounded, I really appreciated it, and said so, but in all our spectacleness a complete stranger has never offered us cash. I was already frazzled and that just caught me off guard. When we got to the car, I had KJ take a picture of us, because I just wanted to remember the incident and process it. Everyone got buckled and I looked at the pic on my phone. And.cracked.up. Now, I don’t want to diminish he fact that The Lord moved her! and her heart generously gave. But I also think there’s a very real possibility she took one look at my mess of a gaggle and thought there was trouble at home. Because in addition to the mess we always are on Monday after school and work, there was something I had forgotten. My eye was swollen- nearly shut, it had been for a few days thanks to nasty allergies and I genuinely had kind of forgotten. Looking at the picture I could ONlY imagine what that added to the narrative in her head, especially since I dodged all of her questions. My word. I LAUGHED SO HARD at the sight of us staring back at me from that picture. Let’s say it together- SPECTACLE.

Yes, all 7 kids are tagged “farm fresh chicken.” Lou got stickers for them all from the butcher. Of course.

And there you have it.  An absolutely free DIY guide to perfecting the art of being a spectacle.

But you know what? About the only thing worse to me than being a spectacle in public would be staying home and not having the adventures with this little clan. Totally worth it.

ABL

Ok, friends, I have some awesome blossom pumpkin patch pictures for ya! What could be more adorable than our seven favorites with pumpkins?? But first, would you please consider reading about why the Teen Lifeline 5k     is so important? Every little (or big) bit you can give, to partner with us, will go toward providing tools to Teenagers to help them Live Life Better. We have a long way to go before reaching our goal with 5 days to go. We would love your help!!

Here is a link to our family team’s fundraising page!

Sometimes I forget we have 7 kids living with us.
No, not really, that would be like saying you occasionally forget you have a swarm of (very sweet) flies around your head.

But what I mean is that sometimes when I’m planning something, it’s become so new-normal to have seven kids that I forget to factor in that there are SEVEN SMALL CHILDREN to account for.

And that’s a problem because if, say, you are running a little late but plan to put your makeup on in the car (read:AllTheTime)- you would need to remember you’ll have to take two cars which means you’ll be driving. Because hello, 9 peeps still won’t fit in the mini-van.

Or, if say, you were going to run in to the store real quick for two items, you’ll need to plan to be there for an hour because HELLO potty stops.

But every once in a while the nap schedules, potty breaks, good moods, no-one-has-lost-team-privileges-today, adults are not exhausted FACTORS all align and this happens….

Everyone

Smiles

And

Looks

At

The

Camera!

(Or at least smirks in the general direction)

And we had a ton of fun, the nine of us,
In a random field of pumpkins that was just the right size for our crazy crew.
So maybe we are kind of figuring this thing out.

That or maybe
I finally remembered to bring enough bribes!
(One pack of gum and picking your own pumpkin did the trick)

ABL

If you are looking for a pumpkin patch in our area and you want one that is crowd free, has few other attractions than PUMPKINS, is shaded for perfect pictures and supports a church youth group ask me about where we went, you’ll thank me for this gem. This was our second time and we love it. It’s on our way to precisely No WHERE, but I love that it’s just pumpkins. If you want one where there’s a hayride, maze and a ton of fuss, ask someone who doesn’t have 7 kids in tow.

Its about to get all “NPR-fundraising-day” around here.  This week I’m hoping to post a lot of fun pictures and stories, some serious thoughts and some old birthday letters long neglected.  But to get to those fun posts, I hope you’ll allow me a little room to remind you that we are in the thick of things with our fundraising related to the 6th annual Teen Lifeline 5K.  Be sure to check out the post I wrote about why I believe this race is so necessary.  The short version, though, is that our family is participating in the race and would love for your to partner with us and this awesome organization, bringing hope and help to teenagers in our area.  THANK YOU!  Here is a link to make a donation. 

NOW ON WITH THE PROGRAM 

I love time alone with RRL.  He’s just plain FUN, tolerates my hare-brained date ideas, and we always have 12934762 conversations waiting to be completed until we snatch a few uninterrupted minutes together.

But I also have some other guys (and gal) I love to date.  At RRL’s leading, we’ve been trying to intentionally plan some one-on-one time with each of our 4 during our season of bonus kiddos.  And I have LOVED this.

I love that we do things we wouldn’t normally do.  I love that we talk about things that we wouldn’t normally talk about.  I love seeing how what they want to do helps me better understand who they are.  Here’s a glimpse of my first round…

I told KJ that he could plan the date.  And he came up with a whole theme.  Watch out, Ladies, with a hear that loves to plan a theme date he’s gonna be a CATCH…pun definitely intended.  His theme was “FISH”.  So- we went to the park to look for fish in the creek, stopped by the pet store to see how much a fish and fish bowl would cost (he’s saving) and then went out for a Sushi snack.  I love that he loves sushi.  I kinda hate how big he looks while ordering and eating it.

Cbug’s “date” revolved around one word- CRACKERBARRELPLEASE.  He knows the way to his Momma’s heart.  That or the combination of pancakes and checkers was calling his name.  Whatever.  Funny thing about his date, though, was that he asked me what he needed to wear.  I told him he could choose, but that he should consider whether how much thought and attention he put into how he dressed would make me feel special.  So he came out wearing his orange jersey.  MY color of orange.  Not his (he prefers another UT).  We did have to work a little, though, on the heart of generosity.  Every time someone would comment on his awesome shirt, he would say “I like the longhorns.  I’m just wearing this cuz I’m on a date with my mom”.  I guess its the thought (cough cough) that counts ?!

Lou and I, shockingly, went to get our nails painted.  She is so IN for anything that involves pampering.  I had a giftcard and I can’t think of a better way to use it than watching her light up at the sight of SO.MANY.COLORS to choose from, a bubbly bath for her toes, and S-P-A-R-K-L-E-S all around.  We had a great time together.  When we finished, I was running in to our house to grab something and tripped a little.  She yelled from the car, “MOM, DID YOU MESS UP YOUR TOES?”  I find it incredibly ironic that I would have a daughter who would even THINK to ask that question.

Tito just loves to go.  Anywhere.  So he and I had an awesome time at Target.  He loved getting to ride in the cart, look at all of the toys and just people watch. (Of course we also spent a little quality time in a potty stall.  hooray for that.)  We stood FOREVER in the train and trucks section of the toys and just rolled them around the cart.  Then we bought a treat, sat on a bench outside the store and counted trucks that went by.  BOY.LOVES.TRUCKS!  I loved just listening to his little voice, uninterrupted, for awhile.

One bonus thought on this: I kinda love that my kids are at the age where going to the park to watch for fish, playing checkers at CrackerBarrel, getting their nails painted and strolling through Target are SUCH.A.BIG.DEAL.  Hope we can hang on to that for a while.  Such special memories.

ABL

I was talking with a friend about the terrifying feeling of starting something over. Of trying again after having faced a tragic end before. Of staring into the future with the heaviness of the broken past like a cloud around you.

Except. You survived it. Battered, bruised, forever changed and maybe knowing more than you wish you ever did. But yet. You were brought through. And remembering the surviving is the sole comfort of what you faced.

It is true throughout the Bible. Those facing hopelessness are pointed back to a time of being rescued, to a time of a time of being delivered. And in remembering that He did not leave them before, they muster the courage to plunge forward again. No guarantees of an outcome, but hope that once again they’ll be carried through.

I’ve told you before that our Tito is a remembrance to me. A reminder that God did not leave us. Though we did not see the pretty bow we longed for and there was a time I wondered how we would survive, we were reminded through a tiny miracle baby that God alone brings blessing and joy. And He brings it right.smack.dab in the middle of the storm.

And there was another time.

Recently l celebrated 10 years of living free from chronic pain post GI surgery for Crohns Disease. I mean. Sheesh. Can I get a loud YAAAHOOOOOO!!! Surgery wasn’t the answer we prayed for, a week in the hospital, on a floor typically reserved for those 4 times my age was hardly glamorous. But when I think that the Docs said I’d get a few years relief and then bam. Complete healing. Yeah, that’s worth remembering. My miracle.

And I’m incredibly grateful. Don’t get me wrong. But I’m also very aware. The story of physical healing. Of a miracle that is as hoped. It isn’t all of your stories.

There is a boy I’ve never met. In a country I’ve never been to. Who I can’t help but love. Who should have been adopted. And who should be in a different story.

There are three kids I love who should know by now where to call home.

There is a mom I watched sing so bravely in a church one Sunday who shouldn’t have to spend another night in the hospital away from her guys.

There is a team of friends I adore who are searching for homes far away from their families to bring a message of hope to others.

And YOU KNOW. It just doesn’t work to wave the “I believe” wand at it and expect all will be well tomorrow. After having faced something hard, I would never diminish your “hard” by telling you everything will work out. It might not.

But.

When I look back at where we’ve been.

Or when you tell me about all He has carried you through. I realize simply- we survived. And we were not alone. That, my friends, is HOPE. That is the confidence we need to press on. We need to remember. HE.DID.NOT.LEAVE.US.THERE.

Which is why when I marked my 10 year surgiversary it made sense to mark it by running. Running to remember. Running for hope. I celebrated my amazingly good health by doing what I love. What I love that I am able to do. Running. Super early that morning I ran 10 miles to remember 10 years of healing and to pray with hope while I ran.

I ran to remember a time God said, “Phewy on those doctors. What do they know?” (My words, probably not exactly His) and granted me physical healing. I also remembered a time He didn’t provide the answer I begged for. And EVEN THEN did not leave me. Because in that I find hope- no matter what today holds, He is with me still.

And I ran to renew my hope. I ran with many of your names swirling in my head. I prayed that just as we see over and over in the Bible, the remembrance of the past would become the hope of the future for those names.

And just like running ten miles with little long distance training was an impossible task to accomplish alone, sometimes choosing hope is impossible alone. Which is why I run with this crew.

These awesome friends (and not pictured:Hatch) pushed me to finish something difficult that morning, just like they never let me give up hope in life.

Most of you probably know that RRL works for a non-profit organization, Teen Lifeline, Inc. What I love about Teen Lifeline is the idea behind teenagers learning life skills, hope skills, recovery skills TOGETHER. MAYBE just maybe as they go through the curriculum together, remember where they’ve been together, and press on to something better together, they’ll choose to keep running together.

And I know if they do- they’ll find the strength they need. Just like when I push myself to run farther or earlier or faster than before, I find Him. I hope these teenagers push each other to run in a way that they don’t just bemoan the aches, but meet the One who carries them.

Can we give them a better gift?

I’m so proud of the way Teen Lifeline is choosing to meet students who need a new race, point them toward the right track, and give them a crew to run with. So isn’t it just fitting that one of the organizations few big fundraisers is a literal race, a 5k.

Because I’m so passionate about this race, I don’t mind at all using the little space of the internet to ask you to partner with us once a year. If you’d like to support our family as we participate in the 6th annual Teen Lifeline 5k here is the link to

our fundraising page.

We are less than 1/2 way to our personal goal with one week to go. But I know we can do this, because I remember where we’ve been before.

Hope you’ll run with us.
ABL

Wanna know what I hear every.single.time I’m out and about with the super seven?

“Are they ALL yours?”

(with heavy emphasis on the A-L-L).

And for the sake of three who long to know where they belong, it matters how I answer.  I see the way they look at me every.single.time the question gets asked.

One day I wised up and just asked them.  “Hey guys.  I know you have a Mommy and a Daddy.  You are theirs.  But I also know that, for now, I’m really glad you are part of my team.  So, when people ask us ‘Are they yours?’ what do YOU want me to say?”

After only a little thought, my favorite red-headed-six-year-old answered,” Maybe you could just tell them we are yours for a while.”

So now, that’s our line.

“Yes they are, for a while.”

For a while
I’m reading to them, disciplining them, snuggling them at bedtime.

For a while
I’m staying up late when they are sick, tucking them back in after a scary dream, answering their question.

For a while
I’m packing their lunches, signing their folders, helping with their homework.

For a while
I’m asking questions.  Knowing who their friends are. Watching vigilantly for signs of their emotional health.

For a while
I’m helping them learn how to work together.  Teaching them to tie their shoes.  Pulling loose teeth.

For a while
I’m teaching them Bible verses, praying for them, taking them to Church, helping them form community.

For a while
I’m teaching them to believe in miracles.  To pray for their family.

For a while
I am.
And then one day
I won’t.

I’m raising three kids to thrive in “for a while”.  I’m reminding them they are part of this team, but they also have a Mommy and Daddy that love them.  I don’t know what their future holds, so for now all I can do is create a place for them to feel safe and confident even in the temporary and unknown.  Because I love them.  But they are only mine “for a while”.

Whether you are a teacher, a foster parent, a family member, a school bus driver, a grandparent, a tutor, a youth pastor-  I’m bettin’ you’ve experienced the deep joy and deep pain that swirl together when you love children who are not yours.

You know the exhilaration of helping them learn something new.
You know the fear that your time is short.
You know the frustration of feeling like a day, out of only a few, was wasted.
You know the desire to make memories, to capture moments, to make it last.
You know the gut wrenching prayers that “for a while” will be enough.

Because when you choose to love kids who are not yours, that’s what you sign up for.

Pouring it all out with no guarantees of what comes next. For them. Or for you.

And you know what the first day of school reminds me?

When I send off four blondes to a day full of things I do not see, when I watch them walk into a world I know little about, when I put them in the care of adults I have not fully back-ground-checked (yes, it is tempting).  I realize.

I have four more.
Four that may be “mine” for longer
But who are still only mine for a while.

For them, too, this is all temporary.

And one day I won’t.
I won’t be the one driving them to school.
I won’t ensure that the last words they hear are encouraging and TRUTH filled.
I won’t pack their lunches or remind them to wash their hands.
I won’t lay in bed with them talking about their day.

I’ll send them out into the world, having poured in everything I had to give.
With no guarantees of what comes next.
Wondering if “for a while” was enough.
DUDE! THE PRESSURE!

And maybe that is why I chose this verse to be our “school year” verse:

“The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who DELIGHTS in HIM!” 

– psalm 37:23 

Every morning when I hear seven say those words, I can remind MYSELF what my “for a while” mission is.  Not overthink it. Not over complicate it. Simply:

Help them. Show them. Encourage them.
To DELIGHT in Him.

He alone can fulfill my deepest desire for them.
He can do what my “for a while” could never do.
Because He promises to make their steps FIRM.

 
You know what their firm steps can do?
Firm steps can travel a lifetime of rocky and narrow roads.
They can traverse the temporary and unknown.
They can hike up mountains of disappointment.  And run through fields of surprise joy.
They can nimbly wade through peer pressure and mixed media messages and exposure to this crazy world.
They can tiptoe across the balance beam of tough decisions, and land on the other side with arms stretched high in victory.
Firm steps will help them stand tall BOTH on the summits AND in the trenches and shout “GOD IS GOOD. RIGHT HERE, HE IS GOOD.”
 

And, whether my “for a while” with them is one year or many more, I can’t think of a single greater thing I want for any of them. 

Because I love them.  But they are only mine “for a while”.

 
ABL

There’s a lot about parenting and faith and life that, much to my accounting dismay, does not fit in a formula.  But here’s one lesson that kinda does.

When you think about others MORE, you tend to think about yourself LESS.  When you add some to the others bucket, you subtract some from the worry about me bucket.  

It is a life lesson I want my kids to learn and implement.  Shoot, its a life lesson I want to be better about learning and implementing.  Which is why this lemonade stand was so encouraging.

Because from the first preparations

to the final CHEERS at the end of the morning,

We learned from our lemonade stand that helping other people has so many benefits.

You have fun. And you grow. We were all exhausted after this three hours, but the kids were quick to add it to one of their favorite days EVER and ask when we could do it again (I didn’t have the heart to tell them I’ve only got one lemonade stand per summer in me.)  And for a little while in the fun we were all thinking about something other than the fact that its been just a little crazy in our own world.  It was like I could actually see the boundaries of the world-view for 7 kids stretch a little.

You learn about your strengths.  We went around the dinner table after the lemonade stand and talked about how cool it was to have such a big team with so many people to contribute something different.  (I’ll admit- this was a “fake it till you make it speech- kinda convincing myself as I went).  We decided KJ was awesome at collecting money and engaging the customers so they knew our purpose.

Cbug was a pro at directing traffic and sticking to his task.  

AB was caught on film helping other kids, littler than himself, pick out toys and know how they worked.  

CB was great at helping pour and doing jobs others didn’t want to do- like holding open the cooler.

Lou was great at making sure we used the scooper, not our hands, to get the ice and serving with a smile.  

BB was good at TRYING REALLY HARD not to take all the toys we were selling and instead helping (re)organize them.

Tito, we all agreed, was the absolute best at running around like crazy in all his cuteness.

You build a team.  There’s been a lot around here of combining toys, sharing rooms, who has ever seen such-and-such movie, who has been on what trip, whose turn is it.  But you know how many of us had ever had a lemonade stand before? NONE. We were all in this one together. For the first time.  And together we had one goal. United.

You enable other people to help other people to help other people.  When you help someone and then they help someone, you see how community works best.  The cool thing is earlier the same week these amazing people came and worked in our yard.

Which took something off of our long list of craziness.  Which freed up some time Saturday morning. To help us raise money. To help a team of people.Go to Africa to help people learn how to spread the gospel to other people.  I mean. SERIOUSLY.

From pulling some weeds in Texas to the Good News spreading in Africa.  YES!

And those, my friends, are lessons you can only learn from thinking a little less about me.  And a little more about them.

The math is simple.

ABL

Today

there were dishes to do, a mound of folded but not put away clothes calling my name, and a long list of other chores that come with Monday.

BUT today

there were also some questions I couldn’t answer, and there was some confusion and disappointment.

So today

We played dressup.

Because Today

The dishes needed to wait. And they needed me to play. To pretend. And engage. I needed to laugh.

Don’t get me wrong. The time of Joy didn’t really change anything. The dishes still had to be done later, the confusion still lingers, we had to clean up the mess we made in the playroom, I still got frustrated this afternoon in parenting.

 but for TODAY

We have these pictures. These memories. We’ll remember we chose Joy.

We will remember
we played dress up.
ABL

Did you think having a few extra “calves” would keep us from celebrating?

Surely you know us (and this tradition)

a little better than that by now?

You probably also know that I feel pretty strongly about your food not being free if you spend much time or money on your costumes.

AND we did neither…

Thanks to this awesome pattern AND the spots the kids cut out themselves (with the help of our Wonder Woman nanny)!

But I’ll admit, I was starting to wonder about the true cost of our food. You know it’s hard to calculate the cost of dressing, transporting and corralling the many calves, ordering for a herd, answering for the 194756252749 time whether it’s time to go to the playscape, making sure no one puts their mouth on the walls or pets strangers (yes, both happened) and then multiply by the fact that it was all on a day I also worked.

But.THEN.

This happened.

Lou and Maci Caroline won a prize (MC is the doll wearing spots, ears and a tail with a bow like Lou). They got third in the “calf” division. And she was THRILLED.

Totally worth it.

(And it helped that she won a ton of free CFA meals).

Cow Appreciation Day,

We WILL CYA NEXT YEAR!!

Because adding more calves may have multiplied the chaos,

But it also multiplied the FREE

And the fun!

Cow Appreciation Day. How we love you!

ABL

As we adjust to our current life with seven kids, there are many days I wonder whether we are enough. Whether we are saying enough, praying enough, teaching enough, believing enough, playing enough, snuggling enough.
Being. Enough.

There are two of us. And seven of them.
Sure doesn’t seem like enough.

But this night I got to be reminded. We are certainly not enough. And that’s perfect.

We were celebrating the 4th with RRLs family and the inevitable happened when you take many small children to the park…potty break. So we hustled five of them down the street to the home of RRLs brother. We were in the middle of “don’t touch that.please wait your turn. For the love…please wash your hands” when I walked by the bathroom and heard my 4-year-old nephew singing snippets of David Crowders “I Am”.

I glowed. It’s the first song on the worship play list I’ve been cranking up when we need to shift the mood around here (read:frequently). I loved that he was learning it. I gave myself a parenting pat on the back, walked down the hall with a bit of a fist pump in the air and said to RRL “it’s working”. I was feeling quite proud of my amazingness until I walked back and had this humbling conversation…

“BB, I heard you singing .”
And then we sang together “I am…holding on to you. I am holding on to you. in the middle of the storm, i am holding on, I am…”
Ready to proceed with the teachable moment, I asked “Do you like that song?”
BB: “Yes!”
Me: “BB do you know who is holding on to you?”
BB emphatically and sure of himself (which is rare for him): “Yes! Jesus!”
Me (fairly surprised at his confidence): “How did you know that Jesus was who the song was talking about holding on to you in the storms?”
BB: “Because He sings it to me when I lay down.”

It took everything in me, but I didn’t press further. Anything that came out of my adult heart/brain would have only hindered his amazing child-like faith.  What I do know is that as many transitions, as many heart-breaks, as much confusion as this sweet boy has faced, I feel confident that there is only ONE voice that could speak so clearly to him. I can’t even explain how spectacular this moment was, especially for this particular kiddo.

For those that have been standing with us through the storm of uniting this team, thank you for your prayers. We are surrounded.
He is here. He is holding on. He is “I Am”.
And He is certainly enough.

ABL

As another step in my self-directed “reclaiming” project, this week (a week with 7 kids and one ME), I’m reclaiming my perspective.

This week, I am choosing to just be so thankful for my husband and all that he does in our home.

And not dwell on the fact that I make a terrible “Daddy” when he is away.  I failed to take the trash out on trash day, can’t even go there on my efforts to unclog a toilet and in just one single week trying to parent without my him, there were moments of near mutiny from the 7 kids in my care.  Lets don’t even talk about how one decided he actually is only potty trained when Daddy is home.

I’m loving that he even managed to make sure I had special deliveries of chocolate magically appear on occasion throughout the week.  Isn’t he amazing?

            No need to focus on the fact that I may or may not have mentioned on the phone that the way he could help me most while he was gone would be to have chocolate delivered.  One of the few marriage tips I’ll share on this blog: If you need something, ask for it.  It makes it none-the-less sincere when you receive it.

The kids and I had an awesome 2^nd annual GREAT GIFTCARD (and coupon) WEEK.  This year was mainly just food places, but we enjoyed trying new places, visiting familiar ones on a tighter budget, and doing significantly fewer dishes.  We even had the awesome blessing of these friends bringing their coupon-purchased-food to share!

            I won’t be consumed with frustration that coupons at restaurants are often a rip-off, forcing you to buy more than you would have just to get the free something.  Thank you CFA for having REAL coupons that save me REAL money.

I took 7 kids out to eat BY MYSELF multiple times.  We were a spectacle, but broke nothing (that I know of).

            We can ignore that one unfortunate incident involving standing in a parking lot, at the door to the van with a certain un-potty-trained child’s leg stretched up in the air.  In running shorts and messy hair, I was wiping poop off, throwing away underwear and trying (unsuccessfully) to corral 6 other hooligans at the very moment when three other moms, sans children and dressed as such, walked up.  What could I do, but nod and smile and pretend this is normal?  Laugh. And proceed with icecream.

We ate our fruits and vegetables.

            No need to note that one time the fruit was in a cup on the way to the donut store and another time (maybe even on the same day) the vegetables were cold leftover green beans in a cup that the kids ate for a snack between our Sonic lunch and McDonalds dinner.  (I should win some sort of academy award for my starring role in the never ending film entitled “How to convince kids that something terrible is really fantastic)

After bonus kids arriving with a near truckload of stuff, unloading it in the garage and then Ricky leaving town, I’m proud to report that everyone now has clean clothes that fit put away in drawers and closets in their rooms and toys they love accessible in the playroom. And my house is clean.

To maintain my perspective that I’m amazing for this feat- I stay out of my overflowing closet as much as possible.  And ignore the fact that I had paid-for-help with cleaning.

My God is so good. So faithful.  So evident. So present.  This week I’ve seen Him multiply energy, grant patience, cover inadequacies, pour buckets of grace and provide for even more than our needs- from money to food to clothing to sweet company.

            I’ll choose not to beat myself up about the moment I was literally why-me-ing to the King of the Universe over poop inunderwear.

Perspective.  It is a choice.  I choose laughter.  

And chocolate.

ABL