Ten years ago, I would have told you if I had two boys and wanted a third child I would most assuredly adopt and make certain it was a girl! I used to hear all kinds of stories from my aunt who has three boys very close in age that terrified me.
Ten years ago, I had no idea where life would take me and how God would change me. I had no idea that baby boy #1 would come after years of tears and empty arms and would be the labor of my heart. I had no idea that baby boy #2 would be an unexpected surprise pregnancy just months after bringing baby boy #1 home. I had no idea that baby boy #3 would be the pregnancy we were not planning on!
A mother of three boys, that is what I am going to be...in just a few short weeks! And ten years later my aunt has successfully survived three boys with two of them in college and the third in high school. And I am thankful and grateful for my third son who likes to kick me in the ribs and I am getting anxious to meet him.
Am I scared to raise 3 boys...not gonna lie, I am. Do I think I may not be able to do it...some days. Is my life going to be chaotic and crazy...yes. Is this the biggest BLESSING of my life...undoubtedly, YES!
Through all of this I have learned to be a much more laid back parent. I'm convinced this is the only way to raise boys...without going crazy. I can't let the little things bother me; some days we go through three outfits because of playing in the mud, dirt and puddles, sometimes (like tonight) we eat cereal an hour before dinner (because growing boys are always hungry), bugs will be brought to me, tortured and usually smooshed, forts will be constantly built out of cushions and pillows, and my house will ALWAYS be dirty.
I take a few deep breaths and I am okay with all of those things. They are disciplined and taught to obey but I refuse to have war over every small thing. There are those who adamantly say that just because they are boys is no excuse for misbehavior...I totally agree...and tell me again how many daughters do you have, haha.
There are moments I hold in my heart that make it all worth it, like when they come to me with their hands behind their backs to proudly give me a dandelion or clover they picked for me. I never thought I would put dandelions and clovers in vases...but I do.
Everyone tells me it will be gone in the blink of an eye and before you know it the last one is leaving for college. So my prayer is, Lord help me to be the best parent I can and enjoy the little moments. Can I get an amen?!
Friday, October 18, 2013
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The New Neighborhood
Wow, where do I start. I see that August 2012 was my last post. A lot has happened in my life since then! When I started this blog I wanted to be an honest writer who writes about real life which includes the not so pretty and not so easy times. I think this is why I have avoided writing. The last year + has been all of the above and more.
Not much happened (please apply sarcasm), I started a new part-time job working two days a week, my dear hubby went back to his job at the fire department, I found out I was pregnant (yes, baby boy #3) and we moved! Yeah, nothing big at all, haha.
Yes, it has been crazy and just plain hard. But I can still say I am RUNNING OVER BLESSED.
We love the neighborhood we moved to. It is in our hometown, close to church and the elementary school, across the street from my in-laws (yes, that is good) and it just feels like home. It is a very small development with about a dozen houses and has a cul-de-sac with no thru traffic. It is nothing fancy there is no feel of keeping up with the Jones's, which I love! I grew up in the country and wasn't sure if I would like having neighbors so close, but I found out I do. My two boys now a grown-up preschooler of 4 and a half and a very strong-willed, not yet potty-trained, not quite 3 year old are enjoying it too. They love to play in the cul-de-sac at the end of the street with all of the neighborhood kids.
Every afternoon and or evening the boys ask to ride their bikes down the street to play with the "neighbor kids". The kids congregate and ride bikes, shoot hoops, kick a soccer ball, make rubber-band bracelets, make mudpies and whatever other activity they come up with. They range in age from 1 and 1/2 to 12 years old and the older ones are kind and interactive with the younger ones. I have already learned to know several of my neighbors better than I knew previous neighbors that we shared walls with in a townhouse for six years.
In the past month's time I have learned to know the one family very well. And I watch her in awe and admire her incredible strength. She is only two years older than me and her 38 year-old husband is dying of brain cancer which he has been fighting for the past two years. She is a mother of 4 children and a devoted wife who has lovingly been caring for her husband.
Over this past month as my heart breaks for her, I have also been encouraged. This is what it looks like for the church to be the hands and feet of Jesus. The family was not connected with a church but I have seen my own pastor and church come alongside this family and help in very practical ways. I have seen neighbors do the same and she has shared with me stories of other friends and family who have stepped in and been meeting their needs. God has been providing for them through this very difficult time.
This is real life; difficult, unfair and painful. Yet as I sat beside her on the grass last night, swatting the gnats away, watching the kids play and listening to her struggles and joys of the day. We could still laugh at the kids' antics and the fact that we got splattered in mud when the soccer ball landed in the mud beside us. Real life in this world is hard and sometimes just plain sucks! But when you have a heavenly hope it makes all the difference and makes persevering through each day worth it.
My own struggles as real and hard as they are fade in comparison to the real life nightmare she is living. It forces me to take my eyes off myself, stop having a pity party and look to my heavenly father for strength.
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we can not see." Hebrews 11:1
Not much happened (please apply sarcasm), I started a new part-time job working two days a week, my dear hubby went back to his job at the fire department, I found out I was pregnant (yes, baby boy #3) and we moved! Yeah, nothing big at all, haha.
Yes, it has been crazy and just plain hard. But I can still say I am RUNNING OVER BLESSED.
We love the neighborhood we moved to. It is in our hometown, close to church and the elementary school, across the street from my in-laws (yes, that is good) and it just feels like home. It is a very small development with about a dozen houses and has a cul-de-sac with no thru traffic. It is nothing fancy there is no feel of keeping up with the Jones's, which I love! I grew up in the country and wasn't sure if I would like having neighbors so close, but I found out I do. My two boys now a grown-up preschooler of 4 and a half and a very strong-willed, not yet potty-trained, not quite 3 year old are enjoying it too. They love to play in the cul-de-sac at the end of the street with all of the neighborhood kids.
Every afternoon and or evening the boys ask to ride their bikes down the street to play with the "neighbor kids". The kids congregate and ride bikes, shoot hoops, kick a soccer ball, make rubber-band bracelets, make mudpies and whatever other activity they come up with. They range in age from 1 and 1/2 to 12 years old and the older ones are kind and interactive with the younger ones. I have already learned to know several of my neighbors better than I knew previous neighbors that we shared walls with in a townhouse for six years.
In the past month's time I have learned to know the one family very well. And I watch her in awe and admire her incredible strength. She is only two years older than me and her 38 year-old husband is dying of brain cancer which he has been fighting for the past two years. She is a mother of 4 children and a devoted wife who has lovingly been caring for her husband.
Over this past month as my heart breaks for her, I have also been encouraged. This is what it looks like for the church to be the hands and feet of Jesus. The family was not connected with a church but I have seen my own pastor and church come alongside this family and help in very practical ways. I have seen neighbors do the same and she has shared with me stories of other friends and family who have stepped in and been meeting their needs. God has been providing for them through this very difficult time.
This is real life; difficult, unfair and painful. Yet as I sat beside her on the grass last night, swatting the gnats away, watching the kids play and listening to her struggles and joys of the day. We could still laugh at the kids' antics and the fact that we got splattered in mud when the soccer ball landed in the mud beside us. Real life in this world is hard and sometimes just plain sucks! But when you have a heavenly hope it makes all the difference and makes persevering through each day worth it.
My own struggles as real and hard as they are fade in comparison to the real life nightmare she is living. It forces me to take my eyes off myself, stop having a pity party and look to my heavenly father for strength.
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we can not see." Hebrews 11:1
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