Joy in the Journey

Do you ever feel a little…claustrophobic? I do! Not that I spend a lot of time in small spaces, but I spend a lot of time with little people who what to get up in and take up my space.  Picture this: I’m sitting cross legged on one corner of my king size bed. I’ve got a baby who is hungry and having trouble latching on in one arm, and I’m trying to hook up the haakaa with my other hand. At one knee I’ve got a 5th grader who is crying about how much work it takes to divide and simplify fractions. At the other knee I have two little boys who want to have a punching match and one of them keeps getting knocked into the haakaa and detaching it. The baby is super frustrated because he’s still not latching right and the little girl behind the boys is wanting me to correct her language arts worksheet so she can move onto the next one. Right. This. Second. She’s not being rude or anything about it, she’s just not my most intuitive child and can’t see that I’m a little busy at the moment. 
It’s a…

The Changing of the Seasons Motherhood changes.
The seasons are changing. The sun is up and bright but the morning air has a bite of cold in it now and the leaves are just beginning their time of fall.
Change.
Seasons change.
Not just the weather but in the matters of life as well. My son is now 13 months old and we just entered a new season of change and what feels like loss... Weaning!
I want to take it slow and spread it over a few months but yet, every time I think about intentionally not connecting to my son, feeding him by nursing, I feel AWFUL, like I'm denying him.
I know he's old enough. I know it's time. I've been thinking about it for awhile now but it's still HARD, and it's still a loss, still a change of season.
I thought I was fine most of yesterday, after realizing it was time to start the weaning process. I had a plan, I'd looked up information, it would be gradual, it would be fine! I went into town, did some errands, made sure my son had plenty o…

It’s 10 PM Monday evening and I just realized that I have not written my blog for Tuesday!


That’s not the only thing I’ve forgotten today. I left some dishes soaking in the sink because I started them but didn’t get back to finish them.
I was supposed to go up to my grandparents house this afternoon and didn't realize that I had forgotten to do it until this evening. I made it up there around 7:30 PM.
I wanted to make an apple crisp and forgot that I was out of oatmeal. So I had to run up to my grandparents' house a second time to borrow some oatmeal. 
I was also going to give the baby a bath today, and possibly bathe myself since I don’t know how anybody can stand to be in the same room as me right now. But I forgot. 
I’m pretty sure I haven’t brushed my teeth or my hair today either.
And I left a load of laundry in the wash, so I’m probably gonna have to run it again tomorrow.
But I did have a nice little time of reading my Bible this morning. I also remembered to say a few…

I've been feeling pretty convicted lately.

On the topic of rest.

Going camping two weekends ago and realizing just how much I have been working and prioritizing other things ahead of my family was convicting.

Reading Lee's blog on Just for Fun was a great reminder and encouragement. Also, a friend of mine recently shared with me about a lady who highly prioritized a day of rest like the Sabbath in the Bible and that, too, was convicting. That lady's Day of Rest included "covenant relationships": God, spouse, children and whatever was rejuvenating to her personally. I loved that! 

So, I'm trying to find rest...
Sounds funny, I know.
Find rest?

Well, I'm trying to find how do I intentionally rest? How do I balance work and rest? How do I prioritize restoration? 

Yesterday went really well, I thought. We all got up at a reasonable time. My eldest watched the baby while I painted a dresser for my bedroom. Both girls did their school work (we started homeschool back u…

Is a Clean House important?
I'm going over to a friends house today. She is a mother to five precious children. Four out of the five kids are age 5 and under. She messaged me earlier and said her house looked like a bomb went off in it and she was stressing about what I would think of her when I saw it.
I loved the honesty of that statement. We ALL feel that way! But WHY?! 
Why do we all think we are going to be looked down on for how our homes look? Judged by how our kids effect the look of our homes and the mess level? 
WE ARE MOMS!
We have young children. Our houses are often, if not always, messy. No judgement from me! I find a messy house that is full of children a beautiful thing. :)
Now, I do have to admit my house is usually clean. It's usually put together, but there are several factors that contribute to that:
1) I have got rid of 60-70% of my stuff which makes it a million times easier to keep clean (I have LESS to keep clean and tidy).
2) I have ONE little one, vs FOUR to c…

My baby will be four weeks old on Friday. 
How is this possible? I wonder the same thing about my oldest, who is going to be 11 years old this winter. How can that be? Wasn’t she JUST four weeks old a few days ago? 


The last four weeks have included a lot of learning and a lot of just pure survival. I’m rejoicing in the small victories. 
I talked about my nursing struggles here, but at his three week appointment I learned that he had gained 3 ounces in three days, while only receiving a total of 2 1/2 ounces of supplement over those three days, so my milk is now built up enough to sustain him! (YAY!)
His skin and eyes are less yellow, which means his jaundice is going away and his poop is more yellow which means he’s getting good breastmilk. (YAY!)
I’ve learned that he sleeps best when I am holding him, but he will sleep pretty well when swaddled, so that has made little tasks like washing the dishes and cooking much easier and doable. (YAY!)
My husband decided to remodel the bathroo…