Smelling the Roses

Today has been a DAY. Messy house, messy kids. Disastrous painting activity. Screaming toddler who now knows how to say, "My turn!" and "I want," and acts like I'm ripping his hair out when I'm simply trying to very gently give him a haircut. Frustrating grocery shopping trip with (you guessed it) a screaming toddler throwing fits when I won't let him squeeze the chip bag or won't give him a balloon. Big boys don't want to do school, don't want to run errands, in the end, don't want me to tell them what to do. Sigh. Being a stay at home mom is definitely not all roses.

But, there are roses. A lot of them. Even these frustrations are covered in God's grace and mercy. The weekend is coming. The rain is causing our garden to grow. Hummingbirds found my feeder on the garden window so I can watch them while I do dishes. Screaming toddler is taking a long nap. God provided a friend just down the street who stays at home with her four kids and is in the trenches too.

 

Days like this I like to grab my coffee and look through pictures of the past few months. Because I mostly take pictures of the roses, and it's nice to remember how sweet they smelled!

 This kid. Too big pants and shirt. And the random croc. Life.

 We discovered that by using the Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 mix, we can bake our families traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe! They were amazing!

 Letting Josh play in the water at the sink has been my "go to" as of late. It keeps him busy for a long time! (And look at that hair! That's why I was trying to give him a haircut!)

 He loves his daddy so much. And is getting too big. Look at how long his legs are!

Um, can you believe how much they look alike? I can't! (Sam top, Seth bottom)

 I love this picture so much! The pj's, the boots, the smile!

I was so thankful for the week my mom spent with us in March. The boys got lots of attention and did lots of art projects. She even got to go to school with us and let me have a morning out for lunch with a friend! I'm reminded that when being I get overwhelmed, God has always provided me with help just when I needed it!