Most of my blog posts feature something exciting: a trip, a holiday, or visitors. Today, however, I wanted to do a post about the mundane, the every day. The real life, not the bursts of excitement. I may not have as many pictures of these moments, but they are important all the same.
A couple weeks ago we started renovating our laundry room. It was ugly before, but now that it's beside a brand new kitchen, it's atrocious. Demolition is something that we're real good at jumping into with vigor, but then it (and all the dust, wood chips and nails) drag on (and through the house) with no end in sight. The first night of demo was quite exciting, especially when a water pipe was bumped and burst, becoming a geyser. The kids watched (and thankfully didn't scream) as Ben sprinted to the water meter at the street, and I followed after him in my socks with a flashlight so he could see the faucet. By the time the water was turned off, we had enough water to soak about 20 towels. The real adventure of it was that because we now live in a small town, there was no store open that carried a cap for the pipe, so we didn't have water until the plumber ended his work late the next afternoon.
The boys have been great "help" with renovation. Watching Joshy with his tools reminds me so much of the twins at his age and all the renovations we did at our old home. Josh now walks around the house "sawing" everything.
Here's Josh with his drill (note the ugly counter top, cabinets and linoleum in the utility room)
Here's Sam at Josh's age "sanding with a dust mask on"
Here's Josh with his saw, and Seth at Josh's age using a screwdriver on the counter
Three peas on a pod, those boys! Here's all the boys tearing up the room: the twins actually are quite a bit of help! They are hard workers and have torn apart stuff and carried out a lot to the trash pile.
Thankfully Ben didn't try to tear up the floor in his underwear!
All this renovating couldn't happen without some good Saturday snuggling first!
I've been trying to do some fun special things on minor holidays, because I feel like that is something the boys miss out not going to school. We played with Jello for leap day (sneak peak at the kitchen in this picture, don't tell HGTV!)
Then, at the boys' insistence, I made corned beef for St. Patrick's Day. The Irish meal was completed by all green fruit and special GF treats from a bakery.
Josh asks each one of us "What's your favorite animal," at least 10 times a day. It's his new conversational achievement. So we answer: again and again. Dad's is a giraffe. Mom's is a whale. Seth is a dog, a horse, and a tiger. Sam's is a monkey, penguin and dog. And Josh's? It varies, but yesterday it was, "A dragon, a giraffe, and a dog."
When asked by a neighbor how much he weighed, Josh replied, "Ah...about a thousand." He's into tall tales. And quite humble; after making two baskets in a row, he told Ben, "I good at this!"
I have so much storage in my new cabinets that I've kept the bottom one empty for Josh to play in!
We're on our fourth year in a row of filling out household March Madness brackets. Josh was my partner this year, and actually randomly picked MSU to win it all! A team that had a chance! And then they got upset...go figure. We're in last place. Ben's in first. Blah! The twins devised their own bracket and are playing all the games for it on their hoop. They play a ton of basketball and have games where they both score into the 100's. I figure it's good for exercise and math!
Tired of reminding the twins to do certain things (like wash with soap! don't stand on the bathtub when brushing your teeth!), I threatened to take away a quarter for each disobedience. I have yet to take any money away and have found a true motivator!
We still try to go on a walk every non-raining day to Chris and Jackie's house. They are about five houses down and have a dog Rosey likes to play with. Rosey gets her energy out, we get out of the house, and the boys love playing in the trees (where they still think a fairy hides quarters). I can tell that Chris and Jackie really love seeing the boys every day, and they especially love listening to Josh talk. It's amazing how one quick walk can really minister and show Jesus' love.
Chris was tickled to show the boys his bear rugs.
They all loved seeing bear fir and talk about it often. In the picture below Chris is showing them a bear skull.
Chris taught the boys how make squeaking sounds with pieces of grass. It's their new thing.
Josh loves hearing the funny sounds! Chris loves showing him.
This past weekend we tried for our first dinner outside. Two bites into our hamburgers, it started raining. Rats. We're so desperate for summer!
Recently, there has been a lot of days where homeschooling is really hard. I question it; I question if we are doing the right thing, if our kids will be socially adjusted, if I can handle another minute of constant kids running around my house and noise (so much noise!). I wonder if they are missing out by not being at school. I feel the weight of "going against the grain," and having kids that are talking about "The Wizard of Oz" and "Little House on the Prairie" books instead of Star Wars.
Then there are days where I'm sure that homeschooling is the right thing for us to do: where they are running in the backyard, hands in the dirt, laughing, running free and not sitting in the classroom. Or where they spend hours on the couch, nose in a book, reading, growing and learning. I love the days where we find their passions, like farming, so we plant peas for science and then journal the weather, the germination process and their growth predictions. I feel encouraged when I walk to the playroom to get them for a lesson, and find them copying the blueprint for a machine from a book. That's school, school that will stick because it's meaningful to them. So for now, we're sticking with homeschooling.
Parenting has also been hard. Especially after traveling so much, we had some long days, where it seemed like we'd all seen way too much of each other. Nit-picking and bickering where the name of the game, myself included. Josh is tough. He takes, he hits, he bugs. The twins get stuck in their ways and have a hard time remembering that Josh does not and will not act like a six year old, because he's two! I get tired of constant interruptions to break up verbal spouts. One day I called Ben in tears because I heard Seth and Sam talking about how "mom doesn't do anything...she just goes off to have fun." Oh, I was mad! And crushed! I feel weary.
Then there are those shining moments! Where the twins both have their arms around Josh leading him outside. Or Josh says, "Thanks for dinner mom," because the twins set such a good example of saying it. Where I hear Seth telling Josh about Jesus so that can they be in heaven together too, or where Sammy asks Josh what he wants to play and runs off to the kitchen with him to race cars. I feel proud when my kids love on our neighbors or are good friends. I know that the road called parenting is a long, bumpy and tiring one, but one worth persevering on! Through all these tough schooling and parenting moments, God is constantly gracious and merciful! Right when I need it, He has provided friends to play with the boys and moms to encourage me. Just like a rainbow over my favorite old house in the field across the road, God's promises are always present and true. I am grateful.
