A Frog In My Soup has definitely been lacking in the Meat and Potatoes department.  Lot’s of side dishes and a few desserts here and there, but the real substance of the meal is missing these days.  Blame it on summer?  or maybe on the fact that I’m working my tail off to get the house ready to be put on the market???  I don’t really know, but my daily Bible reading has declined as well.

Ah, now it all makes sense, right?  Isn’t it amazing what a huge difference it makes when we are in the Word of God to some extent each day?  It is for me for sure!  It is the very life and essence of my thoughts and definitely creates much more focus and purpose when I make sure I’m spending time in the Word each day. 

Prayer …. yup that’s in there too, for me these days it’s the quickly-throughout-the-day type of prayer that is getting me through, not the sustained, time-on-my-knees listening to His Voice type.  So the combination has created a rather lackluster theme around here. 

For the longest time I have tried - and failed miserably - to do my daily devotions in the morning.  As a mom, we all know this should be done when the children are still sleeping.  My boys are busy bees first thing in the morning and create as much noise as possible to wake up the day (and the rest of the household)!  If only I could awaken with that much energy!

So finally, a thought struggled it’s way through my foggy mind and I realized that I have been wasting away the quietest time of the day at my house … evening!  I’m always up until 10:30pm or 11pm (or later ), so why not make the effort in those great moments before I head to bed???  The 10:00 to 11:00 hour is the BEST and QUIETEST time around here. 

This suddenly occurred to my crazy mind about 11:30 pm last night so I took a few moments to write a page in my journal while making a mental note to create a more purposeful time tonight.  I am so hungry for the Word of God right now!  Seriously!!!  I adore the devotionals I am priveleged to read and publish for our amazing contributors at Faith Lifts and I definitely get a great lift when I take them to heart.  But they, like Sunday Sermons only take me so far and I’m hungry again.

This month I’m going to focus on reading the word and journaling each evening at about 10:30 or 11:00pm.  The idea that I may actually have stumbled upon something that with only a few exceptions might actually work on a VERY consistent basis is super exciting to me!  The fact that I can potentially do this for 30 days and instill it as a “habit” is even more exciting.  But just being able to rest in His presence during the quiet time of day here simply sounds Heavenly!

One thing that I struggle with a little bit as the mom of 6 busy boys is … I LOVE QUIET.  I am an introvert, the person that is refreshed and filled up when things are quietest.  So being in the hustle and bustle of boyness day in and day out without any quiet wears me down to nothing very quickly!!!  I HATE running on empty!  I’m sure you do too!  There are people (extroverts) that are actually refreshed by being in a crowd, that idea is foreign to me as it drains everything I have! 

The point I want to make is that here I am at 36 years old, with 6 children, been married for almost 15 years (anniversary is in a couple of weeks) and a revelation of change just came to me now!  So often I think we get stuck in what we think is The way or the Right way to do things that we can’t see “outside the box”.  That’s where I was. 

If you’re struggling with getting that all-important one-on-one time with God each day, I seriously encourage you to sit down in a quiet moment (’cuz I know we don’t often get more than that little moment of quiet) and look objectively at your day.  Remove the walls that are boxing you into thinking there is a certain time or way that you need to meet with God and simply search for that time that consistently appears in your schedule that you never considered using as your devotional time.

Let me know how it goes or if you have already discovered this time in your life!

Ever get to that place where life isn’t going the way you thought it would?  Where things are going backward and you’re desperately peddling forward?  Where you feel like you’ve lost control of every facet of life … but not in a good way? 

That’s where I’ve been finding myself recently.  The good is being overshadowed by the crazy parts.  I work hard each and every day to find joy, peace and growth in my life.  To be content with where I’m at and to try and make my world a little better place.  Every once in a while though you may get to the point where you find yourself in “the depths of despair” … that’s where I’m at. 

The kids’ last day of school was yesterday, but when they got home from school I was so frazzled I didn’t even know what to do to celebrate or make the day fun.   I’ll be spending most of the rest of this week trying to come up with a plan for the rest of the summer … for all of us.  Fun things and the things that simply MUST get done around the house.  Setting up any necessary appointments for the summer and hopefully some activities to keep everyone moving.

Through it all though, I’ll be desperately crying out to God for the answers and direction!  If nothing else, just to give me peace and rest in the midst of it all.  He is the one solid thing I have on my side!  The One I can call on in my time of need and despair.  The One who loves me more than I can even fathom.  I often don’t call on Him soon enough or take His promises to heart. 

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV)

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV)

The “them” in my life is everything on my “To Do” list, and even in a small way the fear of the crazy, potentially life-threatening things my Twinkies will attempt each and every day. 

Do you have any “Goliath’s” in your life that are leaving you feeling a little discouraged or even terrified?

My new word - I invented it today and promptly bestowed it upon Bug when trying to find a food that would make this slightly feverish 2 year old Baby happy.  He wanted cheese and only cheese {well, for the moment anyway}, not the pretzels to go with the snack {apparently they hurt his mouth}, so he kept digging for it and saying funny things when he found a piece {”hungy mama, hungy”}. 

Let me repeat it SNOOGER!  Know what it is?  Take a wild guess!!!  Here’s a hint: only the most adorable, pip-squeakiest, persnickety little ones can be called this when they are being … well an adorable persnickety pipsqueak.  Let me tell you I have a few that fit the bill an awful lot of the time!

Then he must wear the title again when he incessantly hands me the tv remote saying “Wubzy, mama, want Wubzy nooooow” complete with whiney-cutesy-you-can’t-resist-me voice. He slept most of the morning and now it is naptime - the only time of the day that I watch a couple of food shows while I catch up on work and laundry.  So, he’s up and Monkey is down {Lion is rebelling against rest time too and being very naughty, but rebellion simply does not fall under the definition of “Snooger”}.  Do I turn on Wubzy for him?  Or try to get him to rest again.

Did you figure out what Snooger is yet?  No?  Ok, hint 2:  It is a combination of two words that most people probably don’t refer to their children as, but I often occasionally do.

As I type this the Wubzy conversation Bug is having with me has risen to a pleading and begging session which is scary-cute: “Pweeeeeeeaaaase, mommy, watch Wubzy peeeease, I wike it Wubzy mama, peeease”.  See scary!  So, now I’m off to give in to the adorable “please” of the slightly ill 2 year old {who, I’m sure will be forever damaged by my giving in to his whim - I’ll expect the blaming to begin later in his life LOL}.  Can I just say that the oddest part of this conversation is that they DO NOT watch the show very often AT ALL!  They just don’t.

Still wondering where Snooger came from?  Well, let me tell you, it’s a combination of Snot and Booger - there you have it!

Gag Sensitive Reader Warning:  If you cannot stand to read about sick children and the life of a mom caring for them you will want to pass on this post today :) . 

Why is it that children only get ill (yup, I mean the vomiting type) in the middle of the night?  Can someone answer this for me.  And why is it that the things that are coming back up are the strangest, most random part of their last meal?  Gross, I know, but I have 6 children - each and every one of them has been sick many times in their lives and this is something I have been wondering for a long time as it is one of the few consistent things you can count on when a child becomes ill.

We had a sick-y last night our 4 year old, Sir Lion graced us with his poor little presence in the middle of the night after another child had decided they couldn’t stand sleeping alone in their bed.  His little tummy hurt and he had thrown up.  He could hardly talk about it, but we got him settled into Daddy’s chair and he seemed ok for the most part.  I think he got sick a total of two or three times through the night, so it wasn’t quite as bad as the last bout of stomack-ick we had around here with the Twinks. The poor Twinks are acting a little under the weather today too, so here we are, just hanging out. 

I’m supposed to be packing for a long-awaited weekend away.  Fishing weekend, an annual tradition in this household with only a few exceptions since my hubby was a little boy!  We haven’t gone since the twinks were born, so the kids are super excited!  But now I’m a little afraid that I’ll be spending most of the weekend in our rental with sick kiddos. 

Not that I’m complaining too much since the place we have rented for the weekend is larger than our house, with more bedrooms and BATHROOMS!  I’m really excited about the bathrooms part (sad, but true LOL).   It would almost be a great excuse to hang out there and catch up on a little reading and writing *sigh*. 

I have to admit although there is mess all around me today I love that Bug is resting with me and that Monkey wants to hold my hand.  I don’t love the fussing they are directing at me, but I love the cuddles.  They are so independent in that regard (heaven forbid they play independently though) that it is fun when they decide to snuggle up. 

Sir Lion seems to be his usual busy self this morning and the night of sickness seems almost like a distant dream (other than the mess in the sink I had to clean up this morning that sent me into a gagging fit).

But seriously . . . is it possible for them to get sick during the day instead of in the middle of the night?

That’s right . . . you heard me!  There are certain children in this household that feel that spring break is the perfect opportunity to try to dismember themselves or otherwise disrupt the household in crazy and un-fun ways!  And not all of the “offending” children are in the “school-attending” age group either! 

It all began with little bumps and bruises at the beginning of the week, not too out of the ordinary with 2 year olds and a boy learning to skateboard.  Tater did a faceplant trying to skateboard on the basketball court on Monday (what else would one do on a basketball court?). 

Tuesday morning met with Monkey burning his little hand (not too badly, but enough to cause him major pain and bring the entire rest of the day to a halt).  One of the older boys ended up having a physical issue that day too and the two middlest boys went to visit my mom for the night. 

The next day Monkey decided to bump his head, once at my parent’s house (while switching out the middlest two boys for the oldest two boys LOL) and then again when we got home.  It was the oddest thing, he kept tripping over things and somehow ended up bumping the top of his head.  It’s a nice little bruise today after plenty of icing yesterday.

That brings us to today, all was going well, no injuries, no tripping, no accidents.  Went to pick up the oldest two from my parent’s house, ran a few errands, grabbed lunch (major treat for the kids since it was fast food  :?  ), came home and put the twins down for their nap (which of course they then proceeded to both stinkify their diapers as soon as I walked out of the room and then they took their good sweet time getting to sleep . . . oh, about an hour).  But all was fine.  The “big” three were playing outside.  The “little” three were napping.  All was quiet. . . . .

Suddenly I heard crying, Tater came in the room holding his hands . . . crying, panicking.  He never cries out loud. Ever (he cries, he just doesn’t make any noise - VERY pathetic). He also WILL NOT TALK when upset.  Or show you or anything!  GRRR!  One has to handle a situation like this carefully with him, you also have to try to assess it as you would a very small child since as mentioned earlier HE WILL NOT TALK!  This is his thing.  That and sneaking - super sneaking and not talking kind of go hand in hand. 

Speaking of hands, I had already figured out that he had somehow cut himself, but on what, with what, why and how.  My children NEVER touch knives, they have taken turns sneaking a lot of things and they definitely have their moments of being naughty, but touching knives is NOT one of the things they do. EVER!  CJ is 12, helps me cook all the time, but rarely even now gets to use knives.  There is a reason. Yup. I had a reputation for cutting myself with knives when cooking.  NO KNIVES. 

His thumb had a nice gash in it . . . what to do???  Take him to the clinic?  They’d just glue it.  That’s all they do anymore.  Glue, glue, glue (even the things that are too deep to be glued, but we won’t go there and revisit a nightmare *twice*).   These are times that one would rather not have to figure it all out on their own, but inevitably these things always seem to happen when Daddy’s at work.  This was definitely topping off the week (don’t remind me that it’s only Thursday - I’m in denial!). 

He is fine, his thumb is glued (but I didn’t pay $100 for walk-in-doc down the road to do it - I did it - yes with the real stuff - I mentioned a nightmare, there’s a reason we have it on hand, it doesn’t last as long as it needs to).  He’s confined to the great indoors (haha), more specifically within my sight on the couch.  He was trying to cut a stick.  With a steak knife.  This all finally came out later, long after he was cleaned up and stuck back together, much prodding and patience later.

I asked him, “So, do you think that was a good idea?”.  Him, “No.”  Well, that’s something anyway . . . right?

I’ve never really told all of you about THE GATE that separates the front half of our little house from the back half.  It is my link to sanity, survival even if you will!  Crazy???? Maybe, but my blessed parents brought it to my house just before the Twinkies became mobile.  As much as I love the function of the gate, there are others in this house that do not - namely, the twins.  They think it is torture, pure unadulterated TORTURE!  I mean think of all the crazy, naughty creative things they could do at that end of the house.

Most of the time they are semi-ok with it being there when I’m busy in the room, but if I leave for even a second (which is all the longer I DARE stay out - goodness knows what they can accomplish with 5 whole seconds on their own - eek) they hang on it, wailing, screaming . . . oh the DRAMA.  Even when Daddy’s home, if they know I’m making dinner and they’re hanging out with him . . . they should be happy right???? NOPE, they are screaming, fussing, throwing themselves on the floor in indignation. 

This gate is not a new feature in our home, it is not new to them at all, they are very familiar with the other side of the gate as well.  It keeps them out of the toilet and sink, off the kitchen counters and table and out of my laundry piles that they so gleefully love to toss about the room and mix together.  This is why they stay with me - at all times! 

If you are with them long enough and know them well, eventually you will realize that to some extent the real problem lies with this . . . they do not like any type of boundary and have as a rule tried to climb over, through, around, under and beside any type of line we have set in their path.  They are the BABIES . . . HELLO!  Who do I think I am blocking their path from anything *gasp*????  I truly and honestly believe that is what they think about many things in life!    

So if you ever pass my house and hear the aforementioned “Wailing and Gnasing of Teeth” please rest assured that it is only because I went to take care of a stinky diaper and it will stop in a few seconds.  Really it will . . . I promise!!! 

It is not entirely uncommon for mornings to begin a little off kilter (to say the least). Today was one of those mornings! As I’m laying in bed (with more and more boys joining me by the minute) trying to decide if the twins were asleep enough for me to peacefully get out of bed and sneak in a shower . . . . suddenly, pop. Nothing loud, just a defining noise that means all ALL of the power is off! UGH! Here we go again.

We live in the sticks and if there is any wind at all, we will lose power. There’s frequently wind and this would mark the need to get out the generator. That’s right, we own a generator. That may not seem like a very odd thing, maybe I’m strange, but I have never lived anywhere that the power went out often enough to warrant the purchase of a generator. Granted, we don’t have a lot of space for it to power, so we can easily get all the necessities up and running. Two cords go into the kitchen, one for the microwave and griddle and another for the fridge (hello, I still have 6 kids to feed). Two more cords go into the living room, one to power the pellet stove and telephones (incidentally then my dsl works too haha) and the other cord (do not laugh at me) powers the tv and satellite box and voila I am cozy!

The timing was interesting, we had a guy come out to work on the pellet stove yesterday since we never could get it to warm up even 2 square feet last year, let alone the 1500 sq feet it is supposed to be able to heat (wait, we only need it to heat 1000 square feet). Anyway, we learned all sorts of new and interesting things about this model, and of course it was simply a couple of “doors” that needed to be closed (and it cost me how much?)! So since we had him out here anyway and the 2 second job that was required to get the thing working right was going to cost us an arm and a leg we figured we might as well have him install an igniter thingy to make it worth our while. It works like a dream now.

So . . . back to my story, here I was thinking “OK now what?”. The power is out and I have three kids to get off to school and 6 kids to try to feed and nothing is ready for a power outage. A few seconds later I hear the telltale footsteps of our oldest son tromping through the house to come and inform me that the power is out. The second I hear him at my door I said “I know” and he went off to begin lighting candles. The power outage only lasted for about an hour or an hour and a half today - very short considering the “norm”! Just long enough to make sure I didn’t get my shower and that the kids got a very strange breakfast. Just long enough for Son1 to get the generator out of the garage, but not hooked up. Just long enough for the boys to almost miss the bus in all the confusion. Just long enough to cost me lunch money for all three of the older boys. Just long enough to throw my day off kilter.

So here I am . . . it’s Tackle It Tuesday . . . another boring project though - laundry, so I won’t bore you with it. Oh, did I mention that breakfast for the boys was graham crackers and yogurt? Yup! Since the oven wasn’t working I couldn’t make granola or hot cereal or toast (we don’t own a toaster, it would take me all day to make toast for 6 kids, so we cook it in the oven under the broiler - 12 slices at a time). We improvised - not well maybe, but we improvised.

It’s funny how something like that can make you feel almost a little dazed and confused. Granted, it doesn’t take much in my world, but I don’t like the feeling. I would love to be able to offer my wonderful readers great anecdotes for life and encouragement for their day and wisdom to carry with them, but today it is a saga . . . a long and boring saga of the perils of power outages.

So until another day . . . .