Priorities

Well, let me start out by saying that Sunday was a first -- the first time our entire family went somewhere together since Daniel was born!

We have a 15 passenger van and I am thankful for all that space.  We now have 3 kids in the first seat (including the 2 little ones), 3 in the next seat, and our big girls in our back seat.  There is another seat that is out of the van so we have plenty of cargo space.  It was wonderful looking back at our brood!  We're so proud of them.

We went to church together on Sunday.  The speaker is a pastor who works in FL for a church reaching out to the lost -- many of whom are facing serious challenges.

I didn't get to listen to the whole sermon because Daniel got fussy. There were several valuable themes to the sermon but the big one for Kevin and me was the speaker's focus on FAMILY commitment.

The speaker said that many men tend to put their "work" above their family.  He said he used to put in 90 hour weeks as a pastor in his church. The needs were so great and he felt good about himself when he put very long hours into "reaching the lost". But he was completely neglecting his wife and children.  The speaker said that is quite normal, even in Christian circles.  Maybe especially in Christian circles?  Fortunately for him, he was able to listen to his wife when she showed that he had a problem, and he has friends who keep him accountable to spend time with his family so he now lives a more balanced life.

 The speaker also recounted the sad true story of a founder of a major world relief organization who told God, "I'll take care of the little lambs overseas if you take care of the my little lambs at home."  He didn't see his children much at all as he was overseas 10 months a year.  The results were devastating.  His wife separated from him for a season, one child tried to commit suice, and another succeeded in commiting suicide.  No, that bargain with God was a false one.  It was HIS job to minister to his family, not someone else's.

Kevin and I talk about priorities all the time.  We live in a world with such an array of options.  200 years ago, even 100 years ago, women had relatively few options in terms of employment opportunities.  That has changed dramatically. I have a PhD in engineering and could be working long hours and making a lot of money.  In fact, for many years before my marriage I had every intention of being a single career woman.  One of God's gifts to me is a gift of giving. I really do like giving money to the Lord's work and I THINK I probably would have given much of my salary away if I had indeed stayed single. I don't know for sure and maybe I would have succumbed to materialism, but I hope not.

Anyway, life obviously took a sharp turn when I got married (after 6 months of courtship) to Kevin.  The story of how we opened our lives to a large family is for another day, but suffice it to say that we do indeed have a large family!  I had my first child 2 months after I turned 30, and our 8th child at age 42.

So, no full time job outside the home!  I need to be home with my kids most of the time and indeed child care would wipe out a lot of my salary anyway.  So that means I am "giving" relatively little to the Lord's work in terms of money compared to what "might have been." But obviously our marriage has resulted in 8 children whom we hope will grow up to serve the Lord with all their hearts, souls, and minds.

We also felt God's leading to homeschool, which means most of my time is completely filled with caring for children and home, and teaching.  We also need  to devote time to our marriage so that it stays strong in the midst of very busy lives.

This post is getting long so I'll close it out.  Every Christian needs to obey the Lord as much as he or she can.  What that looks like will vary to some degree.  Not everyone is called to marry, not everyone is called to a large family, not everyone is called to homeschool.  But we do need to pray for wisdom and seek to avoid following our culture if God calls us to something different.  I was very encouraged by this pastor's sermon that sometimes the best thing we can do is to serve our family at home. 

Organizational Frenzy

I do feel like I've turned a corner physically this week.  I didn't feel well the last couple months of Daniel's pregnancy, and I certainly didn't feel well after the C-section. This week, I have felt more energetic and vigorous than I have in a long time.

2 or 3 times a year, I am seized with the desire to ORGANIZE.  And this week was one of those magic weeks.  So the big kids and Kevin and I put away about ten million clothes that had been removed from dressers and needed to be tucked away in storage.

And I tackled a cabinet in our breakfast room.  It wasn't a big cabinet but it was a mess!!

Before

After.  And better!

Daniel and Mommy

Pool Time

Kevin opened the pool the day Daniel was born.  Our pool is a blessing, and especially now when it is SO HOT!!

You know it is really hot when it is 91 by 9:30 a.m.!

Since I had a C-section, I need to be careful about not doing anything too strenuous, and in particular I cannot pick up anything or anyone heavy for 6 to 8 weeks.  Daniel is 6 weeks old and I am feeling much better, but I'm still not lifting Sarah.  It makes sense that I am not quite up to "lifeguarding" yet.  If a child did have a problem and I had to leap in to rescue him or her, I would have to expend considerable strength and probably lift the child out of the pool.  So for now, Kevin has been taking the kids swimming when he has the energy.

Our older 5 children are competent swimmers. And they all LOVE the pool!

This week marked a milestone in Angela's life.  She is only 4 years old and until this week, she wore a floatie swimsuit that kept her floating on the water.  We are extremely careful in the pool and we didn't take the floatie swimsuit for granted. We always keep a close eye on all our children, swimmers and non swimmers, with floatie swimsuits or, as they put it, "sinking swimsuits".

We laugh at the latter description because it sounds like a swimsuit with rocks attached to it.  But yes, I guess if you are used to a floatie swimsuit and switch to a normal one, it seems like a sinking swimsuit.

Anyway, over 4th of July, Kevin decided to start working with Angela. He has taught all our children to swim thus far, and the first step is learning how to put one's face in the water.

Angela has had 3 days of training and she is doing great!  Yesterday she was underwater holding her breath for 10 to 15 seconds, which is impressive.  She and Kevin were throwing a toy torpedo back and forth under the water and she did an amazing job.

So she may  learn to swim this swimming season. She turns 5 next month so is ALMOST 5.  Certainly there are kids who learn to swim that early.  It would be great if she does.  If not, there is always next year!

Follow Up to Miss Fluffy

Yesterday I was organizing a section of our basement, and came across our Christmas letter from 2007.  We included brief descriptions of all the children and had this to say about our 5th child, then almost 2 years old:

"Miriam (almost 2) is a toddler with an amazing capacity for getting into things. She is constantly climbing on chairs and counters, playing in water and grabbing delicate things off of the counter. She is a complete charmer with bouncing curls and an infectious smile."

I had to laugh at that.  I could substitute "Sarah" for "Miriam" and it would work perfectly!  So no, Miss Fluffy is not our busiest, nuttiest toddler. They've probably all been like that at this age and I just forgot.  I suspect "playing in water" is a euphemism for paddling in the toilet so the parallel is quite exact.

I think the Lord led me to that letter because truthfully, I've been frustrated with Sarah. Life is busy and having a little one who is into everything has been tough. Reading about Miriam helped to realize that yes, this is totally normal. 

One cute little extra thing about Sarah that I really think IS unique...she LOVES toothpaste.  Sometimes she actually squeezes some out, but mostly she goes into miscellaneous bathrooms and carries off the toothpaste to another room, where she either gives it to me or abandons it.  Of course, this means the older children sometimes have trouble brushing their teeth properly. 

Miss Fluffy

  I hope I'm not the only mother to give her children very silly nicknames when they are small.  My nickname for our 19 month daughter Sarah is "Miss Fluffy".  Her hair is a dark blond and she has cute little ringlets in the back.  Fairly often, her hair fluffs out in a way that reminds me of a day old chick.

 We actually have intimate experience with day old chicks since we raised chicks this spring.  Sarah is fluffy like a chick, but has some notable differences.  Our day old chicks ate, but they didn't take a bag of sunflower nuts and pour the entire thing on their plates.  Our day old chicks got rid of their bodily waste products, but never played in the toilet.  Our day old chicks NEVER reached a surprisingly long arm up and yanked things off the table and onto the floor.

  And guess what, Sarah has done all of those things!  Yes, she is a toddler extraordinaire.  Truthfully, she keeps us all hopping!  It has only been 3 years since Angela was this age, and I am fairly certain that she was a "calmer" toddler.  Ok, let me be honest, I think Sarah is the most exasperating toddler we have ever had.  She has insatiable energy when awake and is constantly grabbing things she shouldn't, pushing buttons to turn off computers or clothes dryers, and climbing stairs when we want her to stay on one level. She is adorable and wonderful and precious, but it takes a ton of work to keep her safe and to keep our belongings safe from her.

I had a follow up appointment at the OB more than a week ago and I was reading an article in a magazine.   The article with about a pair of identical twin girls with a serious genetic problem who are 8 years old and not able to talk or walk or do much of anything.  The mother said that she looks at parents scolding their kids in the grocery store for grabbing things, and thinks, "How I wish my children could grab things at the grocery store!"

That was helpful. Yes, Sarah needs to learn obedience and discipline. But she is a healthy happy girl and I am incredibly grateful for that.

I love you, Miss Fluffy.

 

Cute Daniel

Look at that little smile!

He doesn't fall asleep this way.  He was sound asleep in his bed and I brought him down as it was time for him to eat.  He was out like a light so I propped him up against the couch to take a couple of pictures.