Challenges of a stay at home mom

I'm just going to share a few thoughts about how hard it is to stay at home with the kids. Not to compare it to working mom's.. but for the mere fact of how it has changed me and how I go about my day to day job as a mom of 3 wild boys!
   I always dreamed of staying at home with my kids, just like my mom did.  I guess when you are raised like that, it just seems the thing to do! So with Matthew, I started on what I thought would be a easy journey- ha! Boy, did God have something in store for me, life changing, and character building perhaps. Matthew was colicky for the first 6 months. Easy, umm, not so much. My poor body decided to fall apart on me after having a baby. Between strep throat, mastitis and mono- I had to stop breast feeding which at the time seemed devastating!  Oh and then I got pregnant with TWINS! People remind me all the time, God never gives you more than you can handle. He doesn't but it sure is HARD! The sweet moments with the boys are what keep me going and I really do feel so blessed that we have survived this sick winter season.
    I really could write for hours about how the last 2 years have completely rocked our world but I really just wanted to write about how God is using these INCREDIBLY hard times to mold me into a better person. Each day is different and really each phase has had it's ups and downs. Something that I have learned that has truly gotten me through the tough times is to except help when anyone offers, ask for help if I need it and reach out to other moms going through the same thing. Because I will admit, it gets so lonely when you deal with babies day in and day out and all you hear is wah wah wah!   You start to wonder if it all matters and if you are doing a good job, but a dear friend reminds me weekly that God has chosen me for this specific purpose and that I am so strong!

 

 
We are currently in a climbing stage and 'let's fall so hard that it scares mom to death" stage so if you will pray that God protects my boys and my stress levels, it's appreciated.  How did I get dealt 3 climbers and wild ones, seriously? I had to remove like 10 things from our house today because they are climbing everything! If you see me, please remind me that the Lord has a grand plan- and I'm going to survive!

Founded on the Rock

Luke 6:48 "He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock. When a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it was founded on the rock." Before they begin building our house tomorrow, I wanted to go to the lot with the entire family and bury a cross beneath where the house will stand. (And uncle Mark who was in town and helped us dig:) We pray that as we move into this new house, that we will be reminded by this cross that we are to lead our boys to God. Our actions, our words and our day to day living should be founded on the "rock".  We buried it where we thought the front door would be and my hope is that each time someone enters our house, they will be encouraged in the walk with God. Matt and I are so blessed to be coming up on 8 years of marriage. We have shared so many good times and tough times over the last decade. We know the Lord is the only answer and we pray that we continue to live that way. Today would have been my dad's 60th birthday too. Can't believe it's been almost 17 years since I have seen him.. and I pray today that he is singing and celebrating with Jesus. He would have been one proud granddaddy... to four little boys and one little girl on the way(not me, my sister)!  We miss you dad and know you are watching from above:) Here's to the new house and all the memories to be made... thank you Lord for the opportunity!