I have a confession to make...I bribed my child today! Ahh!! I know, right? We've all seen the parent in the grocery store aisle, making all sorts of crazy promises to their child if they'll just stop screaming, stop whiny, stop whatever. However, I have a good excuse. :) Travis had a rough day at school yesterday, and as soon as he got up this morning, he asked if it was a school day. I replied that yes, we had school today. Immediately, his eyes welled up with tears, and he gave me a big hug, and said, "but I don't want to go, mommy!" Oh dear, we are only in the second week! Now Travis is on the young side, but I feel like 4k could be a good experience for him, and I definitely don't want to give up too early either. So, all morning, I encouraged him that he would like school, and that he was a big boy, and all the other assurances that moms make to their children. :) But it wasn't working, Travis was not being convinced that he would like school. Oh well, I managed to get all five children in the car. On the way to school, Travis was still having a little bit of a hard time, and kept insisting that he wanted to go with Wyatt. I told him that if his teachers said that he had a better day today, with no tears, we would get a treat after school. However, he had to stop crying. He managed to hold back the tears, but his lower lip was really trembling when I dropped him off. I reminded him that he was a big boy, and that mom always picked him up, and that God would help him. After dropping him off in his classroom, I had this crazy thought to go around to the back of the school and peek in the windows to see how he was doing! (I'm going nuts!) But I remembered that four other children were waiting for me, so I headed to the car. When I got in the car, I asked Garett to pray for Travis that he would have a good day. And then off we went to school with the other boys and Emma.
It was a hard decision for me to leave Travis at school. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded taking him with me to do school with the other boys. However, I was a little worried that if I let him get out of going to school today, it would only get harder. I also want Travis to learn to not quit easily, and that not everything is fun, but we have to stick with somethings.
School went much faster today for the older three boys, since Papa was available to listen to reading. With three that need to read, it's a huge help to have someone listen to the reading, and it saves my sanity and my moms! Wyatt is breezing along, and showing signs of grasping the blend sounds he is working on. My dad is driving truck tonight, so Wyatt is excited that it is his turn! When I left to pick up Travis, I only ended up taking Emma with me. The other boys were going with Papa to take their metal to the scrap yard. So, I headed to get Travis picked up. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when his teachers both said that he had a much better day....thank you, Lord! Travis walked out to the car, and Immediatly announced, "I did good, mom! Do I get a treat?" I asked him what he wanted for a treat, and he asked for food. :) He was thrilled that he got his own happy meal from McDonald's. (I know it's not all healthy...no judging!) He chatted to me all the way home about school, and that he got to use lots of glue!
Emma was asleep when we got home, so she went down for a nap. Travis played outside by himself, and he would come in and talk to me from time to time. It was kinda like being on vacation with only having two children!
The boys arrived home from the scrap yard around 2 and they were bursting at the seams with excitement! They EACH made $15.25 at the scrap yard! I immediately collected up all that money, and put it in their banks. (Now I have to remember to have a discussion on tithing!)
Our friends, the Longsines, came over around 2 as well. So we fed everyone lunch and sent them outside. :) Beka went back to work on the house some more, so I had nine children at our house for about two hours. :) a Actually, it wasn't too bad...there's safety in numbers, since everyone can usually find someone to get along with! Emma was woken up from her nap by the screen door slamming over and over, so I was a little (a lot!) irritated with that. I told them that they couldn't come in the house anymore. Beka came back and picked up her kids around five, and that's about the time that my dad
picked up Wyatt. The boys were a little tired, so I had them all go ahead and take baths. After bath time, Travis, Emma and I went for a walk, while the big boys played with Legos. When we got back from our walk, Garett told me he had a surprise for me. (I tend to be a little leary of my children's surprises, as it often tends to be messy!) However, I kept my mouth shut, and I'm glad I did. He had gone through lots of effort to pick up their bedroom, straighten up the closet, and move the dresser. He even remembered to sweep behind the dresser! He had also picked up Emma's room. (Things tend to become a little disorderly with nine kids in the house, and Garett said he knew it would make me happy!) Wow! This mama was impressed! I tried to offer lots and lots of praise...definitely would like a repeat of those actions! :)
We spent the rest of the evening watching a movie together and having popcorn and cheese for supper. (Don't knock it...we had fats from the butter, carbs from the popcorn, and protein from the cheese...and it was delicious!)
Roger needs a miracle. He needs to finish up this instrument training, and we've been praying that it will be done before he comes home next weekend. But, he's having difficulty getting the flight lessons lined up, and the school shuts down on September 11th, so that eliminates one of the days he could fly. Please, please, pray that he can get this done before he comes home next Thursday! For the sake of my sanity, I NEED this phase to be over! (Or pray that I'll be patient!) :)
Wednesday, September 10
It was a too crazy, too full day! Travis was still a little timid about going to school today, but there weren't any tears...thank you, Lord! His teachers said that he seemed to have a great day, and he was happy to talk about his day at school.
School went by quickly for the older boys as well, since Papa was able to listen to the reading. Wyatt was a little on the grouchy side after being in the truck with Papa all night, but he made it through school. After school, we came home for lunch and a few chores while Emma napped. I decided to take the truck into church tonight so that we could vacuum it out...it rained, so it never did happen! We had to leave home about 12:30, so that I could make my plasma appointment. It wasn't ideal because then no one except Emma got a nap, but that was when plasma had an appointment during the hours that their supervised playroom was open. So I gathered up kids, Kings Kids stuff, the cooler for the groceries, the card to mail to daddy, the clothes for the YMCA, and the hamburgers for supper..whew!
It was a balmy 81 degrees when we left home. However, when we got home tonight after church, it was 51 degrees and everyone was cold! It was kinda a rainy day, but when we left plasma, it was hardly sprinkling. We quickly (well as quickly as quickly is with five kids!) to the grocery store since today is couponing day. (It also makes for a very boring shopping trip for the boys!) But I told the boys that after the grocery store, we would go to Target and everyone could pick out a card to mail to daddy. :)
We went to Target, and the boys all eagerly looked at the cards. I specifically told them that they could only pick out the .99 cards. But Travis and Wyatt don't really read, they just look at pictures! I think we ended up with a sympathy card, a happy birthday card, a bosses day card, and one actual encouragement card. :) Oh well, everyone likes to get mail!
While Chandler is the saver of the family with his money, Garett really seems to be developing a heart that loves others. He told me that he was going to put $5.00 of the money he got from the scrap metal job in the envelope for his daddy...and my heart melted! :)
Upon leaving Target, it was raining...of course! So, I told Garett to push the cart, I would carry Emma and everyone else stay close to mom and hurry to the truck! Half way across the parking lot, Travis lost his shoe in a puddle. So he's wailing for mom to help him, and trying to balance on one foot. It wasn't working! He soaked both feet and still didn't have his shoe on. As he bent over to put on his shoe, Garett ran into his backside with the cart! ( we probably looked like an episode out of the three stooges!) Travis managed to squeeze his foot in his shoe, Emma was wailing because she was cold, and Garett was telling Travis that he shouldn't have stopped in the parking lot! Looking back, it was kinda fun, but I failed to see the humor at the time!
We did squeeze in a short visit to the YMCA, and then headed to the Shuberts for supper. Yay for adult conversation! We had a great visit with them, but the boys were definitely showing the effects of a long day, no naps, and being cooped up inside for most of a rainy day! (But nothing was broken or destroyed, and the Shuberts even said we could come back again sometime!) :)
After Kings Kids, it was time to go home. Of course, the house is cold because we left all the windows open when we left. Travis and Wyatt had to be carried in since they fell asleep; and trying to wake them up was like trying to transport jello! Chandler and Garett managed to get their own snack and clean up after themselves, while I carried in groceries and got Emma ready for bed. It seems like just yesterday that I had to help the boys get bowls, spoons, cereal, and milk; but now they do everything themselves!
Roger and I could use some extra prayers. He's discouraged, I'm discouraged, the kids are needy, etc. He called this morning to talk for a few minutes before school, and I managed to dump some of the burdens I've been carrying on him. It's not that he doesn't want to hear them, as he does, but he's so far away that I try not to dump everything on him. It was a rather emotional conversation for both of us, and it's hard to convey all that's in your heart in a ten minute conversation before you need to be out the door! Some day we will look back and say, "wow, what a summer!" But for now, it's like "WOW! This is never going to be over!"
However, I've been reading in Job for my Bible reading, so my problems are like sand compared to all that he had happening in his life! Yet, he blessed The Lord, he remained faithful, he trusted God...and God abundantly blessed Job in return. But, Job couldn't see the future and he didn't know all that God had in store; but he still choose to make right choices. God expects nothing less from me today.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Well, school didn't go very good today as the boys were tired from a full day on Wednesday. But that's okay, everyone got to take a nap. :)
I was invited to play volleyball at the church tonight, but I had no idea how I was going to be able to find someone to watch my kids while I did that. So, I kinda just thought it wouldn't happen after a few attempts to find someone to watch them failed. However, God decided differently. My dad wanted to take the boys fishing, and then my parents offered to keep the boys overnight. Now all I needed was someone to watch Emma! :) Thankfully, one of my friends, Autumn, agreed to keep Emma for a few hours. Yay! I was going to have a few hours of fun...and I could hardly wait!!
I dropped the boys off for their fishing trip about 4 pm, and I headed to Oshkosh with Emma. I took the truck so that I could vacuum it out and park it for a bit. While I enjoy driving it, it definitely is more expensive to drive!
Seriously, I feel like Amelia Bedilia sometimes! While I was in the car wash, I decided to scrounge for the dollar that I had lost under my seat (a smarter person would have waited until the vehicle was parked!) I found the dollar, but managed to get my arm stuck under my chair. I had a moment of panic as I thought I was going to have to lay on the horn to get someone to unstuck my arm! It was painful, and I had to use my other arm to use the lever to push the seat backs so I could squeeze under the steering wheel and unstuck my arm! Yeah, I won't do that again! But the truck is nice and clean and vacuumed out!
I then went to Target to pick up a few items for our ladies meeting coming up, which of course, took longer than I planned on. I then remembered that I hadn't fed Emma yet, so I ran to the grocery store to pick up some fruit for her. Thankfully, my friend, Autumn fed Emma too when I dropped her off. I then dropped Emma off at the Hammonds home for a bit, and I headed to church. We had a fun group of people to play volleyball with, and I am so glad that I was able to go.
It was a later night, but I'm so thankful for my parents taking the boys, and having friends to watch Emma.
Friday, September 12, 2014
It's Friday! We finished up the last day of school for this week. I could tell that Wyatt was tired when he started crying because he had to write the letter "s" again, and he already did that! The boys were very excited to report that they caught 22 fish on their fishing trip. Although some of them were too little to keep, so they threw them back. :)
It was a rainy day, so it was a good day for a nap. Actually all the kids fell asleep around the same time, so I was able to do my exercise DVD while they napped. (I could've used a nap too, but I did feel better after working out.)
It never really did clear up enough for the boys to go outside, so it was a rather long afternoon. I worked on making a pie, and some chili, for an outing we are attending tomorrow. We are going to support the Appleton Women's Assurance center as it's their family day. (The assurance center is a pro-life ministry supported by ours and several other churches in the area.) I'm sure we will have a great time, but I do hope the weather is a little warmer! There will also be a 5k walk/run tomorrow. I was/am planning on running in it, but it's been a while since I've ran! (And there is the small matter of leaving five children unattended while I run!)
Roger had a flight this afternoon, and it didn't go as well as he was hoping for. Please pray for his encouragement, understanding, and a complete grasp of all that he needs to learn.
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