Keeping it Real

In an effort to show the "real" side of us, here is a picture from yesterday.

My four cuties. (L to R we have Keira, Janessa, Levi and Libby)

This was not taken at 8am...but more like near lunch time....and yes...three out of four kids were still in their jammies and none of the girls hair had been brushed.

Sometimes...well... a lot of the time, I think we as mommies tend to compare ourselves too much to everyone else. I know that I am guilty of this. The reality is, we all have days like this. Days where things just don't get done that we think should.

So, here is my reality. Some days, we simply don't get dressed. And you know what, we all survive...with a little less laundry!

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Shopping with 4 kids....yup.

So today I decided to venture to Aldi's to grab some food for the family. Those of you who know me know that I am an avid coupon girl and therefore I usually find myself at Tops, Wegmans or Wal-mart getting the latest freebies or good deals, however, I do generally take a once a month trip to Aldi for the essentials...and for snack foods. And Aldi has shorter hours that they are opened...and no playroom. (Ahhh...how I love Wkids at Wegmans...and I am not ashamed)

This, however, was the first time that I decided to venture there with all 4 kids by myself. I highly anticipated it being a disaster and making the decision to never do this again. but I was pleasantly surprised!

I found that I am actually learning how to function with a van full of kids 5 and under and I love it. I am not sure that people around me love it, but I don't really care. I learned a few very helpful tricks today and it really helped so I thought I'd share for any of you that might be looking to make your shopping trip just a little less crazy.

1. Get 2 carts. One for Janessa and Levi (in his car seat) and the other for food. Push the one with the kids and pull the one with the food.
2. Tell Libby and Keira a few items on my list (oh yeah..you need a list) so that they could have a job and be on the "lookout" (as if I don't have the aisles memorized). This kept them mostly occupied.
3. Hurry...like you are on a mission.
4. Make sure the kids have had a snack before you leave the house! (this I have found to be the most important)
5. Make sure everyone has gone potty before leaving the house and/or clean diapers.
6. Rather than bringing in bags and bagging your groceries in the store on the counter (where the children are running everywhere and climbing onto said counter), go out and buckle all of the kids into their seats, turn the van on  with their favorite kid tunes and quietly unload groceries into bags/boxes in the back of the van.

Now...would I like to be at the store alone....ABSOLUTELY! However, that is not really an option most of the time...so I am learning.

I would also like to say to all of the ladies who gave me dirty looks for having 4 small children or the ones that looked at me like they felt sorry for me...I GOT THIS! I don't need your pity or your dirty looks. Yes, my kids have bad moments...LOTS of them...but today they were well behaved. I can do this, I will do this, I have to do this and most of the time...I LOVE DOING THIS! This is my life, these are my little blessings from Jesus and I can only hope that in my bad moments, I don't traumatize them too much! haha.

Ok...this was a very random post but I will leave you with this verse that my daddy taught me when I was little and in his Sunday School class.

 Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Now I need to go to bed...because I took 4 kids to the store today and I didn't die.

A Long Awaited Day

That title might be a little deep for the blog post I am about to write, but oh well!

Before I had children...or even before I was married, I used to say that someday I would have 5 little boys and drive a mini-van. I would be the "soccer" mom and when I turned around in the van, it would have a bunch of rowdy little boys in overalls. 

I LOVE LITTLE BOYS IN OVERALLS!!!!!!!!

God obviously laughed at my plans when he gave me 3 little girls first...but today...TODAY...I got to dress my little boy in overalls.

Isn't he cute?

Grace flows down

I have been trying to put into words how I have been feeling lately. Overwhelmed is an understatement. I am still adjusting to so many aspects in our lives. Having a 4th child. having a 19 month old who looks for trouble...for real...she does. Moving in 2 weeks. Having a husband who is out of the home a LOT very suddenly...doing things that he needs to do right now which will benefit the whole family. It's all good...it's just a lot.

I am blessed that when the hubby is here, he is a hands on daddy. Last weekend, he allowed me the time to go and hear Lysa Terkheurst speak. For those of you who do not know who she is, she is an author and works with Proverbs 31 ministries. I have read a few of her books and am now currently reading "Am I messing up my kids" by her. It is hilarious and so full of God's truth.

I digress. Lately, I just felt completely crazy. I feel pulled in every direction and have really been having a hard time with discipline in our home. The kids are still adjusting to not having daddy home all of the time too and it is hard. Sometimes, I feel like going into the bathroom (only room with a lock) and just staying in there all day. No worries...I don't! In fact, I usually don't even get to shower or use the bathroom by myself these days! haha.

So, tonight, as I was doing the dishes and listening to worship music, Keira decided to climb INTO the refrigerator...yes...into the fridge! Why...I will never know, but of course she fell out...landed on the floor (she was fine) and I lost it. I should add that this came after Libby fell down the stairs because she was climbing on the railing and Levi pooped all over himself, his clothes and the car seat. Yep, just one of those days....but seriously I just started crying. And then I started praying. and then I started singing along with the music on the radio.

After about 10 minutes, I heard a quiet voice say.."mommy, can I get out of time out yet". Ooops!
We talked together and we prayed together and I apologized for screaming at her.

I know that this won't be the last time that I feel bad for the way I react to her but as I went back to washing the dishes, a song came on that spoke volumes to me.

Grace Flows Down. I highly recommend listening to it. But  the words are so simple and true. His grace covers us. We do not have to be perfect. We just need Jesus. We need to be so full of Jesus that is spills out of us. But when we do mess up or have a bad day, a bad attitude or just plain don't like the cards we've been dealt that day, we have Grace. It covers us. And I am so thankful for that.


Amazing Grace 
How sweet the sound 
Amazing Love 
Now flowing down 
From hands and feet 
That were nailed to the tree 
As Grace flows down and covers me 
Chorus 
It covers me 
It covers me 
It covers me 
And covers me