Happy in Montana: February 2013

I never thought I would stoop to take my little boy out in public wearing some of his sister's pants. But a combination of extra accidents lately, plus being behind on laundry, resulted in not having a single pair of boy pants available.

I never thought I would be so behind with house management that we would be out of bread, milk, butter and bananas all at the same time! (And during a week my husband is not home, so I have muster all sorts of energy and courage to take all 5 kids to the store). We can go without these things for about 1 day, I've learned. Then you have to go, boy pants or not.

So he wore some of Jaci's sweat pants. Luckily they were brown, and the pink stripe down the side is faded, so they aren't so obviously girl pants.

I never dreamed my children would be so unmannerly and unsupervised that when I returned to the kitchen, I would find a loaf of fresh baked bread with a large piece torn out of it.

I never thought that after I spoke to the person responsible, it would happen 2 days in a row.

I never thought that sending the kids out to play in the snow could in reality be sending them out to play in the mud. Shoulda been out playing with them, then I could have taken some preventative measures! Instead, I was inside folding 3 loads of laundry (see point number 1). The photo cannot show the extent of the mess ~ the clothes were completely saturated in sticky mud. As if they had been little piggies taking a mud bath. The boots all had an inches of clay mud clinging to them. It was one of those messes that I actually had to take a few moments to think:

"How exactly am I going to clean this up, and where do I start??"

Every once in a while God gives me a trial so I can see a tiny bit of His grace coming through me. For once, I didn't gasp, complain, nag, belittle or question the mess. I was just glad they were healthy kids, able to enjoy the great outdoors. There are moments in life that make you think you want to live every day as if it were your last, and this was one of them.

So when I'm overwhelmed, I like to take a photo if the mess. Sometimes when a past mess flashes across our screen saver, I smile and think, "that WAS a huge mess, but I got through it!". It encourages me that all messes are eventually left behind. I can hardly wait for the day when every sticky, scummy, dusty, dirty, nitty gritty muddy mess will be left behind for good because I'm going to heaven! For today, I am feeling extra thankful for a utility sink, an excellent washing machine, and a great vacuum! :D

I ALSO never thought I'd have such beautiful children.

I never thought I would be subject to observing such cuteness on a daily basis.

We hear all the time from strangers that there is something special about them, and there is! There is outward beauty to start with, then there is he blessing of above average intelligence, and THEN if you know their hearts, you know that there are some completely amazing seeds that God is sprouting there!

The girls with their 40 foot long "Rapunzel" hair made out of scarves...

If there would have been some way for me to know (to really know!) how much physical tribulation, emotional trials, and overwhelming amount of work a child would be, I probably wouldn't have signed up. So it's a real good thing that God gave us kids early and didn't ask us what we were up for ~ he simply blessed, and left us with a life that has us calling out to Him in desperation very frequently ~

What a blessed life it is!