FATHER'S DAY 2016

If there is one thing in this crazy and uncertain world that I am certain of, it’s Robert’s love for his children.  While he is far from perfect, as we all are, he is a man who knows what he values and what matters the most.  For Robert and I, what matters the most is our children.  Each one of our children is a precious reminder of the man that Robert is.  I truly believe that the reason we have so many sons is because of the legacy that Robert is leaving through his children, especially his sons.  Growing up, Robert never really had a great male role model.  He didn’t meet his biological father until he was 17.  In spite of his upbringing and its aftereffects; he is an amazing father today. 

For Father’s Day this year we decided to get a gift that the family could enjoy, well most of us can enjoy.  Several years ago, Robert had a very nice fishing rod and reel stolen from him. This year we bought three cane poles for the boys to use and replaced Robert’s rod and reel.  That was an adventure in and of its self.  I HATE fishing and anything to do with the sport, so in our shopping quest for the perfect gift for Robert, I made some great friends with two gentlemen as they laughed at me in the sporting goods department!  

Opening his card.  He laughed so hard at this card this year.  Maggie did a great job picking it out!

Opening his new reel.  

Putting together his new rod and reel.  

Needless to say, Robert was beyond thrilled with his gift, but most of all he was thrilled with the thoughtfulness of his kiddos.  Not only was this gift a personal one, but it was one that the kiddos and Robert can enjoy together as a family.  This is part of the legacy that Robert and I want to build in our children.  We want to instill in them the idea that gifts are meant to be shared and enjoyed as a family.  We want them to want to spend time and enjoy us while they are growing up so we will have the right bond with them when they leave our home.  I think that Robert’s Father’s Day gift shows this perfectly!

Robert and our five kiddos posing under our tree.  

Happy Father’s Day to my amazing husband!! We are beyond blessed to have you in our lives.  We adore you and can’t wait to use your new Father’s Day gift.  Yes, I will even go with you, as the official Best Family photographer of course! 

Mother’s Day 2016

This year my Mother’s Day didn’t go as planned, but I was ok with that, after all I am a mother.  Being a mother for almost 16 years I have learned that there are times that you have to be flexible.  This year happened to be one of those times.

It all started almost two weeks ago when Ethan came down with a wonderful stomach virus.  The virus went through all five children, hitting Jacob and Cole twice, before finally hitting me.  Let me tell you, being 4 months pregnant with baby number six, battling anemia and the general pregnancy exhaustion while raising five other kiddos, and then getting the stomach flu stinks.  It really stinks in a monumental smelly like a rotten skunk kind of way.  The worst part of the whole ordeal was that it knocked my iron out of whack even more so and now my recovery was taking twice as long.  Needless to say, this prompted me to spend my Mother’s Day weekend in bed. 

Literally, all day Saturday and part of Sunday (until my parents arrived and I was forced to get up), was spent in bed.  I slept for almost four straight hours on Saturday alternating between extreme hot and freezing cold.  Sunday was slightly better, but the exhaustion was still there.  This is where the gift of my children shines through.

Maggie was amazing.  She literally did EVERYTHING.  She cooked.  And I mean she cooked fresh snap beans from her garden, homemade potato salad, baked beans, and rolls.  Not to mention the chocolate, blueberry, and cinnamon muffins and coffee cakes she made for breakfast.  It was an incredibly delicious day!   She cleaned, and I don’t mean a light picking up but total house disinfecting in case anyone was still contagious.    She made sure that laundry was somewhat done, and that I was napping and resting as needed.  She helped her Daddy in the garden and kept the little boys as quiet as possible while I was down.  Of course Robert and the boys did what they could to help, mainly staying outside to keep the house quiet for me and cleaning up their bookshelves, but Maggie was amazing. 

How I was greeted Sunday morning.  Freshly baked treats for breakfast, candy, and my gifts.

I was spoiled Mother’s Day weekend.  Not with a ton of gifts, although the meal out with Robert and the pedicure from the kiddos was an amazing treat, but in the actions of my family.  I wasn’t planning on being down, literally all weekend.  I had wanted to do the cleaning to give Maggie a break, but she stepped up and did it all willingly without complaint.  I was spoiled in the unselfish love that was shown to me by my family.  My children aren’t perfect, far from it actually, but for me their perfect love and help was the best gift I could have received. 

Mother’s Day weekend didn’t go as I had planned, and that’s ok.  To me, it was better than what I had wanted.  My children showed me their character, their ability to come together and work hard to help our family when it is needed.  This to me is the greatest gift a mother can be given, to see that the training and ideals she is trying to instill in her children are taking root.  I am blessed as a mother.  I am highly favored in more ways than one.  I am so thankful for my children and their sacrificial love as I recover from the flu.  Their love is the greatest gift I have been given.  I am so proud to be their Mother.  

SOUND ADVICE

Lately I have noticed a trend, especially within the confines of my personal life.  People feel that they are free to do or say whatever they choose to me or my family about the choices that we make, the way we parent, or our family size.  Most of the time I purpose to shake these remarks off.  Sometimes I am successful at letting the remarks roll of my back, like water off a ducks back.  I know that the people are doing this because they care.  In reality this unwarranted advice is often hurtful, unfounded, and sometimes just plain rude.

I am not perfect, far from it.  I will readily admit to my lack of perfection on any given day at any given moment.  However, the way that I purposefully choose to live my life within the confines of my immediate family, specifically my husband and my children, is just that; my life.  The choices that are made that affect my family are not choices that we take lightly.  Most people do not understand the dynamic of our family.  They do not see how Robert and I discuss and research what we feel are the best choices for our lives.  They do not see the time that we spend in prayer, purposefully seeking God’s will for our lives.  They do not see the in depth family conversations we have, purposefully asking the children how they think or feel about a thought or idea we are have about something that will affect our family.  They do not see how the children willingly and actively seek Robert and me out before they do anything.   All that people see is the results of our choices, and we are judged harshly for them.

I do not need to be told how to parent, how my children should or should not respond to me is quite frankly none of your business.  If I am not concerned with their responses, if I am pleased with their heart attitudes, if I know that they are responding to me with a joke that is known to our family, then take your cues for me.  Your thoughts are irrelevant to the matter.  The choices that I make in our family’s grocery intake, entertainment choices, and even my medical care choices are, in all honesty, none of your concern.   If my family is thriving, if they are relatively happy and are productive members of society, then my husband and I, their parents, have done our jobs.  Who they associate with, talks to, and how they learn and grow are, with all due respect, none of your business.  If my family is happy, that is all that matters to me.  Your thoughts and valued 

ideals are not my priority. 

Raising my children according to what we believe is of import  and is what matters most.  We purposefully follow Proverbs 22:6, “Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (HCSB).  For us this means following a Biblical life model as well as teaching behavior that encourages the growth of a child as an individual.  Trust me, as the mother of five kiddos, I can tell you that all my children are different and should be and will be treated as such.

I do not offer unsolicited advice.  It’s not my place to tell you how to manage your home or your life.  I will willingly come alongside you if you ask for my help, but I will not be intrusive.  It doesn’t matter that I’m your mother, sister, aunt, or friend.  My ideals are mine, they aren’t yours and the way that works for me might not work for you.  However, I am going to break my rule today and quote a rule I found in my new mommy handbook from my prenatal provider.  Ready?  Here it is:

                




'We don’t need your advice.  Seriously.  You might think

you have a better way of doing something.  That’s great, but now is not the time to offer it.  Go home, type up your advice in an email.  Proof read your email, twice, and then wait.  If it still seems important, send it to us in two weeks."

I think that this is sound advice.  I don’t have to justify any of my life choices to anyone.  I won’t be justifying any of my life choices to anyone.  I will defend my children and stand behind them all the time.  If I don’t ask for it, I don’t need your advice, input, or parenting “wisdom”.  I am pleased with my family.  Most importantly, my husband is pleased with my family.  Take my sound advice and stop offering yours. 

PUNY KIDDOS

I hate it when my kids are puny.  I hate it when they don’t feel good and they are so overwhelmed they cry.  That’s what’s been happening in our house.  It started yesterday with Ethan.  All of a sudden he broke down sobbing.  His chest hurt, he couldn’t read three hard words in his school work, and worst of all his head hurt and he was tired. 

Next one to go down was Jacob.  He fell asleep playing on the floor.  He NEVER lies down on the floor let alone lies still long enough to fall asleep, NEVER!  After sleeping for about three hours, he woke up with a mild fever.  Needless to say he spent the night in Mama and Daddy’s bed, much to Daddy’s discomfort, and woke up just to sit and cry.  He cried in his bath, he cried while laying back down in mama’s bed, he cried until we found Sheriff Callie on demand.  So far it’s been a day and night of kiddos not feeling good.

I HATE it when my kids don’t feel good.  To me it’s the worst thing a parent can go through.  I can’t take away the children’s pain.  I can’t take away their suffering.  I can only hug them, bleach bathrooms, and make virus killing soup (per Ethan and Daddy’s request), and as a mom it doesn’t feel like I’m doing enough. 

As a mom, I want to shelter my kiddos from everything.  I want to protect them from the evil and the sin in the world.  I want to ensure that they are protected from anything that can hurt them.  I know that this is unrealistic, our world is a screwed up, crazy, and dangerous place.  In spite of knowing this, my heart doesn’t change, and I want the best for my children.   I want to make sure that my children are always smiling.  I want to make sure that they are happy, running around enjoying their life.  I want them to be healthy.  Sadly, I can’t make these things happen every day.  I can’t protect them from everything.  There are times that I have to sit back and watch them fall, watch them cry, and watch them hurt.  In those moments my heart breaks and I stand on my knees crying out to God asking Him to heal and comfort them.  And I’m reminded of what Christ did for me, of His love for me and how he has the Holy Spirit cry out for me when I weep, hurt, and can’t take another breath on my own.

I hate it when my kiddos are puny.  But I take these days as a reminder of how precious our lives together really are.  I honestly can’t imagine my life without any of my children, and yet I know the time is coming when I have to return them to the Author of our lives who loves them more than I can imagine.  So I will snuggle them when they are sick.  I will play with them when they are healthy.  I will teach them as best as I can.  Most of all, I will purpose to show them the love of their Heavenly Father, and prayerfully direct them to Him. 

Yep, I hate puny kiddos, but I love how God uses sickness to remind us of what is important in life.  Even if the illness is just the 24 hour stomach bug kind. 

RESURRECTION SUNDAY

Our Resurrection Sunday didn’t go as planned this year.  To me this wasn’t that big of a deal, I have learned over the years that if you want to have children you need to be flexible.  In spite of the lack of planning that went into this Sunday, it was a perfect day for us.

Our morning started off with the kiddos Easter baskets readied and the boys’ toys hidden for them to find.  Easter baskets in our home are kind of like stockings at Christmas, they are filled with tons of practical things like shampoo, toothbrushes, and a little candy.  This year Ethan, Cole, and Jacob got a Lego set of some kind while Maggie and John Robert got some new art supplies.  The boys also had their toys hidden that were personalized for them.  The little’s had new truck toys while the big’s had water guns and water bomb toys.  I know my kiddos and their gifts were a big hit. 

All six baskets waiting and ready to go.

Ethan and all his goodies.

Cole and his baskets.

Jacob and his new Mega Block tractor.  

John Robert finding his basket of toys.

While the kiddos scrambled to unload all their new goodies, Robert fixed us a super yummy sunrise breakfast.  We had ham, eggs, and grits.  Of course there was lots of coffee and orange juice.  While he was making breakfast, I was putting together our dinner.  I wasn’t supposed to be cooking, normally we go to my parents for Easter Sunday, but this year my mom and dad both have pneumonia, so cooking for us was now the new plan.  My Mom called to cancel our dinner on Saturday; thankfully she called while I was in the grocery store, so everything worked out perfectly.  We had jalapeño poppers, roast, mashed potatoes, cheesy broccoli and cauliflower, and banana pudding for dessert.  We asked Robert’s Granny to come eat with us since this was her first Easter without Granddaddy.  So while Robert made breakfast, Maggie and I threw together what we needed for our Easter dinner.

Maggie made the banana pudding.

We of course, spent our morning at church enjoying the service that First Baptist here in Lake Wales offers.  Unfortunately because our morning was so busy, I forgot to take pictures of everyone in their Sunday best. But, our color of choice was blue and everyone looked wonderful in their Easter finery.    After church we came home to eat, play, and eat some more. 

Maggie doing her weekly coffee face mask hiding with her dark chocolate candy.

This Easter there were no egg hunts.  There were no kiddos scrambling to compete and find the big money eggs.  There was lots of good food.  There was lots of sweet fellowship.  Most of all, there was time spent reflecting on the wonder of what Christ did for us at Calvary and how his resurrection made us who we are today.  No, our Sunday didn’t go as planned, but it was perfect for us.  

FAMILY!

It has been brought to my attention that people think that my family dynamic is an oddity.  Robert and I decided to allow God to determine our family size.  This is an ideal that leaves many people scratching their heads and looking at us like we are crazy.  More often than not we hear how the kiddos are ruining our lives; each pregnancy is a burden, and my personal favorite that we are selfish for having more than two kids.  This is something that honestly flabbergasts me.  How is caring for another person, someone created in the image of God, known by the Creator before the foundations of the world, and destined for His purpose, selfish?

There are few things that can make me smile as much as my husband and my children.  Each one of our five kiddos is so unique, so totally themselves, and so totally awesome that it is impossible to NOT look at them and smile.  My husband, having no desire to have more than two kids when we first married almost 19 years ago, amazes me with his parenting style and love for his kiddos.  The other day the kiddos and I were talking that if each one of them marries and has at least four kiddos each, Robert and I will have 24 grand-kids.  Most people would balk at that.  I on the other hand, got excited.  What a legacy!  What an amazing blessing! What a gift to pass on our family love to that many little people.  Those little people have the opportunity to grow up and change the world.  All because of Robert and me, the world can be mightily impacted.  That is a humbling thought.  That is an amazing thought.   Our family is uniquely imperfect and I adore it.

I love having a “large” family, although in my opinion we don’t have that big of a family.  I love how my kiddos are learning to work together to care for each other and even our extended family.  I love how they look to each other to build friendships.  I love how they come to Robert and me for advice.  I love how our relationships work together to make our lives what they are.  I love how the kiddos pitch in to help.  I love how Robert doesn’t complain when the house isn’t absolutely perfect.  I love how he purposes to spend time with his kids and let them be who they are.  I love how the kids don’t complain that they have to pitch in more because I’m in the first trimester blah feeling.  I love how excited the kiddos are at the idea of another new baby.  I love how they can’t wait and are talking about what they can do when the new baby gets here. 

I know that our family isn’t perfect. On any given day there is sand everywhere in the house, boys running naked because I just can’t keep them in clothes, fights breaking out because someone looked at someone wrong, touched them, or breathed their air, and my personal favorite; the wrestling never that never stops, EVER. I know that our lifestyle isn’t for everyone.  There are days that I get tired of laundry and cooking.  There are days when I would gladly ship all the children away, if I could find someone to take them all at once, ha!  I know that my lifestyle is crazy, chaotic, hectic, and just plain nuts!  But I wouldn’t trade my life for anything.  I honestly can’t imagine my life without all my little ones.  I don’t know how I would manage if we would’ve listened to the naysayers and stopped after John Robert.  I honestly cannot imagine this world without Ethan, Cole, and Jacob. 

I love that we aren’t the typical American family.  I love that we are having another baby.  I love that my kiddos are as excited as they are.  I love how our family dynamic works.  I love how the kiddos all come together to take care of things, most of the time without complaint.  I love how excited everyone is to see each other, even if a family member has only been gone for a day.  I love the dirt on the walls and floor.  I love the sarcasm and crazy conversations. I love the under cooked scrambled eggs that were made with love.  I love the hugs and kisses.  I love the outrageous grocery bills.  I love how my kiddos are more concerned with someone’s heart than anything else.  I love my “large” family and I wouldn’t have life any other way.   

I AM A YEAR OLDER!

Tuesday was my birthday.  I am now another year older and only two years shy of the big 4-0, and yes I do realize that I just admitted that I am now 38!  What was funny to me is that this year I really did sound like my Mom when I asked my amazing husband: “How old am I again?”  Yep, I seriously had to ask, guess the old age is really creeping up on me now huh?  HA!

I didn’t want a lot for my birthday this year.  Robert worked the weekend before but he still took me to Olive Garden on Saturday night.  I adore our date nights and I loved that we were able to celebrate my birthday a few days early.  We had a great time, totally overate, and relaxed as soon as we got home.  It was wonderful to have those few hours to ourselves, and if that would’ve been my gift it was the perfect birthday.  However, when I woke up Tuesday morning (my real birthday), I was in for a treat.

I knew what I wanted but it took Robert longer to decide..

It was worth the wait, the food was so yummy!

Maggie had set everything up for me.  I had a big present waiting along with my favorite hot tea.  Then she proceeded to make me some French toast, a breakfast that I adore.  She was so funny; it’s not a breakfast she usually cooks so she hovered over me to see if I was really enjoying it!  Of course I was it was delicious.  Then I left for my first prenatal checkup which turned into an all day affair and as a sweet lady pointed out, made for a memorable birthday.  Needless to say when I got home, I was exhausted, but I still had presents to open.

My view when I woke up Tuesday morning!

I LOVED my french toast!

Yes, I'm rocking my Minion pajamas while my two favorite Little's help me open my birthday presents!

I’ve wanted to get a good quality black and brown leather purse for a while.  BUT, I was being super picky about the style of the bag because I now need to carry John Robert’s Epi Pens with me.  When we were shopping in February I was looking at TJ Maxx and Ross for some nice quality bags and trying to explain to Maggie what I wanted and why.  She told me I was being too picky and to give up.  BUT, Maggie and Robert listened to me.  For my birthday I got a beautiful black Michael Kors purse and a lovely brown Coach bag.  I was thrilled; they met all my requirements and are perfect for what I wanted.   

While my day wasn’t what I had hoped it would be, my birthday was perfect.  At the end of the day I was surrounded by my husband and my children.  There is no one else I’d rather grow another year older with than them!

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

Recently Maggie has been learning about greenhouses, soil types, and horticulture in her AG class.  Bringing this knowledge home she asked if she could make a garden.  Of course being the responsible parents that we are, we told her to have at it.  I will readily admit that I have a black thumb.  I can’t grow anything.  I can remember when we were dating; Robert made an amazing garden, so I’m hoping she takes after her daddy when it comes to her gardening skills.  We shall soon see.

When Maggie was talking about what she wanted to grow, she never mentioned corn.  John Robert loves corn, and he wanted to grow corn.  So, when we got Maggie her seeds, I got John Robert some corn.  Of course this worked out well for Maggie; she got some strong arms to help her in her gardening ventures, and believe me when she chose the old hog pen, she needed some strong arms.

The kiddos chose the old hog pen for their garden.  We haven’t had any hogs in it since last August, so we figured the Florida sand that we live in here on the ridge had a lot of quality nutrients left in it.  This is where Maggie was more than happy to have John Robert along for the ride.  The weeds in the old pen were thick, almost waist high in some spots.  Without any instructions or input from us, the big kiddos got to work.  Well, I think Maggie and John Robert got to work, Ethan did what he does best: supervises!

The pen in the beginning.  See how high the weeds are!

John Robert weeding and working diligently!

The cows loved the weeds the kiddos threw over the fence!

After a full afternoon of work, the kiddos little garden was planted and ready to go.  Not only did they plot the area, they organized where each item was to be planted, and they weeded everything on their own.  There was no input from Robert or I in any of it.  Their garden was done in a day because of their own initiative and hard work, and to me, that’s what matters the most.

Taking a small break. 

Time to start planting!

Maggie planted bell peppers, green beans, onions, and lettuce.

At the top of Maggie's plot of veggies, John Robert planted his corn.

The end of a hard Saturday.  

 I am beyond thrilled about this garden.  Not because I want the veggies to grow, because I do.  Not because I want my kiddos to enjoy the fruits of their labor, because I do.  Not because I’ve always wanted a garden, because I have in spite of my personal black thumb.  No, I am beyond thrilled about this because my kiddos did this all of their own initiative.  This garden is 100% their pet project.  They took it upon themselves to plan, work together, and execute their plans.  If nothing in the garden grows, my kiddos are amazingly successful in my eyes because they worked together.

As my big kiddos get older I want them to have a lasting friendship.  I want them to enjoy spending time with each other, not because we are forcing them but because they legitimately enjoy each other.  This garden is a huge blessing to me because it is the columniation of my dream for my kiddos.  Not only are they siblings, they are becoming great friends!

So, Maggie and John Robert, how does your garden grow?  With lots of teamwork, hard work, a little bit of luck, and most of all a lot of love and friendship.

LIFE HAPPENS

Hi All!  Have you missed me?  Truthfully I haven’t been on in forever for a legitimate reason, I was hurt.  See I have had my feelings hurt, immensely by a family member, and I knew that if I were to put myself out there in cyber space I would have the potential to do or say something that I couldn’t take back.  So, I opted for silence.  Maybe it wasn’t the best choice, but for me it was the safest.   Some days I think that we need to remember that we need to do what is best for us, even if it’s inconvenient or wrong to others.   However, now I am here so let me catch y’all up on our lives.

Our lives happened.  We have endured and dealt with the good, the bad, and the ugly since we chatted last.  We’ve had four more birthdays, one more anniversary, two more deaths, and mourned the anniversary of the passing of our son.  I still can’t believe it’s been three years since Samuel was Heaven Born.  As a family we celebrated Maggie turning 15, John Robert turning 12 in November.  We had a great time at my parents’ house for Thanksgiving, sticking close to home because of Robert’s job.  In December we celebrated Cole turning 4.  As a couple we marked out 18^th wedding anniversary and celebrated 21 years of being Robert and Jennifer.   We remembered Granddaddy Massey on his 81^st birthday in December.   We celebrated Christmas, our first one without some key grandparents, and honored Grandpa Peacock’s life on New Year’s Eve with chicken and dumplings.    We took time off for Youth Fair and enjoyed watching Robert as a judge for the Whip Popping Contest.  We ended January on a high note as we celebrated Jacob turning two.  We had his celebration at Youth Fair since his birthday was the night of the whip popping.  It reminded me of my birthdays spent in Bartow. 

We also had to endure three weeks of ER/doctor visits.  We had to learn how to uses an Epi pen since John Robert ran a bad reaction to a bee sting.  We had to take Jacob to the ER for “nurse maid elbow” or a dislocated elbow.  We got to take Cole, Jacob, and Maggie to the doctor for sinus infections that wouldn’t heal no matter what we tried.  We have endured the changed with Robert’s work schedule, changes that have left us missing him as he works crazier and crazier hours.  We have faced all of this and made it through to stand here, in February.   At the end of January we met with a precious lady for our homeschool evaluations and determined that the kiddos are on track for what they have learned.   We still have the youth meeting every other week to have a safe place to ask those hard hitting questions that plaque us in our teenage angst filled years.  We are still here, still moving forward and pressing on.

So forgive me for my lack of correspondence.  I promise to communicate more.  I am still growing, changing from the person I was into the person that I want to be.  I can say that we are here, still the Best Family in Town, and we aren’t going anywhere!

PERFECTLY IMPERFECT HOUSEKEEPING

Anyone who hangs out with me or our family for more than a day knows that our home life is insane.  It’s not anything in particular; it’s just the dynamic of our family.  We aren’t the typical 2.5 kids in a perfect suburban house.  We are the atypical five kiddo’s family with crazy hours and lots of stuff everywhere.  Most days I am totally fine with this craziness, but some days I struggle with my lack of housekeeping perfection.   As much as I adore the idea of being the next June Cleaver or Donna Reed, the reality of our family doesn’t mesh with those perfect stay at home mom stereotypes.   

In reality, I don’t aspire to be the perfect housewife.  Yes, I want my house to be somewhat neat and clutter free, but the reality of a family our size with the stuff we have more often than not lends itself to clutter.  I want to have the homeschooling room, the workroom for my scrapbook hobby, and the work room for Robert’s leather and whip building.  Instead of having this, I have homeschooling stuff in bookshelves around the dining table and the kitchen area.  This is meshed with the leather and whip building stuff that Robert and now Maggie and John Robert are using.  And my scrapbook stuff?  Well it’s regulated to the top shelf of my closet next to my jeans.  To say that I don’t have my dream house or organized storage system would be a cold hard fact for me, but I am doing what I can to make our lives better.

This year our family schooling structure has changed as we have added dual enrollment for Maggie into the schedule.  Add to it the change that I am also teaching a Wednesday night Awana’s class and I KNEW we HAD to get things together in our house, especially with our chore system.   The simple reality is that what I was doing just wasn’t working anymore.  Everyone was getting burned out on their chores.  More often than not, I was picking up more and more slack, and getting grumpier and grumpier in the process.  I knew something had to give, so I did what any imperfect modern American housewife, homeschooling Mama, and full time Mom would do; I hit Pinterest with a vengeance.

If I am being totally honest, I was slightly bummed at the overall state of chore recommendations and organizing that Pinterest had to offer for a family our size.  It seemed like everything was geared towards the stereotypical American family.  You know, white picket fence, the perfect two children and a dog, mom is at home happily imitating Martha Stewart, while dad works a 9-5 office job.  Yep, this was SO NOT our family scenario, and I was getting more and more discouraged.  Then I found it, chore baskets from Joyful Homemaking.  

The idea was a simple one.  Get some baskets, fill it with the necessary cleaning supplies, and then put instructions on the baskets for how each chore is to be done.  Simple, easy, and for us, pure genius!  More than that, I think that this is a chore system that will actually work. 

So, I headed into town, bought a weekly whiteboard calendar to organize our crazy weeks, labeled each chore basket, printed up the labels and actually used some scrapbook paper to make them look pretty, and then created the baskets.  My plan is to have each big kiddo use a chore basket for the full week.  So if your name is next to the “B” on our weekly calendar, then for the next week it is your job to clean the bathrooms.  All you need to do is grab your basket and do what the chore card says on it!  I LOVE this idea!

Our new weekly calendar.  Hung up in the kitchen high enough that little hands CAN'T color on it!  HA!!!!

A trip to Dollar Tree yielded almost everything that was needed to put together these baskets.  I even found the laminating cards!  YAY!

Each chore basket is set up and ready to go.

I LOVE that everything needed to tackle a cleaning job is now in one place!

Today we started our new chore system.  So far it has been simple and easy for the kiddos to understand and follow through on.  My hope is that this system will work in two ways.  The first is that the kiddos won’t get burned out on doing the same chore day after day.  The weekly rotations will help with this.  The second thing that I want them to learn is how to really clean and care for a home.  Even my boys will know how to sweep, mop, scrub a toilet, and even hand wash dishes with this new system.  To me, this ingenuous idea will help me as a mother prepare my kiddos for life outside of our home. 

No, I’m not a perfect housewife.  No, my house isn’t spotless and totally organized.  Yep, there are times that I don’t always like what Pinterest suggests.  However, with our new chore baskets, I think we are making progress in the right direction, and that’s good enough for me!

MOTHER'S DAY 2015

This past Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day in a very low key manner.  I knew that the celebration of me would be non existent that I day, in fact I asked for it to be that way.  My reason, it was my E-Man's 8th birthday and I wanted the focus to be on him and not on me.  It was a lovely day, and I got what I really wanted, a nap and was surprised with a lot more.

The morning started off in the normal way.  Robert and I bustled around trying to get all five kiddos up and dressed. It's funny to me that it never fails, no matter how many times I lay out clothes for Sunday morning, something disappears in the night.  Be it the baby's socks or someone's shoes there is always a rush to get things done.  This Sunday morning was no exception.  But we were able to get some Mother's Day photos in our Sunday best!

A silly picture to start the morning off right!

A serious everyone stand up and smile picture to make the morning complete.

After church we came home and enjoyed a wonderful meal and celebration with the birthday boy (more to come about him after his party this weekend).  That's when I purposed to get the little one's to lay down.  Of course they wouldn't sleep so Daddy offered to take them and I napped.  It was comical to wake up and find the chocolate cake smeared everywhere.  It seems Daddy fell asleep and Jacob the Destroyer struck.  Seriously, I'm still finding chocolate in places and it's been almost a week!  UGH!  It was at this time that I got the best compliment I've ever been given from my sweet husband.

     It's hard work keeping up with these kids!

I laughed, hard.  He's right!  It is hard work keeping up with all these kiddos.  Yet they are also the ones that make my life so amazing.  Take, for example, my gift.  Everything was planned by Maggie.  She made the entire gift just from listening to what I have been saying about organizing the house.  I was given a beautiful tray, a lovely glass jar, some make-up ( including some samples of Organic Cow girl Dirt, but more on that later), and some beautiful earrings.  

I'm really enjoying this natural ~ organic makeup, but more about that later!

I LOVE the tear drop shape to these earnings!

My new tray and jar.  I think it's cute how Maggie wrapped the jar in burlap and the Cowgirl Dirt makeup came in the little burlap bag.

My Sunday morning selfie AFTER church showcasing the makeup still going strong!

All of the gifts were chosen for me because of something that she had heard me say I wanted to use, try, or she thought I would like.  It was a Mother's Day gift worth cherishing, I am so grateful that Maggie took the time to hear me when she heard me chatting.  I felt so special!  More than that, it was a perfect Mother's Day.  We celebrated the kiddos, I napped, and I was abundantly blessed by my daughter and husband with a gift that means so much.

I am not a perfect mom.  More often than not I fail, at every turn.  It is easy to make life seem perfect in blog posts, choosing only to highlight the pretty and not the "real" of a life with five kids.  In spite of not being perfect, I have children who love me and think of me as the Proverbs 31 Woman.  I am abundantly blessed by God as He allows me to walk this path of being my kiddos Mama.  I pray that everything I do brings glory to Him and helps prepare my children for His purpose in their lives.  Mother's Day was special because of the family that I have.  I am so glad that they are mine!