Disclaimer: Tim DOES A LOT around the house!

In my effort to encourage and build up my sweet family, it seems I have embarrassed and upset my dear husband, so I just need to say, for the record, that Tim does tons of stuff around our house. In fact, I've often said that our house and laundry would be in much better shape if he was in charge of that area. I think I get overwhelmed by the dishes and trash/recycling because it's just such a constant thing...we are always dirtying dishes, we are always making trash. You heard it here first...Tim is more than helpful...and even as I type this, he is, in fact, loading the dishwasher!! :)

Might As Well Face It Monday

My friend, Missy, started this Monday post on her blog, so I'm following suit--well, at least for today, no promises for the future.

So, I was planning on writing about how I might as well face it that I'm the only one in the house with the skills to empty the dishwasher or maybe just put the dishes into the dishwasher instead of leaving them on the counter (even when the dishwasher's empty!) and how I'm just going to have to face the fact that I'm the only one living here who knows how to flatten boxes and put them in the recycling rather than leaving them to pile up on the counter or empty the trash instead of just putting more in and letting it overflow...BUT then I read Missy's might as well face it for today, and, well, I would have been griping, so I'm left with figuring out a new "Might As Well Face It Monday".

Hmmm...well, I might as well face it, all of that griping aside, I live with a pretty special group of people...

There's Tim, the love of my life, my very favorite person to hang out with, my handsome love, my only boyfriend ever, the man of my dreams...I love that he gets up before all of us and spends time with his Jesus, I love that he cares deeply about all of our feelings, I love that he puts the boys to bed EVERY night. I might as well face it...he's fabulous!

Then there's Isaac...my firstborn, the one who taught me how to be a mama, my sweet sweet boy, my responsible helper...I love that he notices if I'm sad or stressed out, I love that he is so very diligent with his school work, I love that he is kind. I might as well face it...he's so much fun!

Well, and now comes Ezra...our middle child, the one who reminds me of my sweet daddy, the one who is ever amazing me (or should I say "shocking me")...I love that he lives to make us smile and laugh, I love that he is so concerned and interested in his friends, I love that he loves to pray and read about Jesus. I might as well face it...he's one of a kind!

The youngest of our brood comes next...Simon, the baby, the one who adores his older brothers, the one who gives good hugs and loves to snuggle, our fiesty little guy...I love that he can't wait to hug and kiss everyone when he hasn't seen us in awhile, I love that he loves strawberry milk and shouts "yes!" when he sees the refrigerator door open, I love that he loves other people and makes them smile. I might as well face it...he is so very sweet!

You thought I was done..but there's one more...it's Don, our intern at church who's been living with us since May, who we've known since he was just a bit older than Isaac, who watches House with us every single night...I love that he loves our boys and invests in them, I love that Simon LOVES to snuggle with him, I love that he is so grown up and responsible and smart and kind. I might as well face it...he's a great addition to our family and I'm going to miss him when he leaves in November!!!

I might as well face it...I don't feel like griping about the chores anymore. I'm a girl who has a fantastic house full of people...might as well face it...it doesn't get much better than that!!!

Things you would have heard in our house this week if you were the mouse that we caught on Tuesday...

"Mom, I'll even watch Mary Kate and Ashley with Ezra if that will make him happy, cause when he's happy, you're happy, and when you're happy, then all of us are happy." --Isaac

"Did you kill the mouse?" --Tim
"No, I put it in a Walmart bag." --Jen

"If there were rules on the soccer field, one of them should be that you can't ever take the ball from me." --Ezra

"Jen, wake up, there's a bat flying in our room." --Tim
"Are you hallucinating? I don't have any pants on." --Jen
"Just get downstairs." --Tim

"More, more, more..." --Simon (that's all he ever says and I didn't want him to be left out!!)

grace and strength

I enjoy reading blogs. Sometimes I end up reading the blogs of complete strangers just by clicking on link to link to link...

That happened tonight. I eventually read of a young mother who died of cancer yesterday. Honestly, I couldn't read the whole thing. It made my heart hurt too much. I clicked it closed, praying as I did that God would give her friends and family the grace they would need for the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.

I started thinking about the weeks and months after my dad died when people would say, "How can you go on? How are you coping?" I didn't really know how I was...I just was. I heard somewhere along the way the notion that God gives us the grace and strength we will need for the stuff that will be in our path, so if the stuff is in someone else's path, we can't figure out how they are coping because God didn't give us the grace and strength for that stuff. That makes sense to me...it helps me when I can't figure out how kids will go on after their mom died of cancer yesterday.

It makes me wonder what grace and strength God is growing in my boys. What will be in their paths? Will they know great joys? deep pain? Will they realize that God has given them the grace and strength they need? I'm counting on it. I know He is faithful. I've seen what He can do. I believe He will carry on the work he has started in these three.