It's Amazing What a Walk to Starbucks Can Do

This morning started out very rough. The babies have been getting gassier and gassier again and have started to eat less as a result. It was a breaking point for me and I had a fantastic meltdown by 9:30. God is good though. In the middle of crying out to Him one of my bffs called and I was wise enough to answer. She didn't have an earth-shattering remedy to my issue at hand, but she had a sympathetic ear and heart and encouraging words to share. I am so grateful for my circle of "peeps." They (you!) mean more to me than I ever could express. I received so much needed encouragement from them that it brings tears to my eyes just to write it. After the wee ones woke up I showered, put on some make-up and walked over to Starbucks. It did the babies and myself much good and set a better tone for the rest of our day.

One of my great friends e-mailed the following me to me in my despair:

"We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen..."
2 Cor. 4:18

Father,

You help me see with my heart. I'm so distracted and discouraged by what I see with my eyes, but I know there is more to life than what I see. Help me look beyond the circumstances around me to what You're doing in my children's hearts, as well as in my own. I know that You're conforming us into the image of Your Son. That can't happen overnight or without a fight. Show me Your invisible hand working in this family. Turn my eyes towards You.

Amen

Emotionally Tired

Writing that last bit really took it out of me. I just want to do this better. Lord, help me to see how to do it better. I don't want to hope that Paige doesn't remember any of this because it's so bad, but to remember it because it was so memorable.

The Joy of...

I just got done watching Julie & Julia and loved it. I want to cook big meals everyday...someday I will be able to cook a couple of big ones a week again. Mike watched it with me and started joking around about what the name of our book would be. Currently it's "The Joy of Raising More Kids than You Intended in a Two Bedroom House." I'm now in love with Julia Child and want to read everything about her. It would at least be a good escape. This parenting twins on top of parenting a 5 and 2 1/2 year old thing is harder than I ever could have imagined. I'm trying to figure out how to do it even a little gracefully and am failing miserably. Tomorrow is a new day, thankfully, I will hopefully do better.

p.s. I know she didn't write the Joy of Cooking. ;o)

Moments

However, it is filled with great moments like all six of us hanging out on the living room floor with the babies watching them hold their little heads up and give us big smiles while big sissy takes pics of them and big bro wrestles with Daddy.

I also cannot believe my girl is 5 now. 5...really?! It's amazing to think how quickly that went by. When we brought her home from the hospital we were terrified and had no clue what to do with her. Now I don't what I would do without her. She is learning to play cards (Go Fish and Crazy 8s are her current favs) and it gets me excited to imagine when everyone else is a little older and we get to sit around playing cards and board games. It's moments like that that help me to see the huge blessing this big family is going to be. And don't get me started on my first born boy. We are having quite the love-fest right now and I don't want it to stop.

Easy

This is definitely not.