Snow, Ice and Sleet, Oh My!

Well, school called on account of cold. This being the south, they just quiver at the thought of anything cold falling from the sky...even though it didn't start sleeting until 8:30 (when most/all kids and adults would be at work) and within a few hours it was 34 degrees, so it was just wet. Y'all are wimps!

(my view 90% the day)

However, homeschooling doesn't have snow days, at least not when mom-teacher decides it is too wet of weather and catching up is the greater priority. Have to hand it to the neighbor kids, they tried to lure mine away, but alas, mom-teacher is smarter!! So, once the minions were back under my control, the day continued as could be expected. Oldest hiding away in her room, next one trying to appear productive, but not, third one emptying dishwasher, cleaning room, ANYTHING to not have to do school (sound familiar?), fourth one, doesn't get dressed, forgets to eat breakfast, escapes to sled down the hill with neighbor on my cookie sheets. Mom-teacher finds him 20 min later and yells at him to return to the house...he is soaking wet and cold to the bone, so it doesn't matter that he is still wearing pajamas, right?--he is now coughing and sneezing and gaging..gee, wonder why? 0_o (He finally did settle in and do his schoolwork).

Fifth one I had to remind fifty times to eat, get dressed, and brush teeth. It helped that I then just sat down with squirmy(#7), child #2 and child #5 to do history...they are having a blast looking at pictures of Louis XIV---they just think there is something seriously wrong with men having those fancy long curly wigs, lace and satins....Retreat to my roomwith squirmy to nurse and sit with #6 watching 'Backyardagains.' I'm no longer in the classroom with school kids, so neighbor kid makes second attempt. I come out from my bedroom to find them all in the kitchen...my kids have the attention span of gnats!!! Don't worry, I got back at them, ya see, the weather man predicted icy-snow conditions at 3am, so feeling sorry for the outside dog, I thought I'd let him sleep inside. What I didn't know is that the kids forgot to feed him yesterday, so he knocked down the kitchen garbage can, which was full because someone forgot to take it out after dinner, and proceeded to cover the entire kitchen floor with what we had thrown out, minus, of course, any food particles of interest. Those who became distracted by little boys dressed in snow gear, bringing great promises of fun in the wintery weather, became my minions and got to clean the kitchen floor...mwwaa, haa, haaa!

Exhaustion set in... it was only 10:30 in the morning. Thank goodness it turned into a cold, lazy day and the kids mournfully looked outside as the weather turned to rain and NO SNOW. Begrudingly they returned to their desks, with the promise of getting to play the Wii later (for PE, of course!). Squirmy is now crawling all over and I tried to video her, but I am pretty ignorant with all these new technologies and for some reason can't seem to get it to download...will get the kids on that soon enough, but here are some recent pics to catch you up on our lives....

Reflections

Two years ago I began a journey. I joined a group called the Disciples of Jesus and Mary. It is a "support" group of sorts to inspire and aid us in our life here on earth; to help us answer the question, "why did God create me?" and keep us accountable on that journey. My prayer formation (the first phase) has been long, often stagnat with all the vices I struggle with, all at once. Other times, I feel the Holy Spirit propelling me forward, like a part on a factory conveyor belt, slowly adding this part and that gear, getting me closer to the finished product that God designed.
I've had to deal with my past, learn from it, grow from it. I've had to pick it up and REALLY look at ALL of it--even the stuff I never wanted to look at again. Take it all apart and put it all back together with a whole new understanding. I had to look at it through God's eyes and understand that every event, every detail, every failure and every reward, has been providentially given to me as a gift...something for my benefit, to help me become the person I am and the person I am becoming.
I sometimes joke that God gave me seven kids so I wouldn't leave....how laughingly true this is at times. I had so much to learn! I remember when we had our fifth child, my kids finally stopped saying the word "only" when describing the amount of kids (i.e. we "only" have three kids) we had. I remember Stephen asking why we had six kids and I said, "because I apparently haven't learned what God wants me to learn with five!"
I wasn't always like this. I honestly never thought I would marry, nor have children. Raised in a progressive unchurched Democratic household, my two sisters and I saw my mother work, as well as my father, we also saw that marriage dissolve and a new stronger super MOM emerge. One who could "do it all." I used to joke with my husband that the reason I do everything is because that is how I was raised. Funny, that argument doesn't seem to last long--he isn't buying it anymore!
Paul and I have been married (almost) 18 years and I've known him for (almost) 22 and although we've had a long, rough patch, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I've learned to "get out of the way" and let God form my husband and children. I've learned that no one can really be controlled, changed or influenced unless they want to be, and I am not the one to do it...only God. So when some idiot takes my parking space or races around to pass "the big van" only to slow down and turn in front of me, I no longer get angry (annoyed, yes). I can look at these situations and people and pray for them; understanding that they may be in an even bigger hurry than I. But mostly I think people race around so they don't have to look inward, they enjoy complacency. They don't want to move forward, becoming the creator's pride and joy because that would involve giving up something...themselves. For me, I see my journey is moving forward, detaching from the spirit of material attractions and attaching to the One True Heavenly attraction. Now, if these kids would just stop yanking me in all these other directions...ah, but they too are the instruments by which our Heavenly Father is using to sculpt me....I'm so special I require SEVEN!