swears+prayers

This summer was wonderful. God showed me so many awesome miracles and taught me many valuable lessons. Hopefully I'll get to sharing some of those stories with you all. 

I go through periods of time where I don't blog... for many reasons. 
Sometimes it's because I have nothing to say. 
Sometimes it's because I have too much to say.
Sometimes it's because I have nothing nice to say. 
Sometimes it's because I am busy and sometimes it's because I need to nap during nap time (or be creative and make things, or waste time on pintrest, or just rest while listening to sappy country songs or Jesus music, etc. etc.)

Now that fall is here, I feel like the routine is all jumbled up all over again, so now I need to find the time to squeeze in some blogging again as I am trying to find some structure among the messiness and craziness of a new school year. 

My first grader!

So HI! How are YOU? How wasYOUR summer? What did you experience/learn/suffer through/gain/create/etc? Who did you meet/visit/host/hug/see?

You need to think about it? Okay while you are thinking about it, I'll go first.

• I experienced many days at the wading pool with four (sometimes SIX!) kids and other mamas and friends.

Our house was full this summer!

• I learned that God's provision is perfect, and that money ain't no thang to Him. 
• I suffered through many hot days with a janky airconditioning unit. And survived :)
• I gained a yellow kitchen, a pretty good tan, minty green nail polish, some new parenting skillz and a Barbie Dream House spy head quarters for the boys' action figures.

• I created a chalk board sign for my porch, a few baby quilts, a stuffed bunny, a baby shower and some dang good banana bread.

A baby quilt for LP's little girl who will be here in a couple of weeks (if not sooner!)

Look at my glowing LP! At her baby shower I hung up frames with pictures of her as a babe.
It was hot as heck, but we survived.

• I met many new friends including another mama in my 'hood who hosts a house church with her husband that Matthew and I are attending now. We met lots of cool people that are part of their church community. 

(**We are not leaving our church Bethel Christian Fellowship, this church meets on Sunday afternoons**)

On Labor Day we grilled out with a bunch of new friends.

• I got to visit with lots of family and old friends at weddings and grad parties, baby showers and playdates.

We got to see Sara, Aria and friends!

• We also got to host an African couple from the Congo and my friend Bridget and her family from Mexico.

Pastor Vincent and Martha

• I got to hug my long-lost friend for life Bridget. It was our first hug in over 8 years! She and her family stayed with us for a few days. Twelve of us ate, played and slept in our little 1300 square foot house, and it could not have gone better! 

Bridget and I served as dorm mothers together at Esperanza Viva in Puebla, Mexico.

I also got to see and hug the Madsen family! Marty and Mary were like parents to me while I was in Mexico.

Alright. We're all caught up now.

So where am I at now?
I am in a season I like to think of as swears+prayers. 

This mothering thing got super hard when Max went back to school. 
I am just barely making it through here, man. 

Did I mention that Eli turned two this summer?

Mornings are nice and sweet. We aren't rushed and we have a sweet little walk in the morning sun to the bus stop just down at the corner. I get to chat with my neighbors and the kids play til the bus arrives. 
The day goes by quickly with naps in the afternoon. I have even been staying on top of dishes and most of the house work during the day. Not bad right?

Then 3:20pm comes along. Maximo gets home and ish hits the fan. The fights start. The whining begins. "I'm hungry/I'm bored/You're not my best friend anymore!" are the most frequently spoken words. Matthew gets home, he is tired too. It's dinner time. What the heck is for dinner? If you ask my kids, it's whatever they are going to hate the most that night. So they refuse to eat, and I refuse to be a short-order cook. Then it's bedtime. And, as I said, since the school routine has kicked in, changes have come in many areas. This includes bedtime hour which is 8 now, instead of 9. (**And yes we began the transition before the night before the first day of school**)  And coincidentally Eli learned how to climb out of his crib last week. So bedtime now = the most dreaded part of my day. I read books. I sing many songs. I pray. I am sweet and gentle and kind. And it's like, these kids CAN NOT go to bed until they get a peak of angry mean mama. And that's what they get. 

My patience dwindles, and in my mind begin the prayers+swears. 
I speak neither of them out loud. 

And I yell. Then I apologize, and then it goes on and on, back and forth until 9:30pm. 
Because Eli will not stay in his bed and Gabriel follows. 

I'm just being real here folks. I am not asking for solutions. I am working on the solutions. I'm confiding in strong mamas (including my own mama who is a behavioral specialist), so I got a good team around me. 

Today I got together with a couple of my good friends (who are also boy moms) and we discussed a parenting book we are reading together. We have our own book club and we feel so cool about it :)
Over amazing coffee (and the screams and giggles of our children) we got to share our struggles and our victories, and we ended it in some short-but-sweet prayer time. 

Friends, coffee, prayer, kids, parenting books...

So I am encouraged. And I am ready to take on the rest of this day with a positive mind and changed heart. I am equipped to do this. 
You are too. 
I will not settle for the chaos and stress. I am asking (and expecting) for good things to come of this season. 

Soon the swears will be fewer, but the prayers will always continue to be plentiful. 
Through it all God meets me right where I am at, understanding me and standing by my side. He's strong enough to hear the deepest cries of my heart. He loves me no matter what. He knows what it's like to have disobedient, ungrateful, mean and difficult children. He has 7.108 billion of them! 

I bet God doesn't get all bent out of shape when his kids cut each other's hair though...
Maximo and Gabriel decided that enough was enough and that Eli needed a haircut.
They are grounded for life. 

One day at a time. 

His mercies are new every morning.

(Thanks for hanging in there and reading along. I know this was a long one.)

hope to be back soon.

If you want an update on how the day ended... 
you can find out here.