Wealth

A few weeks ago I was on a mission.  After yelling at the three oldest kids...AGAIN....to pick up their messes I decided I needed a new plan or system to deal with all of the toys.  I have tried keeping a very large portion of them neatly tucked away in multiple bins in the garage while only allowing the ones that fit under their beds in.  I can spends days getting all those toys in a neat order in the various bins while they can spend only minutes destroying all my hard work to find that one toy that was tucked in the furthest bin at the very bottom.   

In addition to my growing aggravation with the piles and piles of toys (that I refuse to part with until I am done having babies) we were also in the very lengthy process of trying to get an accepted offer on our dream property.  Stress and emotions were kind of riding high in our house for awhile. I decided to call my mom one day at the last minute to have her watch the three oldest kids for a few hours so I could finally put my master plan into place for all those toys.  I needed to feel that I could have something under control and in order in my life.

My plan was simple.  Go to Target buy three more matching bins.  Come home.  Divide out every toy among seven bins.  Viola.  All done.  Something in my life now feels controlled and in order.  Goal accomplished.

If you didn't already know this....but God has a since of humor.  

Here is what actually happened:  Go to Target.  Two bins left no lids--damn.  Go to the big Walmart.  No bins at all--DAMMIT!  Head for home defeated.  Turn around half way home to head to the other  Target.  Yes, three bins PLUS lids--Awesome!  Head home hot, tired and now short on time to finish my task.  On the way home....witness a very simple fender bender. 

I was finally over the top with it all in life.  I broke down shaking with tears.  Why God?  Why are we faced with all these struggles? 

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary wealth is defined as: abundance of valuable material possessions or resources.

You see....I think we are all raised on the idea that wealth equals money however the word money is never once used in the definition.  Instead the word abundance is.  By that word alone then I am rich. Rich in a way I wasn't able to appreciate until that day.

Before I made it to the next light I proverbially picked myself up and wiped off all the dust.  I was only looking at the surface of things.  I was crying because it was a pain in my butt to buy a few more matching bins.  I was crying because my kids have been showered with a great amount of toys for the last several years.  I was crying because we are trying to buy this dream property and it wasn't going to our plan.  I sounded like such a fool crying over those things!!!  

We are wealthy because God has given these wonderful things to us.  Things some other families don't get to fuss about.  Two months ago it would have never crossed my mind that we would be finding our dream property in a place I never considered and for amount I though we would never be able to afford, but can.  Our kids are very healthy.  My husband has a wonderful business that is growing year after year.

I will look to celebrate what we have and try not to worry about what God has planned for the things we want.  

 

 

Food for thought:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

    and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ in all your ways submit to him,

    and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs  3:5-6

Can you hear me?

I have tried many times to restart this blog and have failed every time.  I wish I could be attentive to it but when my life restarts every two years it's hard to.  I need a rhythm in my life and just as I start to feel like I have a good groove....another baby is born. 

I am here to give it another shot.  A lot has transpired since my absence.  Plus, there is a potential for us to be facing some major positive life changes too that we would like to share.  However, given that it's been so long since I've updated this blog I doubt anyone will be reading it anytime soon.  I may just use this for my immediate family so we can better watch our journey unfold.

Since I started this blog I have gone back over it so many times.   It's so nice to have a handy location to review your life for the last seven years that you can have access to anywhere at anytime .  Well, minus almost the last two years.  Oops. Every time I reviewed my life here on this blog the one thing I always walk away with is how funny I was.  I am certainly a girl who loves and values humor but after going over bits and pieces of this blog last night I am realizing I am not that funny girl anymore.  It's easy to assume the pressures of life.  I hope by re-starting this blog that I can re-start that humor I feel I once had....no matter how corny it was.  

When I am in the middle of living my life I often forget how far I've come.  Lately, I've been wrapped up in a "why can't we be there"state or "why me".  After looking over this blog last night I realized that we have already come pretty far and life is not about "why me".

How about a life update since the last posting in September 2014.

Our family expanded in February with the addition of our second daughter 'Carty'

Here she is at ten days old laying with her beads of courage that she earned after a nearly four day stay in N.I.C.U.

Here is one of my better photos that represents her time there. 

Here is a family photo that was taken when she was about six weeks old.

 

It's amazing the comments and looks we get for having four kids.  I believe 99% of the population thinks we should have stopped at one...maybe two.  It's weird how the world has changed.  Long ago large families were not uncommon.  There wasn't birth control.  Do I feel "done" after having my fourth?  No.  My heart yearns for a fifth but I think my body is telling me it's done.  

Our family also recently experienced a loss.  

Our last and beloved dog of 16 years passed away.  The Daddy-O brought her home two months after we started dating.  The three of us have been through a lot together.  Making the call to peacefully end her life was by far one of the most difficult decisions we ever made.  She is now resting in a box on our filing cabinet.  May her soul rest peacefully with God in a field of carrots. 


Our oldest is now seven!



 
By public school standards he'll be in 2nd grade starting late summer.  By my standards as a homeschooling mama he is right where he is confident at.  He loves math, Lego's and the T.V.  He is a confident swimmer, now.


Our second born is now five!

 By public school standards he'll be starting kindergarten.  The beauty in homeschooling is that I don't have to wait or do things exactly like his peers.  We started his education awhile ago.  His penmanship is great.  He is a lover to his sisters and a pincher of elbows.


Next in line is our first born daughter.  She is two now!

 
I thought she was going to be my girly-girl.  I used to say she'd be the girl in the sand box with the dirtiest dress.  She'll still be that girl but now it comes with a fierce punch.  She has two older brothers and won't take crap from anyone.

Last is this beauty...

She was our surprise gift from God.  She came to us at a time when we were hurting.  She is beautiful. She is strong and I am beyond in love with this blessing.

Here is hopefully the first of many updates!

Food for thought:
Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
Proverbs 24:14