On Monday, Sept 29, Ai Kimba and Yoshimi Aasgaard came for lunch. I had planned to have them over a long time ago - originally back in April or so, but it kept getting pushed off for various reasons (morning sickness, snow, hand-foot-and-mouth disease). I felt guilty about the delay, but it turns out that God's timing was perfect.
Ai and Yoshimi were a big help at lunch time (mealtime is where I struggle most with the adjustment to fulfilling the needs of 3 kids). They even brought food along. Micah loved the sushi rolls and Henry liked the inarizushi - a first for both boys.
In the midst of the craziness that was our lunch, Ai, whose oldest is in high school now, paused and looked fondly at my children and said wistfully, "This is the best time!" I raised my eyebrows at Ai inquisitively; it really just feels like chaos at the moment. In fact, I had been longing for a time when everyone is not so needy of my time. I look forward to when I can sit down at lunchtime and actually eat instead of pouring someone's milk or cleaning up someone's spill or helping someone get his food on his spoon or breastfeeding. I didn't grasp Ai's words at all!
Then, when all three kids were napping at the same time that afternoon (!), I looked at my Bible verse for the week. I've been praying for specific godly virtues for my kids using the alphabet and verses from the Bible (I got the idea here).
This week, it was the letter C. And the virtue I was praying for my kids to have was Contentment. The Bible verse is: "Godliness with contentment is a great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6). As I read it that afternoon (I'd been reading it for one week already), I suddenly looked at it differently. I thought about how I needed contentment in my life.
Contentment in my life means: Being satisfied with my current situation; having fulfillment, happiness, and pleasure with my current situation.
I realized I need to stop wishing for the future, when it will be "better." I need to enjoy today, even if it is a chaos-filled today. I need to ask God to help me gain contentment. I decided to keep praying about contentment for another week - this time for myself! It truly was a turning point for me in my outlook as a mom!
So here are some of the blessings we experienced this week:
Monday night, Helen joined me for the "girls bible study" at Ximena's house while Micah and Henry enjoyed "boys night" with Daddy at McDonald's and the park.
Tuesday we had our first trip to Meijer with just one adult and three kids. I am not going to lie; I was a bit nervous. I told the boys we really needed to have good behavior... and we really need to have God's help! As we pulled the car out of the driveway, Micah said the prayer for us, that Jesus would help all of us (silently, I prayed that this also included Mommy) not to be crabby at Meijer. Thankfully, God answered that prayer! And He helped me to see the joy in this moment. When I go out with my "three ring circus," I get the opportunity to talk to many strangers. My kiddos do bring lots of joy to those around them, especially senior citizens who engage us in conversation. MY attitude was a lot better, too, as I looked at my situation with contentment. Now, I need to figure out a way to get a few more groceries in the cart...
While Henry and Helen took their naps, Micah and I tried a new cookie recipe without butter, flour, or sugar (Micah also enjoyed taking photos with my phone...)
Unfortunately, I discovered that chocolate has the same effect on Helen as caffeine, so it was a long evening. But, I know there will come a time in my life when I will look back (as my friend Ai does) and fondly remember those nights when my child wants nothing more than to be cuddled by her mother.
On Wednesday, I had another opportunity to put this "contentment" into action. We had planned to go to Story Time at the library. Daddy was working from home, but he had gone to the tire store with the truck in the morning, so I was trying to get out the door with the three kids on my own (I need to work on this skill a bit more...). We were doing OK until Helen woke up and wanted to eat minutes before we were leaving. The boys were really good as they waited patiently. But, in the end, by the time everyone got buckled into their car seats and I started pulling the car out of the garage, it was 10:30, the time when the story hour begins. So, I turned off the car in the driveway and finished feeding Helen in the front seat. Micah was devastated, but we avoided a major breakdown by discussing alternatives. In the end, we decided to meet Daddy at Erwin's Orchard when he finished at the tire shop.
Helen wore her pumpkin hat for the trip to Erwin's
We had a fabulous time, showing Daddy around the place where we had gone the day before Helen was born. Henry's favorite was the water pump.
Micah enjoyed feeding the goats and also giving them handfuls of water from the water pump.
Look, Mom, a goat up there!
There were a lot of kids there that day - a couple of field trips. So Micah waited patiently for his turn to ride one of the John Deere tricycles.
And he shared with his brother as well.
The boys climbed on the hay bales for the first time that day.
And, of course, we had to get donuts!
God certainly rewarded our flexibility with some unexpected memory-making - and continues to show me many reasons to be content!
Thursday morning, Micah literally woke up laughing in his sleep. What a delightful sound to hear first thing in the morning! We actually made it out the door for story time at the library this day (yea!). Helen slept the whole time, so we even had a chance to check out some new books. Henry enjoyed the bubble time the most.
Micah made a few new friends during the music time.
On the way home, we stopped at Arby's and the boys tried curly fries for the first time (they were a hit, of course). We had all kinds of fun at home in the afternoon. There was tent camping and hunting in the living room. Micah packed for their camping adventure, planning for several days. He decided they needed to have enough food for seven days. He was told that yes, he could take some fruit snacks on his camping trip. Then he tried to convince me that he needed fruit snack packs for every day of their week-long camping trip. After lengthy negotiations, it was agreed that the boys could pack all the fruit snacks we had in the house but they were only able to eat one of the packs!
Henry hit a new milestone in his quest for independence - he put his Anpanman slippers on all by himself.
Although all of us, including Helen, wore our Tiger's gear that day, our favorite baseball team lost.
Just as we were (I was) starting to lose patience with each other after a long day, we discovered that the sport coats Daddy had ordered had arrived. The boys carefully peeled the tape off, one inch at a time. This activity kept them engrossed for over 15 min, just enough time for me to regroup while we waited for Daddy to return from playing basketball just before bedtime.
Friday - The weather was wet and cold, so we had to make our fun indoors. The boys took boats down the river (I really need to get more laundry baskets - I can never use them for laundry anymore!).
They each had their own "house boat."
The boys played ring-around-the-rosy (or, as Henry calls it, "Poppa Rosy").
They also created a water slide on the steps going to the living room.
We made our easy pumpkin spice muffins (1 box of spice cake mix + 1 can of pumpkin). Henry usually takes naps during our baking adventures, but it's time that he starts to join in. He was super thrilled to help out!
The perks of being a baking helper include licking off the tools!
... and making quite a mess!
In the evening, we went to a local church in Brighton that has an indoor playground. The boys and Daddy shot hoops (Micah actually was able to make a few shots with the lowered rim!).
Henry enjoyed climbing on the play structure. Later, the boys played soccer while Daddy and I threw the football around on the indoor soccer field. On the way home, Helen had woken up and was getting hungry. As she cried, Henry remarked, "Need better attitude!"
Helen was 1 month old on Friday, Oct 3. She's skinny but strong! When we change her diaper, she uses her skinny legs to lift her bottom off the changing table.
She sure is well-loved!
Saturday was preparation day. We were getting ready for Helen's baptism the next day. The boys got a haircut and samples (i.e. they went to Costco). The boys also helped clean up the house. Micah has really got the vacuuming thing down - earmuffs and all. A three-year old who loves to vacuum? A toddler who absolutely adores his new sister? Who wouldn't be content with this life?!
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