Escape and Return

This last weekend I escaped the madness that is my life.  I had a whole 48 hours with other adult women...no kids, no men, and no dirty dishes, laundry or kitchen floors.

It was bliss.  I went to bed around 11ish, slept until I woke up on my own (all the way to 7:30am).  My food was provided  and I didn't have to cook or clean up.  I sat down and ate my breakfast, chatted with grown ups, and then listened to Suze talk to us all about the very topics which have been on my mind for months, if not years!  Then, lunch happened just like breakfast.  No work on my part.

Then, and this was my own favorite part, I spent the next 5 hours straight alone. I read a book that was thought provoking, not just 6 pages illustrating one fairly simple sentence.  My brain fairly tingled with the excitement of seeing all of those big, beautiful words lined up on the pages.

Ok, so this is my wonderful weekend of refreshment.  Today, my personal reality came crashing back into my new found serenity.  I woke up to 3 little voices telling me, in unison, that they were starving.  Aaaannnd....I was off.  Only one big spill at breakfast. Baths lasted a good half an hour and only one bottle of soap was emptied, however the shower to rinse off all the extra soap ended in tears after someone turned the hot water up when I turned to get towels out.  All was good until lunch.  Lunch was a terrific 45 minutes of me yelling, "Eat your lunch or go take a nap", while the kids screamed back that they didn't want these sandwiches today.  We were only 10 minutes late to school, which meant I got to go in and show off my unshaven legs, makeupless face, and the haircut that has caused me to rearrange my plans and stay home for the next few weeks.  We skype with my mom, while nursing the baby, attempting to put 2 kids down for naps, and eating my own lunch.  The next few hours are a hazy blur of wet pants, piles of rocks being brought in the house, catching my children as they jump without abandon into my arms, craft time, and finally supper.

The kids are now all tucked in bed.  I have to admit that this weekend was pretty amazing, and I would not trade that time for thinking and resting...but I am also pretty thrilled to be home with this house full of chaos and I would never trade this for anything.

My God Will Supply All My Needs

 I married my college sweetheart just one week after we graduated.  Over the last 5 years, we added 4 beautiful babies to our family.  Our family has survived 2 layoffs, a miscarriage, my postpartum depression, a 600 mile move from Minnesota to Indiana, starting up new businesses, and hitting rock bottom financially.  

While things have been wild, we are learning a lot about what we need, what we want, and how to make do.  Creativity and thinking outside the box are becoming more our daily norm, and less a novelty.  I am determined to be grateful for what I have and how I have been blessed, rather than focusing on what I still want and how hard things are.

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:19 (ESV)

Minutes Under Water

When I was a child, I heard my father tell a joke when he was talking to anyone about how long he and my mother had been married.  He would say, "It has been 10 years, and it only feels like 10 minutes....under water."  This song, written and preformed by my talented husband John, refers to that joke and tells about our life together.  It is this same joke that gave me the name for this blog!