Life Update

I am in Alabama at my parent’s house and it is a hot mess. 3 dogs, 2 cats, 5 kids, a frazzled mom trying to keep the peace, and a dad with high blood pressure that he brings upon himself. I am at wits end! I was about ready to pack and leave 2 nights ago. Things have calmed since then, but the stress is still lingering under the surface.

Mark is still in MO and the home-hunt is a royal mess. Rent is too high, the area is too dangerous, the place is already rented despite the ad just coming out, the house is not livable (how can they legally rent that??), the landlord doesn’t show up to show the house…..

We are frustrated and about ready to throw our hands in the air and sell every last item and move to a tropical island and raise a herd of beach bums.

However, the children bring joy and we are still surrounded by friends and family and even strangers helping us out. I am not sure where we would be without our community of support!

Here are some awesome things going on:
Zen now says lots of words!
He can say banana and up. If you call for him he says “Here I am!” and if you call for anyone else he asks “Where are you?!?!” The other day he picked up the phone and said “Hi daddy!” He is quite the hot ticket!
Santa stopped at Mark’s work and left a candy cane for Elf because she is his favorite elf. When I told Elf about this she replied “i just saw Santa last night and he didn’t tell me he would see Daddy! It must of been a surprise! He is sneaky!”
How cute is she? ❤ Princess has bonded with her grandma and enjoys watching my mom and I in the sewing room. Bug and C-Dog are anxiously waiting to ride Papa’s tractor. The kids are running in the woods for epic games of hide and seek. They are free range here because there is only one other house on this road. They fall asleep happily exhausted. This is what summers are about!

So despite the wretchedness of homelessness there are many positive memories being stored up.
For your enjoyment here is one…I filled a random container with water for Zen to play in on the porch. He had a blast!

So, for those who pray, please pray we find an answer to no home. For those who don’t pray we appreciate and treasure all positivity you send our way!

I don’t have much internet access here so I will try to write more as soon as I can!

Peace and love to you all!

The Washboard Part 3

My kids like to help me with household duties. They sweep, mop, dust, cook, and more. Zen watches us work as a team and has taken to participating. Normally this results in more mess, but how else would he learn? The chore Zen currently likes the most is laundry. Who can resist a tub full of water and a washboard that makes noise! Zen is our noisy boy. He loves all things noisy and creates “music” wherever he goes 🙂

I think it is very easy for adults to either think a child can’t help (too young) or simply do not want them to because they (the adult) can get the job done faster and more accurate. We are doing our children a disservice though when we have this mindset. They aren’t learning! How are they going to learn if we aren’t letting them try and gently guiding them. I have to admit I have to often hold my tongue and not intervene, but I am seeing continual progress. Best of all they are learning to clean the way I think is best 😉 Ha! 

So here is my challenge, let your kids do the house work with you. Show them how to use the kitchen correctly. Yes, my kids chop vegetables for me and I bet they hold the knife better than many adults. Teach them the best way to mop. Help them learn how to do laundry. You will be teaching them skills they will need as adults and you will have help getting the work done! Make sure you relax though because it isn’t going to be done perfectly. Let the memories and skills be made!