Just Life.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

~Mary Jean Iron

I saw this quote somewhere a few months ago and it has become one of my favorites.  I may spend most of my time with five kids every single day, and I get a lot of, "You're crazy for having five kids!" and "You've sure got your hands full!", and I wipe a lot of noses and change a lot of diapers, but I would not want it any different than living life with these five sweet children and my wonderful husband.  I really am at a great place in my life, where I am content and thankful for just where God has me right now.  Things may not seem perfect to other people looking in, not everything may be running as smoothly as I'd like, and some days may seem really long, and I'd really like a short break sometimes, but I know that things can change in a second, and I'd much rather have this, now, than long for something more, or even be hurting by something worse.  Life is full of highs and lows and I like being somewhere in the middle, with just some little dips and bumps along the way.  My house may never be clean, and I may wonder about my parenting every once in a while (or more), but I just feel joy with my life, and it's a good feeling.  Things may not be perfect according to this world, but this is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.

On that note, here are some of the everyday things that we do here in this home filled with love and joy and lots of noise...

This guy lost his second tooth!

Many hours are spent up in the playroom playing with trains.  Christopher even designs track layouts on paper and then builds his tracks based on that!  Matthew made this one and they always want me to take pictures of their designs.

The boys love playing with these pattern blocks and make designs in them that they want pictures taken of.  I love when there is no boundary between schooling and playing.  I could totally unschool if I didn't love the curriculum we are using.  The boys already have the building blocks for the minds of engineers and designers with all the things they build and put together everyday. 

I love these kids and I am very blessed to be home with them all day to see their minds work and learn so much.  Public school started here this week and while there is that little voice in my head that thinks it would be nice to be able to get a bit of a break from the craziness, it's not worth having to take five days a week of it.  Although this does make me smile for a minute.  Partly because I just love shopping for school supplies.