February-

The month where.....
-the boys have so many basketball games scheduled, either regular games or make-up games due to bad weather, that it seems nary a day goes by that we don't run to practice or games, or piano, or the dentist....

-we get so weary of winter, but below zero temperatures since the beginning of December and lots of snow, remind us that it's not over yet.

-I try to eat next to nothing after 5 PM for a whole week, and after a hunger fit, cave in and eat sweet cereal with the children at 8:30 PM.

-we get 5 baby lambs to bottle feed and several days later, 4 more. Lots of bottles, lots of feedings, and it all gets mixed up in my kitchen sink, and I wonder if the yellow kitchen with hardwood flooring is part barn....Oh, back entrance sink, Where are you?!

-I get away with The Man for a delightful weekend ALONE and we connect on a heart level and talk about baggage and redemption and hope- always HOPE for God to work out His will in our lives for His glory.

-we celebrate rewards earned in the school room with 3 children separately, and 2 of them choose a coffee shop date with Mom, and the third one chooses the Mexican restaurant in town where he orders catfish, and it's a win-win because Mom gets one-on-one time with her children.

-we make homemade noodles at my Mom's with the sister-in-law, and the 4 kids declare noodle making the best activity ever unless you can go play in the snow with your cousins- that's trumps even noodle making!

-we muck through school and I get so discouraged and on one of the very worst days, the dear niece, mother of 4, calls for, yep, you guessed it, homeschooling advice, and I hear God saying that He doesn't want perfection as much as a willing heart.

-the children fight, Mom splits them all up and makes them apologize and play games with each other and takes pictures to remember how sweet and innocent they look.

-I realize how needy and broken I am and how much I need Jesus to help me not raise my voice at my children or tell my husband that he NEVER turns the lights off......(failed!)

-we have an impromptu geography class with Dad at bedtime and dream of going west some day.

-old memories of difficult situations rear their ugly heads and I struggle with trusting God, but I choose to walk by FAITH, and not by sight.

-I preach a sermon to my children about how much God loves them unconditionally and that His love is not dependent on their actions- and then realize how much I needed to hear that myself.

-The dirt under the kitchen table gets so bad that my daughter notices and tells me and I don't even care.

-the oldest daughter dresses up the youngest daughter and puts on a show for the rest of us and it is quite hilarious and entertaining.

-I lower my standards from our traditional Valentines Supper where we invite a family in and have a fancy meal on china to taking the family to Des Moines to a Rend Collective concert and eating at Bonanza. It really was a special evening even if it was not our normal celebration.

-the girls spend hours playing in their house, a cardboard box gifted to them from their friends, Mary and Jon.

-we wake up tired to ANOTHER fresh blanket of snow. It's breathtaking outside but we muck through a lot of ugly inside. Our plans for the day get canceled and it turns out to be a huge gift from God that we get to stay home all day! The sun comes out and the children spend hours outdoors, and even the tired Mom goes out for some Vitamin D.

-I try to take a picture every day of the month and it is a fun way to chronicle the events of each day.

-oldest son shoots his first rabbit and he makes quite delicious eating. (the rabbit, not the son.)

-the littlest daughter has her turn to go on a date with her Daddy.

And that's our month, so far.