Adventures of the Supersized 6

July is nearly gone and it seems like it went by fast and painfully. I tried to survive and organize the chaos! There were many doctor's appointments and the kids had vacation bible school for a week. The scorching heat caused us concern with Noah and Madie having trouble breathing with the humidity at a stiffling high. We had a flea invasion, I had never dealt with fleas before. There were a family of racoons that would cross our property every night, they would enjoy a dinner of mulberries from our tree and then continue their journey to the yard behind us and into the creek. The babies were so cute, and I took pictures. I guess they liked us so much they gave us fleas. There was not a single flea until they started to visit. Our poor dog has been miserable, and so have we. We sprayed the yard, bombed the house, and dipped the dog and cats. I washed all of our bedding in hot water, even the covers of the cushions of our couch! There was about 3 days of relief and now they are back! We have no carpet so I am at a loss as to what to do, but go through it all over again. These little nusiances are like a plague, they would survive a nuclear holocaust! As I looked forward to August I realized that it is only get worse from here. There are more doctor's appointments, these said doctors are becoming friends, like they send us christmas cards and call me by my first name kind of friends. The first week of August Jake will be at kids camp for 3 days, his first camp experience. Soccer practice starts for Jake and Madie with us at the fields 4 nights a week. Noah will have surgery #5 on the 9th. He will get his adenoids and tonsills out, and stay over night. During the recovery both he and Jake will get their annual eye exam and get new glasses. Aaron will have vacation time from work where he and Jake will go fishing on their new boat the acquired last week. There is a trip to coney island planned, and open house at the school is the 22nd. School starts for Jake and Madie on the 24th, and Noah will start preschool. Annika will be starting her physical therapy for torticollis on the 19th, a mild muscle development problem that some babies get depending on the stress of their delivery. Her PT will come to the house to work with her. Crazy August! September doesn't look much kinder. Soccer season officially starts the last weekend of August with 2 a piece for Madie and Jake every weekend. There are birthdays in September to remember, and Noah goes in for surgery #6 on the 30th. yet another probe and catheterization of his lacrimal ducts. Oh, yes.....I am supposed to start classes on the 21st too! Which is also my 29th birthday. Wow....I felt battle weary.

I was having a good ole mommy pitty party over it all. How can I get through it all, it was so overwhelming to me. With all this on the go and upheaval of our home I was going nuts. I thrive on organization and cocise planning. I need to have a clean and orderly house, and schedule to get through every day. It just was not happening. With all that needed to be done day to day I was falling behind on laundry, dishes, and we were eating on the go, something I loathe. I would go to bed at night with my floors unswept! Yuck! I can't stand having things out of order! It was starting to show in the kids behavior as well. Jake and Madie have been fighting like cats and dogs, and even said that they wished the other wasn't a member of our family, ouch. I sat them both down and we had a talk about family and how they need to be there for each other. I didn't have siblings in the house when I was a child so it is hard for me to connect with the emotions that go in a big family. But I felt like a I was laying down a diplomacy none the less. I felt so disconnected and exhuasted. We would have 2 wheezy kids crawl into our bed every night gasping for breath. I felt like our nebulizer was glued to my hand. I feared that it would fuse and my skin would grow around it like some creature from star trek. I was becoming bitter, and my mood was starting to curddle like sour milk, slowly and very nasty. As I looked to the horizons of August and September I got even more dissapointed, there is no end in sight. I read the bloggings of Aarons best friend who is currently serving our nation in Iraq. He and Aaron were in the Marine Corps together, and Rusten is now an officer in the Army. He has gone through all the emotions of war, and now is currently entrenched in a media storm of controvery in his unit and many are being shuffled around, and there are investigations going on all over. Every one is under the microscope and being scrutinized. There is fear, speculation and rumors. Here is a man in the cradle of civilization trying to rebuild a nation from the depths of pain and dispair, sacrificing a year of his content life to help other humans he doesn't even know. Trying to give them the freedom and democracy that we take advantage of. He is doing his best to give them hope. He goes into the village and lets the children go through his pockets for the candy he stuffs in just for them, he hands out shoes and clothing and school supplies. His efforts, and those of the many honorable men and women will allow those children to grow up to be loving, caring, trusting, law abiding citizens. All the while they are in sweltering 130 degree heat of a war torn region. Dodging bullets, and IED's, loosing brothers, and now being investigated for the immoral behavior of a few. How does he do it? One day at a time. Wow, reality check for me.

I have been sent on a quest. I didn't ask to go, nor do I really want to go. But there is great reward at the end of it. I have been sent on similar quests before, and completed them. I didn't always see the reward at the end of my journeys. But I didn't look hard enough. I have grown as a person, a mother, a wife. My faith has grown, and my strength at times amazes even myself. Each quest is a hard uphill battle, but my reward is strenght through experience, and lessons learned. There is a reason for each quest, and I praise God for the challenge and look forward to the growth and lessons I need. So it still bothers me that my floor is dusty, and that I have a mound of laundry. I can now at the title "laundry traffic controller" to my resume. But I will not fear the horizon, I will enjoy today and crawl into bed thankful that I survived in the trenched of the daily battles of motherhood. The next day will bring its own battle. There will be stratigizing and briefings, but my troops and co-commander and I will get through it together. I realize that my war pales in comparison to what Rusten is dealing with, but I praise God daily that he is serving our country and those precious children of Iraq. The only way I can think to honor what he and so many are doing is to fight in my trenches here at home and ensure that my children grow up to understand their freedoms and to cherish what they have. To raise them to become law abiding citizens who understand what so many have sacrificed for them, and others. Very different battle terrains, and different strategies. I honor and pray for other parents who are willing to fight the battle to bring their children up in a home that teaches love, honor, and respect. May we be victorious!
TLM

I love summer. It is the time of year when you spend time with family and friends. Celebrate the 4th of July, which is always a guaranteed 3 days of fun. This year was no different. We had our annual invasion of family and some friends joined in this year. There was plenty of great food, and the relay races were hillarious as well. It is always great to spend such an extended amount of time with family. In the summer we try to go see new things and far off places. We usually find the time to explore our surroundings and get to know our new home better. We are planning a trip to a few counties east of us where there is a huge Amish population. Great baked foods and lots of interesting spices and foods. I love Amish furniture too! There are pool parties to attend and family reunions to go to, and the kids love vacation bible school usually held in July. Then there are the lazy afternoons that find you relaxing in a chair while the kids play in the yard. Our evenings usually are spent around a bonfire with a bag of marshmellows, a box of graham crackers and a few candy bars with our trusty campsticks to aid in the assembly of the perfect smore. Then around 10 the kids start yawning and heading to bed one by one. As I tuck them in I can smell the campfire aroma filtering in through the windows.

Ahhh...Summer!

TLM