Dirty

This is what happens when you aren't used to having a mobile baby...you set him down a few feet from a mud puddle, walk away for 30 seconds, come back expecting him to be exactly where you left him only to find him happily playing in the mud. I could have stopped it before he got this dirty, but he was enjoying himself so much and the other kids were enjoying watching him so much that I just decided to embrace the joy of the moment. It was worth it :)

Bath Time

Ping Pong Ball Entertainment

I'm not sure who figured this out. Now when I turn on the vacuum, the kids come running with ping pong balls.

Practice is Hard

These are all really old pictures. They were taken in March. I had high hopes of editing them. That didn't happen, so I decided it was time to blog them before they were lost forever.

I didn't really know what I was getting in to when I started Thomas on the violin. I had no idea that I would be practicing with him every day. I imagined giving gentle reminders and cheering him on every now and then. Boy, was I WRONG!!! The responsibility for practicing is just as much mine as it is the child's, if not more. Total focus and attention is required of me during practice time in order to do it correctly.

This wasn't that big of a deal at first. Practicing only took about 10 minutes each day and I could do that while Essie was napping and Nicholas was happy. It was actually really fun to be so involved. Thomas and I enjoyed the time together. He is very receptive to teaching and is a quick learner, so practice time was generally a fun, happy time.

Fast-forward three years and it is an entire different story. I now have three children who need to practice each day. Essie's practicing takes 10 minutes. Nicholas's practicing takes about 30 minutes. Thomas's practicing could go on all day, but we generally keep it under an hour. That is close to two hours of my day, every day (except Sunday) that is dedicated to practicing instruments with my children. That is an enormous sacrifice. I often wonder if it is too much. Is giving my children the gift of musical ability worth that sacrifice? Are there other things that are more important that I am neglecting? I am not quite sure.

Also, I have many more demands on my time now than I did three years ago. Estella is at an especially demanding age. It is really hard for her to be ignored for an hour and a half while I am practicing with her brothers.

When Thomas first started, we never missed a practice. When I decide to do something, I like to really do it. If a teacher has given me an assignment, I want to do it well. I am having internal struggles now, because sometimes we are only practicing halfway. Sometimes I am tired and impatient and just plain don't want to do it. Sometimes I am feeling forced to choose which child gets the good practice time that day. I don't like that. I found myself giving practice priority to Thomas over Nicholas because it was easier for me to tell Nicholas's teacher (Jackson) that we didn't practice well than it was for me to tell Thomas's teacher (Jackson's mom). Since I have realized that I have really made an effort to change that.

Okay. I am finished complaining. I know that it will get easier. The kids will get older and more independent. I want to be able to look back and remember this time and the realities of it. Good things don't come easily. This isn't easy. It is good. It is a gift that I want to give my children. Music is so beautiful. It invites the Holy Spirit and feeds the soul.























FYI- Estella is learning to play the violin, not the cello. She had her first lesson last week with Grandma Chelle.

Housewife vs. Mother

I am not a very good housekeeper. I am okay. I keep things in fairly good order. I'm not that great with cleaning, however. One of the first things I think when someone comes over is, "I hope they won't need to use my bathroom." As I have more children it is getting worse. I do my best. I don't think I am lazy. I am just not very good at staying on top of it. Also, I would much rather bake bread, or make food, or weed the garden, or mow the lawn, or do laundry, or do just about any other chore than clean the toilet or mop the floor. Sometimes I really focus in on how I am 'failing' at housekeeping and I get really cranky and upset about it.

My dear friend Ashley shared this on her blog a few weeks ago. The message of this poem has been coming into my mind ever since I read it. Ashley shared that this poem was hung on the wall in a frame during her childhood. She said that as she read it as a child it made her feel loved. I want my children to know that they matter more than a clean house.

I also need a good excuse for the dirt in my house :)

Some houses try to hide the fact that children shelter there.

Ours boasts of it quite openly, the signs are everywhere.

For smears are on the windows and little smudges are on the door.

I should apologize, I guess, for toys strewn across the floor.

But I sat down with the children and we played and laughed and read;

and if the doorbell doesn't shine, their eyes will shine instead.

For when at times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other,

I want to be a housewife, but first I'll be a mother.

-Author Unknown