Poland :)

Big NEWS!

Our family of 5 is going to serve the people of Poland for the month of December on a mission trip! Stay tuned for details!!!

I don't feel good enough very often. Honestly. Constantly there is a little voice in my mind telling me I'm not pretty enough, skinny enough, patient enough, funny enough, clean enough, fun enough, rich enough, healthy enough, I could go on all day. Today I stood crying over the kitchen sink after having a super rough day, going through the list of how not enough I am when I heard a gentle whisper in my ear.

YOU are good enough.

Just as you are.

Instantly I thought, No, I'm not. Maybe if I were nicer, or skinnier or more fun or better at cleaning. Maybe if I decorated better or ate healthier or didn't yell sometimes. And that voice whispered again,

No, you are good enough right now. Right now. This very minute.

Immediately all of the negative thoughts were gone and I was shaken to my core with the knowledge that I am ENOUGH right now. We all are. 


So where ever you are, what ever your not enough's are, God loves you and says you are enough right now. It's time we start listening to His voice and not our own.

Today

I've had something on my mind lately and need to let it all out.

My kids are loud.

We call it "Birthday Party Syndrome".  You know, you get a group of kids together and they are so excited to be there and having fun and they get louder and louder as they get more and more excited.

That is what having triplets is like. Everything you do is just as exciting as a birthday party. You always have a group of friends the same age to discover the world with.

And that is a very, very special thing.

But this is the thing that a lot of people don't get.

My kids are loud, because my kids have joy.

Every day at least one of them shrieks, "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!!!"

EVERY DAY!

Even on the days that aren't very exciting to anyone else. Running errands, cleaning house, whatever, it's still the best day EVER.

Wow.

When was your best day ever?

Now this is where I'm having trouble.

I'm not having best days ever as much because I'm always worried about what every one else is thinking. I didn't used to. Now there are so many people constantly judging and talking about you behind your back about how you should be raising your kids, that I'm not taking the joy in raising them that I always have.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE my kids more than life. I LOVE seeing them love and appreciate every little part of their life.

But I'm so worried about what I'm doing wrong, that I'm not enjoying what I'm doing right.

I had a realization the other day.

God gave Dove and I these boys for a reason. I believe that with all of my heart.

What I realized is that we are raising our kids the way God wants us to. Every decision that we have made, we have felt led by Him. He always provides for us, guides us and loves us. Even when no one else does.

I'm tired of worrying about what everyone else thinks. I want my best days ever back.

We all make mistakes, we all raise our kids differently. We all have different ideas of how to raise our children and that is how it should be. We are all different and that is good.

This world would be a pretty weird place if we were all exactly the same. Now that doesn't mean that we shouldn't help each other out or that I can't learn anything from anyone else. I'm far from perfect and can learn a ton from others.

What I mean with all of this is that instead of tearing each other down, we should be lifting each other up. We should be holding each others hands, not aiming knives at each others backs. I'm just as guilty of this as anyone, but not anymore. I choose joy.

I have never been a quiet person, and neither has Dove. And I would much rather have three loud, loving, joy filled children than three quiet, miserable kids.

I LOVE seeing their faces light up over the smallest thing. How much better off would we be if we found that kind of joy in one little part of our day?

So today I am raising my kids for God, not for man, because TODAY is the best day ever.

He trusts me with them and that is all I need.

Time

Tomorrow I will take three four year olds to Church for the last time.

Next week I will take three five year olds to Church for the first time.

How is that even possible???

My chest is tight and it's hard to breathe. How can my 3 pound babies already be 41 pound little boys??? All of my childhood I spent wishing time would speed up, I couldn't wait to be grown up. Now that I am, I find myself wishing it would slow down. I don't want my babies to grow up. I want them to hug me and kiss me and think I am the most wonderful person in the world forever. I want to be the only one who makes them feel better and who holds their hand to cross the street. I want to act silly and hear them laugh hysterically. I want to check on them in the middle of the night every night and give them one more kiss on the top of their heads while they sleep and whisper I love you my sweet boy to each of them. I want to look in my Husband's eyes as they giggle and play and know how much we both love them and how they are the biggest gift we could ever have been given.

I just want my babies to stay my babies.

But they won't.

They will keep growing and will one day leave. As much as my heart will break that day, it will somehow also be full of pride and joy. I want to cook them a dozen eggs each every morning in their teenage years. I want to rush like a madwoman from game to practice to who knows what, supporting them. I want to see the men they will someday be. They will each be a great man, like their great father.

But not yet.

Tonight they will still be my little boys and I will still tuck them in again when they kick the covers off and give them each an extra kiss and tell them that I love them again.

Tomorrow I will take my four year olds to church and I will hug them extra tight.

Time goes by too fast to not appreciate every second.

Nighty-night.

Jesus Freaks! :)

Take a walk with me and the Justice League :)

Who says markers are for paper?

Friday, ABC and I "ran by" our favorite bouncy place, Bouncing Angels, to chat with our friend Stella for a minute. We ended up staying for 8 hours. :)

At some point during this marathon, the boys were drawing me pictures(that I was not allowed to see until they were finished) and realized that since they did not wear a super hero costumes, they should just draw their own on.

Meaning, they markered themselves silly.

Now what I was doing during this, you may be asking yourself. I was working on a VERY cool project that Stella and I are organizing together, details to be announced soon. :)

At one point, Stella told me, "You might want to see this."

So I went to take a peek. As I look over the counter, Collin was drawing circles around his face.

Time froze for a minute as I debated. What do I do, yell, cry, be angry?

Nope...I laughed.

And it was a good thing I did, or I never would have seen what followed.  They were SO full of pride in what they had created. For the rest of the day I heard all about "Seaman Waveman" and their superpowers.

If I had yelled would I have found out that Seaman Waveman can ride on waves to rescue children who need help?

Probably not.

Now don't think that we didn't talk about drawing on ourselves. They know this, but sometimes a four year old(or three) needs to express himself in a way that paper can't let him yet. And that's okay. It washes off eventually.(They weren't washable markers so it might take a bit longer.)

The thing is, the marker will fade from their bodies in days, but how long would it take for my anger to fade from their souls.

So I praise them for their creativity and gently talk to them about not writing on ourselves unless we ask Mommy first. I think that mark will stay on their soul longer and it's a mark that I'm proud of.

And it made for great conversation at the birthday party we attended the following day! :)

I know you want to see the finished product, it's coming, keep in mind that they are exhausted in these pics after a long day. Lex looks angry, but his eyes were closed the first time so I asked him to open them and got this, lol. I didn't have enough charge to take the pics when it happened, so this was right before the bath. Also, please forgive the messiness of my house, we are exploding toys right now...

And NOW...presenting "SEAMAN WAVEMAN(S)"...