Absence

It has been so many months since I sat down and blogged that it took a moment to remember which button to click to create a new post.  I realize that anyone who used to check in our family now has dropped our address off their bookmarks tab.  I have been absent, and perhaps no one will read my ramblings this morning.  That's okay. I just decided, in the wake of celebrating the New Year, that writing is important to me. And I need to do it. So. Once a week.  That's my goal. Not because any one else needs to see pictures of my cute girls, or because I have any unique wisdom to share, but because God made me a writer, and I haven't been using that skill or enjoying that hobby for many months. 

One of the challenges is time, of course. When? I have early risers, and I have to get up before 6 just to get a shower  and sneak in five minutes of Bible reading and prayer before my precious ones are climbing in my lap and sipping my tea. While I still mandate afternoon rests, the older girls are only required about 45 minutes of silent reading - and I use most of that time settling the younger ones and then racing through the lunch dishes and a load of laundry.  Evenings belong to my hubby - whether it's sharing chores, conversation on the couch, dessert at the table, or -on occasion -watching a Duck Dynasty episode on DVD. :) 

Wednesday mornings are Erik's early day. He heads to church by 5:45, and if I can manage to roll out of bed with him, I think I can spend an uninterrupted while typing out my thoughts or updates.  So - look to see me on Wednesdays. That's the plan.

When I clicked into my blog this morning, I smiled at the aptness of its title. Yup - we are still a household of many messes and miracles.  A self-feeding one-year-old is a constant mess. Homeschooling my girls without the buffer of a morning nap for the baby is a constant mess (how do you keep babies from scribbling on furniture while teaching math?) Life is messy.  Behavior is messy. But there are still miracles, too.  Like my six-year-old slicing and seasoning potatoes for dinner - all by herself. Like my struggling almost eight-year-old laying the aside the anger and attitude that has marked our day and showing genuine compassion to a hurting sister.  Like a baby laughing and grabbing my legs and squealing, "Mommy! Ho me!" Like Raina kissing my face a "google" times, and Sadie telling me she wants to read better because she can't read all the words in her new big girl Bible. 

.... I planned to do a longer update about our homeschool year, and the girls, and maybe even some pictures of the adventures we do still manage to fit in, but the pitter-patter of little feet calls me to the kitchen to make breakfast and give morning tickles.  Stay tuned for next Wednesday! :)