Falling behind....again

It seems like no matter how much I try to stay on track with blogging it always gets away from me. A couple of things have happened since my last post.

1. Moriah starts table food!

It only took my five children to figure out that it is easier to feed a baby mashed up table food than to keep jars and jars of baby food on hand. I've even tried making all my own baby food but it never really worked out well for me. But this table food stuff is a good fit! I had to throw some parenting ideas out the window like 'try a food for five days to see if she has a reaction' and 'always start with rice cereal'. She would gag at rice cereal but would do great with a fork and a whole banana. We've also mastered apple sauce and sweet potatoes. Mashed potatoes and melted cheeses are also yum.

2. Josiah said his books of the Bible before the whole church. I have it on video but for some reason cannot upload it to my blog :( His award for his achievement is a grown up Bible with his name on the front of it.

God is my strength

As I sit down to write this I'm both exhausted and overwhelmed. I have been struggling this week. Thanks to a nursing baby who doesn't sleep through the night, a potty training two year old who refuses to poop in the potty, and three homeschool students who want mom's undivided attention, my patience is thin and my attitude crummy. Right now I'm clinging to the passage in 1 Cor. 7:24 that talks about living as God has called you. God has called me to be a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. Even though it is hard.

Today my house looks like it threw up. We made more messes then we cleaned up. I have laundry that will need to be rewashed if it sits in piles on the floor any longer. Our homeschool year so far has been sloppy.  I know veteran homeschool moms tell us newbies that it takes time to establish a routine but sometimes that advice isn't very helpful on a bad day. But God has called me to teach my children just as much as he has called me to have them. He is faithful to provide me with adequate grace for each new day. I was recently challenged during a Bible study to view this phase of my life with the thought that right now, God is calling me to obedience, not efficiency. Again that isn't very helpful when you are so far behind on dishes that you have nothing to cook with and if you did, you have nothing to eat it on. Like I said, it has been one of those weeks. But when I realized God was searching my heart (and wanted to help me get rid of that crummy attitude) and not judging me on the cleanliness of my home, it freed me. It freed me to sit and spend time with my children, to pull aside the toddler that has behaved so bad lately and snuggle with her, to take the time to train older children, and to do something fun instead of trying so hard to finish our 'to do' list by the end of the day. By doing that I relieved some of the stress and uptightness I had placed on our home. And when I do that it gives me a little bit of fresh air and just enough renewal to push on another day. God has called me to this and he wishes for me to praise Him even when times are tough. I just have to trust Him that when I "seek ye first the kingdom of God" and allow Him to work in me as an example to my children, He will help me care for the little things like laundry and dishes.