Well, I see I've done it again...Neglected my poor blog here for over a month. So we're going to try again. But I have to say that when I re-read my last entry, all I could do was laugh. I might have to pause for a few moments to gain some composure before I type. Or...

I could just type and worry about composure later. A very, very good friend of mine wrote his first blog not long ago and it was something along the lines of "does there need to be a topic?". Well, maybe, but maybe not.

Sometimes I suppose it's freeing not to be tied down to one specific thought or subject. But sometimes it is just as freeing to have those boundaries set so that you don't stray too far with your thoughts --- the good Lord above certainly knows how many things go swimming through my mind at once, and so I'm sure that keeping the post streamlined to one particular thought can keep things clear and concise rather than the absolutely muddied mess they would be should I just start typing at random...

I mean, that could really be dangerous -- anything from grocery lists to thoughts of room reservations for my cousin's wedding next weekend to dinner tonight to the annual physicals (or evaluations, testing, etc.) due per particular child...and on and on.

So...does there always need to be a topic? Well -- actually yes and no. Sometimes the writing and thoughts should just be allowed to flow freely, to escape the boundaries of the mind. Sometimes. And then again, sometimes the restrictions actually allow a lot of freedom within those boundaries. So write on!!

My six year-old son, Will, can be exasperating at times but wholly adorable and endearing at others. When I think of a typical hyperactive, sensitive yet teasing "snakes and snails..." etc. kind of boy, Will comes immediately to mind. Yesterday he made me laugh so hard that I was in tears!!!

We had gotten snow on Friday, so the public schools were canceled. I have three children homeschooled and three in the public school system -- for now. We make our choices as the Lord leads. At any rate, this was really the first real snow we've had that was not immediately followed by rain and didn't turn to slush. So when the kiddies all wanted to play outside after lunch, I was glad to be able to bundle them up and let them run off some of their energy and play. They immediately went to work building forts, snowmen and the like, but because of the temperature I called them in about an hour or so later with the promise that if the weather stayed nice and it was not too cold, they could play outside on Saturday when Daddy got home from work.

When Saturday dawned, the kids were up early looking for their snow suits, gloves and stuff, but...we had a lot chores to finish up. Since this has been an area where I often have problems with the kiddies, I hoped that the promise of outdoor play later when Dad got home -- and consequently unlocked the garage to free the sleds from their year of dormant captivity -- would entice them to scurry and do their chores, to the best of their ability and as soon as possible. In our house this means without stopping to play with every toy we pick up along the way before it is put away or actually getting the laundry from the second floor into the basement - or better still, in the washer! - before we stop to do other things and forget. At any rate, it would be a few hours of chores before play was a possibility.

Well, unfortunately the children were not as focused on their chores and Les ended up working fairly late into the afternoon, so there was barely time to eat and clean up before we readied for church. Because Will hadn't taken a bath the day before (he's at that stage where cleanliness is apparently an "iffy" thing!) I had him go upstairs so he could get a bath. I followed behind, asked 12 year-old Zachary to get Will's bath water running, then stepped into my room to pick out a nicer shirt for church (ie, one not stained with flour and other remnants of dinner). Well, Les walked upstairs. He hadn't known I'd asked Will to get a bath and had planned on taking a quick shower too, so he walked into the bathroom to find Will sitting on the floor trying to pull off a snow boot. In the spirit of trying to be helpful -- not to mention hurry Will along -- Les grabbed at the boot and pulled it off only to get frustrated because he saw Will was wearing one of his socks.

I need to quickly state that the socks in our home apparently have lives of their own. Not only do they wander off from the drawers of their original owners, but they are also so mischievous that they jump into the hallways or under the tables or the sofa and have even hid from us for months at a time. In fact, some socks have even been known to go into the washing machine and the dryer as a pair, but come out as a single...I haven't even begun to tackle what connotations that could present!!!

So having a bunch of missing socks, and wanting to rush Will's bath so he could get his own shower, Les started to pull the sock off of Will...and found yet another sock under that one, belonging to older brother Zachary. Les proceeded to pull that sock off only to find another sock! This one belonged to either Kayla (12) or Sara (9), hard to say as both girls have almost the same kind of sock. By this time there is a little annoyance, as we're a big family and the regular amount of laundry can be a huge chore. Anything extra is just frustrating. Not to mention the issue of the sneaky socks. So Les - by this time upset that not only had Will dirtied other socks unnecessarily, but that he'd used socks that were certainly not his - pulled that "girl" sock off...And yep, there was another sock! This one was likely 7 year-old Emma's sock (another "girl" sock).

Having heard some of the conversation from the next room, I had come to the doorway by this time and was starting to chuckle. Les was a little confounded at the situation and pulled off the sock -- only to reveal yet another sock! This one was actually Will's own sock, and Les thought that once he pulled it off, he'd be done. But no...the final sock on Will's right foot -- for a total of six socks! -- belonged to 3 year-old Sammy! So not only did Will pile on the socks, but started with the smallest and worked his way up! I guess he was using a pattern??

By this time I was really laughing. In fact, I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face. I figured I knew Will's reasoning behind the whole thing, but just to be sure that I understood his little boy mind, I asked him why so many socks? His response was that he thought he was going out to play. That would have made sense, I think -- Will wanting to dress warmly in layers. And that would have been funny enough. But when Les started to pull the boot off of Will's left foot he found...only one sock!!! Which threw the logic out the window and into the snow...Ah the working of little minds...

But you know -- besides the Lord God who created everything...who can truly understand what goes on in the minds of young boys??!!

In January I, like many other people, decided that I would try to start out the new year by getting organized. Now in our large, unfinished home with our large and messy family of eight, this is a monumental task! I try to stay motivated, really I do. I read all kinds of books, subscribe to FlyLady (which is helpful to a certain degree for this family!) and print off forms from organizedhome.com. I think that there comes a point where I just need to realize that I probably won't get completely organized until (a) my children are grown and gone and (b) my house gets finished.  Focusing too much time and energy on the "perfect" house means that I miss opportunities. For instance, the other day my three year-old wanted to paint. To keep the house clean (well, and some of my sanity!) I might have said "no!" But I didn't. I patiently got out the paints and let him just brush away and make a mess. It ended up being fun, and I got some cute photos for his scrapbook...even if the kitchen did end up a little messier than need be. And then I gave two of the older children a cooking lesson -- with the expectation that they would clean the kitchen after the lesson was finished. I think sometimes my children don't understand me when I'm speaking, but I've heard that happens with pre-teens and teens. I don't want to cultivate or excuse that in the house, so we're working on a better system. However, despite the fact that I did try to organize the pantry shelves and made a list of things I wanted to accomplish by the end of the day --- Somehow I am still very overwhelmed -- by the clutter in my house, my thoughts, my life. That's when I figure I need to sit and really focus on the Master's plan...After all, God organized the universe so precisely, even though - sadly - some people will not believe that.

My three year old son, Sammy, is busy learning about anything and everything he can. This is quite encouraging and we're always trying to motivate him by telling him how great a job he's doing when he's learning something new. Tonight he just said something that was so priceless I had to share...

Sammy was in our room and talking about the colors of various things he was seeing. I have a pillow case that has two colors on it, so Sammy stretched out and was looking at it for a minute. Then he turned to my husband, who had walked in the room to ask me a question, and said: "What color is that, Daddy?" and pointed to the pillowcase.

"That's white with blue flowers," my husband told him. Sammy looked at the pillowcase, got a huge smile on his face and shouted "Good job, Daddy!"

It was so cute that he was being "encouraging"!!!

I have been in my room all day, trying to rest and recover from a minor illness. At first I felt rather lazy, but I knew that my body needed rest to repair and heal, so I stayed under the covers as long as my children would let me -- which was not very long. One by one they would parade into my room or hover outside the doorway, always full of questions, things to show me, siblings to tattle on, etc. It really amazes me sometimes that they need me so much. I mean -- of course I know my children need me...But it is sometimes rare in the profession of motherhood that the fruits of our loving labors are on full exhibit until the children are grown and gone.

So as I discovered that rest and refreshment - which are still desperately needed - were going to elude me, I sat up and started working on little things that were not too time-consuming but could be set aside when one of the children needed me. I worked on a cross-stitch project that I would like to complete for my mother-in-law for Christmas, perused some cookbooks and planned some menus, started to envision my herb and vegetable gardens and plan for a flower garden as well...things that were productive but that could easily be set aside for a minute or for a stretch of minutes and then resumed without too much complication. When the children were eating lunch, I took a cat-nap and then woke and started reading a book and planning assignments. Once they were finished with their meal and snack and had played on their own a little, I heard little footsteps - or sometimes big ones if they were playing an overly imaginative game - creeping up the stairs and readied myself to spend time with them. Even though we really didn't "do" anything, I found that they just needed some individual attention, time to talk and tell me what was important. It was time so well spent.

Sometimes in the busy-ness of overly scheduled days - or in the regular routines of life like meal preparation, house keeping and homeschooling - I suppose there are days when I do not take the time to meet with each child individually except during night prayers. I am reminded that even Our Heavenly Father took the seventh day to rest, and I often find myself wondering what He did on that day -- Did He spend it just leisurely walking through the garden with Adam and Eve, enjoying His children and His creation?

In today's world so many people do not remember to reserve that "day of rest", and it can be so refreshing -- not only to one's own soul, but also to those important people in one's life. I know that even though I was somewhat forced to rest in a spirit of trying to recover, it really helped me to discover the hearts of my children a little more than I would have had our schedules been filled with their normal busy-ness. Although part of me wishes I had gotten more rest (ie, actual sleep!) to fight off the remainder of my cold, and wishes that the house had been a little (okay - a LOT) quieter so that my headache would have receded...I really was thankful that God used what could have been a bad situation for good - for time for me to work in the hearts of my children by being open to sitting and spending more time with them without the normal, usual schedule. I am so glad I was observant enough to realize that they were wanting more time with me than I may have otherwise given. Well -- I think that they enjoyed being able to just play all day rather than work too!

I will need to remember this lesson in the future, so that I carve out more time to spend with the family. I don't mean to suggest that I am never with my children, but all of us seem to be so "busy" with life, and sometimes I don't focus on each of them as I should. Each of my precious little ones will not be "little" forever, and it is simply irresponsible of me to waste these little opportunities to really get to know each of them more, know what is on their minds and in their hearts. It is only by spending time with our children - and by that, I don't mean just being in the room with them as much as I mean really sitting down and talking with them - that we can cultivate their hearts and minds for God.