It's Quiet

Ok, so after my last post one might guess that "quiet" time rarely ever happens in our home, but right now in this moment I am sitting in absolute silence. Well, relatively the dryer and washing machine is making noise, but all three of the babies are sleeping. It's glorious, but the truth is that I don't know what to do with myself, so I thought I'd catch up on my blog reading (instead of folding the massive pile of clothes in the chair next to me:) Enjoy the pics!

I realize that all of the pics above are of TW, it's just that being the middle child I do feel like he already gets a little bit less attention than he deserves. So, lately he has really started to become a funny little guy, and I had to share a few stories about him.
In the first picture he is proudly displaying his first big "boo boo". He fell off a bridge on the playground during an Easter Picnic we went to last weekend.
Secondly, he LOVES to drink coffee (now, please don't think that we just sit him down a the table with his own cup of joe), but he will often when we are not looking get our cups of coffee and down them as fast as possible. He was walking around in the living room the other day with Ben's cup just sipping on it as if it were made for him... oh my!
Thirdly, he tried on his cousin's Easter hat, and thought that he was really something, so he went around the house telling everyone to "Look!" He's a mess and we Love him so very much!!!

Be Encouraged... I know I am!!!

I have struggled a lot lately with the reaction that I get from people because we have 3 little ones so close together. I know I've read other blog posts about this same frustration. I have very few people say things like "Wow, what a blessing!", "You guys must be so thankful", etc...
I do hear this a lot "Don't you guys know what causes this?", "Another one already, how long have you guys been married?" "What are you going to do with three babies?", etc...

I have been encouraged by so many of my friends whether it's a phone call or a message left on our blog, and I am so thankful for those that constantly remind me of truth! Meaning that our children are a HUGE blessing, and we are very THANKFUL that the Lord has allowed us to have these three miracles in such a short time. Our lives are so enriched by them, and I would not trade them for anything in this world!!!

Having said all of that, and I really could say so much more, but it's late and I want to keep my blood pressure down. But, the real purpose of this blog post is to say that we had our first outing today just me and the kids. Not exactly sure why I chose a grocery shopping trip as our first, but I did. (Please keep in mind that I have not been to the grocery store since before we had Sam). We have been so blessed with so many families bringing us food, that I haven't really needed to. My husband has also been very gracious by letting us eat out more than we normally do.

Anyway, I put the kids in the car after I had a pep talk with Lydia, (things always go better for us if I prep her for what we're about to do). And of we went to Publix. I already love shopping at this store, but I just signed up for this really cool thing called EMealz, and I signed up for the Publix meal plan. That's not the point, but one of the main reasons I love this grocery store is the really fun "car" carts they have. Lydia and Thomas love them!

So, we got out of the car without anyone getting ran over and Thomas actually held my hand without throwing himself on the ground in protest. I think he knew I was a bit anxious. We got inside, got the big kids in the cart and off we went. Sam was in the sling, which is the best thing ever!!! I had a friend recently describe them as "baby Dramamine (sp?)" Sam loves it and just snoozes away while I am hands free and able to manage two kids as well as shop for groceries!

We went by the bakery and got the kids a cookie (yet another reason to love Publix). And, off we went. We were in the store for about an hour, and we only had one minor issue with biting, but other than that it was GREAT!!!

I left so encouraged! Other than the fact that people were looking at me like I was crazy, and one lady even sort of had an attitude apparently because I was moving more slowly than she would have liked, but the bottom line is that we are going to make it.

I LOVE my children, and I LOVE being their mommy. No , I am not perfect, and no I am not super mom, but I try my best to be real with my kids, and with those around me. I also try to let them know that I am desperately in need of a Savior, and Jesus is my only hope. I get frustrated and flustered, and having three kids under three has brought even more of my sin to the surface. Even though it is tough, I am thankful. Thankful for my family, thankful for my salvation, and today simply thankful for a successful trip to the grocery store!