Life as a Yowler

A lot has happened in the last two weeks. Week one was tough for me. God really revealed a lot to me. I spent a lot of time praying and surrendering.  Week two was amazing. I really felt some breakthrough happen. God is tearing down walls that I have spent years putting up.  Between negative thoughts and negative habits, I really was feeling down.  Those of you who prayed for me, checked on me, and encouraged me, I can’t thank you enough.

My main conviction in my time away is to be present. I need to stop being distracted and frustrated at my kids or husband for needing me and wanting me. I need to focus on them and find joy in serving. Every opportunity I have to pour into people and relationships, I need to take. I need to find joy in pouring into my family. Being a stay at home, homeschooling mom is no easy task. When I remain focused on myself, it feels impossible. But when I shift my focus, I find so much joy in my job. It’s truly my calling. I am so blessed to have the opportunity. Not everyone has the priveledge of staying home with their kids. Not everyone has the opportunity to travel and homeschool along with that. Here is a recap on my time away from social media.

This could be why we get so many stares when we enter public. 😂. I really struggle with stares and always assume people are thinking the worse. You know what, this is our zoo. I need to let them be kids and not worry about others’ disapproval. Which by the way, for the most part, people don’t disapprove. They like the entertainment.

We went to Genji’s again with some friends. It’s one of our favorite restaraunts, and we usually go a couple times during the holidays.

We took a trip to the Upper Penisula, just a little getaway. We were eating at a restaraunt in Mackinaw City on the way. Brielle yelled “mom, a Brielle ate here in my chair.” No joke. My Brielle didn’t write this and happened to be sitting in this chair.

We went on a nice little 3 mile walk to see an ice cave.

Was this fun with a baby and no baby carrier you ask? Ummmm……No!!!!! We took turns carrying her. I didn’t want Brandon to overdue it, because he just had surgery.

I ended up walking back with the younger two before the cave. The walk got too steep and too icy. I have never been more thankful that Isla is on the low end of the growth curve. I still barely made it back. The older  two got to see this incredibly beautiful ice cave. And I survived on the walk back with the younger two. I bribed Caed with pizza. He fought, even through crying, to the end walking for that pizza.

We saw bear prints in the snow. Joah said “this makes no sense. They should be hibernating during these Winter months.” You can see him snap a photo with his Polaroid.

 Long story short, our apartment we rented got canceled and we ended up needing to get a hotel. I didn’t pack swim suits and Walmart didn’t have any. We got creative.

Isla loved the water. She kept kicking her little legs. It was the cutest thing she did all weekend. She spent the rest of the weekend keeping us up ALL night in the hotel room. I needed the Lord. And she needs her own space. Girl sleeps like an angel at home, but not in hotels.

I’ve had to resort to strapping Isla and giving her food and toys so we can get school done. It’s either that or sell her. She is BUSY. I haven’t had a toddler this busy since Joah. I forgot how exhausting it is. I literally can’t get anything done.

I try to keep her entertained with toys so we can get our school done.

She’s become quite the little painter.

Parenting at its finest….strapping her in to watch Mr. Rogers while I make dinner.

Bri did this puzzle all by herself. She was very proud.

We got the RV back. I’m so thankful. They say they fixed all the issues. We are excited to travel in it again. We realized something in its’ absense. We love traveling but….we love traveling in this. Hotels are tough. We are so thankful for our second home. We can throw Isla in the back bathroom to sleep, plus many more luxuries.

We sent some cones through the shop to be top coated. We picked up a pine cone from Lake Tahoe and a Sequoia cone from Sequoia National Park for my dad. He loves nature and giving nature lessons. I put a computer mouse my the sequoia cone to give perspective how big it is. By the way, that’s the cone that almost knocked me out. It missed my head by inches.

We did several house projects. Brandon has been super helpful and super motivated. Brandon and I talked about how clutter really stresses me out. Our home so so small and crowded, and it effects my mood. We did some space saving things that I love. We got a loft bed for the boys. They are so young, they can sleep together. Then they have all the space down below to play. It helped create so much space. I also shampooed the carpets while Brandon took the kids out for an afternoon. This house smells and looks so clean.

Brandon hung another shelf in the boys closet to store more clothes.

We also got a new kitchen table. We had a rectangular. We got a round drop leaf. It helps free so much space around the kitchen. I am now able to move around the kitchen freely. I can now get the 30 cups of water, and 20 extra foods and sauces that are asked for each meal. Plus Brandon can make himself a cup of coffee and I can fill a cup of water at the same time. It’s truly life changing.

We got a computer and pulled our desk out of storage. We set up a little office. It’s amazing. I can print my own pictures. I had become extremely computer illiterate, but I’m making a comeback. And the thousands of questions I have…..I can just bug Brandon with.

I set some goals for myself for this new year. I have been praying and reading my bible more. I have been working on letting go of my OCD habits. I have been drinking more water. I have been exercising daily. I really need to. I have so much more energy. I have the opportunity in the morning. Joah is always the first to wake up and he can entertain himself. So I use the hour between him waking and the others waking. He usually invents things during his hour of freedom while mom exercises. The one morning he ate six yogurts during his freedom. Oops on my part. I got a great workout. He got a great burst of energy.

He invents things like the tic tac storm trooper.

Or the head scratcher sunglasses man.

Its been a very refreshing, challenging, and productive couple of weeks. I want to continue to blog, because I enjoy it. I want to look back on these memories someday when I’m lonely and bored(can’t even imagine that at this point in time). I want to be totally present for my family, and limit my phone use. I want to continue to read and exercise, both things I love. I want to continue to find joy in serving, caring, teaching, training, and  traveling.  I want to live life to the fullest and not miss opportunities by being stressed and anxious. Life is a continual learning process for me. I’m so thankful for grace and fresh starts!