Day 334: When Frustrations Mount

Do you ever feel like you are drowning in work? Or can't seem to balance the work/play/rest areas in your life?  I think Jared and I hit that wall today and had to let a little of that steam that had built up come bubbling out.  We were more frustrated at all the things that pull us in all kind of different directions, like cute babies, and articles to read here, and kid fights that need broken up, and diapers that need changed and the real "work" that earns a paycheck, not to mention paperwork that needs to be filled out again to get medical insurance, and a craft show to prepare for on Saturday.  Never mind the kids need to be educated and fed and the house needs cleaned.  Yes, you catch my drift I think.  It's definitely been hard for Jared to work from home.  He loves to jump in and help, and I'm pretty used to the help, so I have to keep reminding both him and I that he needs to work, and I need to break up the fights and change diapers and take videos of the cute 2 yr old.  It's also a blessing that he's home so I can go to a doctor's appointment alone.  I say all of this, because it's been a part of our journey this year.  And I'm sure some of you have been through it as well, if you or your spouse works from home, or is working part-time, or perhaps working the 2nd or 3rd shift.

I was reminded tonight at my Bible study of the verse in Psalm 45 that says, "Be still and know that I am God."  We see that verse everywhere, but what we don't realize is that it is in the middle of a Psalm all about how God fights for us in the chaos of the storms of our lives.  During the tough times, God is saying, "In your soul, where I dwell, be still and KNOW that I am here with you and will fight for you."  We don't have to do the fighting.  God is already up at bat for us.  So, when the pressures of life mount up like they did today, I can take a step back and remember that if I stop, I can find God already at work in any situation, large or small.  I can say, all of these tasks that need to get done, will get done when they need to get done.  And if they don't because I choose what is most important or God puts something He thinks is more important to do on my list, then whatever doesn't get done, really didn't need to get done today.  I can rest knowing I did my part and God's got the rest.  God will show up, we just need to keep looking for Him.

And that's a wonderful thing!  Just as wonderful is words coming from my 14 yr old who says, "I don't understand how some kids can say, 'I don't care if I get a D or F in this class because my parents will pay for school anyway.'  They need to step it up!"  Woah! Is this the same child who fought me tooth and nail last year in homeschool?  It's sad that he couldn't apply himself in homeschooling, but at least the seeds we planted are already blooming in his young life.  His grades are all over a B+'s.  And he's found a buddy in the grade ahead of him, who happens to be the son of my favorite teacher there at the school.  So, yeah!  And he finally made it through graphing equations! That's where he and I stopped in math last year, lol.  Tomorrow, Benaiah is also going to start wearing his santa hat to school everyday, because well, he's like that.  Cracks me up.  And every day it seems he does something just like his dad, like wearing the Santa hat while out and about, or coughing up snot and spitting it out instead of blowing it out of his nose.  Gross, but true.  We can't call Benaiah a "mini" me anymore, but he certainly is Jared's clone a lot of the time.  Benaiah says he's different than his dad because he is more outgoing and louder and more of a derp than Jared ever has been, and that's certainly true.  Crazy kid.

Abishai likes to drink more than water now, and will say, "drink," if he wants juice.  So, Daddy happened to put his tea mug down near Abishai and Abishai went for a taste!  He spilled some and when we said, "Take a drink," because I was trying to get a picture, he sipped up the tea from the counter top.  You can guess who taught him that one and it wasn't me!

He's so proud of himself for being a big boy!  And yes, he knows how to use the flip top, too.

For the middles art class this week, they have to bring in a picture of whatever they want from a magazine, a picture book, anything so that they can draw it using the pointilism method.  Well, Keturah wanted to create her own picture just for the occasion, and this is what she wanted, my old popple stuffed animal on the purple blanket background.  I have to print it out so she can take it with her to class next week.  She is our little creative artist to the core.

Abishai got this toy last year, and he enjoyed it then, but picked it back up the last couple of days.  He will push buttons until it gets to his favorite song(s) though and then let's it play through that song.  The same goes for a singing teapot we have as well.

Hugs for his puppy.

Abishai has started to grab our pants or hands to lead us somewhere.  He grabbed Baba Justin's hand at supper tonight and pulled him over to his room because Abishai wanted to play in Baba's room.  We didn't have time for Baba to play, but it was cute nonetheless.

No joke, I found a package of 5 dozen eggs at Kroger tonight on our way home from church!  By buying in bulk, it came out to be like $1.10 a dozen.  I know eggs keep for awhile, but we tend to go through 3 dozen eggs a week anyway.  So, there ya go, the biggest bundle of eggs I've ever encountered.

And now for the "aw" moment of the day.  First of all, Keturah always wears her Santa hat all day every day during the Christmas season, and has for the past few years.  Second, Abishai has his own profile on the PS4 and yes, that's his own personalized car that he plays on the Need for Speed game.   And third, this was taken as I was leaving for church tonight.  And who knew the coffee table is the perfect place to sit to play a video game.  Thankfully, they don't do it all the time.  I like how Keturah is helping Abishai with the game and that Abishai was distracted and didn't notice me leaving.  He doesn't like when people leave and wants to go with them.