my house is too quiet. well... till 3:30 it is.

I wish someone would invent something to replace hangers. Wherever I go... my closet, my laundry room, back seat of my car... they lie in wait, prepared to leap off the rack and attack me without warning, or trip me in the floor. The girls are gone, and I am left with nothing but a ton of laundry while they are at school. It's overwhelming. It's also my own fault.. but as my family was home from school and work for the holidays, I did absolutely nothing productive.  We talked and giggled and watched cheesy movies.  We played video games, and ate pizza. It was good.  I just have to deal with the aftermath of those actions now. I officially spent my tenth (married) Christmas with  my husband. We have never been big "gift" people, and I can honestly say I think he probably spent less this year than he ever has, and I liked it better than anything I have ever received.  I'm a sentimental kinda girl, and I loved my card.  I am NOT a crying kinda girl, but I cried.  As we all face battles in our daily lives, chaos amongst friends, illnesses, financial woes; I do have a lot of peace in having a good husband that comes home to me at the end of the day.  One of my favorite bible verses makes me think about him:  “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17). One thing is for sure, Michael doesn't change.  He has the WORST memory of any man you have ever seen.  But he doesn't change.  I know when I tell him something, that I will 100% have to tell him again.  But, at least I know those things aren't stuff like "No, you aren't going to the bar tonight" or "YES, YOU DO have to watch your kids tomorrow" because luckily, my battles around here are pretty trivial compared to most peoples issues. Sometimes I think he is 100% deaf when it comes to any noise created by children.

 

My children don’t walk; they run. They don’t talk; they yell. They don’t laugh; they scream. And they don’t sit calmly on the couch. Instead, they wallow around like pigs in the mud, constantly flipping over and recovering themselves with blankets.  He is immune to it.

No part of the house is off-limits. Nothing is done silently. Definately NOT stair climbing..stomp stomp..There is no escape. And all the peace and quiet is sucked out of every room.

I have to choose: will I let the chaos suck out my inner peace? My husband doesn't.  Ever.  I don't get it.  I soooo wish to be that person with endless patience.

I’ve heard someone describe a mom’s job as that of a thermostat. Not a thermometer, which just displays the temperature of a room. Because a thermostat connects to the power source, it can actually regulate the room’s temperature. I kinda like that analogy. As Mom, I can tell that my family’s mood is very often set by mine. That means my mood had better be influenced by something outside of the family. Otherwise, we all get in an infinite loop of craziness. This reminds me that I need a source of peace, not just when the kids are making me crazy. But especially when they are. As a Christian mom, I believe that I am only capable of being a thermostat when I cling to God as my source of peace. On my own, I am ultimately a thermometer. And I make a really bad thermometer...

I plan to make 2010's new year's resolution be nothing but this:
A calmer, happier household for my kids... less yelling... more hugging.  I will try harder to not be annoyed with the nine million pieces of cut up paper in the playroom...I will try harder to not be annoyed when they rumble down the stairs to show me what they have made.  I will not let outside drama or chaos influence my attitude with my babies.  We have a lot to be thankful for at my house; and it is time to appreciate it.