We are over 6 weeks into this adventure and Blessed Mayhem has grown considerably. 3 bunnies, 11 chickens (5 baby chicks growing rapidly), 2 kitties, a llama and an alpaca. 2 steers should be arriving any day-Taco and T-Bone will be welcome additions 🙂
Covid rages on, although we remain largely untouched. The crazy is starting to set in, but I try to pray it away (with a decent amount of guilt). It seems God has placed us here and blessed us richly, so to complain about not taking the kids out would seem extremely 1st world, would it not? But the feelings are real, nonetheless. To take them to a park, or a zoo, or a nearby marble factory would be nice. It would break up the days and give us something to look forward to, besides the next animal addition.
Chap has started his job (PTL!) and it is indeed a great one. Less physically demanding than his previous job, close commute, good coworkers…the whole package it would seem.
Aahliya seems to be blossoming here, taking quite a lot of responsibility for the animals. And the Littles love the freedom of going outside whenever they want.
Gardening has taken up alot of my time and the never ending cooking & refereeing of all the kids.
We anxiously await the lift/easing of the travel bans and social distancing so we can welcome Grammy and Grampy for a visit. Getting Aahliya into sports, clubs, and school looks like it will have to wait until next Fall. Hopefully churches will open again soon and we can find our church home here.
Almost daily I get the opportunity to feel so connected to God and my grandparents. Working the soil and putting in the garden brings my Mom’s dad to mind. She speaks of how he loved the land…I feel connected to him as I work in the dirt. I look around at the big skies and love to marvel at my surroundings. We were fortunate enough to find a property with great trees…(how old am I?! seriously, who LOVES a property with good trees?) I love the trees. The trees connect me to my Grandma Helen. I remember a lot of time spent at her lake house in Wisconsin. Walking the property among magnificent trees. She was also a nurse, I never really thought about that when she was alive. I’m older now, and a nurse. I follow these feelings and the thread leads me to my children.
Funny thing, kids. They can drive you around the bend in a second, with the fighting, bickering, demanding self-righteous-ness and seeming assumption that you walk the earth to meet their every need. BUT how aware I am that they make up my being in a way they won’t be able to comprehend until they have their own. I stare at them and want to explode with love…and it hurts to, because I am keenly aware that while they love me, they don’t and can’t love me this fiercely. And the moments I live for, will most likely barely be a footnote in their story. And this circles me to my Mom. How many times I must have hurt her. Because that seems to be the way of it…as we raise them to be independent, responsible soldiers of Christ…we mourn the letting go while they hunger for it…chase after it with all they are.
So…I try to find a balance. And while I’m pretty good at a few things, finding a balance or moderation, has never been my strong suit.
