The Humbled Family

Another week of constant motion has left little time for writing. I have been ready for some quiet time to just relax. One evening last week, I finally got the chance to escape the kiddos and there was no hesitation before I seized the moment.  After leaving them with my husband, I drove to the store purchased myself a pint of ice cream, chocolate peanut butter to be exact, and drove to the hospital to visit my grandma. Upon returning to my car after a brief visit, I was eager to taste my dessert when I realized I didn’t have a spoon.

Not wanting to risk going back to the house to get a spoon knowing the monsters would ambush me if I came home, I searched my car top to bottom, knowing there just had to be a utensil somewhere in there.

And yes, it took a bit of time, but that’s okay, my chocolate treat hadn’t melted. It would come to no surprise by anyone who knows me that I could live out of my car for an unprecedented amount of time, as it is always equipped with life’s essentials.   From food, drinks, blankets, papers, coats, crumbs, car seats, movies, tools to sticky things and necessities, I searched high and low with determination to find a spoon.

My car still packed full from moving, I discovered something hidden underneath the piano books on the dash.. Score! I found an unopened box of plastic silverware. I sat in the car and ate my ice-cream  savoring each bite, and enjoyed the music as the local radio station played the best old songs.  I had my own little private retreat, if only for a brief two hours. It was definitely something to smile about.

I mentioned that my car was still packed. I realize it seems a bit absurd, as it had been over a week and still everything was in my car.  There really was no place to take it as our storage units are nearly full. Living out of storage units and what seem to be our vehicles lately is taking a toll.  However, I am grateful to have a temporary place to stay during this time of transition.

I have learned something along this adventure as we left a 2900 sq. ft. house and moved into a 900 sq. ft. fixer upper house last September. Boy, has our family ever gotten close!

Funny now, I can’t seem to separate the kids.  They are attached at the hip, all four of them and are constantly in each other’s business. All the time.  Sometimes they complain about it, but the majority of the time they want to be right next to each other. This makes me proud seeing them love each other and know they are creating lifelong friendships. However, it does have its drawbacks.

It’s gotten so bad that when one has to use the only bathroom in the house, miraculously, the others have a severe urge to go also.  The bathroom has turned into the fun center of the house, where the buddy system is used without fail and the room provides hours of entertainment and games for the children. It’s a strange transformation that has occurred in which I find myself breaking up playtime in the bathroom at least twice a day.

This experience has definitely been humbling. In the past few months, we have had three rental opportunities fall apart right before we were set to move.  Frustrated was a nice way to describe how I felt most of the time. Yet, I began to think, maybe it was meant to be.  Was this God’s will? I took it as a sign that those doors closed for a reason and prayed for patience and contentment and that the right place would come along all in God’s timing.

Throughout it all, there has been an underlying theme and confirmation that we don’t need a big house, fancy things, or lots of money.  We are actually quite content with just us and willingly embrace whatever God has in store for us.

We have no complaints. Our family is healthy, we have a roof over our heads and we are fortunate to spend lots of time together, no matter how nerve-wracking it can get.  God has provided us with exactly what we needed at just the right time. I am always trying to teach and remind my children the importance of counting their blessings daily and to be thankful in the moment.  We know that life could be a lot worse. So for now, we will remain in this tiny house until the right door opens.

The little critters have been a bit more subdued this past week, must be the weather I suppose!  I did notice however,  that the letter  ‘A’ had mysteriously appeared on the visor in my car sometime during the past few days.  I believe this was  written by a little person who recently discovered the beauty of learning his letters and writing his name.  When I questioned the little red-head who fit the profile, he assured me with his sweet grin that it was not him and he had no idea who it could have done it.  

After writing the first part of this post a few days earlier, it now looks like I spoke a bit too soon.  They didn’t stay quiet for long.  The circus was in full swing at my house at dinner time last night.  The show consisted of baby pouring out an entire bottle of water on the kitchen floor, followed immediately by a large cup of milk spilled down the side of the counter and into a giant puddle.  Before I could get to clean up the messes,  my curious daughter proceeded to stomp in the puddles over and over until about the third time I asked her to stop…Then, I looked out the kitchen window to see the bbq smoking like a stoked fire in the winter….Yep, we would have black burgers for dinner.

Needless to say, it was a long day. I got them into bed and was eager to hit the hay and read.  I hopped into bed and what did I find? A wonderful loving gesture given to me by my toddler…What was it?  My little guy had eaten some seemingly delicious crackers and had graciously left me a large amount of crumbs to sleep with. Nice…..

But you know what?  I wouldn’t trade it for the world………

 

After moving, one thing reassured me.  That Lydia’s roots will be forever planted at her home.  Directly behind our old house, in cooperation with our church, we constructed this beautiful place painted with her favorite colors. A place in which Lydia’s memory will live on and children will spend hours joyfully playing.