I've been having a hard time recently. Nothing too serious, but annoying nonetheless. I have about 2 months to go in this pregnancy and I don't know how I'm going to make it without going crazy. I feel like a beached whale and my back has been killing me. It makes it hard to walk and get up and down. I even ended up going to see an acupuncturist to help with the pain. It was awesome! My back isn't 100 percent, but it does feel better and has taken the edge off of the pain.
The kids had the day off last Friday. I really wasn't looking forward to it because my nerves have been a bit frazzled and the weather has been rainy, so I knew that the kids wouldn't be able to play outside much. What does that equal? Everybody getting on everybody's nerves - and I wasn't looking forward to an entire day of that with all of the kids. That being said, Friday was a pleasant surprise.
On Friday, I had a long list of chores for the kids because the house has been a bit out of sorts. Like most kids their age (or any age) - they HATE doing chores and it usually turns them into whining creatures. However, the day started out with me gathering the kids together and doing a run down of what was expected for the day. Instead of hearing whining, my kids said, "OK" and got to work. They spent about 2-3 hours cleaning up the house. By the time they were done, their laundry was taken care of (and there was TONS of it), and the house was clean, vacuumed and well organized. What was greatest about this was that they maintained their good attitudes throughout the cleaning. Alexis even went through her room and purged and organized most of it. It looks so wonderful!
Because I was so impressed with their great attitude and work ethic, I told them I would take them out to lunch at Chik-fil-A (their favorite). About 10 minutes before we were about to leave, Ben called us up and asked if we wanted to meet him for lunch - and he hadn't even known about our plans. After we had arrived at the restaurant and ordered our meal I went to sit down with the kids. As I was getting the kids situated, a young woman came up to me and said, "I'm celebrating my birthday by doing 21 random acts of kindness and I'd like to give you this," then handed me a $10 gift certificate to Chik-fil-A. Where else would something like this happen except in the South? They're so friendly - I love living here! Ben also decided that the kids could use a treat so he got them some mini chocolate sundaes.
Later that day Alexis had horseback riding lessons. Because Ben has been so busy with the end of the semester and his studio class, he wasn't able to be home to watch the kids. I was a little wary of how this was going to turn out because I would be stuck with Sam, Dayne, and Stina in the van for an hour while Alexis had her lessons. This turned out better than I thought it would as well. Raydeen Ryden (her riding teacher) said that because of what they were learning that day, the kids could come and have a ride at the end of the lesson. It was perfect. The kids waited patiently (playing games on my Touchpad) and then they all got to go for a quick ride while Alexis led the horse for them. Even Stina went on all by herself. She was a little scared when we put her on at first, but then when it was time to get off she cried because she didn't want to get off. The only problem was that I forgot my camera. It's too bad because they all looked so cute up in the saddle!
As soon as we got home the Browning kids came over for us to babysit while their parents went on a date (we trade off with them for date nights). I didn't have to make dinner because we had tons of leftovers from the night before. The kids played so well with the Brownings and had a treat of cookies and milk. I had so much energy all day - more than I've had since becoming pregnant.
It was one of the best days ever and a testament to me that the Lord knew I needed a break. That day has really carried over for me. It was such a positive day for me that I've been having positive thoughts ever since. I've been trying to change my thought process for a while because I'd definitely fallen into the martyr syndrome and been feeling sorry for myself. That day was just what I needed to change my perspective and it was such a tender mercy! This whole weekend has had me counting all of the blessings that I have and they far outweigh any negative. God is amazing and I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family and a baby on the way. Thank you Heavenly Father!
