While we are waiting...

 We had a quick trip to the park while waiting to pick up Aaron at the airport.

Aaron had to go out of town for a total of 2.5 weeks in April! What a new respect I have gained for all the single Moms out there. It was TOUGH while he was gone. Here are just a few things that happened; Ben had a stomach virus, I had strep throat, Jack broke his arm,  and Jack, Parker, and Christian had pinworms! I'm sure there is more but I just can't think of it at the moment. The worse of it was the pinworms. Completely freaked this Momma out.  I was sanitizing and washing clothes, towels, rugs, and pillows around the clock. It was even worse than the broke arm.  Jack broke his arm about 2 days before Aaron got back and I have to say that at that point I was unraveling.

While we walked out of the Doctors office, my three year old happily trotted by my side with a casted arm, I just fell to pieces. It was only by the grace of God that I made it through. Thankfully a few precious ladies from Church took pity on me and brought me a couple of meals.  It was so helpful. I do love our Church and the women in it. My mother-in-law was checking on me daily and assured me that she was praying for us while Aaron was away and had even asked some others to do the same.

The hardest part was that it simply wasn't enjoyable.  I had this fantasy in my mind that we would have wonderful bonding time of reading stories together, cuddling, and conversation. I had planned on making things fun. It wasn't even close to that. On top of all the illnesses mentioned above, their behavior was horrible. It was nuts! I was herding cats and distributing spanks around the clock. There were times that Aaron had to get on the phone and speak to them sternly. I'm sure he made threats that I don't even know about.

I'm sharing these things with you because I feel like sometimes there is a misconception that life is always splendid.  You see pictures of silly kiddos and smiling faces, but it's not always like that. We are a VERY normal family. I have been approached before by other Moms who think things are so dreamy in our family, and that our children obey by the sound of my voice, that I never have to spank them, and our marriage is a dream. I have been compared to June Cleaver. Just writing this makes me smile because it is so far from the truth. We are sinners and I have to seek God's face every day because frankly, I can't make it through the day if I don't. I have 4 little boys that are little boys.