It's just been a good week

Do you ever have weeks that just d-r-a-g by to the point you think you won't survive? Varied stresses, wild children, husband working long hours, grouchiness about school, whininess about everything else?

No?!!

Wow! Well...be glad! We occasionally find ourselves feeling a bit crazed and overwhelmed around here. Sometimes, our kids are not perfectly well-behaved. I know, this is shocking to some of you. Sometimes, I am not very well-behaved either. (Probably not as shocking....)

Today, I was just pondering how this week has really been one of those other kinds of weeks. Things just went pretty smoothly. For the most part, we were nice to each other and acted like we liked each other, there was not an abundance of whiny or grouchy attitudes, and things just ran smoothly. School was productive and enjoyable. We had a lot to do, but it all got done. Co-op, church, school, playdates, grocery shopping, planning a missions trip and varied fundraisers, preparing meals for friends in need....lots of stuff - and God just gave us the grace to handle what we needed to and to mostly be nice while doing so. I just LOVE those kinds of weeks, and am so grateful for them, because they seem uncommon.

I do have a streak of pessimism in me right now, that's wondering if I'm about to be hit with the flu or major car trouble, or some other dreaded catastrophe, but am mostly hopeful that I am just paying attention to the positive and being grateful for the blessings. I jut got overwhelmed with my blessings this week, seeing multiple instances where the kids were just being extra sweet, and I could hardly handle it. I love them so, and tried hard to praise them for demonstrating extra amounts of patience with each other, and for behaving in a way that really pleases God, not just Mama and Daddy. It's so easy to catch them misbehaving or doing irritating things, and I am prone to not praising nearly enough. There is such an obvious difference in attitude after they've been told how they did something well and it affects the rest of the day positively. I should really work harder at consistently pointing out their kind hearts and motives, and not merely seeing every mistake. Why is it so much easier to be critical?

I am posting a few photos I caught this week. Most aren't great quality, since they're from my phone and were in poor lighting. Hopefully though, they will remind me of what a gift it is to be the mom of these four blessings, each miracles in their own way.

Elijah doing IXL math on the computer while Owen watched

sleepy Isaac looks on as I snap E and O holding hands in the van

precious big brother got Owen to sleep after a tearful evening

Abi and the shamrock shake they shared as a treat for being so sweet

best buddies even snuggled at bedtime