Rays Of Sunshine

Hey Friends, Welcome to our little series, Rays of Sunshine.
Come visit our blog on Fridays to catch a glimpse of what  a"real life" day looks like for different women from various different walks of life.
As women, we often wear many hats; career woman, stay at home wife/mom, teacher, crafter, gardener, single mom...the list could go on and on.  One thing we believe we all have in common is the need for some encouragement.
Our hope is that through this series, we will each be encouraged as we get to look into other women's lives for a day. Our hope is that we will be able to relate in some way to the various challenges that some may face and be encouraged by that. And we really want you to laugh at some of these things too! Laughter is the best medicine and we could all learn to laugh at things more from time to time.
And lastly, we hope that by sharing our days with one another, we will each see the rays of sunshine in them; the beautiful moments amidst the chaos; the small things that mean so much; and the many things we can be thankful for.

Okay, so here we go! I am going to start us off.

*Disclaimer-This is not an entirely accurate picture of my day. There are many diaper changes, sibling arguments, fit's thrown,disciplinary actions, hugs, kisses, and tender words that are not shown here.

I am incredibly blessed to be able to stay home with my four children and also to school them. My children are 18mo, almost 4 yrs, 5yrs, and 7 yrs old (three boys and a girl). Our days are NEVER dull or boring!

My day today started by me rolling out of bed (kind of) at 7:30 am. I should be out of bed much earlier than this, but not today. I have been staying up way too late this week working on my little girls birthday party decor.
So, out of bed I go, stumbling to the kitchen to make coffee for my husband to take to work (and for me). I grab 3 glasses and a sippy cup and get the kids their juice.  I head to the bathroom and brush my teeth and then am greeted by four little ones with hugs and "good mornings" as I am exiting the bathroom. :)

Ahhh.....my coffee. I seriously enjoy my morning cup of coffee....seriously.  I sit for a moment and enjoy before the blissful moment is interrupted with, "Mom, Little Man is SO stinky!!!"
And he was.....







It's about 8:15 now and I am scrambling some eggs and  grabbing some bananas for the kiddos.
Breakfast is inhaled and all is well.....for now.
I go get dressed and attempt to sit down and finish my coffee for a moment.
Little man comes to me and stretches his arms out as far as he can and I simply cannot resist. The coffee will have to wait while I hold him and get some great hugs!

The two older boys sweep the dining room and wipe down the table from breakfast before getting out their school books.
After an argument about who has to sweep today and who gets to wipe the table, my oldest son proclaims with much drama, "Sweeping hurts my wrist really bad so I cannot do it."  To which I reply, "ok, then maybe the vacuum would be better for you."  He swept and moved on.
I go to my room to make a phone call to my doctor's office and as soon as the receptionist answers, I hear hysterics from the kitchen.  I wrap up my phone call and check it out.  Little Brother had tried to carry all of the glasses to the kitchen sink at one time and broke one.  Time for a little clean up and a bandaid.
It is about 9:30 now and time for Little Man's nap and school.
I adore these small, quiet moments right before lying him down for his nap. He snuggles right up between my shoulder and neck and gently puts his hand under my shirt sleeve. It is precious.  Thankful for these moments.




We do some reading and some math.....no, we rocked some math today!
I take a few minutes to work online while he is finishing his last math worksheet.
The other two munchkins are watching a Leap Frog video in the other room and the inevitable fight breaks out...because these two do that a lot. There is apparently not enough room for both of them on the bed....which there was, but they insisted on both wanting the exact same corner to sit in.


It is now about 11am, I look at my 1/2 full coffee cup and the time and feel a bit frustrated with the amount of things I still need to accomplish today.

Then, I look up and see my chalkboard.  This is why I keep things like this written or displayed around my house....because I need the reminders sometimes. Deep breath....I feel better.

The kids head outside to play in our little pool while I make lunch.
I watch them from the kitchen window and I make some fresh green juice for myself and anyone else who wants some, which is basically everyone except Baby Girl.
I whip out some PB & honey sandwiches for the kids and cut up some apples.
Little Man is awake and ready to join us for lunch.

I clean up the kitchen while the kids play outside for a little while more and Little Man makes several attempts to help me load the dishwasher.
This is what I see in on my window seal everyday when I am at my kitchen sink; a small jar of marbles and a sparrow. The marbles remind me of my grandma and the sparrow (given to me by a dear friend) reminds me of my Father who loves and cares for me. Both always make me smile.

Speaking of making me smile.....I am so thankful for these sweet little feet clip clopping around my house all day in various dress up shoes!

Hanging out with the kids in the living room for a bit before nap time. I really love these moments when I can just sit with them and among them.  Little Man rocks out on older brother's guitar while the other three play their Leapster games.

Hmmmm.....the laundry....maybe this is why the kids couldn't both fit on the bed earlier.
It badly needs to be folded and put away, but I also badly need to exercise since I clearly didn't get up and do it this morning.
Ah well, the clothes look comfy there right now anyway.

It is now about 2:15pm and I grab my iphone and ear plugs and get a little time in on the treadmill. Also, thankful for my treadmill and newly acquired iphone that allows me to listen to some great music while I jog.
Good times.

 After my jog and a shower, I get dressed again.  I throw another load of clothes into the washing machine, knowing that I am only going to add to the monster of clothes already on the bed in the guest room, but it has to be done! ;)

About 4:00pm, I put some chicken out to thaw and sit down to read a story with my oldest son.
Now, to put dinner together.


At 5:30, daddy comes home from work and I know this because I hear lots of screaming and excitement from the kids when they see his car and hear the door handle jiggle! I love it!

We eat dinner together as a family. I clean up the kitchen a bit and give everyone hugs and kisses before I head out the door to go meet the ladies (my friends) from church. We do this one night a month and I look forward to every one of them.

We study Ephesians, drink some coffee, pray, and have some great conversation and laughs!
I leave around 9:15pm and head to the store to get some groceries before heading home for the night.
Get home around 10pm, put groceries away, get my pj's on, grab a glass of water and....

.....a few squares of this. I know, it's late, but it's been a long day.
Then, I am off to fold that mountain of clothes so my in-law's have a bed to sleep on over the weekend.
I fold clothes and watch Auction Wars with my awesome husband. I missed him today!

 Now, I am in bed and the plan was to read for a while, but it is now nearing 1am..and I had no clue. So, I will attempt to read for a moment and fall hard asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.



Life is full, sometimes messy and most of the time demanding, but here is what I am learning.  If you simply focus on accomplishing the task at hand, you run the risk of missing out on a lot of beautiful moments in your life.
For example, if I simply grab the wipes and a diaper and am so focused on getting the dirty diaper changed that I never look up, then I would miss my prime opportunity to tickle Little Man's belly and hear delightful giggles that make my day.
If I simply get frustrated with one of the many sibling arguments (which I do sometimes) and diffuse the situation without taking the time to show love, patience and grace by example...then I have missed a beautiful teaching moment and often some good insight to how my children are feeling.

I am still learning but I am thankful for another day to enjoy the blessings in my life and the Creator that gave them to me.