The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

See! I told you I was only blogging a lot before because the three kids were gone. Now that they are home and I am on my own with them, we're experiencing a varying mix of chaos and fun. Throw in some coffee and a heavy dose of God's grace, and we're hanging in there. All of the older kids are doing wonderfully with Ava. She's quite the superstar around here. Every thing from baths to diaper changings gathers a full crowd.

At the end of my pregnancy, when I contemplated who my helping hands would be, I knew my husband and mom would both play a big role in assisting me as I juggled the newborn stage. But I've had some serious hands-on help from a wholly unexpected source. My dear, eight year old, Isaiah has been more helpful than I'd ever anticipated. He's actually wanted to be of assistance with the baby and certainly has. He's already proving himself as a reliable bottle feeder, baby burper, and someone who can successfully calm a crying baby. As I ran upstairs the other day to get the new mother's holy grail: a shower, I pondered in amazement that I could trust my first baby to keep an eye on my new baby.

On the other hand, while my dear daughter, Adriana, is enamored with her new sister; she's no longer enamored with the idea of obedience. Any training seems to have gone out the window. Here's a taste for you... (If you want a full helping, just come pick her up for a babysitting session.) On Monday, Steven took the boys to a minor league baseball game. The girls and I had a great time together, and we even painted all three sets of toenails. After that, a girlfriend of mine was planning on coming over to meet Ava and hang out for a bit after Adriana went to bed. This "seemed" like a totally feasible plan. We read books and her Bible story, said prayers, and brushed teeth. Adriana sweetly asked if she could just say "hi" to my friend before going to bed. No problem. Ummm...wrong! After I took her to bed, the stalling started.

"I can't go to bed because the sheets will rub off my nail polish."

"I'm not tired."

"I just want to sit and watch you talk."

"Um, I tried to sleep; but I just can't."

"I need to poop."

This is the most reliable stall because no mom is going to risk you soiling your pants. Minutes later I came to wipe her. Nothing was in the toilet. Not a drop.

Finally, she pulled out the stops; and as I sat, nursing the baby and attempting to have a conversation, she escalated to full yelling from her room.

"I CAN'T SLEEP! I CAN'T SLEEP! I CAN'T SLEEP!!!!!!"

At this point, my poor friend has had our conversation interrupted 38 times and is kindly smiling and telling me that she understands. I smile "sweetly" back.

"I'm so sorry, but if you'll just excuse me."

I return, thinking I've taken care of it, and resume feeding Ava when blood-curdling screams erupted from the back bedroom.

"I've TRIED and I CAN'T SLEEP! I CAAAN'T SLEEP! I CAN'T SLEEEEEEEEP!"

Suffice it to say, my friend graciously saw the wisdom in leaving early to let me attend to my daughter. God has wonderful ways of keeping this mother humble!

To leave you with a cuter Adriana story, Steven was laying on the bed exhausted. Adriana asked him to come do something. He half-jokingly told her, "I'm just too tired. I can't get up!" She responded, "Come on, Daddy! You need to do hard things!!"

Finally, what's a post without pictures? Here some of Daddy and Ava who is now over 2 weeks old and has put on a whole pound of weight!