What a week.

Right now, 3 of the kids are sick and I'm sick. Not fun. I hate the stomach flu. Of course who doesn't?

The week promised to be a busy one. As I mentioned in my previous post, we began babysitting this week. At first, we had set things up that I would meet the children's mama each morning and afternoon to swap the kids. This really didn't work out so well. I should have realised that it wouldn't, but I really wanted to try. I thought it might be able to fit into our schedule alright, and that I could turn it into a positive thing, but it just wasn't happening. On top of it all, we got a bunch of snow so my van was unable to make it out of our steep driveway. The thing is so old and since we know we won't be moving it with us in the spring/summer, we just can't be putting much money into it right now. So Graydon wound up having to drive half the time because his suburban was able to make it out into the weather.

I couldn't believe how busy it all felt. I'm just not used to that anymore. I'm so accustomed to being home with the kids. The first two days I felt like I hadn't even seen my little ones! We never got any school done. It just felt awful. I even ended up letting them all stay up later then usual because I really felt like I had spent no time with them at all. That's probably why they got sick, lol.

Anyways, by midweek I realised we just couldn't go on like this anymore. We really want to be able to help out this mama and her kids are great. They fit in here really well and we do all have a lot of fun together but our homelife was really suffering and I just couldn't see how it was going to get any better if something didn't change. So I had to let her know I couldn't do the driving thing anymore.  I felt REALLY bad, and I struggled SOOO much before telling her. I felt SO bad, but I knew I had to do something before our whole life went from being a peaceful simple, home based lifestyle to one of confusion and running around. We really don't mind the babysitting, and really, it is Alesia's babysitting job. As Alesia's babysitting job, it's going REALLY well, and it's great for her to be able to make some good money to save for her new horse after our move. But, it was becoming a part time job for me, and I don't need that. My kids don't need that. I, we, have worked really hard to get to a place in our family's life where I can simply be at home with the kids, and not worry about doing a lot of running around to make an income. We've built up my home based business so that I wouldn't have to work out of the home, or go places, to earn a bit of extra money for our family! So as awful as I felt to not be able to meet part way to pick up the children, I knew it just wouldn't work to keep going the way we were.

So, their mama has decided to bring the children all the way to our home and that is working SO much better. This way, it really is Alesia's babysitting job. It's no longer a part time job of running around for me. It was so hard those first few days, trying to figure out when I would fit in homeschooling in between picking children up, and getting ready to pick up children, making lunch for 9 or 10 of us etc.. I knew that life would get busier once the extra children were here, but I'm used to that kind of 'busyness'. More children doesn't seem like extra 'work'. More running around certainly did though!
I've learned one thing out of all this. It's a darn good thing I have my home business, because I would sure hate to have to work out of the home again. I just couldn't imagine!  I think I would literally crack up. I'm just SOO not used to the hustle and bustle and being away from my children!

Anywho...

Yep, so now the kids are all taking turns being sick and of course I couldn't let them be the only ones! The last time we all had the stomach flu was this past summer, when I babysat for our neighbours with the 8 children. LOL Does anyone see a trend here?

Hopefully it will pass soon, and leave us alone at least until next summer!

Elsa's 9th birthday was this past week. On the 11th actually. For her birthday, she got sick 11 times! How enjoyable for her!  Poor girl! We still haven't truly celebrated. On Thursday (her birthday) we all decorated cupcakes, but she was too sick to even eat hers.  While the kids all played, she stayed in bed all day. We'll have to make it up to her once she's feeling better. She got sick a few times again today. We thought she was over it yesterday, but I guess we were wrong.

But, through the busyness, and crazyness of the whole week, I have been able to keep up with my morning devotions routine! I can not even imagine how nuts I would have felt if I had not kept up with it! I have really noticed a huge difference in my perception of things. I don't know if that explains it well? You see, before, if things weren't going well, all I would be able to focus on would be the negative. The positive would be no where to be found. It was as though I was wearing blinders. Now, even though I felt like I would go insane if things didn't slow down, I could still keep my head above water, and see the positives in everything. I could still feel ok, and I didn't feel like everything was negative and it would all pull me under. I had hope, and faith, that it was all going to work out in the end. No, we didn't get much school done at all this week, my laundry is now piled to the ceiling once again even though I did have it under control, my bedroom has become a mess again and I probably look a mess, but I have my sanity still, one of my children lays fast asleep next to my bed, my other children are all fast asleep in their beds, everyone is safe, fairly healthy, the animals are all doing well, and life really is good. Truly, life is wonderful. I am amazed at how open my eyes are to just how wonderful it is, even in the midst of stinky sick kiddo laundry, cleaning toilets and floors because little ones didn't 'quite' make it there in time, it's all good. All of it.