Yesterday was one of those days. For starters we opened the twins bedroom door to find Naomi naked and poop from head to toe, with poop footprints on the floor. Then later, because she is potty training I had put her in a pull up for ease of going potty. She ended up pooping in her pull up which had dropped to her ankles from the weight of the poop. As Naomi was playing on the bed with Maddie she had some how fallen off backwards and hit her head on the floor. Shortly after that Titus' piggy bank some how fell off the dresser and shattered into a million pieces. As I was homeschooling Maddie, she continued to have meltdown after meltdown. Titus was whinny and clingy, adding to the frustration of trying to scrub poop footprints from the carpet, taking the bedding off of Titus and Naomi's bed and putting clean sheets on.
How did I get through the morning? I cried, I laughed, I prayed and cried out to the Lord. I got through because the Holy Spirit was faithful to remind me to slow down and be ok with not getting done what I had wanted to get done. Because the Holy Spirit reminded me that my kids are only small for a short time. He reminded me that while I may not get much done that he is faithful to help me get done what needs to get done later. I got through because God is faithful and cares about mommies drowning in stinky, nasty, poop footprints. God cares about mommies who's children are having meltdowns, God cares about mommies who are feeling suffocated by their little ones clingyness.
On a day like this...oh...I need the LORD to help me! One of the valuable things I have learned being a wife and a mommy is to cry out to God for wisdom in the midst of the crazy things that happen. When my children all decide to revolt at the same time, when Mark is busy and stressed at work and cannot meet my needs, when I'm feeling lonely. Whatever the circumstance, God has taught me to cry out to Him and let Him fill me up, pick me up, clean me up. In crying out to God, abiding in Him, I am developing an intimacy with Him I have never experienced before and it's amazing.
Are your kids ganging up on you today? Do you have poop prints on your carpet? Are you lonely? Are you scared? Cry out to the Lord for wisdom, comfort, and peace. He gives to all abundantly
when we ask and seek Him! Seek Him, He is waiting for you!
After a morning of craziness, I gave the kids an early lunch, they went down for early naps, and the afternoon turned out much different than the morning had went. I dressed the kiddos in their grubby clothes, put their mud boots on, and off we went out into the amazing spring afternoon. The kids got to taste mud encrusted ice chips, eat plenty of mud, splash in puddles. They made mud pies, and slid on ice. We watched and listened to birds, we saw squirrels. The Lord heard my heart and answered with mud puddles and laughter! He turned my tears into laughter. I left the laundry, instead of tracing letters Maddie and I made brownies together. The day did not go as I had planned, but that's OK, it went as God planned, and He is amazing at planning. It's freeing when I can embrace what God wants done from day to day, even if it's different than my day planner.
Mark and I were having fruit fly issues and I needed and wanted to get rid of them. However I didn't want sticky tape hanging from anything and I'm not big on putting things around my house that says do not ingest. After some research I came upon something I was willing to try and had things I already had on hand or were inexpensive. 
I could run and hide, bury deep within a book.
Your love is everlasting; I come to bask in your presence.
Honestly, the only thing store bought Jam/Jelly has over homemade is that it's convenient. To me, that is not a good enough reason to not make my own. The perks of homemade anything is that you know what is in it and more importantly what is NOT in it! I first experimented with homemade jams/jellies last spring and fall when berries were plentiful on the bushes. On my first jam/jelly maiden voyage, I read and reread the recipe to make sure that I had all my ducks somewhat in a row and I was somewhat confident of each step. The first batch I was nervous that I would mess something up and it wouldn't turn out. Which was completely silly because as I completed each step I realized how simple it really was.
My sister got me the Canning book "Balls complete Book of Home Preserving". Along with some canning tools. Little did I know that they would come in handy with jam and jelly making. However, if you do not have a canning book, no problem, there are websites like home-canning.com and blogs such as foodinjars.com out there to guide you with recipes, hints, and tips.
My recommendation is start simple, get your feet wet, build confidence with an easy recipe and work your way to more difficult, time consuming recipes. 
Yesterday was one of those days. For starters we opened the twins bedroom door to find Naomi naked and poop from head to toe, with poop footprints on the floor. Then later, because she is potty training I had put her in a pull up for ease of going potty. She ended up pooping in her pull up which had dropped to her ankles from the weight of the poop. As Naomi was playing on the bed with Maddie she had some how fallen off backwards and hit her head on the floor. Shortly after that Titus' piggy bank some how fell off the dresser and shattered into a million pieces. As I was homeschooling Maddie, she continued to have meltdown after meltdown. Titus was whinny and clingy, adding to the frustration of trying to scrub poop footprints from the carpet, taking the bedding off of Titus and Naomi's bed and putting clean sheets on. 
How did I get through the morning? I cried, I laughed, I prayed and cried out to the Lord. I got through because the Holy Spirit was faithful to remind me to slow down and be ok with not getting done what I had wanted to get done. Because the Holy Spirit reminded me that my kids are only small for a short time. He reminded me that while I may not get much done that he is faithful to help me get done what needs to get done later. I got through because God is faithful and cares about mommies drowning in stinky, nasty, poop footprints. God cares about mommies who's children are having meltdowns, God cares about mommies who are feeling suffocated by their little ones clingyness. 
