fourteen.

As Mess and Big Mak do "school" work, and Little Love plays play dough, I thought I'd sit and update our blog. Our blog that I've neglected for a little over 2 months. I love writing but life seems to get in the way. Before I know it hours have become days, days turn into weeks, and those weeks turn into months. I have a personal journal that I do my best to write in everyday. I pray and write about what He says to me, I write about the kids, W, and life in general. I think often of this blog and what I'd like it to become....
I'd love to fill it with adventures, photographs of a life lived, of stories and days gone by. The problem with that is we are limited with our adventures. We have a tendency to stay in our bubble; bound to our home. It's as if I have to, occasionally, live vicariously through others. These people I do not know, just recondite realities strewn across the internet. Their days filled with long car rides to new and unknown places without a second thought about how gas is $3.50 a gallon. Their children smiling, cooking, painting in nice, neat aprons without a stain. Their hair is fixed, nails done, house cleaned, and dinner in the oven. As if their lives are one big movie, every scene edited and perfected. 
Our days, however, do not look like a perfected movie. Our days more closely resemble a sitcom. Little Love is usually running around in her undies, asking me every 5 seconds, "What are we going to do now?" Before we've even eaten dinner she's asking me what we're having for breakfast the next day. We spend about 30 minutes doing her preschool work and reading books. During this time Mess and Big Mak have asked me about a dozen times each what they should work on, even though I spent hours making up a lesson plan for each them, printing out the worksheets, etc that they either needed or wanted. By 11:30 my head starts spinning like in the Exorcist and I'm ready to run out the door! Yesterday I was lucky to get a shower by 5 pm. Yes, 5 pm. Even then my shower was interrupted with screams of, "SHE'S BEING MEAN!", "SHE TOUCHED ME!", "MOM!!!!" 
- Insert issue between the kids -  After griping at each other name calling ensued but it's quiet again and today that's all I can ask for. With a ridiculously short trip to the grocery store earlier today, that went in a horrible behavioral direction, I have decided that we are going to put  academics aside for a while and focus on character traits. We'll use our bibles and free resources found on various homeschool sites and blogs. When we're done with those lessons then they can go on and do science or math, whatever they feel like. But I really feel character and manners mean more in this day and age. Yes, their studies are important and they'll get to them but first I want to raise Christ like children. 
Don't get me wrong I understand that the kids are with each other all the time and they grow tired of one another but I don't believe that gives them the right to treat each other in the manner they do. I've been trying, very hard lately, to show different ways to respect one another but in all honesty it seems they'd rather fight and bicker. No amount of playing outdoors, taking breaks, or one on one time seems to matter.

It's my goal to make our house more peaceful. I fear the older two girls will one day have a relationship tainted with resentment and bitterness towards one another. I've seen many sisterly relationships go that route and I'm determined to not let that happen, or at the very least, try arduously for a different outcome. 
On an unrelated note: I have begun taking a photo-a-day to document this year. Since I fasted from my phone in January (and that's my only camera) I started on February 1st. If you'd like to you can follow along on instagram using #hellothemess365. My instagram user name is mrs_willard if you'd like to follow me - I'll follow back.