Finding my peace in Him alone...

After our refreshing day at the lake and cold showers to get all the sand off, the little boys were up in their room for quite a while. They came down in these outfits...'basketball' socks (actually the big boys' old baseball socks!) and basketball shirts... it was 95 degrees out and I was sweating just looking at them in these goofy socks :)

Yesterday was one of the most humid, uncomfortable days of the summer so far and we along with a few other families were blessed to enjoy the day at a lake with friends who are members. We spent most of the day in the refreshing water...it was one of those magical days where everyone played beautifully together (there were 24 kiddos in all!) and the moms took turns escorting the kids out to a floating dock where they jumped into the water... while the kids jumped , the moms chatted as we floated on 'noodles'-refreshing all the way around!!

G and Miss Felicia in her adorable swim gear~

Sunday best...L saw this suit in his closet and wanted to wear it for playtime to be a 'detective'...I told him he could wear it instead on Sunday and he relented. He surprised me by remembering as soon as he woke up Sunday morning- then Odesco was a bit 'put out' that he was not dappered up and chose to wear the duds above. In his (and Mercy's too) mind anyone wearing a tie is a pastor...too funny!

The other morning the kids put on the cd of Watoto African children's choir and danced their hearts out. Odesco got out the drum and G pulled out a box of instuments from her closet...I was hanging laundry during their 'performance' and needed to take a break to close the doors since they were SOOO LOUD (happy sounds, though) ~ I didn't want to offend our neighbors! The kids seemed to gravitate to the position Mercy is in for this picture so that they could watch themselves in the reflection on the TV :)

I caught these 2 in a sweet moment...L was 'teaching' Odesco to play tic-tac-toe

On Saturday in the midst of our normal weekend 'to do ' list, we were able to squeeze in special time with each of the kiddos. Daddy took the little boys out for breakfast- they were so excited and adorable as they snuck outside at 6:45...then Mercy and I went on a long walk and just 'happened' to end up at Dunkin Donuts where I bought her a treat...later G and I were able to go out for a little trip for her to finally use a birthday coupon (her bday was in April!!) and later Daddy took the big boys for a long bike ride while I took the littles for a swim next door. I was grateful for these little windows of time to spend 1:1 or 2:2 time with the kiddos as things can get rather chaotic when the whole gang is together :)

Puzzle time...I'm trying to have the littles do this world puzzle a few times a week..then we sing the "continent song" (From Geography songs for all you homeschool moms!) It's fun because the kids have friends from North America, Central America, Asia and of course Africa!! Odesco and Mercy are learning to locate Liberia and enjoy seeing the route their plane flew when they came to America.

Cooling down on a humid evening at our generous neighbor's pool! For you obsevant people wondering where our L is, he is drying off on a lounge chair~

Math time...the 3 youngest were learning the difference between quadrilaterals and triangles and created many using crayons and pencils~Yep-that's a sticker on Odesco's forehead :)

Seeing Odesco in his swim attire just cracks me up...he and Mercy are like little fish...loving our pool times at various friends' homes and doing so well in their lessons- their acclimation to the water has been a huge blessing as we go swimming several times a week!

P and Odesco just hanging around waiting for the others to finish their swim lessons at a friend's house.

We have been enjoying the change of pace that summer brings. We are still trying to get a bit of school done in the morning since our afternoons are usually errand running or 'pool mooching' :)
I am also getting the kid's portfolios together from this past school year and planning out our next year. One trivial project I completed was to organize our junk drawer...so now in the midst of the craziness and clutter when I need a "fix" , I walk over to that drawer open it..breathe deeply and enjoy this one corner of order :) Silly, I know but I am so enjoying the visible and relatively long lasting fruits of my labor( it has stayed organized for a whopping week already!!) For most moms out there I know you can relate to the feeling that everything we do gets undone rather quickly...we wash dishes, put them away and it is soon mealtime again... we do laundry, fold it and before it even gets put away, there is another pile looming in the laundry room...we straighten and clean and then our little blessings awaken and it's hard to tell we ever did anything in the first place...so, this drawer of order and my crazed enjoyment of it is a reminder that I need to find my peace in Him alone. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with order-in fact, God is the author of order and demonstrates order in creation itself. I am actually putting a few organizational tips I learned from a seminar I just heard into practice, hoping to add some order to our busy home.I once heard clutter and disorganization described as 'visual noise' -- I can so relate to that description! When things are grossly out of order it feels loud to me- it seems like all of those out of place items are screaming,"put me back where I belong!!"-strange, I know :) My problem is that when our home is disorderly and the kids' stuff abounds in places it shouldn't be, my heart is tempted to fret and feel unsettled and the fruit of this is sadly a discontent, snarly, irritable Mommy. So, I am realizing once again my need to find peace in Him alone - no matter what the condition of our home is. Sometimes "visual noise" is not the issue but instead, it is the real thing...literal noise due to sibling conflict, whiny attitudes or just plain old defiance. Again, my peace needs to be in Him regardless of the storm raging around me.

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever for the Lord God is an everlasting rock"Isaiah 26:3

"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts" Colossians 3:5

God's word always cuts right to the heart...If the peace of God truly reigns and rules my heart, I will not be ruled by my idol of order and craving for external peace. How kind of the Lord to use the crucible of our home once again to reveal my desperate need for Him to rule me and change me from within.

Growing in finding my peace in Him alone~
Mama B.