And my world stood still...

There are defining moments in each life. Moments that change us for the better, or worse.
Sometimes these moments are cliche and predictable; moments like the birth of a child, a death in the family, or a big move. Other life-altering moments seemingly "sneak up" on us, interrupting our typical day and routine tasks. These moments used to catch me off guard, but after years of parenting my crew I find myself looking for unexpected lessons in each day.

Obviously I have fallen short in my blog-writing over the last six weeks.
I have but one excuse and her name is Alena Joy.
Newborns change the way each day works and add a new element of "chaos" to any household.
Our lives have been turned upside down in the last several months and it appears as though the turning isn't over. So it's no surpise that my time has been limited. Some days I feel lucky to get a shower before dinner... some days I feel lucky to be able to even prepare dinner.

And then some days the unexpected lesson hits me like a ton of bricks and my world stands still in the wake of the moment that proves to define me. A few weeks ago, I experienced one of those moments.

In the aftermath of adjusting to a newborn in the house, we are finally reaching a state of "normal" which includes a clean house, daytime outings, and evening events. On one particular Wednesday evening I loaded up my five children following a quick dinner, and we went to church. At the end of a long day, most evenings all I want is to get the dinner dishes clean, get kids bathed, and sit in my pjs with a baby on my lap. This evening was no different. I felt exhausted and overwhelmed. But I braved the rainy weather and took my kids because it was something I knew they needed. Christopher, Alena, and I dropped off the big kids at church and headed out to run some errand since we had time. I kept looking at my phone, waiting for the hour and a half to tick by so I could retrieve the other kids and get home to my laziness. Finally it was time to pick them up and we all piled back into the Suburban. I immediately began ticking off my "to do" list for when we arrived home... get kids showered, switch the load of laundry, put away clean dishes.... when I realized there was a conversation taking place behind my seat. As I drove down the road thinking of all I had to "do", my kids were happily sharing their learned Bible verses and lessons of the evening. My brain went silent, no more tasks to do lists, just quiet listening. I reveled in the beauty of my kids sharing their faith with one another. They laughed, sang a silly Bible song, and chatted the whole way home.

And my world stood still...

Sometimes in the midst of the busiest day of the busiest month, I forget that there is something that surpasses the importance of a clean house and Katie-scheduled routines. I'm thankful my kids have enough good sense to find the real life-altering moments and share them with their too-busy mommy.

next blog update.... how Alena shook us up!!