How's it going?

Now that I am starting to venture out of the house more, people are asking me how we are adjusting to Davey's arrival. As I thought about how to answer that question, I realized that I may have a way of presenting things as more perfect than they really are.

Believe me, we are far from having it all together!

For example...

I look at the sink and I see this: 

(How do dishes multiply like rabbits over the course of only a few hours?!! The thing that really got to me this particular day was when I saw the soccer ball in the sink).

I look at my oldest son and see this: 

(How long did Mac have this lollypop stick in his hair before I noticed it?
Even worse: how long did it take me after I noticed it to actually remove it?!!)

We go for a walk looking like this:

(I don't care what the neighbors think...this rope has provided much sanity for me!)

I check in on Corrie during naptime and see this:

(Did Corrie not get the memo that you take a nap with a blanket?)

I go to check on the baby and see this:

(Poor Davey)

I go the bathroom and see this:

(An entire box of wipes in the toilet!)

I go to do the dishes and I see this:

(Corrie has been helping with the dishes!)

Those are just a few examples of the day-to-day chaos that pervades our lives right now...but seriously...I want to be sure and clear the air: 

We are pretty desperate for the Lord's grace and love to us everyday!

It's not that I don't enjoy celebrating all of our great family moments, but the reality is that there is just a whole bunch going on in between these pictures and posts that is not so cute and funny. And even though Davey is such a joy and comfort to us, things have been pretty tough for us all since he arrived. 

We have been wrestling through many difficulties together. The fact that we have been fighting colds and viruses non-stop has created two very sleep-deprived and cranky toddlers (who were already struggling with adjusting to mommy's new responsibilities as mother of three). It seems like the constant sound-track in our house for the past two months has been crying, whining and complaining...and I am not just talking about the baby and toddlers!

We are all depending on God to help us through the growing pains that He has brought into our relationships with each other and with Him. 

It is so hard! 

Below is a quote by Hudson Taylor (a doctor and missionary to Inland China and the source of baby David's middle name). When I first read this quote, I loved it, although I admit that I could not quite wrap my mind around it very well. I just knew it was true and I wanted to know it better:

"[I had] learned to think of God as the one great Circumstance in whom we live and move and have our being, and all lesser circumstances are necessarily the kindest, wisest, best because they are ordained or permitted by Him." - J. Hudson Taylor

God has used these hard circumstances to reveal His goodness to me so intimately...I am starting to know this quote a little bit better.

Well, not to change the subject, but on another note...an unexpected blessing from today: 

This unseasonably warm weather has allowed us to have the windows open all day...so good to clear all of the sickness out of the air around here! (And it seems little Davey likes napping in the fresh air, too!)

(He will only sleep if he is wrapped up like a little burrito, just like his big brother was!)