Life With Three Littles Under Our Roof!

 Phew! The fact that I am even sitting down for a minute to type means we are doing much better NOW than we were THEN...life for us has been so full and so rich, but oh so exhausting and overwhelming at times. We knew our hearts would be full and our laps would be too, but the daily challenge of getting three little ones fed, dressed, fed again, put down for naps, fed again, bathed and pajamas on, put down for bedtime, & then fed again can wear you down...especially when not one of these three precious ones sleeps through the night & neither of the twins enjoys the process of going to sleep on their own. So unfortunately for this daddy who is working long hours, he is also responsible for taking care of the twins needs at night and mommy tends to the littlest one's care. I think it's safe to say at this point, daddy wishes he could provide the food Ashton Kate needs! =) Kendall and I just smile at each other each night and say Good Luck, because let's be truthful, there are not many GOOD NIGHTS at our house these days past few months! And really, crazy is seriously all we know since the twins entered our world. For whatever reason, maybe specifically our sanctification as believers, the Lord has chosen to bless us with twins who are not the easiest...they bring us great joy but they sure have tested our patience in the eating and sleeping department. (and now obedience department) I hope one day when they are old enough for us to explain just how difficult some of the days have been, that we can also tell them of the gracious love from a merciful Savior, who has carried us through each day and night! And that apart from His grace each day, mommy and daddy would never have been able to remain loving and patient as we strived to show them Christ each day in all things.

So just for Mommy's memory, I wanted to write down what a day in our life looks like with three little ones under 2.5 years old looks like on a daily basis. Having been up multiple times with Ashton Kate and then 10+ times on a rough night for the twins, we start our day anywhere from 7-815ish generally. Mommy usually feeds AK either upstairs in the rocker or downstairs while they play. Then we make our way to the kitchen for breakfast. They fight over which sippy cup they are going to have for the day, ha, and mommy can't get everything ready fast enough for their liking. The twins eat breakfast, mommy puts AK down for a nap and this is where they can have some undivided playtime with mommy. Probably the highlight of their day. They pick out what they want to play with: MG usually requests Princess Legos and Mak asks to play babies. We usually do both! And somewhere in that one hour of freedom (if you can call it that, ha!) I try to get the kitchen cleaned up from breakfast! By now, it is time to feed Ashton Kate again. So we do that while the girls play, aka make HUGE messes because they love that no one has their eye completely on them =) and then it's lunch time. I scramble to get food in their tummies once again and then it's nap time. Nap time is always a challenging part of our day but once the twins finally stop requesting baby milks, trips to the potty, getting their nose wiped, needing their blankets put on them again, and any other delay tactic they can think of, I can finally have a moment of sanity. It's usually time to feed AK once again (seems to happen quite often!) Either that, or it takes forever to get the girls asleep! It seems lately that every time I finish feeding again, one of the twins is awake, usually Makenzie, and then begins our wait for daddy to get home from work! We play, watch a movie, and attempt to find something we might could eat for dinner! Daddy arrives and he's never sure whether all three will be crying or whether they will be all smiles from day to day, but either way, mommy is rejoicing to have some help! Then we begin our crazy last few hours of the day. We do dinner, baths every other day, and then begins the bedtime battle. In between these things, we try to at least speak to each other =) Not always possible between the temper tantrums and meltdowns at the end of the day! Then we do family worship time together as a family in the twins room and attempt to corral them from making laps around the room and to sit still during Bible time. Some nights go great, others well...you get the picture! The lights go out around 8/8:30ish and then we wait to see how long it will be before they are asleep....usually not less than an hour these past few months. Safe to say it's our most miserable time of the day. They have total meltdowns if someone isn't "sitting" in the chair and tending to their every need. Once we move into the new house, it's bedtime boot camp once again!

 
 
All of this is written not to complain or whine about how hard life is for us, but just so one day we can look back and smile and know that we survived. It might not have always been pretty, but we made it! And along the way, we made countless memories, hopefully loved our girls well, and grew in our walks with Christ as a result, because we are dependent on HIM to thrive in a day rather than just survive! We know this season of 'littleness' will pass quickly and we remind ourselves of this truth often. It keeps our hearts in check and a smile on our face. And we pray for JOY, often!