12.8.21 Grateful HEart

One lady from my past always tells me she is so delighted and surprised I have become a mother to such a large family. She's right I never dreamed this would be my life. But here we are with a lot of bodies in our home and we are thankful. Even though the first batch has moved on or is close to it, the next sets are not carbon copies. They may share similar features but let me tell you these younger ones do surprise me periodically.

Last week- for some reasons the days the missionaries calla re particularly chaotic. Bruce started screaming, that I'm really hurt cry kids have.  I wondered what was coming up the stairs. He crested the top stair and explained Lia threw the hot glue gun at me. That was new. Livy had been repairing the nativity shepherd that was broken at the middle. She was proud of her resourcefulness I wasn't too worried until I put the two together. Hot gun left low, curious kids. Upon examining the eye I found nothing initially but after a cold cloth soak for a few minutes the blister appeared on the upper lid, complete with some glue in his lashes. 

Aren't our bodies amazing with reflexes to dodge and protect so many projectiles that would be blinding? 

Later another blister appeared below the eye. He was fine after a few hours. Fine enough to go water with us. I sure enjoy this time watching and listening to my kids. Sometimes we visit, sometimes they play, sometimes I just watch. 

I had to chronicle this ladies hair, its impressive she is adorable these days. We are trying some different hair care practices it's definitely helped the curls show up. 

Like her siblings she loves rocks. I have to tell her to leave the rocks and not put them in her pockets. My washer does not love the rocks. 

The lighting was so beautiful this evening. There hasn't been a hard freeze yet so each night we come in covered in mud. But no ice and not having to defrost the valves on the truck is a benefit. 

We live in a beautiful land. We also are blessed with abundance. Last week Addie hosted a hot chocolate night, at her request I made cinnamon rolls for her to share. 

I had to snap a picture of this next group of boys. Reed is a good big brother. His younger brothers love his time even though he sometimes roughs them up. 

A huge blessing we take for granted is the flow of family here. These kids have a lot of bumping into each other a lot of sharing and a lot of closeness. This being with people creates a teamwork, a unity, and a safety net. We are blessed to be together. It is humbling that these kids choose to come to our home- or however this works we are thankful for each one. Life is good.