Busy, Busy :)

It's been a super fun, but very busy week this week.
Amy's kids have been here and my goal was to spend time with them and not worry about all the other stuff.
So....I'm totally behind on blogging, laundry, mowing grass, my house is filthy, I haven't looked at my Sunday School lesson for Sunday......
But..... I have played, made lots of meals, emptied the dishwasher a million times b/c we keep running out of spoons. I guess I need to get more spoons. We've gone to Vacation Bible School every night, which means we have been getting to bed at about 10pm. Exhausting, but very fun!
McKenna must be worn out because she's still asleep. All the big kids spent the night at Grandmom and PopPop's new house, so I got a little break. I guess it's not really a break since I've been trying to round up all the kids laundry and pack their suitcase again (they leave tonight).

There is something so sweet about the relationship between Emma, Abby, Nathan, Christian and McKenna. It's hard for me to actually put it into words. I mainly just see it through their interactions with each other. When ever McKenna is hurt or upset, she'll let the cousins hold her and comfort her. Usually she just wants mommy. And Christian will sit on the couch and snuggle with his cousins. He doesn't do that with anyone else. There is a love and a compassion that they have for each other that goes pretty deep. I've watched them take care of each other all week and this is new for me since Christian doesn't usually try to take care of anyone. But this week it was okay if Nathan got his Mater (it'a a Lightning McQueen character) cup. And Christian got new chocolate shampoo for his birthday and he made sure everyone got to use it. I think I could have moved out for the week and Emma could have held down the fort. She's so mature and helpful and she adores both Christian and McKenna. It's been a fabulous week. I hate for it to end and hate even more the 3 hour distance that separates us.

I have to remind myself that the relationships that these cousins have were not always this way. They were built through tears and trials and I thought I was going to loose my mind. I remember feeling like I had failed all of them over and over again. I remember all the sticker charts that used to cover my fridge in an effort to just bribe everyone to get along :) So this has been good. Good for my heart. Good for me to see the beauty that came out of the ashes of those stressful days just a few years ago. God has been reminding me that his refining fire is hot and stressful, but the result is peace and beauty. To Him be the glory!