"You should realize that God wants you to be glad and that, if you do all you can, you will be happy, very, very happy, although you will never for a moment be without the Cross. But that Cross is no longer a gallows. It is the throne from which Christ reigns. And at his side, his Mother, our Mother too. The Blessed Virgin will obtain for you the strength that you need to walk decisively in the footsteps of her Son." -St. Josemaria Escriva
Getting back to our ordinary after having lots of extraordinary fun with our family who all live quite the distance from us has been good. There is a rhythm that being home brings. It's a good rhythm that soothes our souls. The kind that helps you sink in to each moment. The kind that allows you the space to embrace the happy and the Cross that is no longer a gallows. But, how I still need and depend so much on His Grace to get me through the Cross parts. Oy!
The boys have enjoyed being in their space. You can tell that our family rhythm calms them too, but you can also tell that readjusting to a less filled day-to-day to-do has also rocked them a little.
Our mornings have been pretty beautiful in a simple and together sort of way. We sit, we talk, we play,we snuggle, we read.
We eat (My boys are bottomless pits!), cook/bake, listen to music, sing, and dance.
It's good. It's our ordinary. And it is good.
On the flip side, our good has also been filled with a bit of the crazies and way more cartoons than I would have liked. It's been uber cold out and we've been indoors alot (I don't know how you Northerners do it!!?). We're down to just the van right now because our battery in the car died on Monday morning (of course!). Honestly, that car has been alive way longer than it should have been. It's still going to kick once we get a new battery in, but the fact that it left us hanging on Monday morning just made me laugh all day. That car is ridiculous!
Anyways. Back to the afternoon crazies. Slowing down our fast-paced holidays takes effort for the little ones. And with daddy having late hours all week, the crazies reached bursting levels come dinner time.
Here's a little glimpse:
All the wrestling that leads to minor to major bonks. We've had one small bloody nose (or nostril really), one huge knot on the 3 year olds head, some other random boo-boos that have yet to be explained because, a three year old and an almost two year old, and a strange allergy to listening that starts around 4:30PM every. Day. But at least they're smiling! Right?
At the very least, they seem to be having fun up till whatever boo-boo occurs.
But, I look forward to having another week to help these boys get back into the swing of our little routine here at home.
Meanwhile, our little fluff always finding a corner to curl up in. This week, Bigfoot has been trailing her often because he really enjoys carrying her so when the fluff can get a second of peace and snug, she takes it.
Like I said, our ordinary has been filled with a beautiful rhythm that is slowly but surely singing its way back into our hearts.
Thankfully, at the end of the day, our ordinary, our crazy, our ups and our downs, have moments like this:
These sweet unprompted moments of love fill me. When I'm tired, being stretched, struggling with patience or insecurities, I need to come back to this place. Our ordinary is a place of peace. It's where He has called us. It's where He has called me. And, when I let myself fully embrace everything that my vocation asks of me, all is well. All is so very well.
Did you travel or stay home for the holidays? How was your first week back? Did y'all rock it? Or maybe not? Or was it like mine filled with ups and downs that had me praying extra constantly and thanking Him so very much for His Mercy?
Linking-up with the lovely Gina for Embrace the Ordinary and Aimee for Finding Beauty Friday. Do head over to see both of these women that are encouraging others to stop and see His Goodness that always surrounds!
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PS I found me SD card!!! Woohoo! One of my little stinkers stuck it in the diaper bag. Somehow it found its way into The Hobbit (reading it right now) and fell out while I picked it up last night. Either way, YAY! Will be taking photos next week! Can't wait!
