the cole tree: July 2013

I had the thought go through my head the other day that summer this year has been so much fun. Kids, kids, kids. Often our mornings begin with neighbor kids calling us to come open our front gate... then if we don't answer fast enough, they'll go through the rice fields next door and call over the fence because they can get closer that way. They often stay for lunch, play through the afternoon, then head home sometime near the end of the day.

A few days ago, a friend of mine came by to see if her four year old daughter was here. Her daughter had left the house first thing that morning and was still out playing somewhere when the middle of the afternoon rolled around. I was glad she came here to look and glad the kids around have a safe area to play.

This summer is special for me though. In past years, while having kids around is fun to a degree, I wasn't really into having a group come by every day, not really able to handle more than three or four at a time, and certainly not for most of the day. Not to say that I didn't love kids, but summer meant something entirely different than what the rest of the year was like when school was in session.

Also, my kids were younger. With a baby toddling around everywhere, adding more kids made many things harder. Also, younger kids meant more sickness. Zach especially was continually taken by the hand, and he was the start of many rounds of sickness.

It used to be too that our kids were too young to play well with other kids. At the house we lived in when Eva was one, a group of four neighbor girls were continually at our house when not in school, but they were older pre teen girls, and all they wanted to do was take care of Eva. That was awesome. After the kids grew out of the baby stage though, and before they were old enough to join in the play going on around them, it was just plain hard to have a bunch of kids everywhere. But with a four and five year old, no problem. They're all about joining in the fun.

It also used to be that I didn't have a good grasp on the language and how things worked here to navigate the crazy summertime and all the kids that came by, especially while trying to navigate being a new Mom myself. Now, that adjustment to giving up my 'me' time has been made, and adding on a handful more during the daylight hours really hasn't added that much to my work load. It might even make it easier actually by giving the kids great play time.

So this summer, language is no longer a struggle, the transition to being a Mom is finished, the kids are older, I'm comfortable with making and maintaining rules, and I'm used to running around like mad anyhow. The sickness issue is still a constant, but I always come back to choosing to have sick kids if it means they're spending good time with the neighborhood kids. Outside of sickness, the summer has been great. It's a whole new world these days.

Also, It's about time I know, but I'm finally getting better at watching myself and paying attention to my own signals. If it's a day when it's better to keep things quieter and pace myself a bit, I can keep things calmer for the day and leave the child count at three. I'm getting better at understanding how to set my own schedule and knowing how to manage my time. I've improved in moving things forward in my day rather than just letting things happen around me. I am such a work in progress.

And here's a big One. I love seeing the kids happy. When Eva and Elijah hear their friends at the gate, they charge out their so fast, you'd think it was the ice cream truck. They just love playing with the neighbor kids. They laugh and laugh and laugh. Elijah was riding around on the back of somebody's little bike the other day, around and around the yard, laughing the whole time. Today the kids were throwing their water balloons all over the place hooping and hollering. Yesterday I looked outside to see what all the laughing was about and saw the kids doing blind falls backwards. while their friends caught them from behind. Kids are such a riot.

Eating lunch here is something else. These days, I've taken to just lining up eight or ten bowls, adding packages of instant noodles, adding hot water and that's it. Ten meals in ten minutes. Easy cheesy.

And then there's the cute little things like these flowers. The little neighbor girls keep the table outside so pretty, and it's the cutest thing ever. One day recently none of the kids came by our house. The next day was the same, and I was starting to wonder what was going on...weird, weird, I couldn't figure it out. The next morning, they were back again, and I asked them where they had been. They said they knew I was sick so stayed away a couple days while I was getting better. Wow, what a bunch of sweetie pies. I am so thankful for this summer, thankful for growth, thankful for a house full of kids to love. I'll also most likely be thankful when school starts up again, and we change our schedules and routines again, and some of my energies can turn to other things. Thankful for the challenges, enjoying the present, trusting God with the future. God is good.