Probably the phrase I hear most when I'm out with the kids is, "Boy! You sure have your hands full!" Let's see...a fun-loving teenager, two busy five year olds, a four year old with impulse control issues, a 21 month old with special needs, and an active 8 month old. Yep, I'm a busy momma that's for sure...and that doesn't even factor in the homeschooling, the taxi service I provide my kids, the church responsibilities, etc. What's really funny is when someone says this phrase when I've only got 3 kids with me (usually the younger 3) and I just smile and say, "Nah...this is just half of them!" and watch their mouths drop open! Bwahahahaha!
But to be honest, there are days when my hands do feel a little too full, even for me. There are days when six kids can be overwhelming. When I haven't had a chance to attend Bible study for three weeks in a row because yet another child is sick...shoot, even when I just want to go to the bathroom alone for once! I had it good when my oldest was an only...I just didn't know it! From the time he was little, if he respected my privacy. I don't know how we instilled that in him, but it was great! To this day, he won't enter a room if there's any chance I'm anything less than fully clothed! The other five, not so much! The four and five year olds will bring snacks and try to have a full-on conversation while I'm in the bathroom...that is, until I shoo them out and remind them that the bathroom is NOT an place for food for goodness sake!
But as full as my hands are these days, my heart is that much fuller! While there are days when I just want to get away by myself, I can't for even a moment consider life without these blessings that God has placed in our home...for however long He has given them to us! I wouldn't want to because for all the work they cause, the blessings of having them in our family is that much greater! Every morning, I get the best wake-up hugs anyone could ever ask for! My little kids call my name and run to me like fans to a celebrity! Tiny little hands caress my face and sweet little voices tell me, "I love you, Momma!" Precious little bodies that were running wild a few minutes earlier snuggle up tight to me when they are tired. Sharing inside jokes with my teenager and watching him love on the littles when they aren't into his stuff or aggravating him to death! All of these are moments when my hands don't feel quite so full because my heart is oh so much fuller!
And someday...someday my hands will be less full. And because of my oldest, I know that day will come all too soon! I have less than a handful of years with him left. All too soon, he will be considered an adult and making his own way in this life. When that happens, my five year olds will be almost in double digits, my four year old right behind them...and the babies, well they won't be babies anymore. There might be other babies in our home then...but these babies that we have in our home now, if they become permanent members of our family, will be almost school-age and certainly more independent of me than they are now! It's weird to think of my life in that time...and even weirder to think how close that day is! But the thing about that day when my hands become less full than they are now is that my heart will never be any less full than it is right now! And I couldn't ask for anything better!
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