Fiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvvveeeeee!!!

Lately ... I have been STRUCK (I mean REALLY struck) by the reality and fact that we have FIVE (fiiiiiiiiiiive) kids ... FIIIVVVVVEEEE little kids!!!

I guess I should NOT be sooooooooo surprised when others are surprised by our reality of fiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvveee kids!! It is sometimes amusing, sometimes frustrating, and sometimes awesome to watch the expression on someone's face as they count up our kids or ask us ... "so you, have (pause) ... FIVE kids?" (For the frustrating times, some of the faces of the 143 million orphans will float through my head, or sometimes scripture immediately comes to my mind!)

Each one of our kids truly is doing amazing & is a TOTAL BLESSING ... although I would have to say that I cannot take credit for any of them ... as each one of them was God's doing, God's idea, & God's MIRACLE!!!

SO that is what I lean on (HIS PLANS) when I catch myself off guard with the reality of our very blessed & busy life of parents of 5 sweet & precious jewels! That is what gives me joy & peace when I think back to MY plans four years ago (and my whole life) of having TWO kids!!! I had many reasons of why I was "only" going to have two kids!

As you can tell ... I AM adjusting just as my sweet and beautiful daughter Ella is :) I told one of my good friends today, "I can't believe I have five kids!" Lately, this truly has STRUCK me ... not neccessarily in a bad way ... I am processing :)

The reasons of only having "2" kids still make good logical sense to me ... although reagardless of how busy our life can be with five little ones ... I would hands down ANY DAY rather be living the LIFE God has planned for me than the one I had planned as really my life is not my own anyways - it is a GIFT from our Heavenly Father & it is meant to be lived out LOUD ... for HIM ... living out His LOVE! My life was not meant to be about me but rather what He wants to do IN and THROUGH me!!!!!!

I PRAISE Him for HIS plans, promises, & BLESSINGS & I will continue to try to "listen" and will continue to "try" to live the life He has called ME to live ...