On the road, Overwhelmed, and Out with the clutter!

This week, I did something very brave. Very.Brave. I packed up my 3 kids, a small suitcase of things, took $100 and went to my sister's 6 hours away. My mom and dad went to my brother's in MO, so I had the kids for 3 days. My hubby had work-related stuff that caused him to be out of town for 2 nights, so I decided, literally, on the spur of the moment, to head out to GA. Like, I got the idea to go around 9ish Tues morning and I was out the door a little after 11am. Now that I look back, I think, what was I smokin'? But, everything went smoothly (as smoothly as it can with small kids). The trip turned into an 8 hour trip both times, but that's okay. If you get in a hurry with small ones, you will be stressed out and things will get hairy fast (like they do when we get ready for church). We had to stop for lotsa potty breaks (Erin), feeding times, and McDonald's/play times, but it was nice. My kids *gulp* had only been to McDonald's once or twice before. They thought they were in heaven (esp Em)! On the way back, we had 2 traffic jams, where I had to take Evan out of his carseat and Erin had to peepee in her Pull-up (that was hard to make her do), but everything was cool. The Lord gives me patience and wisdom, I can feel it. Because when one looks back on a could-be-stressful situation that went smoothly, he or she knows that the Lord is with him/her. It is awesome that the Lord cares about everything we go thru. My sister and I had a great time. She is so creative and has such a nice home. I may have the musical talent of the family, but she certainly has the organizational ability and the creativity! The kids had a blast playing together! We just chilled and the weather was so nice! It was great to visit my sister and her family. Oh, and I survived Atlanta traffic with a screaming infant..lol.

Overwhelmed. Hmmm....don't get me wrong, I have my priorities in perspective, but it still SO bothers me that my house and life is quite chaotic. My kids and I have a blast, I meet their's and my husband's needs, they don't stress me, I don't holler, etc., but I am overwhelmed. I can't remember/don't have time to call ppl I love on their birthdays, send thank you cards, keep promises to my students (oh boy, overwhelmed at school, too...you should see how many ungraded papers I have collected that MUST be graded by Wed) organize, clean, straighten, etc. This is interesting. I was telling my husband just today that I used to think women whose homes were cluttered/unkempt (is that a word?) and who were scatterbrained were bad moms. Now I know that very few women can be a good mom AND be uncluttered, organized, etc. Anybody feeling me? It's just near impossibility to meet the needs of your family and have a neat as a pin home and remember all the remberings without losing your mind. Maybe it's just because I have a newborn. I don't know, but I am so overwhelmed. Example. I have clothes awaiting foldment on the table, the freezer, the dryer. I have clothes awaiting washment on the floor in the laundry room, the bathroom, the bedrooms, the van, and probably other places. I have clothes in bags from various places (grandmother's, clothes given to us, etc) on the chairs in the living room, the dining room table, in the van, and probably in the kids' room. Wish leads me to the next subject. Clutter.

I vow to, this week, if the pets don't get fed, if the plants die, if the beds remain unmade, if diapers stay dirty (j/k), that I will eliminate some of the clutter in my home. I absolutely loathe clutter. Clutter spells stress to me. My kids have clothes, shoes, undergarments, toys, etc. that they have outgrown that are just contributing to clutter. My room is a clutter zone like you've never seen. It stresses me to the max. I have contributed 1% of clutter to my home. Every now and then various ppl send/give/buy us toys, clothes, etc., that we don't need, albeit appreciate, but again, more clutter. I love things simple. If it were up to me, my kids would have a few wooden toys ( I LOVE wooden toys), books (tons), a few simple dolls, blocks, and what else does a child need? Just this week, I had 2 huge bags of stuff for my kids donated by someone in all generosity. Erin got a couple of pairs of Crocs, which I can 't afford, out of the deal, so I was so thankful, but then again, more clutter. So, anybody want to take the clutter challenge? I'm thinking I'm going to get a big paper towel box, set it in my LR and put about 15 items per day in the clutter bin. Then, I 'll sort the box into sections, ship it all the Salvation Army and relax in my clutter free home. Anyone up for the challenge? Christmas is coming and that means, sigh, more clutter. Appreciated clutter, but still I need to go out with the old and in with the new! :)

Long time, no blog. Hope everyone had a great weekend. We had a good singing today--seven people came to the altar and prayed. It was very nice. I'm anticipating revivial at our home church. I can feel it. God is waiting to move and I can't wait. I want to be smack dab in the middle of what He pours out.