"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Strength in Numbers

So, this has been a big weekend here in Drosche Land.  Today is Jack's birthday!  I can't believe that he is already 3!  With this birthday it has become official, we have no more babies.  I'm not quite sure how I feel about this sudden realization.  On one hand I am happy because they are growing, changing, and developing so much it is fascinating to watch them.  Yet, on the other hand I miss them needing me so much and being so little.  Independence is a double-edged sword I guess.  Such is the life of a parent I guess.  But now I've once again gone off on a tangent, this was not the original intention of this post, as is evident by the title.  But then I guess you are used to that with me huh?  Anyways, on to the planned topic!

Jeff's birthday is also this month and it is a big one - 40!  So, Amanda made special plans for them to get away for the weekend.  Awwwww.  Long story short, their babysitting plans fell through and provided us with a fun adventure for Jack's birthday.  So, we picked up Jared, Austin, and Audrey last night and had a sleepover!  5 kids + birthday fun = craziness!  All went well though, and they had a blast.  We made a huge pallet on the floor out of some old comforters and they watched a movie (The Squeakquel) in the loft.  Then they all slept out there amid a mixed pile of blankets, stuffed animals, and pillows.  The best thing - everyone slept through the night.

This morning we all packed up water and snacks and headed to the Zoo!  5 kids + a trip to the zoo = craziness!  (Are you sensing a theme here?)  Once again lots of fun.  I took tons of pictures (I'm thinking Wordless Wednesday!).  The funniest thing about taking them all out was that, theoretically, to the untrained eye we would look like one big family.  Jared is almost 8, Austin 5, Braeden 4, and Jack and Audrey are 3 (and could totally pass as twins).  I'm sure people thought that too by the looks we got, 2 younger adults and 5 kids who all have the same hair and similar facial features!  HA!  But it got us thinking, we could do 5.  Granted it would be crazy, but isn't is crazy with the 2 we have now?  (YES!)  It has just secured the fact between Amy and I that our family may not be finished yet.  We are looking forward to and continuing to work toward the adoption, but who's to say we will stop at just 3?  But that's a shocking subject for another post.  Those of you with gaping mouths close them and continue to read on.  In talking about it last night and then again today on the way home from the Zoo it did occur to us though that there are some things we have learned in this short 24 hours with 5 kids.  I'm sure there are a zillion other things we would learn but below are some realizations and observations we have made recently.  

-  5 kids means there are 10 feet, each of which needs to have a shoe that needs to be tied or velcroed.
-  Someone is always whining, crying, or (gasp!) both.
-  Someone is always mad about something.
-  Someone is always laughing.
-  It is never quiet.  Ever.
-  If it is quiet, even for a second, you'd better check on them.
-  When you think that they are all asleep you are wrong.  At least one is still awake.
-  They are never all listening to you at the same time.
-  The dish washer, washing machine, or (more likely) both are always running.
-  Something is always dirty.
-  There is no difference between and even or odd number of children.
-  When in public people seem to naturally move out of the way when they see you and your brood coming.
-  The way you define "clean" has changed.
-  Someone is always calling your name.

So, what does this mean for our future?  Who knows?  Right now everything is focused on beginning the process of getting our house listed and moving.  We're just going to live life  one (ok, maybe two or three) adventures at a time!

All is well, with an open-ended population, in Drosche Land.    

No comments:

Post a Comment