And she passes!
My modest little sister would never toot her own horn, so I'm going to toot it for her. I just got an e-mail from her last night that she passed a CLEP test yesterday in humanities. I believe that makes at least three tests that she's passed so far (3 for 3). Out of a possible score of 80 she got a 75! I'm pretty proud of her. If you're not familiar with how the CLEP tests work, with each test she passes she earns credit toward a degree without having to take college courses. It's all very complicated and I probably didn't explain it right, but Kristi can explain it much better.
Monday evening was really special. Don and Betty Best, missionaries in the Amazon region, joined us for dinner and then gave a powerful presentation at the church about the work they're doing. What an incredible couple. They absolutely radiate the love of Jesus. Serving the Lord is their passion. They breezed in here with happy smiles and kind words--all genuine. Nothing phony or put-on about these people. Mr. Best won Jed's heart when he let Jed "shoot" a special native dart gun. He also told Jed about some of the horrific animals they have down there. I asked him myself if they had lots of spiders. He said yes, but they don't really bother them much. He'd only gotten bitten twice in the three years they've been there. My goodness, I'd say that was invading my personal space!
Darren, Evan's brother, was also with us Monday night. He flew up that afternoon for a hearing he had to speak at in Concord, so we got to enjoy the pleasure of his company through Tuesday morning. Speaking of yesterday morning, I totally got spoiled. Usually the kids come in and wake me up in the morning. I haven't used an alarm clock in years; in fact, I don't even have a clock on my side of the bed. I would, except there isn't an outlet close enough to my nightstand. Anyway, the kids never came in to wake me up, Tucker never hollered for me, and I was dead tired after a busy day, so I kept on sleeping--till 9:00! I woke up to hear the kids playing happily with their beloved Uncle Darren in the playroom. He had gotten Tucker up and was busily entertaining all three kids. What a great guy. I tell you, the Jones guys are one-of-a-kind. I'm sorry there aren't more of them for some of my single friends.
Could someone please tell me how a mother is supposed to maintain her sanity when from the time she gets up in the morning till the kids' blessed bedtime she is either changing a stinky diaper, wiping up spilled juice, sweeping crumbs off the floor, pulling a 14-month-old off the table, answering a 5-year-old's question, answering the phone, comforting a 2-year-old who's just bumped her head, keeping the 2 and 5-year-olds from killing each other, pulling the 14-month-old out of the snack cupboard . . . and some of this ALL AT THE SAME TIME WITH NO BREAK?!?! Maybe the insanity part is already a foregone conclusion, but at least tell me how you do all these things and still remain a calm, patient, sweet little mother who never hollers at her little darlings.
posted by Jill @ 11:48 AM
7 Comments:
Aw, shucks, you didn't have to toot a horn for me, but that was sweet of you! (I've taken 4 CLEPS so far.)And you didn't have to post the message twice. :-)
I was talking to Natalie yesterday and she was singing Corrie E.'s praises over her mothering skills. I don't know what it's like at home, but she seems to be pretty calm and collected, so maybe you could give her a call and see if she has any input.
I think people in the "olden days" had the right idea when they hired a nanny or nurse or cook to help. Mothers weren't expected to do everything the way they are now. Modern appliances don't do it all!
Ditto to Kristi about the shortcomings of modern appliances. I'd just add that the Mormons have some pretty good ideas, too. :-)
Oops! Sorry about the double posting. Last night when I tried to post there was some kind of error, so I gave up and tried again this morning, not knowing that things got cleared up in cyberspace all by themselves. Weird how that works. Makes me feel pretty ignorant.
Hmm, I'll have to give Corie a call. She is an incredible mom. Nothing seems to ruffle her feathers.
Craig, if you're suggesting what I'm thinking you're suggesting, I'll take a heavy workload any day. :-)
Possibly it's a fallen expectation, but I don't see me ever getting through a day like that without losing it at least once. My kids will grow up knowing that Mama raises her voice and Daddy doesn't. That works.
Or you could take a deep breath, count to ten, and remind yourself, "Hang on for one more year. Things get better."
-- SJ
If I had wise advice, I'd be sure to give it :) but since I don't, I guess you're left to struggle on, heh, heh, heh.
You could always just tie them up and put in the middle of the floor until bedtime :)
hehe, Brandon tried the tie them up and leave them in the middle of the floor! The two older ones were fighting, so he told them he'd untie them when they were done fighting. They never stopped fighting that time, but it has been marvelous since. All we have to do it mention getting the rope and wala, our children back off! I wonder how long it will last.
As far as doing everything and not loosing it...if you hear any great ideas, pass them on...I'm all ears on that subject!
I'm almost afraid to ask this, but just which Jones guys are you talking about? :)
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home