No toys

Wow ... Has it really been two and half months since our last blog post?? Time has been both crawling and flying. We are settling into life with four kids and emerging from the bubble that seems to come with every new baby. Kyler is sleeping better (I sure hope I didn't just jinx it) which makes life for all of us much more pleasant. Praise Jesus!

I haven't written a post about parenting before, because frankly, parenting is overwhelming ... I feel like I never quite get it right ... I'm never quite where I want to be in this whole parenting thing. But, I have been learning and observing and I am blown away by my girls lately.

About a year and a half ago, I read a blog written by this mom who had recently taken away all of her kids toys. She was tired of cleaning them up so she took them away. All of them. Say what? I thought she must be insane ... I mean, did she want her kids to ever play by themselves? Or get along? Or survive? I thought to myself that I would NEVER be able to do that. I judged her. Ha.

I have said to Peter a few times in the last three months how much I don't want to judge other people and the choices they make, especially in their parenting ... Every single time I have judged someone else and how they parent, I have found myself doing the exact same thing at some point down the road. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. The Lord must just chuckle when He sees me, my judgy (is that even a word?) thoughts, and the future because He just knows what is to come.

Anyways, when we moved to Honduras we got rid of a lot of toys. A lot. But, we still brought some. I wanted the girls to be able to feel at home when we arrived and so I brought the things that they loved the most - dress ups, books, dolls, and a few stuffed animals. I am glad we did that because I really think it helped them with the transition. But lately, I have become so sick of cleaning up toys and asking for them to clean up toys that I did the same thing. I packed up all of their toys and put them away. Everything except for books went up and away in the closet. And, you know what? That mom whose blog I read was a genius. My girls were upset at first, but other than the initial push back, they haven't noticed. They have been playing outside, playing in their room, and actually figuring out how to get along. They have been so much more creative and have been working out arguments among themselves so much better. I am loving seeing their creativity. Today, they have made tents and explored outside. They made a "fire pit" and a talking circle. It has only been a week since we made this change, but I couldn't be happier. I am interested to see if there are other changes in them as time goes on.

Today, I am impressed with and thankful for simplicity. Sometimes the simple life is more difficult and challenging, but I am learning to be grateful for it and to take joy in it. Today, I am thanking God for how He works and what He is teaching me through the lives of my girls. (I'm also trying hard to decrease the judgments that I make today knowing that soon they will come back to get me ;). )

Tent time! 

They found the rocks, the sticks, the chairs, and the towels from around our house to make their very own fire pit :)

- Katie