Family Like Never Before in Our Home

In my backyard it is not glamorous , we have 6 bikes.....4 need tubes replaced but neither time nor cash have allowed that, the mosquitoes are vicious, the shed needs painting, you can find some stray Popsicle wrappers, and it is muddy (not just Memphis rain, also kids leaving the hose on to play in the mud with). This is my home. In our front yard are 2 big city garbage cans ( we are a big family), hostas, lambs ear, a pickup truck, a 12 passenger van (that needs the tags replaced NOW), my moms Taurus and probably some of the neighbor dog's dinner. This is my home. In my kids rooms are shared spaces, dirty laundry, beads in the carpet, i-pods, TV with no cable and possibly a few living fish in a tank. In our living rooms (kitchen, school room, living room, dining room)are kids clothes, books, papers, cat hair, unfinished old wood floors, old carpet, one TV with Direct TV, dog hair, the yummy smell of leftovers, comfortable couches and two computers. This is my home. We don't live in the nicest neighborhood, but I have some of the nicest neighbors, I would bet on it. Often money runs out before month and groceries before grocery day and patience before fun is had....but love never runs out. Coming to our home is like camping, hot, sticky, pool to cool off in, never sure what we will eat next, kids running, momma sometimes yelling and Daddy coming to the camp site late because he had to finish work before the weekend get away.
We don't live like most of the people we know, sometimes this is difficult, sometimes it brings great joy and it is always an adventure with blessings and memories that I didn't expect.
These are the little details of the big picture, when you walk into our home it looks like a big mess in our little house.....but our lives are full of little moments, Big ideas, big messes, lots of laundry, questions waiting to be answered, 6 kids, a grandmother,one working daddy and one busy quick to correct momma that needs to play nice a little more often.....this is our Home, The Pike Home......Family like never Before.

Mothers Day Musings with Busy Days, Big Nights, Growing Older and Loving Every Minute Of It

Zachary and Holly MHEA PROM 2009

DJ at 5 years old and Mommy taking a long look at my last baby

Sarah and her friends at the big Girls Night Out

Sarah's Friends greeting her on the couch durning the Sunday School Hour on her sick birthday

Sarah' being surprised by the friends

In the last 4 months there has been so much going on that I can't even possible describe the roller coaster of emotions that have gone with the events. In February my oldest daughter turned 13, in March my youngest son turned 5, and last week my oldest went to the MHEA Prom.

On Sarah's 13th birthday she was very sick and so the party came to her that day....our sweet Senior Girls at Highland youth group and her fellow 7th grade friends all showed up at our home to sing and bring her some nice Starbucks Hot Cocoa....a priceless morning where I was sure once again that no one has ever felt as loved as our family feels by our amazing Highland Family.

She followed that party up a week later by having a girls night out party at a local hotel where the girls got to swim in February and dance all night long. One month later on March 25th, I went to officially not having anymore pre-school age children in my family when our youngest and second son turned 5 years old. For his birthday on a very muddy morning I bought him a Big Wheels his daddy and big brother put the toy together in the parking lot and I brought home Blue and Gray donuts (March Madness spirit for our home team the U of M Tigers) there was fun had by all. That was a bittersweet day where I found myself thinking about when the children were all so young and at 5 years old Zachary, our oldest was the "big kid" with 3 kids younger than him and that for 15 years I had a small child, pregnant and/or nursing....that season is over and it has ushered in a new season........

Just last week Zachary our oldest sat in our bathroom while I cleaned up the hair on his neck and we talked about corsages, for the impending dance. Now that he is almost 16 our family has found some firm footing in the land of adolescence and I LOVE IT.

There are ups and downs, tears and prayers, but I am watching this child who will be a man soon become more and more self assured and at peace with himself and his place in the world every day.

This isn't just a shameless plug for our children (it is that), but it is also me wanting to take a step back and recognize this unique place that I am in life. The mother of sons, daughters, almost grown and just beginning to really grow. I have some last chances to hold the hearts of our babies and some first chances to really see a glimpse of who some of these children are growing to be. Today I will commit to listen more to stories about new birthday toys and the difficult stories of broken hearts and questions about the world we are in right now. I will recognize tears and pains of growing young adults and not take it personal. I will kiss hurt knees and teach new spelling list. I will watch as we struggle through college classes and teach my youngest child to read. I will stand amazed at the story of it all, this is my story today, changing and growing up with my babies....