Happy Tuesday

****There's a reason I usually blog on Tuesdays. Tuesdays are the best. I love Tuesdays. On Tuesdays I don't work and all my little purple minions are scattered across the city being supervised by someone else that doesn't answer when the call out Momma. When I collect them all back in the afternoon I try to keep that same momentum going by continuing to not answer when they call out Momma.

Oh I kid. I love those little mess makers.

I can say that because it's Tuesday and I'm home all by myself which is exactly when I love them the most:)

I'm especially nostalgic and sentimental today because I've been binge watching the drama Parenthood. It's quite a feat to start in on a show knowing that it has five seasons. But I am too far in to turn back now, and anyways, as my husband pointed out to me this morning with the use of this lovely meme...This is how my brain works: 

I've been trying to capitalize on my utter obsession by using an opportunity to watch Parenthood as my dangling carrot to motivate me to go to the gym. "Christina, you could watch a whole episode uninterrupted while you walk on the treadmill." But then I remembered that carrots are basically carbs with some vitamins thrown in so I might as well chase a snickers with a multivitamin and watch my obsession from my laundry covered couch. Side note:  I need another meme to explain this part of how my brain works.  

****This morning during school drop off we drove past some apartments where a young couple from our church live. I pointed out their place to the boys and Canaan offered that we should go to their house. At this point someone piped up and said "You can't just go to someone's house, you have to be invited," which Canaan did not agree with.  And then Judah suggested that you could ask someone to invite you. But that idea was shot down too by an older brother. 

I intervened and tried to massage a little grey into the black & white situation and explained that sometimes you can go to another person's house sans invitation if they are a really good friend. 

"Are they are really good friends?" 

"Actually, yes they are but it's a little different for us because we have such a big family and that just makes things tricky. There are some places that aren't a good fit for us to go because we tend to have a big impact."

That's when Levi piped in, "We're like a forest fire."

I love a good analogy and so jumped on his, but tried to soften it up a bit. 

'Well, really we are like a camp fire. We are bright and fun and perfect for some places, but you can't have a campfire anywhere you want like you can with a candle.  Lots of people have candles and lots of people love candles. They are great. But our family is more like a camp fire." 

****A few nights ago I looked up and saw the original Jones boys off by themselves watching a show together. I know they must not divide up like this often because when I found them this way it struck me as a rare unicorn moment...so I obviously took a picture. 

And when I stare at this picture I  literally can't even imagine what my life would be like if this were it and we never got into foster care. It is so weird to look and think, "What if that was my whole family. " Three look alikes. Three mini Cory's. Three little candles. 

****Cory is working though an advent series at church and this past Sunday he preached on peace. He started out by saying, "Suppose God was saying to you, you have one thing to do,  and that is to live as a person of peace. To live as a person with peace inside you. To live as a person who is peaceful to those around you- peaceful in the world in which you live."  

Ummmm.

Please refer back to the meme about how my brain works.  It has only two speeds. On or Off. Stop or Go. Depressive or Manic. Carrots or Snickers. Couch or Treadmill. 

It's a novel concept for me, this whole peace thing. My days are made up of jumping between one extreme or another, like a crazy EKG. Peace feels like a flatline and  I am an all or nothing girl who has become an all or nothing Momma who is running an all or nothing family. Because really we are a forest fire,  I just said campfire to soften our marketing. 

But maybe my husband is onto something here. Maybe this peace thing is where it's at. Maybe we could be a candle family.

I mean right now in this moment I believe him. We could be that family.  Because when I really reflect and think about it, we have such good kids. I mean really good. They are mild and quiet and adorable and soft spoken.  When I sit here in this still house all alone, feeling sappy in the moment and so in love with my boys, the only word that even makes sense to describe us, the only concept that fits this present reality,  the absolute only feeling I have right this second when I am reminiscing about my family is peace.

Off. Stop. Depressive. Carrots. Couch. Tuesday.

I don't think that's the same thing as peace.

We've got some work to do.