Between moving, a stomach bug, our car accident, a weekend trip to buy another vehicle, and having my husband out of town Sunday-Friday each week, this month has been intense...and I'm pretty pooped.
But I've gotten some time in with my boys. Often it's diaper-changing, ouchie-kissing, please-don't-bang-on-your-brother's-head, and mess-cleaning time--but it's time.
Lately we like to sing at the top of our lungs. Our current favorites (read: Peter's current favorites) are He's Got The Whole World In His Hands, Cebu (from Veggie Tales, sung with passion), and Let's Go Fly A Kite. Peter plays his beloved acoustic guitar and instructs me to play his toy electric guitar, which he calls a "spatula guitar" (?).
The amount of "things to do" on my plate has been overwhelming...and there's always housework. This week I decided to be more intentional about enlisting Peter's help with the chores. It's two for one: we spend time together and also get the cleaning done. It takes longer, but it's worth it. He loves to be involved.
Two other temporarily-single mom lessons I'm learning this month:
- Waking up early (even if it's only 30 minutes) makes all the difference in the world. Time to drink my coffee. To crack my Bible. To anticipate the day.
- We need to get outside at least once during the day.
And oh! If I know any single or military moms, I should take them dinner. I can think of at least 2 off the top of my head...:)
So thankful for my boys!! And for the fact that my sweet spouse comes home today.
__________________________________________________________ Here's to this week's adventures! Link yours up below. :)
Bless you sweet mama! It's times like this that I just know God is heaping on even more grace and mercy and refining us to be more like Christ. Yeah for hubby's return!
ReplyDeleteYou are a strong woman! I don't know if I could hang on that long (well, I guess I could since "We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us." But I'm glad your hubby returns today! You'll look back on this time and have some happy memories from it.
ReplyDeleteAwww! So sweet and such adorable pitcures of the boys! And as a former single mom, it makes my hearts' smile even bigger :) (((hugs)))
ReplyDeleteOh, good! Even as I wrote the post, I knew that having my husband gone during weekdays is NOT the same as being a single mom! I still had my husband's support via telephone, saw him on the weekends, etc. Definitely much more challenging to be a single mom....
DeleteCebu!! You're a survivor!
ReplyDeleteWhy is the sad cebu sad!?
DeleteI love this post Alicia! And in the picture of you and Peter he looks like SUCH a little boy. It's scary! What happened to my little nephew. Also, I love the towel picture. Miss you guys!
ReplyDeleteI meant to comment earlier, but here I am again... Does it help that there's an end in sight to your solo parenting stint?
ReplyDeleteMy husband is super busy this summer even though he's techically home at night. I think I'll adopt some of your coping strategies. Thanks for sharing what you've learned!
I think it definitely helped that there was an end in sight! If I were a real single mom, I think I would definitely have to put some different support structures in place...like living next door to my parents?! I finally understood why lots of military moms move in with their parents when their husbands deploy.
Delete