The beautiful garden.

We have had such a challenging week.

I have had the pull-your-hair-out, cry-your-eyes-out type of week.

Must be why I finally got these...

He's pretty good to me:)

They are absolutely beautiful and my favorite too! How could I continue to have a bad day after these came, you ask? I didnt.
Yesterday I was outside weeding my gorgeous flower bed.

They're coming along quite nicely if I do say so myself. Fall is right around the corner and it is my favorite season of all. I will look outside and see these beautiful flowers and all will be well in the world.

Or at least in my house.

er, definitely all will be well in my mind and spirit. At least in my spirit.
As I was weeding through the flowers, the Lord spoke to me. This isnt the first time He has spoke to me while I was gardening. In fact, it happens quite often. It's a quiet moment. A moment when I'm listening. And He must know that.

Of course He knows that. He's God.

ahem.

Anyway, many of the weeds are SO deep in the ground. I had to use alot of force just to get to the root of them. And that is an accomplished feeling let me tell you. Anyone who pulls weeds knows what I mean. You know you've got the whole nasty weed and that same weed will not grow in that same place again. Sweet victory.

Some weeds are tricky. They look thick and deep. They are big I just know in my mind that I am going to have to buckle down and pull hard. One weed in particular had be fooled. It looked large and thick for sure. But when I went to pull it, I pulled so hard and it came out so easily that I literally fell backwards.

Isn't it so much the same with God?

We try soooo hard to weed out sin from our lives. We do everything humanly possible to free ourselves from that bondage. And yet to God that sin is so simply removed. He just forgets it. It's just washed away. He pulls gently and it is released. It's that simple.

Oh what a freedom. Oh what a joy.

Weed my life, Oh Lord.

So why have I had such a bad (hard, challenging, frustrating) week?

Well let me explain a little...
In these pictures our puppy looks cute. Harmless. Innocent almost.

But our dog is not innocent. or harmless. or even well behaved.

She is psycho to say the least. She escapes when she can and is now pooping and peeing in the bathroom just to spite me.
And she still smells like skunk. still.

Aside from the chaos of said dog, we had a fun evening when Daniel cut Jake's hair to match Braden's. Cuteness all around.

Nora is still challenging me daily by peeing through her underwear and even pooping on occasion. At this point she completely understands what she is doing. She even says sorry with a little grin. Frustrating to say the least.

She has started to point and give us the one-eye. I was worried at first, thinking maybe she was having a hard time seeing. Then I realized she's just teasing me because she sees it worries me. 3 yr. old's are smart. Very. Very. Smart.

...and beautiful....

And now onto my boy. My big, massive, mean boy.

He has started hitting, pinching, and biting. Alot. And today he even pulled my hair. It's a true joy raising this boy.

can you smell the sarcasm?

He yells and screams and follows me around saying "mommmmmy" mostly all day. In fact, the only silence I hear is at nap time which is rapidly decreasing with each passing day. Again, joy.

His newest word is "No" over and over as he wrinkles his nose. It was pretty cute the first few times. Now he says it over everything. And he doesnt respond well when we try to tell him No. He's such a sensitive soul, my boy.

He points and crosses his toes. It melts my heart and distracts me from his testosterone filled body. For a moment at least.

He does things he knows he is not supposed to do. I know that he understands it, because much like his sister he laughs and giggles at me when I try to tell him different.

He adores his blanky. Still. I hope he always does.

Much like her human brother, Heidi is extremely cute. Sometimes her ears and eyes melt my heart. For like a whole second...

...but then I remember that as I was changing Nora's poopy underwear, Heidi swooped in fast as lightning and ate a turd before I could even say her name. Gobbled it up and it was gone.

Braden then cried over absolutely nothing and Nora jumped up on the toilet smearing her poop just about everywhere she possibly could.

My days are filled with a crying boy. Literally from sun up until sun down. Nora wants to sit and pinch all day. It's overwhelming and exhausting. "Mommy...I want you."

I want you too, baby. Just not every second of the entire day.

Heidi doesnt bark all day until the kids lay down for their naps. Then I cant get her to shut up. Such is my life.

I try so hard to make it all easy. To give myself a peace. To have a plan and make it all work. But then I realize, I cannot do this on my own.

So I give it to the ultimate weeder.
He can give me a peace. It is all so small for Him to handle. He can guide my days and fulfill my plan. It takes little effort for Him. He is God. He is the weeder of my beautiful garden. I am so grateful.