Adventures In Babysitting

I am FINALLY home after 5 nights of being away! I was staying at my surgeons house baby/house sitting while he and his wife were away in Chicago at a medical conference. Their kids are 13, 11 and 8. My first night there was last Friday. It was a ROUGH weekend to say the least! Saturday my amazing kiddos came to play for the day and Matt and I took all 6 kids to Jump-N-Land. Then we went to Target, Matt took the kids into Petco(was COMPLETELY stressed after only 5 minutes in there with 6 kids) then went to Walmart to get the kids movies to watch that night. Matt ran as fast as he could and I was alone...way out numbered with 6 kids for the night. Sunday morning we woke up and all 8 headed to church. Again, after church Matt dropped us at home and ran for the hills. Later that night he came back and got our kiddos and I again was alone with these 3 "precious" children.

I knew doing this for 5 days would be different and a bit tiring but I NEVER imagined just how hard(in a million different ways) it would truly be. Taking care of someone else's children, that you don't even know....wouldn't recommend it to the strongest of people. BUT, I was trying to be nice and the extra money is really needed. So, I put my big girl panties on and sucked it up. Did I say I am THRILLED to be home with my little gems?!?

Even though it was tough, I'm so thankful for the opportunity to do it. It made me open my eyes and see how the "other side" lives.

• I gained more patience than I EVER thought I could.
• I realized that I am absolutely TERRIBLE at "raising" other people's children.

But, more importantly(and also my most favorite reason of all) I realized that my 3 children are ABSOLUTELY, INCREDIBLY, WONDERFULLY and GRACIOUSLY the truly BEST kids in the entire WORLD for me. They do what they are asked(even if I have to ask umpteen times). They respect their elders no matter who they are. They are self sufficient. They are NOT spoiled rotten(they are well loved and taken care of). They are well-rounded, versatile, sweet, sweet precious little darlin's that I love with all my heart. So much so that it hurts. I appreciate the little kids they are and the young men and woman they are becoming. I appreciate my life. Right where it is. Here in my home with my family filled with more love than any amount of money can hold.

We might not have a ton of money. We may have a smaller(tiny, really) house than others. We have problems and issues(who the heck doesn't?). But, we are a family filled with growth. With passion for each other. With an endless amount of love.

We may have a crazy life...but it's our life. And it's the life...the ONLY life, I want.