A Very Full Life

Life is full everyone! 

Very full. 

And loud. 

And obnoxious. 

And utterly exhausting. 

The past couple of weeks I have been especially low on energy, largely because no one around here sleeps during the day at the same time anymore.

 The boys are getting older. They are four months old now and they are less sleepy. In fact, they are up a lot during the day, and they can't do a lot except kick, look around, coo and cry.  In fact, all four children seem to like to try to out cry each other, all at the same time. 

Evie hasn’t been napping either.  For the past week, she lays in bed during nap time and talks to her stuffed animals.

 For those of you who are parents, you KNOW how sacred nap time is. We’ve implemented “quiet time” but that only lasts for barely an hour. 

The boys still don’t have a very predictable sleeping pattern either. They are awake and asleep at various times throughout the day still, so, someone is always up. So basically, what I’m saying is that there is no rest for the weary in this season of life. 

However, I must count my blessings that all my kids sleep through the night. The boys get up early (5:30 am) but hey, I’ll take it at 4 months old! 

The boys had their four month doctor’s appointment last week. Man, are they adorable! All three of them laid on the doctor’s table in just a diaper displaying their round little bellies, all smiling and cooing. They all got a really good report:

Caleb: 13.5 lbs; 24.25 inches,

Levi: 14.1 lbs; 24.75 inches

James: 12.13 lbs; 24.5 inches

Levi and James

Way to go, boys! Keep on eating! 

The boys have a way about them that makes you feel like a VIP. Whenever I have the three of them on the floor together, they stare right up at me. Three pairs of eyes track my every move, smiling and giggling, making this mama totally smitten. 

And we, the Patton household, are doing as good as we can in this all-consuming, energy depleting season of life. I feel swallowed up a lot.  I am always tired. I crave escape at times. The help from Amanda and John’s parents has been life-saving. Truly, it has allowed me to keep my sanity. There are moments when  I almost feel like I might lose it. There are just too many needy people who all demand a part of me…and I (we) just can’t do it sometimes. With three babies (and a toddler) somebody-EVERYBODY- just wants to be held, and obviously we don’t have enough hands or arms!  

I have to say, John and I are a team. We really are. The stress and fatigue might put us on edge at times, but overall, we work together well and take care of these kids. What a mission we share together, and I'm glad we still like each other! ;) 

This week John and I managed to bake chocolate chip cookies with the goal to walk around to some of our neighbors and introduce our family. We’ve met a couple families over the past 2.5 months being here, but we really want to be intentional with this community of people. 

This community is a very special place. Everyone looks out for each other and each other’s kids.  In the summers, the neighborhood has a fellowship event called “Wine Wednesday."

                                What, wine on a Wednesday?! Sounds good to me!

Although I was a bit intimidated by this whole thing, John encouraged me to go this past Wednesday and meet some people. So, after we put the kids to bed, we walked down the street  (Don't worry...Amanda was home!) and mingled with our neighbors. It turned out to be  great time. We met some great families and couples, and it makes me even more grateful to be a part of a community like this. 

So on Saturday, we were even more enthusiastic about walking around and connecting with even more people. We took everyone with us, the boys in their triplet stroller and Evie with her princess crown. We knocked on several doors and talked to some great people. Evie liked handing out the cookies too. However, we kept getting the same reposnse, “We should be doing this for you.” People really appreciated our effort, and you could tell they regretted not reaching out to us first. 

Lesson learned: Be intentional with people, even if it’s uncomfortable! It’s what makes a place of residence more than a place to park the car. 
And if I need a cup of sugar, I can borrow it without it feeling weird. ;) 

And finally, yesterday was fathers day! I’ve been super blessed with having a great dad AND having a husband who pours his heart and soul into all his children.  Additionally, I have an amazing father in law too who is such an example of unconditional love.  As I get older, I’m realizing that perhaps having a strong father figure  is not the norm for a lot of people. 

So, I truly celebrate Fathers day…and even though we can’t do a special breakfast out of the town, I hope John, and my Dad, and my father in law, know how much they mean to me and our family. 

And, to make the day extra special for us, ALL four kids napped at the same time for about 15 min! So, we ordered out sushi and ate in peace and even laid on the couch for a few moments! 

Yay! A happy day indeed.