3 under 3 Archives - as Jules is going

Do you have Twins!?!

August 14, 2011 by Jules Leave a Comment

Question I often get are, "Umm, Are they...twins?" "How far apart are they?" "Wow, do you want me to take you to the parking lot, shoot you and put you out of your misery?" (or a variation of that one). The most recent comments not made directly to me but abut me, "She must have twins or something?" (at my yard sale while looking through clothes) or "She was in her last time I was here." (at Wal-Mart with my cart full of my 3 blessings).

Yes! I know they are close in age comparatively speaking. No, we're not the Duggar's (whom I greatly respect); we only have 3 (right now, hehe). Yes, we know what causes 'that'. No, we don't need help because we are not in misery. I can't wait get triplet questions when J is Izzies' size next year.

I just wanted to take the opportunity to tell the story of how God decided to bless us with 3 eternal souls to disciple and bless our lives:

Here’s the story of an OCD lady
With her husband and 8 years of baby plans
All of them were spaced, just like she wanted
The youngest in k'tans

Then that lady had a girl named Maggie
Who was busy for 18 months alone
They were 2 girls waiting for a brother
When Izzie came along

Till the one when the lady told the fellow
And they knew it was much more than a hunch,
That their boy would come just a year later
That’s the way God made us all the baby bunch!
The baby bunch.
That’s the way God made us all the baby bunch!
The baby bunch

Matt and I have always wanted at least 4 children and we also hope to be blessed enough to adopt some day. When engaged, our arrogant plan was to have a baby, wait 2 years, have a baby, wait 4 years, have a baby and wait 2 years to finish off our adorable little, perfectly space family. We had Magdalene in the summer of 2008 and I had a hard time with swelling during the pregnancy so we decided to try for #2 a little early than previously planned. Isabella came in January 2010. When she was just 4 months old, after a family move to a new home, town, and job we were surprised to discover God had decided moving up the time line was what was best for our lives and Benjamin arrived in January 2011, 2 days before Iz turned 1. Crazy, I know! But "The Lord declares" in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." And what a future He has in store for us!

What game plan did you have where God threw an audible?

Filed Under: Parenting, The Ones about Jules Life {Randomness} Tagged With: 3 under 3, are they twins, blessings, Duggar's, God's plan, Jeremiah 29:11, OCD, the baby bunch

(In)courage

June 19, 2011 by Jules Leave a Comment

"“Where two or more get together in My name I’m there too,” promised Jesus.

And I don’t think cyberspace is excluded." - incourage.me

One of the blog sites I love to ready almost daily is incourage. Today, their post was How can we pray for you? Amazing! As Christian's in blogging communities, shouldn't we be offering this opportunity more often?!? Thank you women of incourage for challenging me today as well as giving me the chance to seek partnership in praying for my thorns!

~~~

Many of you already know how you can be praying for me and my family this week but just incase you don't, this is our request at the moment:

This week my husband and I are struggling through making 2 out of what God has made one. No, we are not getting divorce! My hubby is a youth pastor and is away at summer camp for a little over a week leaving me in my failed attempt at being a single parent. I do have great loving support and help but it’s just not the same as having your literal other half there for that steady routine and irreplaceable hugs at the end of the day.
My 3 babes are all under 3, the oldest will be 3 Wednesday during camp, the next is almost 1.5 year old, and the youngest is 5 month old. At this age they almost all require, desire 1 on 1 time (at least at some point during the day). We made an hour and 1/2 trip today to see him for Father's Day and will again for Maggie's birthday. TOUGH all the way around!
I’m assuming most of you reading this totally understand what kinds of stresses come with this situation and know how to pray for me (probably better than I do myself).
Thanks for this opportunity to share this request and in advance for lifting me and my family up to The Father on Father’s Day!

~~~

Leave your prayer request as a comment. Before you do, please take a moment to read, pray for, and respond to the prayer request before yours. Let’s love on each other, friends.

Filed Under: Being a Help-Meet, Parenting, The Ones about Jules Life {Randomness}, The ones about the Rothacher Home Tagged With: 3 under 3, blogging communities, christians, Father's Day, incourage.me, prayer, routine, summer camp, super summer, The Father, youth pastor

31 Days to Clean: Day #22-26 Mary Challenges

May 26, 2011 by Jules Leave a Comment

31 Days to Clean Having a Martha House the Mary way

Day 22 – Developing a Workable Schedule

Mary Challenge: Write out a realistic routine for your family- something basic-and put it in a place where everyone can see it.

Ok, I have tracked our day in attempt to figure out where the gaps are that need more structure. We are good about simple parts of our routine like breakfast, lunch, dinner, 3 different nap schedule, and simple daily/nightly chores (dishes, laundry, pick up around the house) but there are definitely more gaps during the day where we could be getting a lot more accomplished! I'd like to set 1 day a week for grocery shopping and errands as well as more structure play with the kids which in turn will hopefully help us get naps in and keep the "mamma, come play with me" to a minimume...maybe ;o) Post a schedule soon but I'm also working on excel budget to make our lives run smoother so, in time.

Day 23 – Dealing with Distractions

Mary Challenge:What distracts you on most days? What can you do to lessen the distraction?

I think feeling the need to be "doing" something all day distracts me. The word tells me that as a stay-at-home mom I don't have a real job and therefore I spend my days doing things that maybe will justify me to the word. Now, isn't that stupid. Even typing just now, I can't believe my brain even goes there but it does, most days. I run in circles attempting to clean things, organize, do yard work, run errands, shower, look nice, dress my chill'ns, basically- accomplish something just like the rest of the world.

WRONG! I know the truth is that I, as a christian who is now living her life for Jesus, is not supposed to seek the world's approval. Way easier said than done most days. Just ask my husband...or maybe don't... I can talk a big game in the car while we are having a discussion on a subject I'm passionate about or maybe one I don't struggle with but when I'm faced with people "liking" me, I cave like a powdered sugar castle. I hate that about myself.

There it is in all of its awkward confession glory. BUT here is what I am continuing to strive for. I do want to accomplish somethings the world also considers worthy of my time but I am Also going to pour more quality time into the eternal souls God has blessed me with. Most days I don't feel like I am their best option but apparently God did. So, how am I going to strive to meet HIS standards? I'll attempt to improve my relationship with my hubby and kiddos everyday. Some days I will fail but if I don't try at all then I'm destined to fail.

Day 24 – Organization

Mary Challenge: Pick one hot-spot in your house and do something to bring about order. It doesn’t have to be huge. Maybe you should figure out how to keep track of bills and school forms. Maybe you should just put a pretty bowl by the door to keep track of your car keys.

If we've spent any time at all together (virtually or in person) you Know I love organization! Even what I like to call ghetto organization aka organization on a tight budget. For me, this challenge wasn't simple. I feel like the bulk of my house is orderly so this sent me to my evil "Monica Closet" which sent chills down my back. The dreaded closet. See more about this huge task in 31DtC: 22-26 Martha Challenges .

Day 25 –The High-Low Cycle

Mary Challenge: Pay attention to the times of the month when you have more energy and are motivated to clean. Get a calendar and spend three months writing how you feel each day; after that time see if you notice a pattern. Perhaps you can better prepare for your days if you know what’s coming.

Well, 3 months hasn't passed but I am working on "charting my nesting", as I'm calling it.

Day 26 – Laundry

Mary Challenge: Find a laundry system that works for you and your family. Perhaps you will take on one of the above tips, or come up with your own.

So far, the best laundry system I've found for my family is to include it in my chores Every Night! We make our girls clean up ALL their toys before they go to nap and bed. Everything has a general place it goes and even Izzie (~16 months old) knows where things go and can follow "on" shelf or "in" basket commands. Do what works for you family but in ours: Matt does bath with the girls and while he is doing that I start at least 1 load of laundry. I always do at least 1 large load a night. I keep the machine set on COLD, use a color catcher (which I should take out stock in), and I through Everything in that fits. The rest of my nightly routine includes, but is not limited to, collecting all the dishes that hadn't made it into the dishwasher yet and start it. Then I try to sweep and/or vacuum downstairs/living areas (every other day if I didn't get to during the day).

I'd LOVE your feedback! Leave a comment and let's see if we can get a dialog going about some of this. We and combined forces and take over the world, muhahaha...Ummm, I mean...at least conquer this "managing our families/homes" task we've been blessed with.