Three Times the Fun

Louise.

Selah.

Theo.

These 3 bring so much joy and laughter to our home.

While one of them is rarely seen without the other two, I don't often spend time with all three at once.  Usually I'm pulling one or two away for school or to go on an outing.

This week I decided to shake things up a little bit.

I had a few groceries I needed to pick up at a store in the mall yesterday so I decided to make a trip out of it and took all three of them with me for lunch and shopping.

While we had a blast, I definitely have way more respect for moms with multiple young children and understand now why sometimes it is just too much work to get them all out of the house!

It was quite exhausting.

All three of them can walk but not all with the same amount of speed and balance.  We were quite a sight as the four of us paraded through the mall, Selah holding one of my hands and Theo on the other side between me and Louise.  We had more than a few little tumbles and the escalators were extra comical :P

We went to McDonald's for lunch and I learned it pays to go places with cute little children!  We ordered a bunch of chicken nuggets and fries to share and got 3 bonus sets of drinks, McAloo Tikki burgers (potato patty burgers), and Happy Meal toys for free.  There was more food than we could eat and everyone was too full for me to go through with my plan to get ice cream afterwards!

After lunch we went down to get our groceries and the kids were so cute and helpful.  Louise helped me push the cart all around the store, Theo wanted to help put everything inside, and Selah just oooed and ahhhed at everything she saw.  A giant pink teddy bear caught her eye and she kept asking if we could take it with us.

We got some chocolate bars to make up for the missed ice cream and I arrived home with three exhausted children with big chocolate grins on their cute little faces.  I'd say the trip was a success!

This afternoon I knew I wasn't going to have time to get to work with all the kids so instead of doing a tiny bit of rushed school with each of the three little ones, we just had a group home economics class!

First they washed their lunch boxes from school like they do each afternoon.  They've gotten so good at it now I don't have to help or even oversee anymore - they do it all on their own.

Then we worked on following verbal instructions, fine motor skills, waiting turns, and serving others first by making the afternoon snack for all 12 kids.

Making a smoothie for Brianna was by far the biggest hit.  The screams and laughter when I turned the blender on were priceless!

It took much longer than it would have for me to do it on my own but was so much fun doing it together.  It was also really good for the kids.

I sometimes forget how young the three of them actually are (especially Theo and Louise).  They are so bright and responsible for their age.

I think that has caused me to have incredibly high standards for them.  Somehow though they almost always rise to those standards.  They never cease to amaze me.

I need times like these though that remind me they are still little kids.  While holding them to high standards is good and pushing them to their fullest potential is important, I can sometimes forget they need time to just be little kids as well.  There is also more learning they need that can't be taught in a classroom and doesn't come easy in a home like this with so many children and so many needs.

I am grateful for the times I can give them those things and just enjoy them where they are at.

I know they will be grown up way too soon.

I am so grateful for these three unexpected additions to our little family, each with their own unique story and gifts.

I can't wait for them to go home to their forever families and pray every day we will see that happen soon.

These three have incredibly bright futures and I know God has some huge plans in store for them.

I am beyond blessed to know Theo, Louise, and Selah and am so grateful God has chosen me to be a little part of what He has planned for their lives.

This home wouldn't be the same without them.

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