It's just not the holidays until someone cries

Thanksgiving officially kicks off our families crazy holiday mad dash for the new year. I started a tradition a while ago to count a blessing everyday leading up to the new year so that I can take a moment and remember that all this insanity is worth it. It's worth it dangit!!!!! Every year it's the same story with my husband's ex and every year I have to run around playing peace maker and smoothing ruffled feathers between my husband and the rest of the world. What i'm saying is it's stressful folks! This year we have the added bonus of dealing with a close personal friends breast cancer and divorce from her husband. Well we found out about all of this months ago and it's just been ongoing so I wouldn't say it started with the holiday season but ya know what did start with the holiday season? A little ditty that I'd like to dedicate to our blended family mess:

The 12 Days of holiday tears:

On the first day of Christmas the good Lord gave to me..
ONE angsty teenage girl

On the second day of Christmas the good Lord gave to me...
Two little boys who fight over everything

On the third day of Christmas the good Lord gave to me...
Three married couples on the brink of divorce

On the fourth day of Christmas the good Lord gave to me..
Four slammed doors and a husband cussing up a storm.

On the fifth day of Christmas the good Lord gave to me..
Five nights of crappy sleep

On the sixth day of Christmas the good Lord gave to me...
Six angry texts from my husbands ex.

On the seventh day of Christmas the good Lord gave to me...
seven deadlines for projects at work.

On the eighth day of Christmas the good Lord gave to me...
Eight little spats between my husband and me

On the ninth day of Christmas the good Lord gave to me..
Nine church obligations

On the tenth day of Christmas the good Lord gave to me...
Ten helping hands in the NA nursery

On the eleventh day of Christmas the good Lord gave to me..
Eleven phone calls to our attorney.

On the twelfth day of Christmas the the good Lord gave to me...
Twelve days of stress and anxiety

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Happy New Year. May your days be merry and your nights be free of worry. May the Lord bless you and Keep you and make his face to shine upon all the days of your lives.
Peace! I'm out!!!

Mixed and Matched?

I have a fellow blogger friend whose blog is Ebeth's four and no more. She blogs about her family of four children, ducks, horses, and her faith. I love to read her blogs and I've often wondered how she does it all without going insane. She's a mom whose passionate about education, family (you'll often here her say these moments are fleeting and memories are all you'll have), and her faith. I'm a mom whose passionate about education, family, and faith..you start see why we get along huh. One of the few differences between us is that I'm a bonus mommy and my husband had two children before we met then we had two children together. Cicircumstances, that would take a novel to explain, have kept our blended family in fragments for a while so I've never been able to identify with the "four and no more" until recently. Thanksgiving was my first experience with a family of six. I'd like to say that I handled it well but that would be lying. My mom was in town with my younger sister Lafon and they helped...a lot! I begin to wonder anew how my mother managed with seven children and an adult child for a husband. Once more she has been solidified in my eyes as a giant among women!

The first obstacle we had to over come with the "newly" acquired bonus son was transportation. We both have compact cars. I drive a Honda accord and he drives a Saturn. Now normally this is not a problem as we usually take the Honda when we go as a family which seats five but with six not so much. The next hurdle was "where is he going to sleep?". Thankfully Phillip had been given a fold out sofa for the family room downstairs, that's right folks God IS good! The next major obstacle was he came to us with NO CLOTHES!!! we have two sons together they are aged five and two years. Bonus son is 12 years old soooo no chance of those clothes fitting him ever! Now thanks some Christmas angels and really amazing St.Louis Mommie friend Kenisha we have a whole wardrobe for him from fall/winter and spring/summer...which brings us to physical obstacle number four. Where do you put two seasons of clothes when all the dressers and closet space are being used for the other three children that live there full time? Even with all of these obstacles I know that God will see us through it. Like I told my husband  I love to read the stories in the bible not so much living them. Especially not the prodigal son story! Lord I know you have a plan for my family a plan to prosper and not to harm...now if you could just help me remember that in the dark days ahead I'd be forever grateful.