Our Crazy Life

     So there's a reason I chose the name, Crazy Clower Clan for my blog title. It seems that no matter what happens in life, I can always count on our craziness to humor me. And this summer has been no exception! It's kind of been one of those, laugh, trust God to see us through or we're likely to go completely, certifiably, live in an asylum kind of crazy! Our summer started off with our oldest leaving to go work at a church camp for the summer, which made me totally proud, yet completely sad at the same time. And of course, Bryan has been working a lot, (and nights at that!) which means that I spend a lot of time at home. Alone. With our three youngest children. A 9 year old with limited mobility, a 4-year old that always manages to get on my very last nerve and a rambunctious 2-year old boy. I'm not complaining, they definitely keep me entertained & we've had some great one on one time. They sometimes drive me crazy, but more than that are all of those wonderful little I love you's & random hugs & lots & lots of cuddles! I'm trying to remember to focus on all the affection these little one's give me since my oldest thinks he's too big to love on his mamma the same way ;)
     After about a month of pretty much constant summer chaos, we decided to make a trip to Sacramento to visit a dear friend over 4th of July weekend. It was my cousin, my 3 youngest & myself. Bryan had to work & I desperately needed my friend! The trip there was relatively smooth until we arrived. When we unloaded Katie's wheelchair, her control panel with the buttons was gone off of her joystick. After a slight, "what the heck are we gonna do?!," we discovered that beaters off of a hand mixer worked great to operate the chair. I was able to turn it on & off by pushing those onto the electronics. So we had a good laugh about having to carry those around in my purse & couldn't, for the life of us, come up with a better solution. So our weekend began. The next day, we were headed to the store, kids & wheelchair in tow, and I hit a speed bump a little harder than I meant to. Not major, just a little harder. We hear a loud crash & I smell something hot, almost like breaks so we stop, in the middle of the road & jump out of the truck. The wheelchair lift broke!! With a 300 pound wheelchair strapped to it!! I was beginning to think I should have just stayed home, but luckily, my cousin & I figured it out. We got the wheelchair off the truck, with about 15 cars driving around us & nobody bothering to offer to help us. She pushed the chair back to the house & I drove to pick her up. Thank goodness for Google! I found a machine shop, got directions & went to get the lift repaired! And since the key to the hitch pin was on my other keys in Porterville, I couldn't just drop the lift off. We had to wait for about 2 hours while it was being fixed. But we managed & it got done! We felt accomplished for being women & children & problem solving all by ourselves! Lol! The rest of the trip went off without a hitch...except when, at the capital building, security needed to look inside my purse to see what the funny shaped item on the x-ray machine was. (Don't forget about the beaters we were using to operate the chair) After a wonderful, full, fulfilling weekend of friendship. love, laughs & lots of visiting, we headed home. That trip was significantly uneventful, other than rocking out to music on my phone & cracking up when Paisley started doing Katie's dance moves to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. In her sleep!! See? Those kids keep me so entertained! Oh yeah! And AFTER we arrived home, I brilliantly realized that I could have used a screwdriver, allen wrenches, bobby pins, etc. to operate Katie's wheelchair. But that wouldn't have been nearly as funny as the beaters! I will never forget the beaters!! After getting home, all was going pretty well. The kids & I took a trip to the mountains to visit Roman, Bryan & I took the little ones to the beach for a day trip, and that's about all we've had time for.
    And then last week came. Way back at the beginning of March, our well had gone dry. We were hooked up to my in-laws water and waiting for a water tank from the county that never arrived. Last week, we lost our water supply, again and we were still nowhere with a tank. Finally, a friend pulled through for us & the situation has been rectified. We should be receiving a pressurized water tank next week, which seems like so far away, but it's much better than what it has been! I'm so thankful for so many friends & family who have brought us lots of water, paper goods, etc & they have truly been God sent! And even though we're doing ok on water at the moment, it has not been easy! We have to shower & do laundry at my moms, which gives us a reason to go hang out with her, but it is definitely not the same as being able to just run a household normally. I've been potty training Levi, which he's been doing great at, but we've had a few accidents and I had to go back to pull ups at bedtime, just to not have to wash his bedding twice a week. I avoid cooking because I don't want to use the water we have for dishes, I would much rather be able to flush. I feel like we're camping, but in our home. And I don't love camping, so needless to say, I haven't been the happiest mom/wife! The kids taught me a song today, randomly, from Daniel Tiger & now I have it stuck in my head & I need to use it. "When you get so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath & count to four! 1-2-3-4!" Maybe it was them telling me to be better about keeping my cool. I don't know, but I do know that I'm happy my kids are so easy going. They just roll with the punches & don't even realize that anything is any different. I told Bryan the other day that I don't even think the kids realize we don't have any water. They're clean, fed, happy & very well taken care of. Their needs are met & since it doesn't inconvenience them, I guess that means I'm doing my job ;) I was straightening up in the bathroom yesterday & replenishing water, and when I walked in the living room the door was open and Levi was outside. I asked him what he was doing & he said, "Levi peepee yard!" This was the day after he decided to pee in the yard at a friends house, During a birthday party...I guess he's trying to help us conserve water? Or he's just acting like a boy who lives in the country & he just really likes peeing in the yard. Either way, it makes me laugh!
     Since we've been out of water, Katie's electric wheelchair finally gave up completely & it's completely out of commission, waiting on insurance stuff & then approval for parts. She hasn't been happy about losing her mobility & I haven't been happy about that, either. Night shift is certainly taking it's toll on our marriage. We never see each other, it's hard to sleep during the day, everyone is stressed out, cranky & tired when we do actually see each other & it seemed like there was no end in sight. However, Bryan will be going to day shift this weekend (as long as his schedule holds out)! I am so, unbelievably happy about this news!!! It will make a world of difference to have daddy at home again in the evenings. The kids will know when they get to see him again, he will have daylight left before he goes to bed and be able to get things done & we will actually feel somewhat normal again. I hope! Through all of the trials we've been facing lately, I continue to trust in God. I know He shines stronger in our weaknesses & I feel like I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. This year has brought so many changes in our family, both good & bad. It's been a year since my first blog post where I first shared our story, which you can read here http://crazyclowers.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-story.html It has been a year since Katie received her power wheelchair, a year since we ran out of water the FIRST time (this is the third time in a year!), 8 months since we received our surprise little blessing, Levi, 6-months since we lost my grandma, 4-months since I had my hysterectomy. It's definitely been a year full of ups and downs, and although I try to keep a smile on my face & be strong through it all, it is not without Gods grace that I manage to even get through. Some days are harder than others & all I can say is, I'm trying. I sometimes miss the peacefulness we had before we had 2 toddlers in the house, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! Some of these stages that we're going through, we skipped over with Roman & Katie, so Paisley & Levi are breaking us in pretty good! And oh my goodness, are they doing their job well! Lol! As Roman gets older and we still have a 2 year old in the house, I sometimes wonder what I was thinking. But I do now know, without a doubt, that we are done having children. I feel like Paisley & Levi are almost like a 2nd family since they are so much younger than the other 2. As much as I love the kiddos being young, I truly do look forward to the older stages of their lives as well. Bryan & I celebrated 18 years of marriage last month & I'm looking forward to what the next 18 years will bring us. I find myself looking forward to having grown children, grandchildren, a husband who is home more often & us being able to travel & do things together, just the two of us. I miss him. I miss him being at work all the time, I miss having him to myself, I miss having my own life to myself. Lol! And I may catch some flack for saying those things, but it's true. I do enjoy the stage we are at now, but it is definitely a difficult one. We seem to be at odds more often than not and we are completely going in different directions most of the time. It will be interesting to see what God has in store for the next 20 years. So with that being said, we will continue to be the Crazy Clower Clan & I will continue these wonderful adventures of child rearing & I will continue to find the humor in each day that I'm blessed with these wonderful little people who take up all my time, invade all of my privacy & demand my constant attention. Because truth be told, there's nothing else I would rather be doing.