Our crazy life

I managed to cook dinner Monday night for the first time in what has felt like months!! Things in the Clower house have been on an entirely different level of hectic, stressful, busy, chaotic...whatever you want to call it. I feel like my head has been spinning & sometimes, when I look at my calendar, I wonder where I'm going to get the energy to keep up with it 😳 I'm blessed to have a hard working husband & a house full of active, healthy, busy kiddos. I'm exhausted, but I remember a time that I yearned for this life & it was out of reach. Nine years ago, the Raya family headed to Ukraine to bring our boys home for good & our lives changed forever! A few days after they left, we got a phone call about a sweet little girl for us to meet to see if she was a fit for our family. I held my precious Katie in my arms for the first time & fell head over heels in love with that chubby faced, perfectly sweet, smiley little girl! Five weeks later, the Raya's came home & we picked Roman up at the airport in LA & we became a family of four, what seemed like overnight. It was pretty amazing!! Now, we're a family of 6, the kids are growing like crazy & keeping us so busy with their various activities. And by us, I mean me, usually ;) Bryan worked all of last week until super late every day because he was working a case, Levi ran a fever off & on all week, the other kids had various appointments & activities. The one day Bryan made it home on time, we were each going in different directions & didn't see each other anyway. Monday night he was home by 6:30 & of course, I had to take the kids to a 4-H meeting. I was running late because when I went in for a smooch goodbye, I couldn't bring myself to leave his embrace. I miss him so much when he works so much! I'm hoping to get in a much needed vacation once fair & dance recitals are over & before Katie has her next surgery. Oh, did I forget to mention that? Amid the chaos, Katie had an ortho appointment & she has to have the tendon in her right leg released again, in hopes of legthening it & straightening her out. Along with that, the dr is going to take the hardware out of both of her hips. It sounds like a lot, but it's not a major surgery. No strenuous activity for 6 weeks because the bone has to heal after having the plate & screws taken out, but other than that, she should be good to go. It's nerve wracking, of course & I don't have all the details, all I know is that I didn't want to do it right now when we have so much going on, when SHE has so much going on. She's a busy girl these days & she loves every minute of it!! Roman has been staying super busy, too. 4-H has been great for him! He loves shooting sports & archery & he has a few competitions coming up this month that he's super excited about. He failed his eye exam at DMV last week, so that's how I discovered that he's near sighted & needs glasses. He'll be going in a couple of weeks to take his written test & his paperwork from the eye dr & if he passes, he'll get his permit! He's so excited to start driving & I'm looking forward to having a "chauffeur" for 6 months ;) Paisley talks about starting kindergarten ALL the time & she loves to sing. She's looking forward to their next dance recital, since the stage calls her name ;) Levi is mammas sweet little prince & as happy & active as every other 3 year old. Our lives are still in quite the "adjustment" period since finalizing everyone's adoptions. We received the boys' social security cards the other day, so our whole family is Clower on every legal document there is!! They were already official, but now they're official on EVERYTHING! That's a good feeling, especially after all the trouble with immigration paperwork! :) Bryan is loving his position as a Violent Crimes Detective and it's wonderful having him home in the evenings and on weekends (some of the time, anyway). Except when he calls me as he's leaving work everyday & asks what's for dinner because he's starving. He's spoiled & wants dinner as soon as he gets home, but when he's on call or working a case, I never know WHEN he's going to get home. So that creates a little frustration, plus I'm busy with the kids, myself, yet he wants dinner NOW. Men!! ;) lol!! My ThirtyOne business is booming. I'm very close to promoting to director & I was hoping it would happen this month, but as busy as I've been with family obligations, I'm just not sure it will. But that's ok! It'll happen when the time is right & that makes me pretty excited :) I love the company, I love the sisterhood that is known as the pink bubble, I love getting to spend time with other women & making new friends, and I love celebrating & encouraging other women! Plus, the bags are beautiful, useful & a great quality ;) I could not have chosen a better direct sales company to be a part of.
We've hit quite a few rough patches over the last few months, but we're making it through. It has been pure survival mode lately, but such is life! It's a beautiful mess :) As usual, we find help in Gods word when dealing with any situation. Matthew 6:34 says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" I am far from a "perfect" Christian, I make mistakes every single day, but I would NOT be able to get by without God by my side. As these days have been so busy & we've dealt with so much sadness, loss, & grief, it's a good reminder to not worry about tomorrow. I will continue to seek Gods kingdom above all else & let tomorrow worry about itself. Have a great day :)