Our village

I am so thankful for the many people who support our family. Our network of family and friends is vast and sacrificing. If it takes a village to raise a child, just think what it takes to raise 6 of them. While John and I are the primary caregivers and molders of our children, we can't be there all the time. Our children need godly mentors who model what Mom and Dad are teaching. They need confidants when they just need another person to bounce something off of. And on a mundane level, sometimes we just need another set of hands.

This is never more apparent than when, for whatever reason, John is out of town for a time. This week he has been at Regent University as part of his doctoral program. I don't know what it is about children and dad-free days, but they are just different all 24 hours of each and every day that Dad is gone. Take the time that John was leaving for a youth retreat. He was not out that door more than 5 minutes before Jesse threw up. Cleaning up this type of body fluid does not work for me. I am more likely to add to the mess. None-the-less, clean it up I had to do. That began a long weekend with sick children. This time it was the dog who decided to get sick right after John left. Tempers, meltdowns and clashes are also more frequent when he's gone. And the needs for our taxi service? A record-breaking week, I believe.

That's when others have been able to step in. Thank you to all of you for your willingness to help out in a bind. You are very appreciated. What are you doing this time next year? Keep the dates open. I'll be in the same place once again.