Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Thoughts on Two Months with a Six Pack o' Kids...

Kids better be prepared to step up their pic taking game as the infamous family Christmas card pic taking session will be upon us... 


So we are two months in with six kids. 

Trying to let that sink in. 

Two months with six kids. 

So what's is like? A lot of the same as it was with five just with a little baby who happens to want to eat every so often. Life didn't stop when J came. We were showered with gifts and meals by family and friends so that made transitioning from five to six a bit easier but school, soccer, swim, AHG, church, choir, work, life continued as if J had been here the whole time. 

In some ways it feels like he's been here the whole time but obviously that's not the case. He's a good baby. I like him - well actually I love him but he really is great. He wakes up 2ish times a night to eat. He is a great companion going to work. He tolerates all the shuffling of big sibs. He has already touched our lives (and others) in ways only God knew we needed. In his first two months he lost that newborn look (or at least I think) about 2.5 weeks ago. He's not wearing NB clothes anymore - always a tough one to throw those clothes back in the bin. He's had his posterior tongue tie lasered in Chapel Hill - that was an ordeal for sure. 

Life is busy. Life is good. Life is seemingly normal with him around. Life has been crazy the last two months and it is funny that the 2 months preceding his birth mirrored the 2 months following his birth in some really crazy ways - one (of many examples) the Safelite guy came to our house this month to repair (thank goodness it was not replace!) the van windshield because on the way back from Chapel Hill we got a nice not-so-little ding from a flying rock. 

Crazy I tell you, but pretty standard operating procedure around these parts. 

So I guess the great question that is in everyone's mind and has only been articulated by a few is... Are you done? Will there be more Kibbe kids? 

To that I'd just a soon shrug and laugh and say 'it is possible' or 'maybe' or 'it is not just up to us'. 

Lee and I were recently reflecting on some old pics of the kids and what ifs. What if it was only the big girls? What if it was only the little three? What if it was 1, 3 and 5 what if it was 2, 4 and 6? How different would our life look? 



It certainly would look quite different - in some ways - but maybe not a whole lot. I'd like to think the better question is, who would we not have met? Who could I possibly imagine our lives without? Could I do without? E, my clear firstborn? R, my quiet, happy girl? M, my coulda been firstborn who is just too sneaky? A, my first boy? C, my wild child? J, my newest boy? 

I don't think I can pick one or two or three that I could possibly imagine life without. 


"Therefore, couples should really trust in God and let Him decide to call into existence a new human person and a new possible citizen of heaven. Why limit the number of citizens of heaven? Why not have more citizens of heaven, who for all eternity will see God, love, adore, and glorify Him?"           - Bishop Athananius Schneider, Christ's Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age


Friday, November 1, 2019

Many Happy Returns!



Eleven years?

Eleven years.

ELEVEN YEARS!

As we were sitting on the couch last night after a wild night of trick-or-treating with the kids, we couldn't help but think about what were were doing 11 years ago. The answer was wrapping up our rehearsal dinner and nervously, getting ready for a fun, action-packed wedding day.

But eleven years. In some ways it feels like a million years ago. As in, I've been married for a third of my lifetime! So much has happened. Jobs, moves, kids, trips. How can so many memories fit into eleven years?

But eleven years in other ways has flown by. Sometimes, I have to think about how old I am and that I didn't just graduate from Carolina 2 years ago - it was 11 years ago. I'm 33, not 23. I happen to have the grey hair to prove it too but I like to think that it's my wisdom showing.

I don't know that I have a whole lot of wisdom to share - that other people haven't already articulated way more eloquently than I. But I will say a few things:

A few (of many) keys to a grace-filled marriage:

+ let the Holy Spirit work through your marriage. If you put your selfish and worldly desires aside and let the Holy Spirit in, He will work in ways you never thought were possible.

+ have fun. There is some much to the daily grind and distractions and stuff, but marriage is a fun, wild ride so enjoy it.

+ sometimes it is best to just not say anything. Listen and think and consider the other person before speaking or acting. Some of the biggest misunderstandings come from immediate, emotional responses that are in-the-moment and if you take a moment or two to cool off, it can make a world of a difference.

To close, I feel so incredibly blessed that God put Lee in my life and we got on this marriage train together. I hands down, love the life I am living and while people may see all our kids and think the kids are our life - our marriage is our life. Our kids, our arrows, our olives, are here because of our marriage. We were first so when we do have an occasional dinner and we can reconnect without the kids, we catch a glimpse of what life was like without them. So much of our marriage (in our current season of parenting) is sacrificing for the sake of the kids but I suppose at some point in the unforeseeable future the house will empty out and it will be just us. Then we will be sacrificing in new ways but always for the other and always to glorify God.

This is definitely not the path I envisioned for myself but I absolutely love life. Are there things I don't like, yes of course. But when I take a step back and consider the man who is by my side and our kids who teach us, and force us to grow and think deeper and be better - it takes my breath away and I am forever grateful.