Just Another Ordinary Day

I forced my eyes to open as this little babe sleeping on my bosom starts tossing and turning. The older brother rolls beside me and whispers, "Mommy, morning na!" I peeked at my phone, it's 7:00AM, the usual time when these human alarm clocks wake us up. As expected, Mike will soon ask me to turn on the light.

As the kids start giggling and teasing each other, I lay beside Mike and hug him from behind. Later on, the little one pushes his way between us demanding that we hug him too. Soon the big brother joins in, and we end up with laughters and tickles under the thin blanket. I love mornings like these. Slow and peaceful. There is no reason to rush, no reason to interrupt our snuggles. This is how our morning begins nowadays. I couldn't be more thankful.

Shiko starts with his sweet prayer. "LORD, help me to obey so that I will not be spanked, and I will have a long, full life, a blessed life so I can be a blessing to many, many people!" Followed with some of of his random thoughts, thanking God for our food, asking God to protect us from the virus. When Shiloh seems cooperative, we also guide him to pray, "LORD, protect me from untog, untog... from dapa, dapa..." After them, Mike and I would also say our prayers out loud. Ours are longer and more specific of course -- thanksgiving, seeking for direction, protection, and provision. After our prayer, it's time for Shiko and I to read the devotion from our Family Picture Bible. As soon as we are settle to read, Shiloh would start grabbing the book from my hand and would cry hysterically when I won't give it to him. Mike would take him out of the room so we can focus.

Shiko comes out of the room very enthusiastic to re-tell our devotion to his Dad. He starts talking as I start preparing our breakfast. It's either pancakes with cinnamon syrup and bananas, or wheat bread with peanut butter. Both are Shiko's favorites. Even just a few minutes at breakfast equates to a lot of mess, especially when you're on BLW with a toddler. I clean up the toddler, while Mike cleans up the mess. 

I take Shiloh to the playroom and I start preparing for Shiko's "school time." Our homeschool space is just a tiny corner in the kids' playroom. The playpen serves its purpose well because we couldn't allow the toddler to wreck the school supplies cart. We don't really do formal lessons yet during our homeschool. Most of the time, it's just memorizing verses, coloring, matching, cutting, or just doing the play-based activity for the day. Shiloh gets crazy whenever he sees us on the other side of the fence, so he'll try to climb... or he'll shout and cry because he wants to join in. I'll give him toys, or whatever I can grab to distract him, but few seconds later, he'll throw them back at me and cry even louder. All of these while Shiko and I are trying to get through just 15-minutes of school time. That 15 minutes is enough to drain all the calories that I had from breakfast, and all the patience that I begged from God during our prayer time. 😂 And this happens every.single.day.

I am blessed to have a husband who helps out with our household chores. While Shiloh takes his nap around 10am (he still loves to sleep on my chest), Mike cooks our lunch. He's been enjoying cooking for us since the pandemic began, and the kids and I love almost all the dishes that he cooks for us. Shiloh wakes up just in time for lunch. We eat lunch, clean up the mess, and bathe the kids. The rest of the afternoon is free time to bond, to play and to read stories. Shiko looks forward to this because it's his "tickle time" with Daddy when Mike is not busy. Shiko always tells me that this is his favorite part of the day! "Mommy, pwede ba tayong maglaro?" Shiko says this countless times throughout the day, as if we haven't been playing for the last 3 hours! 😂 

Dinner is served at 5pm and the kids are already asleep (most of the time) by 7pm. Mike's online classes usually starts around the same time. Lights off! I have two hours to spend for myself before Shiloh wakes up to nurse, or to look for me because he wants to sleep on top of my chest. This two hours is so precious to me so I am very careful in deciding what to do with it. My top priority is to spend time in God's Word, I can't live without it, it has always been my lifeline. I spend the rest of the time reading a book, or browsing social media. I try to sleep before 11pm because I need at least 8hrs so I won't feel groggy the following day. It's hard to keep up with the kids' energy when I am sleep deprived. 

Earlier this year, I was supposed to launch my own clothing brand, but CoVid happened and it didn't push through. I also planned to apply for a writing job, but Mike didn't allow me. I realized that though there are so many things that I want to do.. so many dreams that I want to fulfill, for now, I am just exactly where God wants me to be. Here, in the mundane, in the ordinary days, God is accomplishing more than what I can see with my own eyes. With every diaper changed, every meal shared, every song and dance, every story read.. every comforting words after a meltdown, every hug and kiss after a painful discipline, every answer to endless questions... everytime my body aches because the little one wanted to be rocked the whole night while sleeping, every night that I lie awake feeling guilty because I feel that I could have given more -- God is doing a great work in the little hearts of my children, every.single.time.

I sit here in the dark, cold, room, watching my children sleep... thanking God for His grace that sustained me once again. Tomorrow will be another day... I rest in the promise that wherever I lack, He will always fill in. Every season is a gift, and I choose to embrace the gift of this season. ❤