Linking up to Black and White Wednesday

I’m sitting on our red recliner in our living room as I type this.

Dad is at work, Mom is picking up Cecilia from school and I’m home watching the kids.

The floor is strewn with toys and coats and random objects like a bike tire pump and a blanket.

School papers and books clutter the dining room table and bowls of half-eaten soup sit on the kitchen counters.

Half of the Christmas decorations are down and away but the boxes for the other half sit haphazardly on the couch and table in the family room. 

Rose, dressed up in a peach colored dress layered over her bright yellow hoodie, is talking in her “princess” voice and twirling about the house. 

Joey, being the destructive 1 year old that he his,  is walking around with a plastic salad bowl full plastic silverware that he dumped out of the pantry earlier.

I look over and notice one of the cats is curled up asleep on the piano bench which has been pushed against the living room couch.

Benny, carrying his wooden hammer that came with his tool set, walks into the room, talking to himself.

Me: “Benny, what are you doing?”
Benny: “Playing a game”
Me: “Oh! What are you doing in your game?”
Benny: “Rescuing the princess from the evil dragons and bad guys”

Of course! I knew that hammer had a purpose, how could I have missed that it was for defending the princess?

A little while later the kids find the cookie stash and I see their guilty faces covered in white frosting and cookie crumbs.

I can’t call out to stop because I’m sick and currently don’t have a voice. So I get up, walk over,take the cookies away and send them downstairs to watch a movie.

Because it’s too rainy, windy and cold to send them outside.

This is the real deal. The part of family life that usually gets left out.

But despite the many days like today, big families are wonderful. Homeschooling is wonderful. Really 🙂 Sure we may not be the cleanest house, and we certainly aren’t the quietest house and we may not have the best children award, but we have love. Lots and lots of it. And for every sad cry, angry yell and toy on the floor there are twice as many joyful laughs, “I”m sorry”s, and hugs.

Because this is family life. And it’s good. Really good.

(I went outside to take pictures outdoors for the first time in weeks. I’ll share more of my photos in another post)

Linking up this photo to Sweet Violet’s Photography Challenge

~Mary Kate
Linking up this post to Project Alicia:WW