Gumby Times 5

Life is so unpredictable! I have been learning that more in the last 6 years than ever. But recently I have had to step it up a notch.
We have had to leave town at the drop of a hat twice in the last few weeks, which is a bit of a struggle with 5 kids and pets. But God has been teaching me that giving up my plans, schedule, and working on being flexible is a great thing for not only me, but our children as well.
Its a heck of a lot of work to pack for 7 people and a dog. And if you are as anal as me when it comes to a clean house, then I MUST clean up before we leave. That includes clean beds for all, house vacuumed, bathrooms clean, EVERY toy in its place...and so on.
But after talking to a few different people with less kids than we have I have come to realize the craziness of 5 young kids in itself has made my kids very flexible. Which I am grateful for. They have had no problem being thrown in the car, sleeping in strange places, being left with people they don't see all that often, and eating crackers, cheese and meat for lunch with a few Cheerios on the side. They just seem to go with flow and not be out of sorts. I don't get it...cause that is not me. I am organized I keep my kids on schedules and I don't ever feed them a meal without at least a fruit.
So lesson learned....my kids are like Gumby no matter how much twists and turns come their way they just adjust to the new "new". I am going to try that approach to life...but with a plan in place of course!