I Just Want You to Know Read Free Page B

I pray that firm convictions will define you, and that you will always take an uncompromising stand for what you believe. I dream for you a happy and fulfilling life, career, and family. I’ll be there, Cara, in whatever capacity is most helpful to you.
    Love forever and always, no matter what,
Mommy

2
SCHEDULING TODDLERS
    As far as space goes, the move to our Elizabethtown house was long overdue. For quite some time we had been bursting at the seams in our Dauphin Avenue house, so this move was not only logistically and financially smart (Jon’s commute would decrease from ninety minutes to twenty minutes), it was going to give us the space we needed in order to breathe easier.
    Once in our new house, however, we took note of the many pitfalls and dangers the house contained. One example was the huge flight of stairs that led to the kids’ rooms. After I visualized trying to catch six toddlers tumbling down the stairs at once, we realized that our first task in this new house was to teach the little kids how to safely go up and down the stairs. So we began what we called stair lessons. “First, sit on your heinies,” I said, demonstrating, “with your feet out in front like this. Then keep your hands next to you and slowly slide down one step at a time.”
    Even though this seemed like the safest method, I was still afraid of a domino effect. If one kid tripped or slipped on the stairs, he could literally take out everybody else. So during the lessons, I would stand halfway in the middle of the stairs, filled with fear that this could be really bad, and do my best to guide all six of them, twenty-two-month-olds sitting on their cushy diapers and bumping down the steps.
    Aaden, Alexis, Joel, and Collin climbing the stairs. We climbed up and “bumped” down.
    Navigating steps was at the top of the list of things to do, but organizing the basement playroom was important too. Cleanup, as every parent knows, is extremely frustrating. Everybody makes the mess, nobody owns the mess, and nobody wants to clean up the mess. Every single day. Two or three times a day. And with my myriad of children, I wanted to make cleanup as easy as possible. Even though the little kids were only two, I knew they could help with this task.
    We put up huge open shelving along an entire wall in the basement. I took pictures of what belonged in each basket and hung photos on the front of the containers, so everyone knew what belonged where and could help…or so I hoped.
    With eight young kids, we generated more laundry than you can imagine, so we needed to install our own Laundromat of sorts. Theoriginal laundry room had a closet with accordion doors. We removed them, put up shelving and racks for drying clothes, and installed a utility sink. Most important, we had two sets of washers and dryers. When the front loading washers were first installed, they provided hours of entertainment. The kids watched in amazement as their clothes spun around and around.
    Because the room led to the back deck, we also used it as a mudroom. When the kids got dirty playing outside, we could bring them into the laundry room to remove their muddy clothes, clean them up in the sink, and send them upstairs to take a bath. I could easily sweep the sticks, mud, leaves, garbage, and whatever else they tracked in, right back outside. (Yes, I did allow them to play in the mud.)
    All-day entertainment! The little kids watch as their clothing is washed in our new washing machines.
    Stair lessons. Basement organization. Our own Laundromat. Moving in, we made this house work for us. And though it was a simple time, it was very fulfilling for us. We were busy, but because we stuck to our schedules, Jon and I worked well together as a team. With eight kids, we had to learn what worked best for us, but we were handling everything together.
    During the first year of the little kids’ lives, before we moved to Elizabethtown, many volunteers helped us. But now Jon and I were