In our house the younger half are called "little people". They graduate into "big people" at around age 10, however this will only work as long as the Lord keeps filling our quiver :) otherwise sooner or later everybody will be "big people". And while "big people" are fun, there is something special about "little people".

This past couple weeks we have been sorting clothes, wow what a job! The only time I have ever felt like an overwhelmed mother was one year when the time to sort clothes came. Then for some odd reason I counted how many feet there were in our family and multiplied it by seven days and nearly fainted at the thought of washing that many pairs of socks a week! Save yourself the trouble and don't do that. But as I was saying lately we have been sorting clothes. We have so many sizes and so many growing children that I just can't rationalize getting rid of much. so twice a year I send them to their closets to bring me all the clothes that no longer fit or are now out of season. We have good season changes here in TN. We then go through the many bins of clothes and get out what we need. We try to get rid of a lot as we go since we get so much given to us. I try to keep the same amount of bins and pass on the excess, otherwise we would be over-run. But, and it is a big BUT, stored clothes make me sneeze!! And then I get all stopped up for 2-3 days. My older daughters help out a tremendous amount and some years they have done almost the whole job but they don't weed out stuff like I do. So this year I decided to do my share. We got about half way done and I just knew I couldn't do anymore. So we stopped for a break....that lasted a week. That meant a whole week with a huge pile of clothing completely covering one couch. Now it isn't that big of a problem, we have a huge living room and a huge family room so there was plenty of seating space. But it was completely unusual, that is one thing I am a stickler for, no laundry just "hanging around". So Mercy thought it must be for her! After all it was around her birthday time. She just turned 3! She began to try everything on, and I mean everything. It could have been really annoying but she was having such a good time and learning so much! And boy did it keep her busy while the older ones were doing school. She would change her outfit sometimes 10-15 times a day. And between every one she would come to me and ask, "is this pretty?" "does this fit?" "is it size mine?" . You know that could have been annoying too, especially when she tried to put on a 6-9 month onesie. But the Lord began to speak to me about "little people". He reminded me that as fast as she changed outfits, "little people" change into "big people". And we aren't promised to have "little people" forever. So it is important to stop and appreciate every change. They go from saying "size mine" to "my size" literally overnight. Then they are big people and you have missed so much, so much that you need to give them, and so much that you need to learn from them. Take the time to notice each "outfit". Stop what you are doing, for them, and then thank the Lord for what He has put in your home. Little people should be your shadow. They should sit at your feet while you sit at HIS. They are an incredible gift. Even when they have their clothes on backwards.

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