Hey y'all! I thought I would take some time to answer a few of the questions some of you asked on my Instastories. Some heavier questions I will probably answer in a different post. Many people asked similar questions so I will paraphrase some of these questions to consolidate.
Let's do a little Q&A, shall we?
Q: What were the stories behind your boys' names?
A: Our oldest boy's name is Kanaan Crue (5). When Tauren and I were in Bible College and only friends, we were singing together at a church and there was a young boy there named Kanaan. He followed Tauren around and just idolized him. That was the moment that the Lord spoke to Him and said that there would be a younger generation that would look up to him. He wrote that down in his journal and about 8 years later, we decided to name our firstborn, Kanaan. We just loved the name Crue.
Our second son's name is Lawson Mayer (2). It was opposite with him. We just loved the name Lawson and wanted to use it. We saw someone with the last name "Mayer" in the credits of a movie we were watching and I mentioned that I loved that for a boy name. When we looked it up it meant "Bringer of light". We knew immediately that we were gonna stick with that. He has definitely lived up to that name.
Our third son's name is Navy Elliott (1). The name "Navy" was actually chosen when we were pregnant with our first and loved it for a girl name. We were in one our favorite cities, Chicago, and passed Navy Pier. I said, "Do you know what would be a great name? Navy." We both loved it. We didn't end up having a girl so we used it for our third boy. Elliott is derived from Elijah which means "Jehovah is God."
Q: Will you have any more children?
A: We will not be having any more children. We felt that our family was complete after we had Navy. One thing we have always prayerfully considered is adoption. If God leads us to do so, we would adopt in the future.
Q: Do you homeschool your boys?
A: I do not. Kanaan goes to public school. We intentionally moved to an area with amazing schools. Alot of the staff is Christian, which I love. We have no complaints so far. He is, however, only in Kindergarten. We will monitor it each year and see how it goes! We aren't opposed to any of the alternative options if it is for the spiritual and educational well-being of our child.
Q: What is it like having 3 boys? Did you ever wish for a girl?
A: Oh man. LOL. Let me answer the second question first. I went in to each pregnancy wanting a girl. I already had two nephews and just thought it would be nice to mix it up. First one was a boy. I was a little disappointed, but excited at the same time. I wanted a boy too, so no big deal! When we got pregnant with the second baby, we tried all the tricks that those books say to try. We got a call from the doctor with our results... IT'S A BOY! I cried. I wanted a little girl so badly. After a few weeks, I got really excited to have two boys. I knew they would be close. Third baby. I tried to prepare myself for it being a boy, but I still had my hopes up for a girl. Got the call... IT'S A BOY! I sobbed. My poor husband! HAHA! He felt so bad for me, but he was really excited. It took me quite a while to get excited about 3 boys. So, now to answer the first question. I LOVE having 3 boys. I must say, I am a great boy mom. It's just in me. I'm super chill and I don't freak out (all that much) when they get hurt. I love sports, I love dirt, and I love laughing at childish jokes about bodily fluids. It just works! They are all so sweet to me and I get to be the queen of the house! The only girl! It's actually wonderful. My husband raises them to respect women, especially their mom, so they are precious to me. I still dream of having a little princess, but I also feel complete with the 3 kings.
Q: What does your daily schedule look like?
A: It has to be flexible. None of my weeks are the same. I am a very scheduled, planned, need-to-know-what-is-happening-every-second-ahead-of-time kind of person. So.... you can see how I am having to adjust to this. LOL. Our lives have always been pretty hectic, but ever since I have stepped away from working and have become a SAHM, it has turned up about 527 notches. I try to implement consistency anywhere that I can. Let me show you an example of a day where I would be home with the kids while Tauren is out of town.
6:30am - I wake up to get Kanaan ready for school. I fix his breakfast before getting him up and have everything ready for him. While he eats, I fix his lunch, get myself dressed, and make sure his clothes are ironed. Then, he gets dressed, and I load up him and his brothers in the truck.
7:30am - I take Kanaan to school. Lawson, Navy and I get home and I fix their breakfast. When they are finished they usually play upstairs in the playroom. I have it baby-safe up there and I stay close by. I usually take that time to make my breakfast and sit down in my favorite chair with coffee and do my daily devotion and Bible reading. Once that is done, I usually do household chores that need to be completed.
11:30am - Lunch!
12:30pm-1:00pm - Nap time. This is my favorite time of the day. I will typically eat my lunch, get a few things done and then take an hour nap. The boys usually sleep from 12:30 or 1:00pm until 3:00pm.
3:15pm - I load them back up and we go pick Kanaan up from school. Once we are home, they have a snack, Kanaan completes homework and then they play outside in the back yard or go back upstairs to the playroom. I finish chores, prepare Kanaan's clothes and bag for the next day, and prepare dinner.
5:30pm - Dinner.
6:30pm - Navy's bedtime. Baths, clean-up, and anything else like this happens right after dinner. After baths, the other boys usually do something quiet, like watch a show or movie.
7:30pm - Kanaan and Lawson's bedtime. We sing, we pray, we read, and they go to sleep.
8:00pm - Mom time. I usually catch up on my shows, take a bath, and update my planner.
9:30pm - Bed time for me. This is only if my husband isn't home. LOL. I'm usually wiped out and knocked out.
There are many variations to what I do during the time slots on occasion, but I try to keep meals and bed times the same every day. Obviously, if Tauren is home, he helps tremendously with the load. I'm also blessed to have my dad help me by taking Kanaan to school or picking him up a lot of times when Tauren is out of town. This is a HUGE blessing. I also have a nanny who helps on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:00-11:30. This allows me to run any errands or fulfill personal appointments without having to bring Lawson and Navy.
I hope you have enjoyed this first segment of Q&A! There will be more to come. If you ever have any follow-up questions, please comment below and I will try to answer those.
Lean in to life. It's messy, but beautiful.
Much Love,
LB