Quiet!

Quiet!
The exclamation point suggests that is an oxymoron, a contradiction in my home. 
“Five Minute Friday” posted Quiet as the topic for this week.  First of all, friend, finding five minutes to write is one thing.  Finding quiet to write is another.  I found some relative quiet, but I chose to leave the timer silent.
Seven children in my home, three of which are under 4, provide continual giggling, conversation, and noises of all kinds.  The dynamic of kids also means arguments, whining, and yes, yelling.  Even bedtime, a welcome approach each evening, includes, songs, prayers, and sometimes tears. 
I am blessed with a good sized home for our crew, yet in the noise, I wish for a place for us each to find a quiet space.  Often the noises that bother me are not vocal.   Laundry piles both clean and dirty, scattered papers, ungraded papers, unmade beds, and messy bathrooms all scream for my attention.  Sometimes I yell back, but the people in my home are the ones that hear me not the messes. 
Quiet often only comes when the lights are out for the night.  Yet, as I have written many times before, it is in that stillness, that quiet, that I can hear God speak. 
How then do my kids hear God during the day?  Have I raised the noise level with busyness?  Do I expect my kids to be active for the sake of being active and have in turn not taught my kids the beauty of quiet?  Do they just see a wild and crazy momma?  What is screaming to them?
How to achieve peace and quiet in a family of 10 begs an answer that works both practically and for eternity.  I am still searching for an answer.