words cannot describe....

the beautiful weather we are having here in New York state. Sunshine, brilliant cloudless sunshine...hot as "H", as some of my older kids would say, meaning Heck, of course. 90 degrees.

Yesterday was spent at the beach. I had to drive Paul to the airport at the foggy hour of 4-ish a.m., but I did go home and go back to bed. Although Camille did not realize how little I had slept when she burst into my room saying how she needed Mama, and wanted to take a nap with me in my bed. Anyway, Paul is in Louisiana for the week.

And the rest of us went to the beach. Well, not ALL of us. Just Benjamin and Ashley, Abigail, Samuel, Margaret, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, Jonathan, Charlotte Claire, and Camille. And me. Joseph and Aaron and Mirielle had to work at the baseball game, wah, and Emily and Mali had to work.

anyway. The beach: gorgeous. Sandy beach, little breeze, sunshine. Benjamin made the fire in the grill, roasted the hot dogs and coneys, helped serve them, helped clean up and load up the vehicles when it was time to go home. He taught Kathryn to play catch with the football, and helped the little ones build a sand castle. He took them swimming, and he helped them roast their marshmallows. It was his last day with us, and we were painfully aware of it.

He left in the wee hours of the morning.

I cried when I hugged him goodbye.

Ashley is still in town. She leaves on Wednesday from an airport an hour and a half south of here, so I will be driving her.

Today, I let the kids go in the pool, which is finally all set up. The water hasn't gotten deep enough to run the filter yet, so it isn't exactly sparkling. The ladder is supposed to come in the mail tomorrow, so I can't get in yet. They can make it over the side and back with just a boost, but me? nah. I will wait for the new ladder.

Today I also had to go bye-bye. Abigail had to fast for a pre-op appointment which was at two in the afternoon. She felt pretty awful not eating all day, so I drove her. I also got to talk with the surgeon with her. She is having an operation on her knee on Friday. She dislocated it a few years back, and it wasn't put back into place properly, it healed wrong, and it causes much pain for her. She will have a ligament tightened, some arthritis scraped, and some fine-tuning done. This doctor who is doing it said, "this operation is more of an art than a science." I love him.

Anyway. Guess what I am doing Friday? mmm-hmm. Taking Abigail for her surgery.

Anyway. Summer is lovely. I wish I didn't have so many things to do and places to go...like today...the appointments, Walmart for her prescriptions and new hair clippers and some milk and a birthday present for my niece.

anyway. I love summer. Love having the kids around, love the lack of structure, love the spontaneity. Emily came over to get Sonja, as she is having a group of ten and eleven year olds from church spend the night at her house....but she grabbed Kathryn and Margaret first and took them to town, to get donuts. Just because.

Some of the girls are dancing on the deck. Sam and Jonathan are playing some shooting video game. Mirielle has a good book. Aaron and Joseph just got back from the pool and working out. Suri is conked out on the couch. Yes, I love summer.

Random thought for the day: today while I watched the kids in the pool, I had a vision of standing before God. Judgement Day. It was like when you look forward forever for something to finally come to pass, like Christmas day when you are little, and when it finally comes, you can't believe it is really here, and how fast it seemed to come...and you marvel at what it turns out like. In this vision of mine, I was standing there and my life passed before my eyes...I saw myself saying Just A Minute to my kids, finishing reading a news account, getting the kitchen in order, all the while thinking, "I did not know life was going to really go by so fast." It was really really weird. Our days really are numbered, although we don't live like we know that. I want to live like I know that. I want to be good, to forgive quickly, pay attention to the kids. Listen more, talk less. Give and give and give more, wanting nothing in return.






















We went out for some Chinese take-out after her appointments.