a day at home....

Here is what I did today, in no particular order.....

1. Stayed in bed too long this morning, finishing my book. It did not get better, that Swedish mystery, but I finished it because I thought it would get better.

2. Two little girls came and climbed into bed with me, all happy about the upcoming church conference and our stay in the camper. They LOVE that camper. They ran in and out of my room while I finished the last few pages of that awful book which did not redeem itself. They left the door open, and Suri found me. She climbed into bed and visited me too.

3. Jonathan and I husked the corn for dinner while Sonja K. helped Charlotte Claire and Camille learn to ride their bikes.

4. I spent three hours...yes, THREE hours cleaning and sorting dollhouse stuff. Who knew toys just sitting in the living room could get so dusty? The dollhouse stuff will be used for Children's Day at the conference.

5. I swept the living room and kitchen floors twice.

6. Laundry.

7. Dishes.

8. A nice swim....really nice.

9. Dinner: steak fajitas with green peppers and tomatoes from the garden, plus black olives and romaine and cheese (not for me, I do not like cheese). Then angel food cake with strawberries for dessert.

10. After-dinner walk with Jonathan. We saw deer on top of the hill, but no sign of those baby snapping turtles hatching.

11. A nice phone conversation with my handsome husband who is still in Louisiana. He calls every night, and it seems like it is more talking than we get to do when he is home.

12. I had to go pick up some of my daughters from my niece's house....I had talked to Paul on the phone before I headed over there, the first thing I heard as they scrambled into the car was, "What took you so long?!" I said, "You mean THANK YOU MOM, right?"

13. I managed to stay home all day except for the 18 mile journey to pick up the girls and back. Samuel needed a ride to the small city to the Army recruiting station to do P.T., but Mirielle so kindly took him so I could stay home. I was very thankful.

14. I ate chocolate this evening while watching, "Bridget Jones" with some of my girls. Too much chocolate. I wish I hadn't cracked it open, but there is nothing I can do about it now. I had such a good day up to that point. Dang.

Tomorrow, I have to go out and about again. I have to bring Abigail to do some things in the small city....then we are moving in to the camper for a few days. I am almost packed. Friday I am leaving early early to get the last minute items for our church grill-snack bar. Fresh produce and fruit. Plus whatever we will need while we stay in the camper until early next week. Then I pick Paul up from the airport in the afternoon, yay.

Next week will be busy too. The conference ends on Tuesday, Wednesday I have to unpack the camper and pack for our camping trip, which begins Thursday. We go in tents now, pulling that big camper is just too much. So we have to pack for that and shop and prepare food....also on Wednesday night, there is a funeral service/memorial for my Paul's dad, who passed away a few months back. Sadness....

We are going to the Adirondack mountains for our camping trip. The cold clear lakes and high peaks and quiet and the smell of the pine trees....the bears and the racoons....the campfires and the walks and the shady beach. Of the sixteen kids, I think just Benjamin, Aaron, and Abigail won't be able to make it. Aaron has a real nurse job now, which is nice, but he just started and can't very well ask for the weekend off.

Have you ever tried to pack for a five-day tenting trip to the mountains for 15 people? We pre-grill and freeze lots of chicken breast, pre-cook rice and baggy it up, use lots of canned veggies, fresh fruit, eat eggs for brekky. The older kids all pack their own clothes and bedding, but I have to make sure they have everything because there have been times, believe me, when I wondered what on earth they were thinking, not bringing a jacket because it was so warm when we left.....

We take the back few seats out of that beautiful 15 passenger van, and put in all our bins of foods and dishes and clothes and tents. Then we bring the truck with bikes and kayaks in it, and perhaps the minivan, perhaps a car....the state park we go to is wonderful, so far we haven't had a problem with too many people. We do sort of behave, no drinking and carrying on or anything, but we do get a little loud at the campfire. Silly. Our neighbors always get us back by waking up at dawn talking too loudly.

Anyway. I ramble on when I get tired, and it is after one a.m.....and I have to get up early, am picking Abigail up at nine. dang, after my shower and reading a few pages of my new book, I will scarcely get any sleep! Especially if the book is better than the last one and I can't put it down!