and a happy monday...

It would be rather happier if I hadn't stayed up until almost two a.m. with my nocturnal daughter Mirielle, who had the night off from work. We watched, "Call The Midwife" at midnight. Today is brilliantly sunny, a beautiful spring day, and my eyelids feel like sandpaper. The house is quiet, the kids went off to school, the homeschoolers are still sleeping, and I want to go back to bed.

But, I have to bring the van to town to the shop, and there are remnants of the birthday party everywhere. Kids got out building blocks and dollhouse stuff, and there are Nerf bullets scattered everywhere. I wrapped up the leftover cupcakes last night, I find that things that are wrapped up are a little harder to eat mindlessly. I did not eat any cupcakes yesterday, but I did eat some salt and vinegar chips, and a few chocolates...rrr.

The party was supposed to last for three hours, but it went on and on and on, the boys running through the house shooting each other and shouting, the girls playing quietly in their room. I wanted to send the boys outside, but it was rather wet out there, and didn't want them to get all muddy then bring it all in the house. Anyway, it was a long day, the last boy left after 8:00....

I know, I know, I used to have chaos like that all day every day, but my boys were not that crazy. I simply didn't allow them to run and jump onto the couches and slam around. Just because there were a lot of them didn't mean they could wreck everything. Chaos and noise aside, it was a fun day. Jon had a blast with his friends, and Camille really enjoyed her day too. Lots of big cousins stopped in, and I enjoyed my chats with them. My brother stopped in for a coffee when he dropped his kids off, that was nice.

Having a wedding on Saturday and a birthday party on Sunday made for a scrambled Monday morning as the little girls did their homework while eating their FruitLoops. oops. Never even thought of it last night.

So the day after tomorrow, we leave for Georgia. It is like a 17+ hour ride, and we are driving straight through. Driving through the night seems better for the kids, the trip doesn't drag on and on like that. They are looking forward to stopping somewhere to get ready for bed, then snuggling in with blankets and pillows and sleeping in the van. You know who will be wide awake the whole way. Yup, I can't sleep on a trip, I like to see everything. I should really try to though, so I don't get a raging headache.

Our trip won't be like I had planned. Samuel won't be able to leave the base. He apparently didn't pass his last P.T. test because of hand placement during push-ups or something. He called me briefly Friday night to tell me that, and sounded upset. I struggled whether to write about it on here, thinking he would probably hate it. But I decided to because he did nothing wrong. He is a good young man, honest and hard-working, truthful, kind, thoughtful.. He has made lots of progress running and has made it through the long "ruck" with the heavy pack. He has passed from phase to phase of Basic, so it is not the end of the world that he failed one P.T. test. I am proud of him, and intend to tell him so. I won't even jokingly say, "See, I told you you shouldn't have joined the Army."

I am not sure if he will be allowed to have his favorite cookies, or what sort of set-up there is there for visiting, but I certainly won't be hopping in there with his Easter basket, no sir. Ha, he would kill me.

Paul and I have decided that we are going to make an additional trip down there in June to attend his graduation.

phew. Life is interesting. Paul had a routine physical a few weeks back. He heard the other day that during the EKG, his old friend A-Fib showed up. He had an ablation done a few years ago to fix it, but was told it could return, and it has. He doesn't think it is as bad as it was before, but oh my, I had forgotten all about that little chapter of our lives. He will be fine, there are many options to treat it, but still. My husband and his heart are very close to MY heart, and I found myself more than a little shaken to hear it.

Life isn't always sunshine and roses, but God sends all things for our very best. There is great peace when we fight against our own anxieties and really believe that. Actually, it is easier to believe it in the big trials, but when someone spills milk or when Paul decides to cook a huge breakfast while I am cleaning the kitchen for a party or when I find out that those pizza rolls in the freezer for the party that I told no one to eat are half gone...well, then I need to really wake up! It is NOT about the circumstances, it is about how I take it! I get to choose!