thank God it's friday....

Camille and I...my sweet little sixteenth child. Her big sister Evelyn calls her, "Christmas cookie face."

She is a snuggler. Don't get me wrong, Miss Char is my sweetie too. She is just not as likely to hang on me.

Thank God for more than, "it's Friday", that's for sure. I don't always FEEL thankful, but that doesn't mean I'm not.

Yesterday, for example. I had to take Margaret to the bank to set up an account. The nice bank lady had all the time in the world. The sun was shining in the clear blue sky, and we sat there...and sat there. ugh. Then to my second favorite place in the world: The department of Motor Vehicles. This place isn't as bad as where Patty and Selma work, but. Take a number, wait in line...Kathryn lost her permit and had to get a new one, Marg had paperwork to take care of so she can drive to her new job...at the grocery store in town! Aaron used to work there years ago...

Anyway. Then we went to Wegman's for strawberries and bananas and carrots and burger, since that's what Jon wanted for his birthday dinner...

We went to BJ's for chicken wings, which Evelyn promised Jon for dinner tonight, as Jon is having one of his friends for the night. We also got candy and snacks for Sunday...

Then to Walmart for a HDMI cord for Suzanne, pizza dough which I just realized I never got, and ice cream for Sunday, which is when Jon's party is for all of his crazy little friends.:)

Did I want to be running hither tither and nigh on such a beautiful day? Nah. But, we made the best of it, Margaret, Kathryn, and I.

And today...I don't have anywhere I need to go...except for picking Evelyn up from school at 2:00. We are going to get some more potting soil and seeds, ect., for our little garden.

And Paul texted me that there's a garage sale down the road, with bikes...hmm. Very tempting. Suze likes to go on bike rides with the kids, but doesn't have a bike that works. We have like ten with different things wrong with them. ugh.

I am working at the baseball game tomorrow. I don't want to. It's going to be a beautiful day, and Paul will be home from work, that's a rare combination. He's leaving Sunday again...for a week. I can't even drive him to the airport because I will be a soccer practice with the younger kids, then I have a birthday party to set up.

poor me, eh? not.

The little details of life. I don't want to get tripped up in complaining about them. Counting one's blessings is much nicer. Stewing in frustration is not my cup of tea, so when I get tempted to discontentment, I ask God for more patience. I say NO to those thoughts that would lead me down the path of bitterness and NOT FAIR. We all KNOW that it's not what we do that makes us happy, but how we take our situations. That's a nice theory, but when it's tested, it's not always easy. But isn't that what faith is? Trusting that God knows just what we need in life? And believing that it is weighed and measured for our very best? No one wants to wait in line, or drive people places or clean up cat poop or to trip over muddy soccer cleats. But our thoughts are our life. It's how WE react that determines our happiness.

So that last paragraph is to encourage ME, ha. I am very prone to thinking in the wrong direction sometimes. Especially when I'm tired, or have a headache. :)

Mali came over last night, as did Mirielle and Abigail. We had a full house, a loud house. Jonathan was pretty happy, especially that he got to pack his bag and go home and spend the night at Emily/Abigail/Mirielle's house. Abigail is his very best friend.

Jon and I are very excited about our trip out west. We are saving up to go visit Ben and Ashley and little Anya, in the fall. Jonathan is very faithful to put in all of his money, and returns bottles and cans, and his sisters give him their change...Emily and Grandma gave him money for his birthday, and he put it into the trip savings. We are going to work hard this summer, selling things on ebay. I am kind of hoping we can make tons so Char and Cam can come too, but we'll see. They seem fine with Jon and I going, and even give him money towards it. But little kids are so full of wonder and make adventures more adventurous.

We are counting our days to our next trip though: three weeks! Grandma, Jonathan, Charlotte Claire, Camille, and I...we are driving down to Washington D.C. We have rented a minivan, which in itself is rather exciting...new and shiny and not all dented and crumb-y. Paul will be in France that week, arriving in the states that Friday, so he will just fly into D.C....Sam will be marching in the Memorial Day parade...the little girls are SO excited, they keep asking to see pictures of the hotel online. Again. It will be so crowded down there that weekend...

The girls are awake now, perhaps I will take them down the road to see about those bikes...