back in new york....

The airport...was as close as I got to Paris...


I had to choose where to go on our only free afternoon/evening together...and it wasn't sightseeing in Paris...although as we headed toward it, I rather wished I was going to at least get a closeup glimpse of the Eiffel tower.

But I had made my choice...


And it was so moving. I knew it would be sad, but the sheer volume of graves...ten thousand men.


All that free time I had last week was wonderful...now, I'm home...with lots of kids. The two year old is here with us today, and the homeschoolers are having spelling tests and doing some math, the school kids are home. There is coffee brewing, and the dinner is in the crockpot, pulled pork.

We went to Target today, because our coffee maker was malfunctioning. It would turn off after one minute...we would unplug it and plug it back in, and sometimes it worked, sometimes it turned off after one minute of brewing. We are big babies when it comes to our coffee, so I just went and bought a new coffee maker. I also had to get a few birthday gifts for Joseph, he turned 25 today.

We weren't gone long, Miss Annika isn't feeling well today, and I didn't want to tire her out.

Laundry, sweeping, making meals...oh I didn't miss my time off! But I DID miss my kids.

Our poor truck is totaled, poor Paul. By the time we get what it's worth now, and pay it off, we'll never be able to replace it.

And so on. But life is good, and I have much to be thankful for, and if this post is generic and basic, it's because the kids are all here, and there is much going on. :)