from the bottom of my heart...

I sincerely love each one of my kids. And here's the thing: sometimes I spend too much money. I stop and get them coffee, take them to McDonalds, I make them happy. I let them get new sandals, because everyone knows a teenage girl can't have too many shoes, and even if the old ones still fit, they're OLD. And bathing suits...a girl needs to feel good about herself, and having the right bathing suit is essential. I know this. I want them to know they're important to me. There may be a whole slew of them, but each one of them holds my whole heart.

Here's the other thing: I try to listen. I try to remember what each one of them is going through. I'm not always so good at these things, and thus I unconsciously resort to spoiling them a little. When I take just one or two out and about, we do have too much fun. But I firmly believe that children should grow up knowing that they are special. They are important. They are loved.

So this afternoon we are going on a fun outing. I am picking up four girls from school, Evelyn Joy, Suzanne Eleanor, Sonja Kathleen, and their good friend Irene. Charlotte Claire, Camille Anaya, and I will pick them up. We are going to the Parade Of Homes, in the nice suburbs on the other side of the city. It's a thing where you pay to walk through newly built houses, to get decorating ideas and ogle things you can't afford, thus becoming discontent with your own dumpy house. ha. My little girls, and Evelyn, have a thing for housing design. The little girls like to make floor plans on graph paper...

Now Sonja is telling me she needs shorts. No, Mom, I'm not kidding. I NEED some.

It's always something, isn't it?

Wow, now that Paul has his new(ish) truck, the vans are both out of the shop, and I'm not driving him back and forth to work, I have lots of extra time every day.

Yesterday, Emily and I shopped for a fundraising dinner we are preparing tomorrow...actually it's lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and dessert. We are serving:

A steak bowl with red potatoes roasted in olive oil, topped by spinach/spring mix, cucumber slices, tomato wedges, and...slices of grilled steak, with fresh bread and butter.

Afternoon snack:
Honeydew, cantaloupe, grapes, cheese, and tons of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Dinner:
Marinated barbecued bone-in chicken breasts, cilantro lime rice, cubed sweet potatoes roasted in olive oil, and a grilled veggie mix, including asparagus, summer squash, zucchini, red and green peppers, and sweet onions,.

Dessert:
Homemade white butter cake with buttercream frosting, fresh strawberries and blueberries, frozen rasberries, and topped with fresh whipped cream.

Of course we will have coffee and cream, iced coffee, iced tea, Coke and Diet Coke, and lots of water infused with lime and strawberries.

We are both so organized, my list looked like a crazy person wrote it, but we managed to get everything we need in three stores, keeping the cost as low as possible, of course.

So tomorrow will be a day of baking and preparing and serving and fun...with Emily and Evelyn and maybe Jonathan.

Last night, I made burgers on the grill and a nice big salad. The kids had yummy bakery buns on their burgers, so that was the optional carb, ha.

When we were out and about yesterday, I bought myself a new tablet, a 7 inch Samsung Galaxy. My Chromebook is by Samsung, and it's lasted wonderfully, but the tablet is smaller and I think I can maybe blog on it...I wanted to get a keyboard case but it was $22, and I had already spent too much. Miss Charlotte Claire is crazy about the new tablet, and wants to go buy one for herself. My little girls save up their money like squirrels, and now they are both itching for new tablets. Kids and technology these days! They know more than I do, and were helping me set things up on it last night. They say it's quick and they love the picture quality, ect. I know they are going to use it more than I will...I will feel better when the case comes in the mail though...Amazon Prime, only two days, ha. And no, I don't get any money for saying that. If I had two million readers a day, I might put ads on the blog, but I might not either. The idea of profiting from having a large family turns my stomach. The only reason we were blessed with sixteen beautiful kids is because God is good and kind, and took special mercy on us, and gave us more than we ever deserve.

But then again, maybe it would be nice to earn a little money doing what I like, thus being able to bless the kids even more, ha.

This fine morning I have a doctor's appointment that I haven't yet cancelled. I don't need a check-up again, I just had one last year! It's too nice a day to spend in the dr.'s office.

Anyone out there glad Hillary's doing so well? Don't.even.get.me.started. I find it hard to respect a woman who stood by her lying cheating husband. She belittled herself, just to climb the ladder. Of course I wish her no harm, but a truthful person is much more esteemed in my eyes. I must admit to being baffled...what do people see in her, why do they want her to lead this country? I do not get it.

Yeah, so no more politics. I don't like to waste my time getting ruffled about things I can't change.

It's time to start the day, I guess...