toys and candy and staying up late...

That's what Sam used to say to the little kids as he patted the tops of their heads.

My girls are tired. They have been going going going. Paul took them on a long hike/walk today, while I ran to the grocery store with Sonja. We had run out of kitty food, and were low on dog food, bananas, milk, bread, and fresh produce. We also stopped into the thrift store, which didn't have anything we needed, then the dollar store...Hershey's chocolate foil wrapped eggs...a few months old, but hey, chocolate is chocolate, and when one has five teenage girls, and those girls want chocolate all in the same week, if you know what I mean, then Mama has to have chocolate in the house.

Anyway. Home...Abigail came over for a bit, and Mirielle. And...this is exciting: I am going to Washington, D.C.! Well, not even there to stay, just to get Samuel, then we're going to the Shenandoah National Park for the weekend, a four day weekend, in October!!!! Lots of us are going, but not Paul....he's going to India! And not Emily, she's going to Washington state to visit Benjamin and Ashley and little Anya.

And, Margaret got her dress! It's so lovely, I can't wait to show you all!

And...Ben and Ashley and Anya are coming to New York for the third time this year!!! They bought their plane tickets, they are coming for the wedding! It's going to be so nice, they are staying through the following weekend, and we are doing our Secret Santa! I want to start baking Christmas cookies right now, and freezing them! I am so excited.

I want to make sure to savor the moments. I wish I could wave my magic wand and have the entire house clean and shiny, all freshly painted, you know, all nice and company ready. Margaret is marrying a boy from Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada). His family is flying in for the wedding, along with some friends.

So I don't want stress to ruin things. Worry, anxiety, caring what people think of me...yeah, the whole house is such a huge reflection on ME, but why oh why do I care so much?

So, today, cookies happened. We had a thing at church, and I baked cookies...I mean almost three hundred cookies. And last evening, I baked just four trays for here...and ended up having a glass of wine with Em and Mirielle...then had a few cookies which turned into five cookies...then I chalked it up to a bad day, and moved on. I was fine today, baking those cookies. I was fine when they were placed on the tables with the pumpkin spice cookies, the frosted banana bars, the varieties of muffins, the peanutbutter chocolate rice crispy treats...then when it was time to go home, and I was packing up the leftover cookies, I ate a broken piece of one of the crunchier ones....then before I knew it, cookies were happening again. Four. So I stopped. They are just.so.good.

And here I am at home...I ate really good stuff today...healthy stuff...then had two cookies a little while ago...because they're like the crack cocaine to me, I guess. It gets in my system, and bam, I can't get enough of them, ha. They are really good cookies.

But tomorrow is another day, and no more cookies for me. No stress eating, either.

Little Miss Sunshine, the new yellow lab, is scrumptious. She is a couch-y sort of dog, the kind one cannot possibly forbid, because she jumps up on her hind legs, and whines at us, so we'll give her a little boost, scoop her up to the couch, so she can lick faces and get pets and curl up as close as possible to have a nap. We really shouldn't encourage it, we should make her sit, and lie on the floor, like a proper dog. But. She is so cute and little and snuggly. She thinks she is a people.

Friday night's crockpot dinner was eaten all weekend. Last night, Paul also made bacon wrapped venison meatloaf. He also made a crockpot full of bonebroth.

This week...two physical therapy appointments, dentist appt., ortho dr. appt., gymnastics class, vet appt., shopping for food + making food for the soccer team's pep rally Friday night...(homemade meatballs and pasta, salad, garlic bread, is the menu...and maybe an ice cream sundae bar for dessert.)

I am using Paul's computer, but he ordered me a cord from Amazon, hope it works, so I can blog! (And download pictures!)

Anyway...life is good, because God is good. When sin doesn't get a chance to come in and ruin everything by tricking me to be offended or to hold a grudge, or to be weighed down by worry...then life is good. Of course there is a season for everything under the sun...but this is a time to rejoice, having family and friends come together to celebrate. It's not to make everything shine like the pinicle of pintrest...it's a wedding, not a magazine shoot. Yes, I am telling myself this. Because I have ideas, let me tell you. I want to get the sewing machine out...I want to make dresses for daughters, for me, I want to make curtains and cover pillows, but wait! I want to paint, I want to sand and refinish and recover and redo! I want to throw away old things and get new things and organize the things I'm keeping. I want to exercise and lose weight and trim my hair and buy new shoes (Birkenstocks at a wedding!!!? I do not think so.)

But for now, I'll just sit here and sort out my thoughts, and relax...it's almost bedtime, and I haven't been able to sleep in lately because Sunny wakes up at 6:30, weekdays and weekends. I'm tired, but happy. I just wish I could slow life down a little bit, the days slip away by with alarming speed...I want them to just drift....