I had a day off...

From blogging, that is. Yesterday was a rainy day, and we were going to stay home because we have been "rammin" around, as my dad used to say. But we were out of milk. With all that good cereal, that is just plain torture. Not to mention my teeny tiny baby Camille, now 20 months old, still has a few ba-ba's a day. Which Charlotte Claire steals when we are not looking, or she sweet talks Camille into sharing with her....anyway, we needed milk and bread and bananas....fresh stuff.

So off we went. Samuel, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, Jonathan, Charlotte Claire, and Camille. I told them we could go to lunch somewhere....we stopped at DunkinDonuts and got one dozen donuts, a medium coffee with lots of cream, no sugar, and one ice water....yeah, they shared that. I had the coffee.

Then we went to the store that I should be banned from, as I spend way too much money there. I should take my blood pressure at the register....anyway, they had beach towels 50% off...and even thought I am more of a 75% off person, I bought 7 towels. They ranged from $2.99 to $4.99, and they are very nice. I passed them out last night, and what was I thinking? I need a few more....and I got the girls some new sandals for 75% off....they usually start school in sandals, it is still hot out. Anyway, I got a few school supplies, a few pair of shorts for the boys for 1/2 off....and, nothing for me.

Then we went to the grocery store. 8 kids in the grocery store.....oh, where do I even start? There were no car carts. But Jon didn't have a breakdown, he has come a long way. I put Camille in a cart, and the rest walked. Camille is a tricky one. She will not let me buckle her, she says, "I buckle, I buckle!" Or should I say she screams it. So, I take my hands away and let her buckle. But the thing is, she never buckles. She stands up when she feels like it, so I have to be on guard. I try to buckle her again, and she does the same, "I buckle, I buckle" thing. right. whatever. Charlotte Claire got bored and tired by the middle of the store. She would lay right on the floor to rest. Suze wanted to push the cart, and everytime I stopped to look at something, she would weedle her way in between the cart and I.....but I need that cart to hold me up!!! Then one of them remembered the balloons, and off they all went over to the floral department. Unfortunately, the usual nice lady wasn't there, and the girl said, "You have to be seven or under to get a balloon!" Poor Suzanne came back crying. So I bought her Silly Putty. And I wonder why they are such brats....but they are sweet and nice brats. Not exactly princesses, but close. Anyway, it was after 4 when we checked out....so we headed home without going out to lunch....but they had had the donut and a cookie in the store...and we had all the stuff for taco salad...believe me, they ate dinner well!

Oh, we went in the hot tub last night....I made a deal with Paul...I would take them all out there, he could have some peace and quiet, but he had to come out and get Camille after 15 minutes and put her to bed. I got her bottle made and her jammies ready. It was more like a half-hour, but he came through. It relaxed her and tired her out to be in that warm water for a while. There is nothing like being out there on a night like last night. It was breezy, and the sound of the wind in the poplar trees reminds me of being little, because we had those trees at our camp near Lake Ontario......and it was my mother's favorite sound. So when we got in from the hot tub, I told the kids if they got ready for bed really fast, I would tell them stories....I told them about when we were little, we had this camp with no telephone or tv....it was quiet, you could hear the waves from the lake....we played cards and wrote on the kitchen table with a pencil and washed it off and wrote on it again....my mother was never bored, she could make everything fun. Us kids were up there with her alone alot when my father worked, she had no car and no license, we had no phone...it was wonderful....and relaxing. I believe those were the best years of her life. The camp was nothing fancy, just a mobile home in a nice grassy yard down a stony road from the beach. The beach was private, owned by the camp owners...and there were usually hardly any people up there, so it was our own beach. Sandy and wonderful. I remember sneaking down there for a ciggarette when I was a teenager, yes I was bad, and my mother coming down there and finding me, and just having one too...the moon shining on the water....the peacefullness, my feet in the cold sand. (My mother quit smoking a few years later, I also did....if any of my kids are reading this, I am just kidding! I never smoked!)

Well, the kids are up and about and I need to be too....as far as my previous post goes, I think the least said soonest mended, as Laura Ingalls Wilder's ma ,Caroline ,used to say. So that is all there is to it.. I can't give him the satisfaction of more than that. And here is my comfort, Psalm 25..

To You, O Lord, I lift my soul.
2. O my God, I trust in You, Let me not be ashamed;Let not my enemies triumph over me.
3. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
4. Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.
5. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation: On You I wait all the day.
6. Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses. For they are from of old.
7. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For your goodness' sake, O Lord.
8. Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
9. The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.
10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11. For Your name's sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniguity, for it is great.
12. Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
13. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
14. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.
15. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.
16. Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted.
17. The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses!
18. Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins.
19. Consider my enemies , for they are many, And they hate me with a cruel hatred.
20. Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.
21. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me. For I wait for you.
22. Redeem Israel, O God. Out of all their troubles!



aah. That refreshes the soul....and keeps me in need....my enemies are within me....and they shall not get victory. God will be with me, and help me overcome. After all this IS the day that the Lord has made.....