last day of the year....

and it has been fun so far, trying to arrange for someone to be at the church meeting hall to meet the Bouncy House People.

Every year, we have a bouncy house for the kids to play in. We watch a transmission broadcast from Brunstad, in Norway, have dinner, games, then snacks near midnight. Supervising the kids in the bouncy house is always fun, timing them and making them take turns. Yes, we separate the young boys and young girls, because we have observed that the boys are way rougher than the girls. The girls get in there and play house and dance and jump nicely, the boys are like the Hulk, or wrestlers from WWF.

So yay, I don't have to make dinner tonight!

So.....New Year's Resolutions....I hate them. But I always find myself drawn to thinking about making some....here are some I might possibly consider....

1. Match socks once a week instead of once a month.

2. Organize some stuff....

Oh, forget it. I know what happens. I can organize a cupboard, and feel on top of the world, to the point of opening it often just to admire how nice it looks....then...well, the inevitable happens....I get rushed, I shove things where they don't go just to get them put away....blah.

And the socks....they don't just get separated and divorced, the socks that live here, no, they pack up and leave. They hide under couches and beds and behind hampers and even over among the shoes.....

3. Eat more healthily. This is easy to say now, because anything can be healthier than this past week was. At least we are out of wedding cupcakes, so breakfast will be better.

4. Excercise more. I am actually going to try this one. I get so antsy after this much winter. I used to be very much in shape, long many years ago, I was in gymnastics, and I wrestled....well, only with my brothers, but still. I have dreams I do cartwheels down the beach and walk on my hands....I don't think that will happen again, although one of my nieces remembers me doing a cartwheel in this very livingroom, which had to have been within the last 19 years.

5. Spend less. This is also easy to say now, because the last few weeks have been pretty bad...with the wedding and Christmas, and buying better and yummy groceries for vacation, $$$$....

6. Read my bible more.

7. Write lots of letters to Benjamin.

8. I can't say "have more fun", because someone like me needs to have less fun.

9. Stay home more. This is less fun, but it helps me to spend less, and perhaps to organize more.

10. Cook more from scratch, be more creative in the kitchen, and take more time to plan meals. ha. ha ha.

I think we make resolutions because we want to do things better because we want more respect. We want to be loved and appreciated. And also there certainly satisfaction that comes with accomplishment. I have had years and years of my life where I so craved some of that satisfaction while the socks piled up and the refridgerator get fuller and fuller of things that needed to be weeded out and the hampers, so meaningfully divided by color, got mixed up and overflowed.....and all the time I didn't realize how much I was actually accomplishing. Now these older kids are growing up, they don't remember rooting around for a pair of matching socks, but they DO remember going off on adventures...the parks and playgrounds and fun things with their cousins....and they remember the stories I read and told them, and watching movies and singing and dancing along.....

Yes, that ever-alluding satisfaction that comes with accomplishment. When there are babies and toddlers and kids everywhere, that satisfaction comes from the small things, like getting a meal on the table that isn't just bowls of cereal. Or sometimes just getting them all tucked in at night. Then one looks at the hurricane that is supposed to be the living room, and the satisfaction ebbs away....

Ha....while I am sitting here writing this, there are fights breaking out. The younger kids are tired this morning....Jonathan bunked with Charlotte Claire because his two sisters he usually shares a room with had a sleepover with Kathryn...so kids stayed up later and got up earlier, and we all know what that means. Lots of tears. One Little Miss Charlotte Claire got upset and dumped some drawers out. So One Little Miss Charlotte Claire is spending some time on the couch, she can't get down. She needs to stop and think about being so bratty.

They are also so excited about this evening's feast, and the bouncy house.

This mama needs to get moving......(when I blog in the mornings with all the kids here, it is a joke. I stop every other sentance and give answers like, "No, I didn't check the weather yet today, but when I took Rosie out, it was warm."and, "No, you cannot have the last chocolate crunch ice cream bar...it will start a stampede.", and "I don't know why I don't like the idea of automatic Nerf assault rifles, I just don't.", and "Yes, you can probably go running, just watch for those cars, Miss Mali.", and Yes, your new webkin looks nice with that backpack.", and ,"you are right, that WAS mean of her to color on your picture..."and "I don't know what time we are going, and I don't know how many hours...")

will I love quiet when I get old?

I don't think so...but it is hard to imagine getting more than the bare minimum of quiet, so I won't worry about it now. I'll just enjoy it.

Samuel and his cousin are playing video games in their room. Joseph and Aaron are at their friends' house. Emily, Abigail, Mirielle, Mali, and Margaret are over where Benjamin and Ashley are staying, having a dinner party. Ben and Ashley wanted to do something special for all the girls who helped so much with the wedding. I did point out that I also helped, and to Ben's credit, he DID say I could come, but nah, they can have some time together without the old people.

I tried to take the kids bowling today. Since I am nice, and it is vacation, I didn't try to force or encourage the older ones to come if they didn't feel like it. I took Kathryn and Evelyn and Suzanne and Sonja and Jonathan and Charlotte Claire and Camille. Well, the parking lot at the bowling alley told me loud and clear that I am not the only brilliant one who thought to take the kids to one dollar bowling. There was barely a place to park, so I figured the lanes were quite full. I had seven children who wanted to do something fun, so I took them to the Chinese buffet for lunch. It was WAY too much fun. This particular restaurant has some large round tables, so we fit there nicely. The kids know they shouldn't waste food, so they get lots of plates with just a bit of food, and they get such a kick out of it. Camille kept asking me to get her some "red buffalo",....I finally figured that she meant red JELLO.

Anyhoo, we next went to Walmart...Walmart with seven children can be either stark raving crazy, or fun, it depends on how one takes it. And it depends on how much one buys for the kids, too. Since we returned a jacket that Ben and Ashley bought Suze for Christmas, she got to pick something out...so I let the others get something too, from their Christmas money....Jon got one of those little things with all the plastic nails in it, that retains the shape of the object placed in it...the little girls got princess dolls, marked down quite cheap, and new footie jammies, Kathryn and Evelyn and Suze picked out necklaces that were on clearance, and Suze also got leggings. Sonja got a Barbie....

I met a gentleman who is serving in the U.S. Navy. He asked me if all seven of these kids are really mine,....yes, ....no twins? no....You actually gave birth to all seven? well, yes, plus a few more....what?? yes, I have sixteen....would you like to see the photo on my keychain?....he did. He was quite floored. I told him that my son just joined the Army, and he said he has been to Iraq "quite a few times with the Army..." He was with his elderly father, who was as proud as can be of him, he had a t-shirt on that proclaimed that pride. We have much to be thankful for....behind every soldier is a story, and at least one person that loves them and fears for them and hopefully prays for them....

Evelyn is back in here, she didn't want to watch the movie at Kathryn's sleepover in her room with Suzanne and Sonja...she has a show in here she likes, and it is distracting....

what? throwing kitty litter?

So...instead of bowling yesterday, we decided to take a shopping expedition to return the Christmas dress I bought for Sonja, because she didn't end up wearing it to the wedding. It still had the tags on, wasn't worn, and I had paid $19.99 for it, ouch. I really had the sense that Sonja needed some attention from her mama, too, so off we went....Aaron and Mali, Margaret and Evelyn, Suzanne and Sonja, and I. We had the minivan, which made for a nice cozy trip....our first stop: Dunkin Donuts. I only had four dollars and some change, so I bought a coffee for me and some kind of latte for Evelyn. Margaret had a $5 gift card, so she got one for Suzanne and herself. Aaron covered Sonja, and Mali didn't want one....

Then to Target. Sonja found a dress, a pair of jeggings, a tunic shirt, and a pair of shoes for less than I had paid for the returned dress. I found a sweater for myself for 75% off, and Evelyn found a nice sweater too. The deal of the day: Keebler Christmas packaged cookies and crackers were half off, then there was a coupon for $1.50 off a gallon of milk when two packages of cookies were purchased, which I was purchasing anyway...so I got milk for fifty cents.

Then on to the grocery store for just a few things, which means about a hundred bucks. We got milk and eggs and bread and juice and lettuce and peppers and tomatoes and a one dollar pumpkin pie and a one dollar apple pie, and some reduced Snicker minitures, and chips for New Years, and a few frozen pizzas that were marked down.....

Well....here's the fun part.....we asked Mirielle what she was making for dinner at home, and she answered via text, "I am cooking up a punishment for the babies" I asked what they had done, and she said, "you have tons of laundry to do".....

I had to wait to get home to see what they had done, because she wouldn't tell. Apparently, they had the bright idea to slide down the stairs, and wanted a soft landing. So they gathered bedding. Lots of it. But it still wasn't soft enough, so they gathered clothes. Lots of them. Clean clothes from drawers. They made a nice comfy pile. But that just wasn't fun enough! I am not sure who had the bright idea to get the box of used kitty litter, yes, full of kitty tootsie rolls, and dump it all over the soft landing pile. So......the whole pile had to be shaken and moved to the laundry pile, or should I say MOUNTAIN. rrr. Now, these kids WERE being watched, the babysitters say....and I believe them. They are being good, and being good, and being good, and all of the sudden, fifteen minutes or so go by unaccounted for, and WOW. (just for the record, Mirielle has been putting the stuff through the washer and dryer...she is a nice girl)

If I ever felt like giving a good spanking, it was last evening when I came in with all the groceries and saw that mountain.....but I didn't. They say they are never going to do it again.....they say they knew it was bad when they were throwing the kitty litter and the cat food, but it was fun....

They are lucky I can somehow remember getting that spirit of foolishness when I was little....

Anyway, never a dull moment. I haven't decided whether to take them bowling today or not. The middle sized kids really want to go, but the older ones don't. It is nice here today, 22 degrees and sunny, and it is supposed to actually get up to over freezing today, and warmer still tomorrow, in the forties.

Our Christmas tree is getting dryer, the needles are piling up on the pile of presents underneath. I dread taking it down, it has made our living room so cozy. Plus, I hate having to put everything away, and hate losing the Throw-It-Under-The-Tree option when cleaning up the living room. We are thinking that instead of putting the furniture back like it was, just leaving the tree corner empty for a while for them to play in. Our house is so full, they like nothing better than an empty space to set up in.....

I love love love vacation. We stay up too late at night, and this morning I slept until 9:11. I did feel bad for Paul, who stayed up with us, and still had to get up for work this morning. The teenagers are mostly still in bed, I won't see some of them until noon. The boys were supposed to wash the pans after dinner last night, but they are still sitting there. I started to wash them earlier, but decided not to. They need to do it. Anyways, I love having the kids here, having no schedule, letting them play and set up their toys and play Wii and lounge around. It gives us a chance to work on things, too, like getting along better....

the glass guys are finally here

Our Christmas vacation has been peppered with contact with The Glass Guys. The windshield of our minivan had a crack in it, which grew across the whole window when it got so cold out. We thankfully have full glass coverage, so a simple call to the insurance company, and the glass guys come. Well...in normal weather, maybe. But it has been very cold and windy and snowy. They have called and cancelled and even came out here and decided it was too snowy. They called at 8:13 this morning, according to the Missed Call memory on the phone, hmm, where was I? This IS vacation........

So I am relieved that this is finally over....(and they cleaned all the exterior windows and vacuumed the front seats, too.

Yesterday we were tired.....but now....everything is over with, and it is vacation, and we need to have some fun. This morning I picked up the local weekly paper, and there it was: One Dollar Bowling, with free shoe rental!!! Since my older kids are on this crazy sleep-'til-noon schedule, I have to wait and see if they are interested before I mention it to the littler ones. Plus, it is nice to sit here and write while they just have yogurt and cupcakes for breakfast, and play dollhouse and talk. I did have a cupcake with my coffee. I will have to encourage the kids to finish them off for me today. They are a curse. I will not say how many I had yesterday, but I had a nice salad to balance them out...that IS how it works, right?

Last night Margaret put a few drops of water on Sonja's head. Then Sonja tried to dump a glass of water on Margaret's head, which Margaret quickly deflected, causing the glass to sail through the air and crash all over the kitchen tile. Water mixed with glass everywhere, at bedtime, oh joy. Never a dull moment. Anyway, after everything was cleaned up, the littles in bed, and just the few middle sized girls and I here, finally after midnight, Paul and the older kids came in from the Dome. Well, Rosie-The-Bad dog barked at them, so Joseph told her NO, STOP IT in a very deep voice, and Rosie-The-Bad dog peed all over the floor, then wagged her tail in it....then she came out here wagging, and everyone was yelling at her, and she didn't understand why....I started to get up, and Paul informed me what had happened, like I didn't know already, and I said I knew, and he said Okay, he wouldn't tell me anymore, and I just went in and took a shower and went to bed. A huge misunderstanding. I think the Joseph was responsible, because he knows how Rosie is, he is the one who scared the pee out of her, so why was everyone telling ME about it? I was tired, and I was not upset with Paul, I did raise my voice because it was loud in here all of the sudden....but the interesting thing is that once I got upset and left the room, the thoughts started coming....'nobody likes me. I haven't trained the dog very well. I am not going to talk to Paul ever again. I am sick of all of this. Fine, I am done. That's it. I don't care anymore. " And on and on....until I said, ENOUGH. I do not want to harden my heart, I do not want to nurse grudges, I do not want to be mad at anyone. I know that God is near, and that Jesus is always there, rooting for me to do the good and not listen to those spirits that would destroy our home and our marriage. Being tempted is one thing, but giving in - I do not have to do that. By the grace of God, I can overcome! I can still be good, even though I am full of sin, because it is written that we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to it. (romans 8, v 12)

It is also written that ,"we fight not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities., against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes (or when the dog pees on the floor and I get so offended at everyone), you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done all, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth around your waist (the truth about ME), the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the gospel of peace. And take up the shield of faith, to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one.(oh, those evil and blaming thoughts, the lies...) Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God...."(ephesians 6, vs 11-17)

Today is the day of salvation. It doesn't matter how I am treated, or how lacking I am in getting things done around here. God is faithful, when I am humble, He WILL give me grace. That is as certain as the law of gravity. The gospel is true and living and hopeful and full of gladness for us who believe.

And now that I am fully encouraged and strengthened, this will be a good day....

more wedding pictures...

Mirielle and Jonathan in the kitchen...with Paul back there, too.

Evelyn with Charlotte Claire...
Kathryn Grace

Suzanne Eleanor 9, Kathryn Grace 12, Evelyn Joy 11, and Sonja Kathleen in front, 8 years old...

Suzanne with Camille and Charlotte Claire

Abigail Marie

Camille

So the day was quiet and peaceful. ha. The three youngest decided to trash Charlotte Claire's room and try on all the clothes. They went pretty wild, and I didn't like it very much. I ended up spending a few hours sorting and folding clothes, which wasn't what I wanted to do today. I washed some towels and undies and bedding, ran the dishwasher three times. We had lasagna, the frozen kind, it was on sale and I had a coupon, and since it served 12 (PartySize, it said on the box. ha.), we had to have it when some of us weren't here. Benjamin and Ashley ended up being here for dinner, along with Ben's friends James and Caleb. The boys are finishing up the room in which Ashley will stay when Ben goes back to the Army. I told Ben to remember he is on his honeymoon, and that the room will get done, not to worry about it.

Tonight it is quiet in here....the newlyweds went back to where they are staying for the week, the older ones are still at the Dome, the littles are in bed, Margaret and Kathryn and Evelyn are watching, "The Pacific". So I am distracted, I haven't watched it yet...I do not like war movies anymore, now that I have a son in the military.

a little rest today, maybe??

Janet, my sister's daughter, took the official photos, but I got some on my junky camera, too....here is Janet with Ashley and Ben...

Samuel James with Camille Anaya

Abigail Marie, the maid of honor....

Emily Anne with Charlotte Claire....my oldest daughter and the fifteenth child...Emily is old enough to be her mother....but don't tell her I said that....

Abigail with Camille

Cupcakes are yummy, Camille

oops, this one again...

I put these up backwards, but here is Ashley cleaning up the frosting from...

the cupcake fight...Evelyn couldn't believe they did this.

There were plenty of cupcakes...Cheryl made the cakes, they matched well and were all so pretty. And yummy.

cutting the cake....even though the cupcakes had already been gotten into.

The Mr. and Mrs.......right as Paul went to hug and congratulate them

Here comes the bride....

Suzanne with the flower girls, Charlotte Claire and Camille...

Miss Mali Rose

The punch fountain was fascinating to Jonathan and Charlotte Claire and Camille

Suzanne Eleanor with Charlotte Claire

Joseph, 19, Sam, 15, and Aaron, 18, with Jonathan...they said they are vampires....

The young and lovely mom of the groom

Miss Charlotte Claire

Christmas Day...Emily had just gotten back from India, and had some treats in her suitcase for the kids....

And now it is December 28th, and phew....nothing pressing to do....the house is rather needy, but other than that....and Paul and all the older ones are going to the Dome this afternoon/evening, life goes on....but oh my goodness we had a nice wedding!!! I wish I had taken pictures of the table settings and the food we prepared....Even though it was last minute, we had little favors with tags with their names and the date, and the tables were decorated so nicely. The food turned out so good! Joseph and Aaron cooked the wings, about six hundred of them, and Mali made the sauces, hot Buffalo, and barbecue. She also made the salad dressing, which came out just as I had envisioned, it was like the Olive Garden salad....we put black olives and pepperocinis and red onions and cherry tomatoes and croutons and parmesan cheese and green peppers and cucumbers in it....then there were rolls and Italian bread with butter, and butter and garlic pasta bowties....

There were eighty something people at the wedding, I was pleasantly surprised at the turnout on such a cold windy night. It was brutally cold out there. But it was warm and cozy in the hall where the wedding took place.

Miss Janet took some family pictures, so I am hoping she reads this and: sets up a Walmart photo account, selects some nice pictures, and orders them with her mother's credit card, and has them shipped directly to my house! I will pay you back, Jan....perhaps if I get some nice family pictures, I will send out my Christmas cards...perhaps

So Janet, thank you, and Claire, and Audrey, and Miss Becky....thank you all so much for all your help with your cousin's wedding....and we could not have pulled it off without my older childrens' total dedication and uncomplaining work in the kitchen, Joseph and Aaron and Sam and Mirielle and Mali and Margaret (who also played the piano for the ceremony), and the younger ones like Kathryn and Evelyn and Sonja who helped with finishing touches, and kept the younger kids busy while we did those last minute things.....

I am glad it is over, but part of me wishes I could live it again, it is like a blur....I am looking forward to seeing the nicer pictures that Janet took.

And we also had a nice Christmas...Kathryn got a Wii Fit, so it is being played almost constantly. I haven't tried it yet, but it is amazing. Jonathan got a few Nerf guns, and one hundred two extra bullets. There have been wars here. Nerf wars. Aaron got a really nice camera, which he used yesterday also. Charlotte Claire and Camille got plastic princess high heels and princess dolls.....I got slippers - two pairs...and kitchen towels and cashews from India, and some spatulas and silverware. And sixteen good children....(when I was growing up, whenever we asked my mother what she wanted for her birthday or for Christmas, she always said, "seven good children"....)

congrats to Benjamin and Ashley

More pictures and more stories...tomorrow....

merry Christmas!!!

A nice picture of Ben and Ashley, but the window behind them...ahhghhh! That is what happens when it is so cold outside and the kids wipe the window to see out.... Last night we did our Secret Santa, and Camille was delighted when everyone got a present. Paul with her, Joseph, and Suze.

Charlotte Claire and Camille

Mali Rose

Aaron

Mali giving Abigail her award...she got, "The most likely to get a ticket for driving too slowly." Sam got, "Most likely to conquer Russia."

Joseph holding Suzanne, Evelyn, Mirielle, and Paul...

Jonathan got a Pillow Pet, too. He told me, "The commercial is right! I loved it right when I hugged it, actually before I even hugged it!"

There are plenty of pictures of this morning, too, but there is much going on, and this takes too long. Camille is getting tired, she has been overstimulated all day and has eaten too much candy from her stocking.

Emily Anne made it home from India. She came over for a visit before she went to work at the hospital. She brought gifts, and opened the things we got her, Joseph packed her some dinner for work, and then she was off....it was too short, but it was so excellent to hear about her trip. Fascinating.

Jonathan is walking around playing the ukele that Joseph got for Christmas, and the four of the girls are playing with princess dolls.....we have eaten dinner, we had our Jamaican jerk chicken, marinated two days, and it was pretty good.

Today I missed my parents, especially when Paul called his to wish them Merry Christmas.....

We are all excited for the wedding...I am going to have a busy few days coming up, with finding nice things for everyone to wear, and buying and preparing the food....but it will all work out....I will be sure to get lots of nice pictures....

more pictures...

Margaret's birthday....Sonja, Kathryn, Marg, and Jonathan Aaron and Margaret's gingerbread Starbucks

Benjamin

My mother's Christmas doll collection

Rosie-The-Bad-Dog.

We had a nice time at my brother's house. The best part was seeing his grandchildren. Now it is Secret Santa time....

And, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!!!! And Holly, I am very sorry if I embarrassed you, did NOT mean to!!! Merry Christmas, and hugs to you. And as far as the under 21 law, I do not much care for the government deciding what we do here in our home. It isn't a big deal, since no one here under age likes beer or wine anyway, but if they did and we wanted to give them a little, I have no problem with that.....