glorious vacation....

"Vacation" is a tricky word. It implies rest and relaxation and drinks with umbrellas. Or at the very least, lying in bed leisurely in the morning. And since I am forgetful, or naive, or optimistic, or just plain stupid, I am always surprised how vacation REALLY goes.

This has been a good week, in spite of the hundreds of cups they go through each day, the inordinate amount of dirty clothes getting stacked in the hamper, and the ridiculous amount of times Rosie has gotten loose and visited the neighbors.

Today we might be getting Suzanne a new bike. I would rather buy a used one, and save money, but the few times I have done that the bikes have had things wrong with them. We pass the bikes down, if they should survive that long, and if they are all riding, Suzanne is the odd man out. They cannot ride on our road without direct supervision, and then just up a little one way, and down a little the other way, but they have been riding all around the yard, and having a great time.

I also promised that we would redeem four of the kids' Happy Meal coupons during this vacation, with a trip to the big library or the park. They say today is the day. I would rather stay here and play and get some things done, but during "vacation", that is not an option.

Thankfulness....it can be easy to spout a list of things, like the second graders doing their Turkey Project, but when I am in the midst of my day, (in my "vacation", ha), and in each thing that comes up, to be thankful.....then an amazing thing happens. It shows me how absolutely UNTHANKFUL I really am by nature. It shows me lots of grumbling and whining and blaming. It really brings me into need about the way I am, which is a wonderful place to be. God loves humility, and He gives abundantly to those who ask.

So during this "vacation", I will have my ears open to God, and give up my ideas about how life is supposed to be.....

Here are the things that I was tempted to grumble about already today:

1. The kids who go to soccer eat when they get home, so I leave some things out for them. What a treat to find the food still on the table this morning!

2. Someone made a cup of tea last evening and didn't drink it. It is still sitting on the counter (1. waste, 2. hard to wash the mug when tea has been sitting in it.)

3. Someone put one of the cheap flimsly bags in the garbage, which fell down, which someone didn't notice, and someone put eggshells and cereal scrapings on top of....

And so on. There is obviously no lack of things I can find to bring out the complainer in me. And for that, I am thankful.

Oh, and one thing I was thinking would be fun to do today: surprise Abigail and Joseph at work. They haven't told the people they work with how many kids that they have in their family, because of all the inevitable questions about laundry and such. Joseph likes to keep a low profile, and his fellow employees's chatting drives him crazy as it is, so they haven't said anything. The ladies know that Abigail moved out, but they think Joseph is our only child at home. I do think it would be funny to come in with 8 or ten of the kids....

Well, there is a huge fight over "The ladybug dress", Charlotte Claire wore it yesterday, and though it is too small for her, she does not want to pass it down to Camille. I knew trouble was coming when Kathryn just handed it to Camille to wear.....