if I could put time in a bottle...

Remember that song? Today is a day to go into the bottle, to save up for the middle of winter. It's absolutely deliciously gorgeous out there, some sun, some clouds, 72 degrees...the wind is rustling the trees, lulling me to sleep here in my quiet house. Yes, I said QUIET house. Now if you've been reading my blog, you already know that as the mom of sixteen kids, I have had a noisy house for years...and years...and years. So this new quiet thing is still yummy.

It's still rarely quiet. With two grandchildren visiting frequently, and babysitting one year old Anne, and having three homeschoolers, plus six other kids living here, adult kids who visit and come for dinner, the house is still hectic.

But today, after sweeping and washing dishes and cleaning up, and helping kids out the door with daddy to go to church, where they will eat lunch together after, I finished up my packing, and ha, here I sit. I still need to take a shower and remember my toothbrush and phone charger, and to pack up this nice little chromebook, so I can blog in Ireland, of course...but I like to wait until the last minute then hurry up.

You all know what today is, right? Besides being Sunday, October 8, it is the day we depart for Ireland. I cannot. believe. it.

Mirielle and I are sharing a checked bag, then each bringing smaller carry-on bags. We both tend to be over-packers, but she wins, she had FOUR toothbrushes packed. Four. But she realized that was ridiculous, so she took one out. I can't help it, I keep laughing about it. If I don't remember to grab my toothbrush last minute, one of those is going to be for me, and she'll be all justified in bringing so many, but also lamenting that she only has one extra. It's too funny.

We are bringing a bag of Starbucks coffee, and some of those miniature half and half things so we can have our morning coffee. Also the Melita pourover filter in case there is no coffee pot, and of course coffee filters. And bars: Quest bars and Balance bars, and no I am not getting paid to say that. We have emergency rations consisting of small packets of three varieties of M&M's. We have wipes and hand sanitizer and any over-the-counter meds you can think of, times two. Band-aids? Check. Boots. Sneakers. Sandals. She brought flip-flops for the shower. Of course she did.

Last evening I went online and purchased the tickets to tour the Guinness Storehouse! We have already researched where to park, she screenshot them and has them on her phone. We are going to the village of Howth, to do some cliff walking, hope I don't huff and puff myself to death. To say that I am excited about this trip is putting it mildly. One of the very best parts is spending time with Mirielle. You know, having eleven daughters is more blessing than one person deserves as it is. But the fact that I get along well with all of them, and enjoy spending time with each of them is unreal. I am not bragging, honest I'm not. And also can I mention that my daughter-in-law Ashley is my friend too? I love her more and more as time goes on. It reminds me once again of the parable of the man with 100 sheep, he lost ONE and was upset, he left the other 99 to find it. It IS possible to love so many kids, the 5 boys as well, each with all of my heart. I haven't spent much time with Emily lately because she is finishing up her Master's degree while still working full time. She is extremely busy and I know she misses us too, and when she graduates in the spring, we are going to have the biggest party! Anyway. I miss them when I don't see them often. Kathryn is in California, and ouch, I miss her. And seeing Ben and Ashley so often hasn't gotten old. They came over for dinner last evening with Anya, and I LOVE it. She says, "Grandma, Grandma...!", and I realize that she's talking to ME. I am GRANDMA. :)

(Mirielle is second from left in back, between Evelyn and Mali Rose)

I win Off On A Tangent!

My point was that spending time with Mirielle is one of the best parts of this trip. We are good at adventuring together, as we drove across the country to California a while back. In January! Riley is still teasing us that we brought a snow shovel. And since we drove out there and flew back, we left our supply of emergency snacks there: it filled up a whole cupboard. Protein/granola bars, by the dozen, I kid you not. Seeds. Cashews. Almonds. And water, oh the water we had in that car. We could have survived for a month. But over-packing aside, Mirielle is a great travelling companion. She is level-headed, but also open to drinking an Irish beer. I can't wait for her to drive on the "wrong" side of the road, as we are renting a car. It'll be the first pic. :)

I should go take my shower and get ready. Mirielle will come over all ready to go and I'll be sitting here in my raggedy Adidas capris with my messy hair, feet up, sipping coffee, and then I'll certainly forget to grab my toothbrush...

And don't worry, I am going to take pictures!