well good morning, and happy Sunday, everyone!

I'm happy as a lark this morning because I am going bye-bye with my three oldest daughters! Woo hoo, they invited me, too, I didn't even invite myself! We are going on up to Lake Ontario for a few hours. I have a few seltzers in the freezer, and my suit and towel and sunscreen in my beach bag, I am ready to go!

Miss Evelyn is so kindly taking the younger girls on a waterfall excursion, Jon and Sonja are busy working today, Paul actually has to work today, so why not go on an adventure?

See, the thing is, when I was knee deep in small children and nursing babies, chronically tired, overworked and never caught up, I lived in faith that all things worked together for my good, and that God knew what I needed. When I felt overwhelmed, I took comfort in living in the moment, with assurance that each situation was weighed and measured, never more than I could bear. It did feel like it sometimes, of course it did! But day after day, I muddled through, loving the babies and the kids, and doing what I could to hold the place together, with Paul, who, with his calm demeanor, held me up. He is the kind of husband who would think nothing of making dinner for us when the kids were fussy or sick or I had a newborn who liked to cry. He would attack the Couch Monster, folding and putting things away, he would move the furniture on a Saturday morning and clean out all the popcorn kernels and Matchbox cars and Barbie shoes. I hated it, the dreaded under-the-sofa messes, when he started moving the furniture, ugh, but it was a good thing. See how good I am at Off On A Tangent? This post was about how crazy life used to be, and now it's a tribute to my dear faithful husband.

Sometimes I think about my snarky son Aaron, who once said, "On mom's tombstone, we should write, "She Tried." I DID try, yet if there was an adventure to go on, we were OUT THE DOOR. I didn't believe in leaving the kids home because it was easier, they all went with me to the store, we made it fun. We stopped to smell the roses. We went to cemeteries, and to parks, and to malls, and to cousins' houses. We of course went to meetings and church gatherings and celebrations, and away for weekends.

My point is that I am very blessed. I just feel honored and blessed that my older kids want to spend time with me. I appreciate them so much.

Don't go thinking it's all a picnic, either. Different personalities, especially with eleven daughters, sometimes rub each other the wrong way, and I feel like I live in my invisible striped shirt with my whistle. It's a gentle work, to steer them each around to seeing the other's point of view, and to encourage each to forgive and forget. I do put my foot down hard sometimes, backbiting is not allowed. If one child wants to vent to me about an issue, fine, you can always talk to me, but we will not sit around and tear someone apart.

Well, my girls will be here soon to pick me up. As you know, I like to sit here in my comfy chair until the last minute, then scramble around like an idiot, as if I've been so busy. It wasn't too many years ago that I WAS so busy, but now...ahh. I did get up early and drive Jonathan to work, turned on the pool filter, washed some dishes, put in a load of towels, let the dogs out and back in, gave them water, fed the cats and gave them a small lick of heavy cream, filled the Britta pitchers, straightened chairs and wiped counters, so I'm not an absolute bum. But here I sit.