I have NOT quit blogging.....

Our internet hasn't been working, and I am not about to blog on my phone. I am hopelessly horrible at typing on that tiny keyboard.

So here's the story of the day. I got up and, like a good girl, went on my walk. I brought Suri, which seems logical, but she changes my walk. From a peaceful zone-out session, where thoughts can just flow and my brain can relax, to a train-the-pup-to-walk-on-a-leash session. She definitely needs practice, she is a quick learner, but dang it is painful sometimes. She smells the deer and the turtles and the foxes, she snuffs in the grass and stops randomly to pee and sometimes jerks the leash so suddenly I almost fall over, especially if I am in the gravelly stuff on the side of the road.

Anyway, back to the story of the day. We were walking towards home, both of us panting for a drink of water, when over the last hill I saw in front of our house...flashing lights. Dang. But I quickly realized the lights were only yellow, no fire trucks or ambulances or police cars. But the Telephone Man and his friend were there. Two trucks with flashing lights, just to fix our internet. Seems they came first thing in the morning but no one was up....the little girls actually let them in the house, but Telephone Man said he realized no one else was home and just left the new modem there. I told him plenty of people were home, just not quite awake yet. oops. The little girls apparently told them that, "no one is here but us." Smart girls. Smart mom. Now, the Telephone Man DID all this morning to confirm someone would be home, Evelyn just said, Evelyn who was in her room when they came.

Anyway. I was horrified. I mean, after I get back from my walk each day, I clean up the house. Sweep up and tidy popcorn bowls from the night before. Pick up the random 55 calorie beer bottle that was on the table next to my chair. But, I hadn't done these things yet, and argh, the Telephone Man saw it all. Not that he hasn't been here before, but. I was still a bit mortified. Why oh why can't anyone ever stop in right after I have cleaned up?

Today is Evelyn Joy's 14th birthday. She is my eleventh child, sometimes I call her Eleven instead of Evelyn. She is a force to be reckoned with, Miss Evelyn. she is outspoken and capable and intolerant of excuses. She has her own style, and always looks nice. We are going to a movie tonight, "A City Of Bones", if she finishes the book in time, which she certainly will, she got in the mail from Target yesterday. Tomorrow evening we are celebrating with burgers on the grill and ice cream pies, which she made yesterday.

Today we are going to also celebrate, as our tradition is to drag those birthdays out for a few days. We are going to the beach or to a bakery or something. We shall have a discussion and decide. I have kids nagging at me to get off of here and decide, no matter that I haven't been able to blog in days and am suffering from having too many stories jumping around in my head, begging to be told.....

off to germany....

Not me. Paul. Tomorrow morning, bright and early. For two weeks. I am not too jealous. Well, I wasn't until I found out he was traveling with a co-worker. A co-worker he jokingly referred to as, "Traveling Buddy", which is from a movie we saw a while back. I didn't mind that he referred to her so jokingly and rather fondly, but I found the fact that she is a HER...rather disconcerting. I trust him. I am not REALLY bothered. Just a little bothered. He does this thing sometimes where he gets the point of what I am trying to say, then waves away the rest of what I am saying, he got the point and doesn't want the boring details. Sometimes. Not always. But I hate it. I thought of him traveling with his Traveling Buddy, and doing that to her when she explained something in too much detail. Ha, as if. No fair. Am I a huge witch with a capital, "B" or what?

I really do trust him. I love him. He loves me. Why then am I a teeny bit jealous? Because here I am at home, living a boring life, trying to keep things going around here, yawn, and he is going on this fun trip overseas. wah.

Now, we all know my life is not really that boring. Why just today I went to Save-A-Lot and bought 12 frozen chicken pot pies and two Red Baron pizzas! I frequently work at the baseball stadium for church fundraisers, so it's nice to have convenient and fun food for the kids left at home, so they don't mind as much that I am gone. As if, ha, they love being the bosses and having me not here sometimes.

Anyway. I wish I had a fabulous and exciting career and could be hopping on a jet to Germany in the morning, but alas, I will be dropping Paul off at the airport, taking Suri for a walk, sweeping the floor, and planning the rest of our summer.

I am heading in to work out as soon as I am done writing here. I have successfully procrastinated the things I have to do today....researching some fundraising numbers for an article for the church, writing a few letters of intent to homeschool two of our kids.

Joseph, Aaron, and Samuel are gone for the weekend on a boys' youth camping trip. Aaron planned the menu, bought the food, and prepared some of it. They will be eating well. Barbequed pulled pork for dinner, eggs and sausage for breakfast, chicken fajitas for dinner tomorrow night. Stuff for s'mores, granola bars and juice for snacks.

But anyway. The girls, (Mirielle, Margaret, Kathryn, Evelyn, and Suzanne) will be going over to Emily and Abigail's house tonight for fellowship. Jonathan is with my niece Katie at Olive Garden. The little girls are playing Duplos with their cousin William, Linnea was here for a while but has gone home now.

I cut up a watermelon, a cantaloupe, and added some grapes, so we could have some yummy healthy fruit in the 'fridge. Well. One of the kids picked up one of the containers with one hand, plonk, it spilled all over the table.

See, my life is exciting!!!

And now, I am off to exercise before it gets too close to dinner time and I reason that I don't have time.....

home on a sunny summer day....

Aah, sitting here in my comfy chair while the sun shines and the day passes by. This morning I woke to Miss Camille barging into my room to tell me that Char pushed her because she didn't want to play Barbies. Okay, okay, I'm up. Also, Mom, she said, Suri peed in the living room. ugh. Okay.

I walked with Suri this morning. She has a ways to go in learning not to tug on the leash, but it is hopeful, she gets the idea, to walk with the leash slack between us...but she finds these wonderful things to suddenly lunge after and sniff, and places she just HAS to pee in....she does not leave my arm aching like Miss Rosie The Bad Sheepdog did...oh, that pulling tugging sheepdog, I miss her and her horrible ways.

After sweeping and cleaning up messes and doing some laundry, feeding some kids, eating my own breakfast, I finally sat in my comfy chair. I see a basket of clean clothes on the couch, and two suitcases still half unpacked. The popcorn bowls from last night are still on the coffee table. But now there is talk about going on an adventure...perhaps a library trip, to get an Audrey Hepburn movie for Waffle Night. The summer is drawing to a close, and we have lots of things left on that summer list....next week is going to be jam packed, crossing things off like going to our friends' pool, rollerblading at the park on the lake (I will just walk, thank you), and perhaps the museum in the small city if it rains, and have Iced Coffee Day. Evelyn's birthday is on Wednesday, so we will celebrate that in style. She wants to go see a movie that comes out that day.

So now we shall head to the library....

summer....please stay a while....

me today...waiting while Margaret helped Abigail do some banking....

This is one of my favorite pictures from our camping trip: Sonja K. and Kathryn with Paul.

Our internet is not working well these days, making the already challenging task of finding a chance to blog...well, more challenging.

Today was a good day. I woke up too early, it was chilly and rainy. I had to take Abigail to a dr. appointment, but I really wanted to put the pillow over my head and snooze some more. I got up and showered, and the dilemma began: should I sit down in the still quiet morning with a cup of coffee, and try to write? Cruise the blogs? Read the news? Oh, that sounded like the winner. The first choice. Cozy. Comfy. But. But. I knew that I wouldn't feel good about that decision. So. I put on my sneakers, and I walked. Almost two miles. Briskly. I felt good about it.

Breakfast: two 16 calorie rice cake-y things with crunchy peanut butter...and a little bit of Nutella, which is NOT a health food, but oh so yum. And a coffee. Out the door with Margaret to pick up Abigail.

This afternoon, I worked out, too. It had been 13 days since I had a good workout, and darn it, I don't want that to happen again. I have a whole list of excuses, of course.

Yesterday I cleaned the little girls' room. Oh my. How does it get so messy in there? Every time I clean it, I insist it will never get that messy again. This time...it was kind of sad, but I just KNEW it wouldn't stay clean. Sad because that means I am finally growing up.

I don't want to grow up.

home from the Adirondacks...

It is always sad to start back into Real Life after vacation. Vacation ends pretty quickly for me when it is time to pack up the campsite. Six tents, a sun shelter with a few pretty blue tarps added on to make it bigger, rolling up the sleeping bags and bagging up the bedding. Oh, the towels and bathing suits and dirty clothes and all the stuff that accumulates on the picnic table...packing it all into the van and the truck....then bringing it all in when we get home. I asked the kids not to start putting their laundry in, it is smarter to consolidate when there is so much to do...

It was also dinner time. I made hot sausages and chicken and roasted cauliflower and squash from the garden, Aaron heated up some green beans from the garden.

There are still some bags of bedding, and two suitcases to unpack.

So here I am, back from vacation, all refreshed. ha.

I got stung by a bee yesterday and my hand is all swollen.

Of all things, I got my period the first day we were there. And it was no picnic. It was an awful one. The Running To The Bathroom Every Hour kind of awful one. I finally got to go swimming today, on our last day there. The water was absolutely wonderful. Cold and clean. I said to Mirielle, "I don't know what tomorrow will bring, and yesterday is past...but today, I am happy."

Favorite moments while camping:

We got flooded and soaked with rain the first night. It poured and poured. It sounded lovely drumming on the tent, but then my blanket started getting wetter and wetter. When morning came, Paul made eggs in the rain while Kathryn held a beach umbrella over him. When I pointed it out to Joseph, he didn't say anything but just had this look on his face, that he appreciated the cuteness of it.

Emily and I took a ride down the highway to the nearest big town to find a laundromat to dry some bedding. Well, would you believe that we found not just a laundromat, but a BAKERY laundromat??!!! Yup. Homemade donuts. Made right there in the little shop in the front. Yeah, we did have one. Cinnamon. Oh my goodness. We sat on the bench on the sidewalk in that pretty little Adirondack town, sipping our iced coffees and deciding to enjoy life, running in every little while to feed more quarters to the dryers. Emily is a nurse, and she specializes in death. Well, she sees it all the time, deals with the families, and knows alot about it. So she knows pretty well how precious and unpredictable life is, and she certainly knows how to make the most out of a situation.

We had campfires. We solved the mysteries of life, we talked about Israel, we spent at least an hour one evening telling fart stories, which got more and more funny simply because they were so stupid. All of the kids were there except for Benjamin (Army), Abigail (just had surgery), and Aaron, who had to work.

And yes, we had a second row of seats at the campfires. And yes, we played musical chairs.

We kept all the food in the back of the big van, because there ARE bears in the mountains.

We have two kayaks now, kept the kids busy at the beach.

They caught some fish.

I have lots of pictures on my phone, but....our internet is slow, and I am just a wee bit tired. I am glad to be home, glad that we still have some summertime left, glad to have had such a good time with Paul and the kids....

this is NOT how I planned it....

I spent the night in the camper last night with the younger kids. The princesses went to a pretty pink party in their friends' camper while I unpacked and set things up in the camper. Then I moseyed on down to visit with my friend Linda. I got to hold her baby, and sit by the fire and talk for a bit. When the girls were done with their party, they skipped back to our camper, chatting about doing the limbo and having snacks. They were so happy to be there they snuggled right into their beds and went to sleep. I must say, it was too easy. I appreciated it, too. I think that because I had so many years of bedtimes being so much work, that now...well, I appreciate the simplicity.

Not that I wouldn't do it all over again. I miss those babies!

Anyway. Margaret stayed at the camper with the kids while I went out shopping for the rest of the stuff for our church grill. Aldi, Wegman's, Walmart, the dollar store, BJ's. Out to the church to put stuff away, a stop to bring some things to the camper, dropped Kim off with all of her groceries...then home. Home, to Sam, who just got home from work on his 18th birthday. And home to...no water. It had been running just a trickle, then stopped all together. I had to leave after just a short while to pick Paul up from the airport. Welcome Home, Hon! We Have No Water!

And so he is working on it.

We have the house almost to ourselves. Joseph is sleeping already, he stayed up the entire night last night so he could get back on a sleeping-at-night schedule, he had turned nocturnal again. I guess he draws better during the night. Anyway, Aaron will be home from work soon, but that's it. The rest of the kids are at the camper. Mirielle so nicely agreed to be in charge of them so I could spend some time with Paul, who has been in Louisiana all week.

So here we are.

Paul is trying to fix the pressure switch, he doesn't even know if that is the problem.

I can't really make us a nice dinner with no water.

But, I know Paul. He will make the best of things, and if we have to jump in the pool out back instead of our nice hot showers, it won't be the end of the world.

Life is one big series of trials. Tests. Learning experiences. God has so much to teach us, if we care to listen. I think Jesus just plain jumps up and down with joy, up in heaven, when we learn that we have been too proud, when we acknowledge we have been too mean, too right, too rough. When we forgive, and when remain patient when we are sorely tempted to complain and lose it. This is a good fight, one that yields the fruits of the spirit.

So. I have some things that people forgot to pack, to gather up, Paul and I are leaving in the morning to go to our church conference. I probably won't be writing for a while, until maybe Wednesday, and probably not even then, as I will be unpacking the camper and packing for going camping in the Adirondacks, in tents....shopping, preparing food, packing....phew. You can bet I will be glad when we get there and I can sit on that beach with my feet in the sand!

a day at home....

Here is what I did today, in no particular order.....

1. Stayed in bed too long this morning, finishing my book. It did not get better, that Swedish mystery, but I finished it because I thought it would get better.

2. Two little girls came and climbed into bed with me, all happy about the upcoming church conference and our stay in the camper. They LOVE that camper. They ran in and out of my room while I finished the last few pages of that awful book which did not redeem itself. They left the door open, and Suri found me. She climbed into bed and visited me too.

3. Jonathan and I husked the corn for dinner while Sonja K. helped Charlotte Claire and Camille learn to ride their bikes.

4. I spent three hours...yes, THREE hours cleaning and sorting dollhouse stuff. Who knew toys just sitting in the living room could get so dusty? The dollhouse stuff will be used for Children's Day at the conference.

5. I swept the living room and kitchen floors twice.

6. Laundry.

7. Dishes.

8. A nice swim....really nice.

9. Dinner: steak fajitas with green peppers and tomatoes from the garden, plus black olives and romaine and cheese (not for me, I do not like cheese). Then angel food cake with strawberries for dessert.

10. After-dinner walk with Jonathan. We saw deer on top of the hill, but no sign of those baby snapping turtles hatching.

11. A nice phone conversation with my handsome husband who is still in Louisiana. He calls every night, and it seems like it is more talking than we get to do when he is home.

12. I had to go pick up some of my daughters from my niece's house....I had talked to Paul on the phone before I headed over there, the first thing I heard as they scrambled into the car was, "What took you so long?!" I said, "You mean THANK YOU MOM, right?"

13. I managed to stay home all day except for the 18 mile journey to pick up the girls and back. Samuel needed a ride to the small city to the Army recruiting station to do P.T., but Mirielle so kindly took him so I could stay home. I was very thankful.

14. I ate chocolate this evening while watching, "Bridget Jones" with some of my girls. Too much chocolate. I wish I hadn't cracked it open, but there is nothing I can do about it now. I had such a good day up to that point. Dang.

Tomorrow, I have to go out and about again. I have to bring Abigail to do some things in the small city....then we are moving in to the camper for a few days. I am almost packed. Friday I am leaving early early to get the last minute items for our church grill-snack bar. Fresh produce and fruit. Plus whatever we will need while we stay in the camper until early next week. Then I pick Paul up from the airport in the afternoon, yay.

Next week will be busy too. The conference ends on Tuesday, Wednesday I have to unpack the camper and pack for our camping trip, which begins Thursday. We go in tents now, pulling that big camper is just too much. So we have to pack for that and shop and prepare food....also on Wednesday night, there is a funeral service/memorial for my Paul's dad, who passed away a few months back. Sadness....

We are going to the Adirondack mountains for our camping trip. The cold clear lakes and high peaks and quiet and the smell of the pine trees....the bears and the racoons....the campfires and the walks and the shady beach. Of the sixteen kids, I think just Benjamin, Aaron, and Abigail won't be able to make it. Aaron has a real nurse job now, which is nice, but he just started and can't very well ask for the weekend off.

Have you ever tried to pack for a five-day tenting trip to the mountains for 15 people? We pre-grill and freeze lots of chicken breast, pre-cook rice and baggy it up, use lots of canned veggies, fresh fruit, eat eggs for brekky. The older kids all pack their own clothes and bedding, but I have to make sure they have everything because there have been times, believe me, when I wondered what on earth they were thinking, not bringing a jacket because it was so warm when we left.....

We take the back few seats out of that beautiful 15 passenger van, and put in all our bins of foods and dishes and clothes and tents. Then we bring the truck with bikes and kayaks in it, and perhaps the minivan, perhaps a car....the state park we go to is wonderful, so far we haven't had a problem with too many people. We do sort of behave, no drinking and carrying on or anything, but we do get a little loud at the campfire. Silly. Our neighbors always get us back by waking up at dawn talking too loudly.

Anyway. I ramble on when I get tired, and it is after one a.m.....and I have to get up early, am picking Abigail up at nine. dang, after my shower and reading a few pages of my new book, I will scarcely get any sleep! Especially if the book is better than the last one and I can't put it down!