It's been one of those days . . .

You know those days that you plan and replan just to get the most fun out of them, but they still just somehow seem to go horribly wrong? This has been one of those days. From running late and missing almost all of the story time that I've been talking up all week, to the two bloody five-year-old knees, to the three-year-old's forgotten elevator phobia, to the busted gallon of milk to the whiny children who just "have nothing to do" in their house chock full of toys and just want to go swimming on the second day of March, it has just been one of those days. And I look on this blog and see that it has apparently been one of those months, too, since I have been MIA since the end of January. I could add that to the guilt pile, but that would just be silly.

So I sit and wonder what decisions I could have made to make the day run more smoothly. And there are some things. I could have gone to the store last night instead of this morning. We could have skipped making the Cat in the Hat hats, but that was supposed to be part of the fun. I could have let them go swimming in the bathtub. But some of the things that happen, just simply happened due to no fault of my own. They just happened because that's how life is. I just need to learn to deal with it better. And to remember that there were several really good days this month and a trip to Kroger where I didn't have to make a single threat this week. We've had days full of watching birds pour into our backyard and squirrel turf wars that have had me doubled over laughing. I just have to put down the binoculars on days like today and look at not just today, but all the days around it. It really does all come down to gratitude, and whether or not I choose to do it. I have to get back out of survival mode . . . again and start living, knowing that days like today will still happen, but I can decide how to handle them and how to remember them.

Last Week's Happies

I decided that instead of just focusing on the school week for the past week that I would just jot down what well overall.

1. LEAVES ARE EVERYWHERE AND EVERY COLOR. This excites me so much.
2. No air conditioning used and heat only used once.
3. One (possibly 2) Compassion kids sponsored this last week.
4. Little girl puppet shows.
5. Homemade halloween costumes. Hey, it's what you do when your child only wants to be Marie from Aristocats.
6. We talked about pumpkins all week last week and had so much fun.
7. Partly because of the pumpkin stuff and partly because it is delicious, there will be pumpkin bread for dinner tonight.
8. The kids had a Meme sleepover with awesome friends last Friday. They had a fantastic time, and we did, too. It was a much needed break that ended in sleeping until 8:00!
9. Halloween is almost over. Just not my favorite day of the year.
10. I just got a letter (her fourth) from my Lordylien. I might even share more about that later.

I love Fall

I don't know if it's the dropping temperatures after scorching Georgia summer days (and nights, who am I kidding?) or if it is the food, from pumpkin spiced everything to Thanksgiving feasts, or the colors of the ever-changing leaves that I adore most, but I just love it. ALL of it. And this year has been one of the best yet, especially watching it through blue little girl eyes. Here is Kayla looking for her perfect pumpkin. She found it by the way, and it was HUGE. Lily found hers, too. It wasn't quite as big.

Happies

Lots of news. . .

Kayla news: Since that last post, the girl colored herself green. When I walked in, she gave me her best deer-in-headlight look and said, "It was an accident." It was all I could do to not crack up laughing right there in front of her. We also had another bout of croup, but not so bad. Kayla overheard me saying something about, ". . . until Kayla gets rid of this bug." That was an interesting conversation that resulted in her locating the bug, which was behind her knee and itching. "I'm gonna kick this bug out of my body," she said and furiously started kicking the back of the driver's seat. She's also learning to read, very slowly, but some of that (probably a lot of it, actually) is due to my inconsistency. We're doing lessons in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and playing online games at starfall.com. It has been amazing to watch those neural connections being made.

Lily news: During the past few weeks, Lily has been talking nonstop. That's really nothing new, but now we can actually understand most of what she has to say. Most importantly, her birthday was yesterday. We had a big Mickey & Minnie family bash for her, complete with cupcakes. "Cupcakes mmmm." This statement comes with a full chest and tummy rub and a look of complete desperate need. It was a blast . . . a very exhausting blast.

Other Family News: We have a contract on a house! We're all very excited. The second time we saw it, Kayla walked into one of the kid rooms and said, "We'll take it!" There's a lot to do, but not a huge time crunch so I'm not really stress, but very joyful.

I'm not sure how this fits here, but I'm trying to make sure I don't forget it, so I'm putting it on this blog anyway. Fathers have been on the backburner of my brain for a week or so now, and this morning we were singing songs in church about God as rescuer, redeemer. Somewhere in there, it occurred to me that a perfect father would be the only one who could do this, who could see where we are, who we are, what we've done and pay our ransom, pull us out, restore us and still be able to love us. We've only sinned against him. Only the perfect daddy could forgive and still look at us with love. Probably just God's gift to me today, but I don't want to belittle that by letting it get piled in my brain with other stuff. I want to remember that, to not forget. I need to keep that Perfect Daddy in the forefront of my mind and heart all the time.