Well...duh....

Haha...I titled that b/c it is "Thanksgiving Eve" and all of Facebook is a flutter with everyone's things they are thankful for!  Yes - I am truly thankful.  I am thankful for the big things as well as the small things.  For a job that even though I might not always like...I am blessed to have.  Thankful for 4 HEALTHY kids that are all under my roof tonight.  As the years go by, there is no telling where God will lead them.  Thankful for an amazing husband...guys like him are few and far between.  Thankful for food in my fridge and clothes in my closet.  So many people are not so lucky.  Thankful I have a vehicle to take me where I need to go.  Thankful for little arms that hug my neck and little voices that say, "Mom, I love you."  Seriously...I don't need any more than that.  Really, I don't.  I listen to the news and realize (again) that these kids are merely on loan to me.  God has blessed me with them and He could choose to call them home any day.  For tonite, they are with me.  Years from now they might be across the country or even on the other side of the world.  Who knows?  My quiver is very full...and for that I am very thankful!

Hmmmmm????

Again...it has been FOREVER since I blogged.  I think I start all my blogs out this way!   I used to be so good about it, but now it seems I just don't have time.  That "life" things seems to constantly get in my way.  Then there is the whole "what should I blog about?" thing.  Sometimes at night when I am supposed to be sleeping, my mind is racing with ideas for blogging.  Does it ever come to fruition?  Ha - obviously not!  That's okay -- this blog is just going to be random - because that is pretty much the way my life feels right now -- random!  :-)

Sooooo...I like to "blog-stalk" if there is such a term.  I love to read other people's blogs!  Many blogs I read or follow are written by people I don't know in person, but I love to read what they write.  I can usually relate to them on some level, and love to see what golden nuggets of wisdom I can take away from their posts.  Sometimes it is learning how to deal with chaos, sometimes it is great spiritual insight.  One thing I have noticed though, some people tend to share waaay too much with the world!  (These are usually the people I don't know!)  If Charles and I had a knock-down-drag-out fight last night, I sure would not be writing about it on my blog!  Okay -- if you know me and Charles, then you have to know that us having a "knock-down-drag-out" really is out of the question...we aren't exactly "fighters".  Don't get me wrong -- we have our moments, but we are more of the "silent" fight types..ya know?  Okay - maybe I should stop now...haha!  Point is, I guess if we were the types to just put it all "out there" for everyone to read about, then it wouldn't matter.  I'm just not that type.

Oh well -- we hade new family pics made...do you like them?  Our ah-MAZING photographer friend took them.  He is so talented!  My wonderful hubby is pretty good too with the computer side of it...he can swap out faces...whatever you need to make the pic turn out, he can most definately do it!

In other news....I realized the other day how much things have changed once I had kids.  Well -- I guess I should say how much I have changed.  Before kids, my house was cleaned top to bottom once a week.  I was able to maintain for a while once Zachary was born, but fast-forward to today and -- well -- that's totally out the window!  I do remember dusting last week...and I did run the vacuum cleaner...one day.  Now, I do stay on top of my laundry -- which is a MUST with 4 kids!  [Insert side bar here: with 6 people living in the house, "staying on top" of laundry for me means that the laundry basket is "fairly" empty.  If I do get an empty basket, it only stays that way for about 3 minutes!]  And I do not let dishes pile up in the sink -- just can't deal with that.  I also do pick things up throughout the day and at night when the kiddos are in bed, so my house is at least NEAT....just not Cloroxed on a regular basis.  (Is it wrong that the smell of bleach in the bathrooms gives me great satisfaction?)  I had great plans one day last week to do some serious cleaning when Ava asked me ever-so-sweetly to sit with her and watch Dora (or Little Bear...or Max & Ruby...or Pinky Dinky Doo...or something like that.)  I had a sudden change in plans and did just that.  We sat on the couch doing nothing but chatting and watching tv...the whole time she was curled up with her blanket in my lap.  Who cares what got done that day?  At one time it would have eaten away at the anal-rententive side of me, but not anymore.  Maybe it is because Sarah and Ava are "it"...no more little ones for me.  I've seen Sarah start school this year and it breaks my heart to hear her tell me every day she missed me (but she is totally in love with school too - don't get me wrong.  I think she is schmoozing me!)  I figure Ava will be in school soon enough and then it will be just me at home during the day.  Believe it or not, I actually am NOT looking forward to that.  There are some positive things about it...like actually being able to go to the grocery store and focus on what I am buying....lunch with a friend on my days off...being able to clean the whole house at once...stuff like that.  They just won't be my babies any more.  :-(  I do have to say, even though Zachary and Josh are older, they will come curl up next to me and watch a movie or a tv show.  At least they haven't reached the age of not wanting to be around me yet (I don't think!)  But my girls....my baby girls.  They are getting to the fun stage of wanting to play in make-up and wanting their fingernails and toenails painted.  I can't wait for the manis and pedis!  So, all this to say...if you drop by my house and think, "ewwwww.....I could write my name on her mantle!  And look at those ceiling fan blades!"  I really don't care!  That means I have dropped what I was doing to love and hold and snuggle with those kiddos.  The other stuff just doesn't matter - not now anyway!  :-)  Don't get me wrong....I am far from perfect!  I say things I don't mean....have to apologize (something I think parents should do).  Everyone makes mistakes and each day starts with a clean slate ~ take advantage of it!