Week of May 17, 2009

Sunday: Allen had to work all day, so it didn't really feel like a weekend. But a wonderful thing happened. . . unlike the chaos of the last few weeks, today was beautiful, rejuvenating, and incredibly peaceful. The weather was gorgeous, so all the windows were open. Rather than doing chores or bugging the kids to calm down, I just let it be. I sat and read most of the day while the kids played near me. In the last 24 hours, I've finished two and started a third novel. It's been so long since I escaped with a book, and now I'm addicted again. Monday: Let the peace continue!! The kids piled the diaper boxes and let their imaginations take them on many adventures. Here, Jon and Ben are driving a "car" and making the noises to go with it.

Tuesday: In the dappled morning light, I captured a great metaphor of our home life. Here is a picture of our garden. Behind the gate lie toys, several bags of mulch, many strips of border that haven't been installed, lots of dirt, and 158 plants. How is it like our life? There are toys everywhere; many, many unfinished projects; good intentions; and piles of mess. But our life, like our garden, is full growth and life and beauty.

Wednesday: Today was, yet, another very peaceful day. I enjoyed a morning brunch with our MOPS group. It was in a lovely garden on a lovely day, and I am sad that it is the last meeting until fall. Here are the ladies from my small group: Suzanne, Leslie, Margie (our mentor mom), me, Lexi, and Gena is sitting with her newest little girl, Paige.

Thursday: Today was Ben's day and he asked to go to the zoo. He was so excited to see the elephants and giraffes. It was very crowded today, but it was nice that I ran into a bunch of moms from our MOPS group. Ben and I had lunch with Allen and I walked around the mall while I tried to get Ben to rest. We picked the other kids up and had a wild afternoon.

Friday: I am guessing the weather is changing again, because this morning the kids were bouncing off the walls. I tried so hard to get the laundry mountains conquered, but they wanted my attention so I didn't get as much done as I wanted. They did all sleep in the afternoon, but rather than housework, I got caught up on blogging. This is a picture of the house that Jon built. The kids get the blocks our almost every day. They love playing with the blocks for different reasons: Ben likes making noise with them, Maddie likes lining them up and knocking them down, but Will and Jon really like to build. I don't know that I've ever seen Jon knock them over intentionally, but he was really mad when Maddie knocked his masterpiece to the ground just after I got this photo. Saturday: Today was the first day of a three-day weekend for Allen, and he had the great idea to take the kids to the fishery. It was a beautiful day to spend outside, and we all enjoyed seeing the freshwater aquariums and, especially, the wetlands walking trails. Sadly, I discovered my point-and-shoot camera broke in my purse, but at least we had the SLR with us to capture the kids and nature.