Today.

What a day! Sometimes days just blur into one another. I never stop to ponder the beautifully mundane and normal things that occur in my house. With a family of seven, there rarely seems time for such things. I'm the perverbial headless chicken. Today for some reason I was able to slow down my own brain and admire what Jarrod and I have come to create, hmm..hmmm... with a little help from God of course. I was able to have great little morning conversations with each of my big boys this morning. They were all running behind and normally those mornings are filled with yelling "hurry up,you'll miss the bus" "eat your breakfast!" "brush your teeth!" etc. I felt each conversation, although nothing out of the ordinary, were lovely.

The kids were getting along with one another. Again with five kids, two or more of them always seem to be in a fight of varying degrees. I had no fights to break up, no threats to dish out. Awesome.

I just laid OJ and Wyatt down for naps. Their morning was splendid. Ordinary, but splendid. Wyatt had a diaper blowout of gargantuan proportions, and I giggled in horror and plopped him in the bathtub. His favorite place. He got scrubbed then played, and of course was howling when I picked him up and out of the tub. His tantrums are often times extremely frustrating for me. This morning I was thinking, "I hear ya bubs, I wish you could spend an hour in the tub too."

OJ is still in her jammies, hair messy, and singing herself down for a nap. This morning as Jarrod was saying his good-byes. She screams, "Daddy! Wait! I haven't given you a kiss!" Then in her best dramatic voice, "Daddy, how about I give you a kiss like the French?" He was horrified. I looked at him and told him its fine. He bent down over the gate, she grabbed his face in between her hands and proceeded to give him a smooch on each cheek. He was relieved. Then she insisted on a big squeeze and hug, a high five and a fist bump. HILARIOUS! Girls are nothing if not time-consuming.

I'm thankful I got a workout in with little interuption and I feel energized and ready for my new week. I started to tackle the toys. Too many, always! Its so frustrating. OJ has nine baby dolls. I was awe-struck. This is too many. She rarely plays with them. I know there will come a time when she'll phase back into them, but NINE! Ridiculous. I tossed three of the really grungy ones. Old nasty purses, all the fast food toys. My plan is to get her a plastic tote for her barbies, which currently reside in a large shoe box. And another tote for her remaining babies and all the accessories. After naps I shall tackle the cupboards in their room. Puzzles with missing pieces, games never played, who knows what all I'll find up there.

Hope all of you can find your blessings today!