We started our week with several activities, which made me take the rest of the week much more slowly. I've yet to learn to find balance, and despite all of my husband's help and advice, I don't seem to know when to stop. Nowadays, however, my slowing down is impressed upon by my being out of breath or exhausted.
Anyways, on Monday the kids ran their 5 miles at the running club, followed by reading books and checking out their favorite, while I had a comforting conversation with my good friend, Laura. Then, we came home, had some lunch, and Elijah and I headed to have an ultrasound for our baby. She continues to grow and seems to be very healthy. We are grateful for this beautiful princess coming to our home soon.
While Elijah and I were out, the kids started packing for our two day rendezvous with our friends, the Wiederholds. So, yours truly, already tired from the morning activities, loaded the car with kids and bags, said goodbye to husband and mom, and took off for Sacramento. When we got there, my feet had swollen for being on my feet all day, so my sweet friend Amy had me sit with my feet up, got me some ice packs, and fed me like a queen. It seemed I wasn't the only one feeling like a queen; upon our return home the next evening, my mother said that she has the best son-in-law ever who took care of her better than her own daughter ;) Happy day! My mother thinks her red-headed country boy son-in-law is better than her brilliant, one-of-a- kind daughter!!! Maybe I should leave more often.
The kids left Amy and me alone chatting, and they disappeared playing, sharing secrets, biking and walking outside, or making videos of each other being silly and young.
The next day, we took the kids to a nearby lake, where they swam, dived, and kayaked. Charlton was in heaven that he was included in the big kid league, and he proved himself worthy of that title. They kayaked all over the lake for over an hour, and he still hadn't had enough. I was so proud of him.
Another thing that happened that made my heart swell with pride and gratitude was the brotherly bond between Jefferson and James shown as they helped each other in a hard situation. They had each settled to be on their own kayak, but they had never taken any lessons before. As I always do in situations such as these, I told them to pay attention to the brief instruction given by the lifeguard, and then trust in their own intelligence and skill. And that's what they did; they were amazing and fearless. Toward the end, when they were due back, with the exception of James, they were all close to each other. I couldn't see James, and so I got a bit worried, but I couldn't do anything since they were in the water and very far away. I finally pinpointed James, his little muscles struggling rowing his kayak. I also noticed that Jefferson had also looked for him, and not having found him nearby, separated from the group, and went back to his brother's side for help. Although Amy, worried about James, had asked the life guard to go and help, at that point I didn't feel the need for any other intervention; the brothers were together. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing your children share their love for each other without anyone telling them to do so.
After relaxing, watching a movie, playing some wii, and eating dinner, I had my kids reluctantly say goodbye to their friends. They had had a wonderful two day experience with their friends, and they would see them again very soon for Gillian's birthday. As soon as we got in the car, not even five minutes on the road, my boys all zonked out. My sweet Gillian followed suit soon after the boys. I didn't play any music the whole trip; I just used the time for pondering, planning, and conversing with the Lord in my mind and heart. it's not often when we are granted that kind of solitude and serenity.
The rest of the week was uneventful. I tried to rest, reading my books, talking to my friends, doing crossword puzzles, watching some Leverage, and playing with my children.
On Wednesday, I woke up and found my boys all reading. This was rare for two reasons: first, nowadays I'm the one waking up before them while they all sleep in till 10. A good thing for me, because it gives me time to read my scriptures and get ready for the day without interruption. Of course, I've got to break this habit of theirs soon, since school is around the corner. The second reason this event was rare was the fact that they were all reading the Friend, their church magazine. I usually find them reading through Star Wars book, or other fun books for this age. The church magazine is read during Sunday hours. I was impressed, and left without interrupting this beautiful hour.
Later that day, I took Gillian shopping for her Girls' Camp much needed items, as well as Jefferson for his need of shoes. My mother brought my boys when she came a bunch of nice dress shirts, as well as really good quality shoes. My boys have been very patient and uncomplaining about their shoes; Elijah had bought them new ones last year in the beginning of the year, and they have used them all year around, despite of their feet growing or little holes making their appearances. I was happy when mom brought shoes, but unfortunately I had given her the wrong size for Jefferson; so James ended up with three, and Jefferson with none. It was time to find Jefferson some shoes. When we stopped at Target, Charlton wanted me to take a picture of him on top of the red stone balls in front of the store. According to him, James had struck a similar picture a few years ago. Does he have a good memory or what?!
On Thursday we had a couple of different play dates for my kids. Gillian spent her day playing with her friend Afton, and my boys played at our home with several boys. A friend of mine brought lunch for me and we chatted. In the evening, Elijah surprised me with the fact that our so called cucumbers springing out from last year's garden weren't cucumbers after all, but cantelopes. The whole field was covered with them! We didn't plant any of them last year or this year, but we sure ate a lot of them throughout the year. It seems the seeds that my kids threw in the garden for compost magically turned themselves into fruit. Yum!!
On Friday, I had the kids do some school work since we hadn't done any this week. I was reading a few articles on line, enjoying the quiet time when as if in collaboration they each started asking me questions about what they were reading or playing. Add to that the 20 questions in Albanian uttered by my mother relating to laundry, dinner, and who knows what else, I found myself thinking I was in the ZOO! So much for quiet time.
Saturday was declared by Gillian as boring day. Why?! Because dad had asked each of them to do work inside and outside. Boring or not, these kids needed to learn to work hard alongside having fun. Gillian is a hard worker, but she is like me, she would rather read or paint, or even do other hard work than do house work. House work is boring! We both do it though, and our house is always clean whether we like doingit or not.
Gillian packed for camp, clean her room, did dishes, vacuumed, and helped clean outside. It was Jefferson's turn today to work on the yard with dad's help. He mowed the lawn, enjoyed trimming the edges with the weed whacker, trimmed tree branches, and learned how to blow leaves with the blower. James and Charlton helped inside and outside, but since this was Jefferson's day to do yard work, they tried to find different work inside. James asked if he could make some pumpkin bread, and Charlton begged to help. They did a great job alternating between each other mixing and pouring, and before we put the pans in the oven, they asked if we could insert a quarter in each pan for fun. Unfortunately, neither of them got the coins, despite of their efforts of eating a lot of their pumpkin bread!! Gillian got both of the quarters! Lucky girl.
Here are a few good lessons on hard work that I thought we could all learn from:
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