The life must go on..

Remember when you could be sick and sleep all day?
It's a very distant memory..I think I'm forgetting what that feels like. It's peace and quiet, being miserable in bed..ALONE. Well that's not going to happen.
So, we were sick together and we shared our germs very freely..my poor mother came over to help me survive, and I think I might have gifted her this lovely sickness in my gratitude. All I have to assuage the guilt, is that she gets to lie in bed ALONE and sleep it off. Okay, so maybe later in life I'll get sick, just so I can lay in bed and recover by myself. I'll put it on a list.

So now we have the fever..cabin fever that is. The 4pm madness sets in and no one is happy, everyone hates TV and movies and the Wii. No one likes each other very much either. Daniel is not sick so he gets attacked as he arrives home. Well that's the update. So glad I put it to words, it makes us look just lovely. Lovely we are not, sick we are.
I just heard a quote this week on Facebook, it was something like how the kids must be fed each night. So true, I wish they could just skip a night..I mean is that too much to ask!?

It got us

Jumping!

( Daniel and the girls, two weekends ago in Sedona)


We were doing so good. Everyone around us was falling ill and we were happily sending "I'm sorry your sick" e-mails and texts..
And then it hit. Low grade fevers, runny noses and yucky coughs. It hit all of at once, which is actually the good way to go, this way it doesn't drag on and on...Daniel is left to catch it. He is trying to stay strong.
It is very rare when you can start reading to all of your children at 7:30 and then have them quietly drift off to sleep. We were all crashed out on the couches and chairs and the floor, until Daniel and I woke up about 9:30 and carried them to bed. Such sweet memories.
No school today, thankfully its an actual holiday, or I might feel guilty laying around doing nothing...Nah!
Back to Nancy Drew, my five little ones, the couches and warm blankets..

Just another day

Here we go again...I think this is my new normal and I'm actually beginning to like it:0..I mean it. I used to think that at some point, after having five kids, I would fall into this beautiful schedule of sleep, cleanliness, organization, school work, ect.. But I am realizing that this is not the plan. The plan looks a little more like this:

Sleep a little, shower quickly, (but efficiently), fold some laundry, switch some laundry, change some diapers, flush a few toilets before Quinn can fish in them (no one else seems to know how), look for clean jeans and matching socks, hope I don't stick to the floor on the way to make breakfast (but I probably will), yell at the kids to do their chores, give someone cold medicine, wipe a nose, wipe a bottom, yell at the kids to some chores, put someone in time out, find the baby, brush someones teeth, clean up the kitchen, answer a phone call (in 1 minute or less), prepare for school, find the kids and yes, ask them sweetly to finish their chores, type on my blog while listening to how they are fighting ...tell Noah to find the baby, put on make-up and brush my teeth, and finally at 9am start school! (ok, 10am)..

Give or take a few minor details, I have accepted that this is my morning. And I actually think it's funny.

Cancer sucks

Today, I went to the Cancer Treatment Center with my dear friend, Michelle. It is always bittersweet to sit in the rooms and listen to her doctor talk about her cancer. They are so impressed with her progress. She is doing so well and they are preparing her for surgery. I don't having anything poetic to say, or any real insight. My brain is a little foggy from lack of sleep and a long morning of lots of information. But I will say, as I watched another couple walk in smiling bravely at the friendly staff. And I heard them say, welcome, we will start your tour soon. My heart dropped. It's in those waiting rooms that you really see people. People with their loved ones, like me. Who sit and listen, trying to understand and retain everything and trying to think of any questions to ask before they leave the room. It's not until they've been gone that you think of something smart to say. Then there are people walking in for the first time, scared and unsure. Wanting a miracle, but dreading the thought of what's next. And then, the veteran's, who have been there enough to know the staff on a first named basis. Who walk in with or without hair, in a bath robe and slippers, or a beautiful wig, false eyelashes and make-up perfect. Brave faces, sad faces, sick faces. It takes only a momentary smile across the room and a small talk to make a connection with them as they sit and wait their turn to walk through those double doors. Scheduling, your head nurse, your lead Dr., your natropath, your nutritionist, your psychologist, your surgical team...Teams and teems of people. And I found myself today, with a veteran. Her hair is gone, the "lump", the "mass", the thing that changed everything..is all but gone. Hair seemingly a small price to pay for the destruction of the disease that raged within. But as we walked through the halls and each staff member greeted her by name and smiled they were encouraged at how amazingly her cancer has been all but beat. I was still filled with fear, like the first time I walked in..And hope, there has always been hope and of course sadness. There are still so many that continue to walk through the doors, who quickly become veterans, who so quickly are put through the machine of "cancer care"..I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that one of my dearest closest friends is going through this. I never thought I'd become a familiar person at a Cancer Treatment Center. I was hoping, like us all, that those buildings would remain only something I saw in a commercial. It seems ridiculous to be talking about MY sadness and MY discomfort. I know Michelle has been through so much this year and unfortunately will continue to battle this thing. And honestly, I don't know what the plan is. I don't have some great insight on the outcome. I just know that day by day she is getting better and I am thankful for that. It also gave me such a powerful sense of life, today, I remember that each day is precious. When we have moments of clarity, outside of ourselves it reaches deep inside our core and heightens our senses to the reality of the gifts that surround us. I'm thankful for that moment, even though it hurts.

Brooke's Central Perk

You know, it is really hard to stay in contact with everyone you love. And I'm thankful to say, I love a lot of people. I have made so many great connections and I'm sad to say, there is not enough time in the day to see them, hug them, visit with them and tell them how they impacted me. In my feeble attempts to stay connected, I blog, Facebook, text and barely say two things over the phone before I am totally interrupted. I'm not sure how or change this, it seems like every moment I have is taken to keep life afloat each day and each evening and weekend I'm hoping for the opportunity to have a conversation with the guy I married!

I'm going to start a yahoo group. I can hear you all cringe and think "another group!"....but hear me out and maybe you'll change your mind:)

I'm part of a home school yahoo group. I love it! I get e-mails from everyone all the time and you can read them or delete them. We share tips on how to school, things to sell, mom's night outs, support meeting, recipes and even food co-ops.

AND, here is the big AND..the real reason I'm doing this is "my church". It's not an outreach, it's not a mission. It is a way to try and live church, rather than just going each Sunday. When I read about the church in the book of Acts, it reminds me that that is what church is. And it's a lot less like a Sunday school, or a youth group, or a worship service and a lot more like a community for people sharing love, life, food, thoughts, joy, grief and whatever comes at us each day.

So, in response to my ever-lagging ability to share my life the way I'd like. I'm going to attempt to share my life at least on-line and daily with those I love. So if you want to join the group type in your e-mail on my blog page. Feel free to share whatever is on your mind, sell things, bake things, set up play dates, ect ect... It is limitless.
Just put your e-mail address on the join box and you will then be added to the group. We can try it and see if we like it!