It's Time to Thrive

I'm here...I'm alive...and I may even begin to thrive.  I have survived the hottest summer in my state since I was born.  I have survived the first trimester of my seventh pregnancy.  I have survived the beginning of our eighth year of homeschooling {while enduring the hellacious heat and the throws of first trimester life}.  I have survived the iron falling on my foot at the precise angle to leave a deep gouge between my pinkie toe and its buddy toe.  I have survived potty training...a boy.  I have survived Chris being gone two weeks and then calling one day to say he would be leaving for a month only to let me know {after all laundry had been caught up the next day} that plans had changed and he would in fact be staying in town.  I have survived the arrival of soccer season and getting five different players to five practices {on time}.  I have survived being smoked out of a great maternity skirt on ebay because I had no idea people wait until the last two seconds to outbid you.

But now it is time to thrive {in between naps}.  The inferno we have called our weather has finally broken and week twelve plus three days has resulted in a momma surge {relatively speaking}.  I have cooked dinner every night this week and the mixing, measuring, stirring and pouring have made a very happy three year old exclaim, "Mmm, Mmmm, Mmmm, deeeyishish!"

I have called the younger ones to my bedroom to sprawl out on the big bed and listen the charming tales of Among the Farmyard People.  This is a delightful book filled with sweet animal stories and a definite moral without being preachy.  I have laid on quilts in the backyard listening to Chris working in the barn, children playing and the occasional squabble.  I have driven home from soccer practice with a car full of sweaty kids singing That's Important To Me.  The gentle breezes descending on my fair state have refreshed not only body, but soul as well.





Fall is in the air and that means hearty, savory food, camping, hunting and this year maternity clothes.  It means I can sit in the front porch in the morning and greet the sunrise with a quilt wrapped around my legs because the morning low is 50° not 90°.  Fall also brings with it the promise of change, and we've got some changing to do around here.  I vacillate between thinking my home is cozy to freaking out because it's messy.  One minute my children shine and the next I want to chase the big yellow bus down the road screaming, "You forgot some!"





I have learned something this summer, the virtue of those in the home is only as strong {for the most part} as the oldest person who is around it all day long.  Now this is not some cover all blanket statement, but it is a pretty good observation.  That's a nice way of saying, "I have half assed it around here most of the summer {partly due to pregnancy and partly due to sinful human weakness} and the household has followed."  You may have seen the sign, "If momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy."  Same principle, different words. 

I've got alot of work ahead of me.