Best Day of My Children's Lives

My children just experienced on of the best days of their lives.  If you talk to me on a daily basis (i.e. Kami) you noticed that this week has really stressed me out.  Not only am I busy with church duties, but Eli took it in his head to turn into the monstrous 3 year old child that so far he'd refrained from being.  That meant I woke up to brown sugar spread all down the stairs, throughout the downstairs and mixed in with my heaping pile of clean laundry.

When I was vacuuming that up, he put a big pile of toilet paper in the bathtub with him.  I decided to ignore that and first clean the bedroom carpet downstairs where I discovered a big circle of stained, stinky poo (literally) carpet where Eli had apparently decided bathrooms were passé.  Three year olds are not always my favorite.

Suffice it to say, I didn't get enough done yesterday and when I went to bed last night I still had nothing for girls camp.

This morning I decided to heck with it and drove to my moms.  Where else do you go when you have had it?  She took care of the kids all day while I worked on the girls camp talk.  First the kids played outside and downstairs, watched the baby filly who I am calling Zanabel Fire (you have to name horses after their progenitors and this filly's dad is Zantor Fire or something like that)--Belle for short prance around the field.  She is just darling and pert and flirty.  I adore her.  Dad says I can claim her, I can name her, but when he sells her he keeps the money.  Boo.

Then Mom took the kids to the local cheese factory (ARGH--MOM BOUGHT ME MUNSTER CHEESE MY VERY FAVORITE AND I FORGOT IT IN HER FRIDGE, ACK, GRR, HITTING HEAD AGAINST WALL) where they bought milk and cheese curds and all sorts of stuff.  Then Mom took them to Payless where she bought them crocs so they could run out to the trampoline more easily.

When they got home we ate lunch (I got leftover shrimp alfredo on angel hair pasta--again, I take it as the HUGEST compliment that Miriam says I am the very best cook in the world . . . after Grandma Rasmussen).  Really, the best part of going to my Mom's is when she gives me the good stuff and doesn't let the kids have it.  She loves me the mostest.  Sometimes it feels good to be a little spoiled.  So lunch was yummy.

Then Mom took the kids outside and saddled Smoky and gave the kids rides for, sheesh, it had to be almost 2 hours.  Harriet rode a very little, before her terrified squawking indicated she was not entirely at ease on a large animal.  Miriam and Cowen are both getting a lot better at riding since they've been fortunate to have a few private lessons with my mom.

Then Mom and Dad (who had come home earlier then taken a horse to a vet and then returned) rounded up Maggie and Zanabel and we got to pet the darling for awhile.  Mom even took Harriet for me so I could love on Belle for awhile without Harriet getting nervous at the close proximity.  Not that Dad cared, he took Harriet and put her on Zanabel without so much as a by-your-leave.  Harriet looked at him, looked at Belle, and then gave one indignant and slightly terrified squawk and Dad took her off.  Very funny.  (Dad, if I use the name enough will you give in graciously like you did with Apache??)

After that we ate supper and then Mom and I chatted while I very slowly gathered my things to go.  While we were doing that Miriam ran in and asked if she could ride a 4-wheeler.  Apparently a neighbor was out and my kids surrounded him and demanded rides (Dad asked me if we'd had the stranger danger talk, sigh) so he gave them all rides.  He even let Miriam drive.  Be still my heart.  I am so scared of those things.

So when Mom was shutting the van doors and dispensing kisses, Miriam yelled out the door, "We are the luckiest kids in the world!"  I concur. I was feeling pretty fortunate myself.  With the kids taken care of so ably and wonderfully, I actually got a talk ready for girls camp.  Yay!!!

Can I call it a sermon??  It makes me feel so, so, so  . . . evangelical.  My sermon was taken from the text of Hymn 309--As Sisters in Zion.  Wish me luck tomorrow.