Thankful #30 Sleep

If you ask my children what my favorite thing to do is, they'd tell you it was to sleep. They are oh, so wrong. And I don't even know why they think I like to sleep. I tuck them in to bed every night and then I go to sleep after an hour or so of accounting work. Then I wake my children up in the morning to get them out the door for school. I don't nap either. On a rare occasion, maybe once every other month, I will take a Sunday afternoon nap. But that just started after Gavin got a little older.

I really don't sleep that much, so I don't know why they think that is my favorite thing to do.

Sleep makes a big difference for me. Sleep changes everything. It is like a natural Prozak for me. Life can be downright aweful and if I am tired, my whole perspective changes if I can get a good night's rest.

And my heart doesn't give me as many problems when I am rested.

With as great of results as sleep makes for me, I really should get more.

But it feels like such as waste of time to sleep. Like right now. I should be sleeping, but instead I am typing away about sleeping and am going to pay the consequences in the morning.

I wish I didn't need sleep. I could accomplish so much more.

Thankful #28 Work

I have always really liked working. I like to work to get a clean house. I like to work and get my Primary calling done. I liked it back when I was an accountant and had to go to work everyday. I like working part time using my accounting now. I also like mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms. I like to exercise, which is a whole lot of work.

 I really just like being busy and accomplishing things, which is basically what work is to me.

On occasion I get feeling down. And the solution? Go to work. Find something purposeful to do. For me it isn't watching a movie or reading a book. And I love reading books. It is going to work, whatever that may be at the moment. Whether it is scrubbing baseboards, making a few extra meals for my freezer or for someone else, taking the kids to their various activities, or holding a presidency meeting at my home. Going to work seems to take my mind off whatever my problems may be.

Of course sleep changes everything. I can't be sleep deprived and try to push myself to work. That makes me sick. Literally. And my heart can't handle it. Seriously.

Sometimes I just want to wallow in self pitty. And then I just remind myself that the only way out is first through earnest prayer and second, work. Find some kind of work and get busy. It is the only way to make it through.

It always works.

 

Thankful #27 Danielle can walk again

Danielle had that spot removed from the bottom of her foot a few weeks ago. She ended up with 5 stitches. She wasn't too uncomfortable except that she couldn't walk. Couldn't put ANY pressure or weight of any kind on that foot. Super strict orders from the doctor. 

That meant no walking without crutches. No riding bikes. No P.E. No recess. No eating with friends at lunch because she could easily be bumped and fall on that foot and put pressure on it. 

For me, the no riding the bike was the worst. Well, that and she couldn't do any jobs around the house. She got all the benefits of being in our family without any contribution. Plus, I had to bathe her. Had to carry anything for her. It was a lot of work. And I seriously think Danielle loved every minute of it!

 

She finally got her stitches out after 3 weeks of being on crutches. This meant she could walk on her foot, but still had to wear a special shoe. The interesting part was that she lost so much muscle in that leg that she could hardly walk. It took 4 days before she was almost walking normal. She used her crutches on and off for 4 days while she regained the muscle.

And I put her back on her bike to and from school after she gained the muscle back. She still can't walk normal, but she can ride her bike. She is no longer being toted to and from school behind me in the bike trailer. 

Gavin is happy. He does not like to share anything, including his space. He did not like her being in the trailer with him. And I am happy because my legs aren't burning pulling all that weight behind me. I think between her and Gavin, I was pulling 100 pounds. 

I didn't drive them in the car because Spencer and Nathan really like riding their bikes every day. And Gavin refuses to get in his car-seat without a huge fight. It wasn't a battle I wanted to fight. So I pulled that girl behind me for 3 weeks! Okay, only 2 because she missed a week of school. But it was really long and I am so glad she can ride her bike again. And unload the dishwasher. And clean her room. And do whatever jobs she normally has. And help clean with us (We clean a few businesses on the side every week and Danielle's help was totally missed. I didn't realize just how much she helped!)

I am also glad that Danielle is getting her normal life back, even though she loved the attention this little foot surgery brought her. She was super pampered. I guess every girl needs that every once in a while!

Thankful #26 Primary Counselors

With the Primary Program finally being completed, it was time to focus on the upcoming year in Primary. All the children will be moving up a class and we will be getting two classes of Sunbeams. It takes a lot of planning. Do we continue with 3 nurseries? Or will 2 be sufficient?

These kind of planning meetings can be lengthy. But not ours. I have great counselors and a great secretary.

My secretary had all the new class lists ready. All we had to do was go through it and make sure it looked right. Then we assigned all the teachers. And prayed for inspiration.

I was amazed how well everything fell into place. It never works that smoothly. Maybe I just spoke too soon.

I am thankful for the input my counselors gave. They had sound advise. Great ideas.

No wonder we aren't a president by ourselves. I never could have accomplished what we did all by myself.

Thankful #25 A Clean House

Before we left on our trip for Thanksgiving, I had all the kids get in and help me clean the house. Taneal did all the bathrooms. Camie vacuumed. Spencer mopped the floors. Danielle didn't get to help because of her foot. I folded laundry. Fingerprints. I helped Spencer mop the floors. I did dishes. We spent a few hours, but we made this house shine. It was nice. It took a while. But we did it.

And today when we returned from our trip, it was so nice to walk in a clean home. It can be exhausting going on a trip, getting dressed out of suit cases, trying to sleep, etc. So nice to come home to a clean house. 

Thankful #24 Christmas Music

I would listen to Christmas music all year round if I could. The only reason I don't is because then it wouldn't be special at Christmastime.

I turned on the music along with making Ginger Snaps. We pulled out the Christmas Tree. And I am happy. My house smells so good. It sounds so good. And it looks sort of festive.

Happiness and Christmas music go together. It makes we want to sing. Makes me want to dance. Makes me want to smile. Makes me want to do things for others. I love this time of the year.

Thankful #23 Temple Trip

Today we were able to take all the nieces and nephews in my family over the age of 12 and go to the temple. My dad planned the trip and made it happen.

It was pretty cool to go to the temple as a family. My brother Eric, Evan, my brother-in-law Mark, and my Dad were the men. My sister Dorias and my sister-in-law Beth and I were able to go. Angela and my mom stayed home and watched the kids that weren't able to go. Taneal, Landon (age 13), Lauren (15), and Rebecca (16) were the kids old enough to go. We all did baptisms and confirmations.

It is an amazing and wonderful experience to see all my nieces and nephews there along with family, all willing to take time out of their vacation to go to the temple and do work for those who are not able to do the work for themselves

I especially love to see Taneal. She is a great daughter. Goodness radiates from her. She was glad to be able to go. It was nice to be with family and nice that Angela and my mom were willing to stay home to let me have this experience.

 

Thankful #22 Thanksgiving

Most of my family was able to gather at my parent's home for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to be with my family, joke the way we do, and eat the food I grew up eating. Plus a few good pie recipes I added. 

Here are several of grand-kids watching those delicious pies bake. My family LOVES pie. And the best part of Thanksgiving is the pie that we have for the several days after for breakfast. And lunch. And supper. Oh, and for snacks. I only made 6. Dorias brought 2. I think my mom made 12. 

The stickers were terrible this year. I remember a few years that the stickers were terrible growing up. I remember going to college and some of my cousins took their shoes off and were running around in the backyard playing crochet and I thought they were crazy. Why would you EVER take your shoes off and walk around in the grass? The grass is different in the country  Well, Eric was outside and fell and this is what happened. Those stickers aren't like getting cactus needles in your hands. These things have a hook on the end and they hurt worse to come out then they do to go in.  

Here is my dad helping Eric get them out. The next day Eric's hands had little red dots all over them where the stickers had been. And then the next day they were bruised. Stickers are bad!

Mark and Dorias brought their 4-wheelers. Camie had so much fun on them.

The littler kids, like Spencer, loved the trampoline. 

 I grew up with waffle blocks. We played with these all the time. Trapping cats, building, etc. The grand-kids love playing with them almost as much as I liked them as a kid. And then my brother, Rob, went and bought more off ebay and added to my parent's collection. So much fun. They made a tower to see if they could touch the ceiling. Good thing we still speak the same language (ha ha, that was supposed to be funny).

Here we are sitting around playing Chinese Checkers. Spencer was learning how to play. I have always liked that game. Almost as much as I like Uno.

And the food. I love good food. And especially food that I grew up eating. I didn't grow up eating vegetables, that was an addition by several of the sister-in-laws. Our definition of fruit and vegetables was the jello fruit salad and the cranberry fruit salad that has more sugar in it than fruit. I have learned to like vegetables and fruit in my old age. But it did put a smile on my face as I sat down to Thanksgiving meal and saw just how few vegetables there were. Just like old times.

Saturday after Thanksgiving we had homemade chimichangas fried by my brother, Dan. Mmmmmm! I am just not used to fried foods. My stomach hurt all night!

After the chimichangas, we went up to the church to play kickball. Because you can't play kickball in my parent's yard with all the stickers. That would be brutal. Everyone would leave wounded and crying!

I have this really cool app on my phone that I can see where my friends are. I pretty much have all my siblings on it. You can't follow anyone without their permission. It was pretty cool to pull up the app while at my parent's house and see so many of us there. Bonnie and Rob were missing. Rob's family was able to be there. And Bonnie's baby is too new to come. 

I really do love getting together with my family. They are fun and I have revertago (where I revert back to a child) and can just laugh and joke. I even kicked my younger, bigger brother in the behind as I was walking by. i ran from him and went back to what I was doing before. A few minutes later he came and attacked me from behind, carried me through the house into the family room, pinned me down, and began to tickle me. I absolutely hate to be tickled, so he showed mercy and stopped.

We had fun. It was great to get together and be with those whom I am truly thankful for.

Happy 11th Birthday Camie

I seriously forgot to get better pictures of Camie's birthday. How did I manage that one?

Camie turned 11 and was so excited to have a birthday. She made a HUGE deal out of it for about the whole month before. If she would say, "I'm so excited for next week" and if the person she was talking to forgot that "next week" was her birthday, she would come crying to me that that person didn't care. I don't think any of my other children care as much as Camie about their birthday. But I also think Camie is one of my most emotional children, which can be a very good thing.

Camie wanted cinnamon rolls for breakfast, Chipotle for lunch, and Hawaiian Haystacks for supper. I love her choice in foods. We had all the family in town that could make it over for supper. And Hawaiian Haystacks are so easy to make for a big crowd. Add balloons to the mix and Camie was one happy girl. She felt so special and loved.

Camie is a lot like me, so I think I understand her pretty well. She wears her emotions on her sleeve. She feels things very deeply. She is super happy and super sad. Super loving and super mad. But she forgives so quickly and will give you anything of hers and do just about anything as long as she knows it makes you feel loved. Her heart is huge. She can be pretty mouthy, but only when someone hurts her feelings. She recovers pretty quickly and lets things go even faster. She has an amazing ability to love. I'm so glad we have the Church because it will give her the opportunity to thrive and grow. She loves to serve and that is what being a disciple of Christ is all about. Camie is one of those children that I feel inadequate to have her as my daughter. She is so amazing and kind and pure. I just hope I can teach her and protect her and give her the tool she needs to survive in this world and yet keep the wonderful person that she is.

Thankful #21 Patience

We left for my parent's home today. I had to take Danielle to the doctor at 8am to get her stitches removed from her foot. Run home and get all the laundry completed and put away so that we could pack. Taneal and Camie can pack for themselves after I write down a list. They do pretty good. But that leaves me packing for 4 others and myself. I was ready by 2, the time Evan and I had agreed we would leave. I had the car packed. Food ready. Bellies full. I was ready.

Evan got home at 5. The house was no longer clean. Bellies were hungry again. Gavin had taken his nap.

Patience.

We head out around 5:45. It was basically dark and I do not like to drive in the dark.

We decided to take a different route than normal and that was a mistake. We hit traffic that added about 2 hours onto the already 5 hour drive. The kids did well, but were tired of being in the car after about 2 hours. Adding to that was torture. We didn't get to my parents until around midnight. I was exhausted from the few days prior.

A few years ago I would have felt like screaming, crying, loosing it. But not today. I was tired for sure. But calm. Because  what could I have done to fix the situation? Not really anything that would have been productive. I guess I have picked up patience over the years.

Thankful #20 Pool Reopening

Today I am thankful that the pool where I workout, reopened. They closed the indoor pool the beginning of September so they could get a new roof. We swam in the outdoor pool until October when it became too cold. Since then I have been scrambling trying to figure out my cardio. 

I can't do step. We just don't go together. 

I have been running, but it just isn't that fun. 

Spinning is great, I just don't like the times the classes are offered. 

The pool reopened yesterday and I was in heaven. I swam about 2000 yards and it was great. Taneal even went to the class and totally out swam me. That girl is awesome!

I took a picture of the newly remodeled pool just as I was leaving. Happy, happy!

Thankful #19 Pilates

I am thankful for Pilates. I take a Pilates class about twice a week. I haven't lost any weight, but I feel so much better and I haven't been asked if I am pregnant in months!

When I was 12 I had my tail bone removed. That created and eliminated all kinds of problems. Since I started taking Pilates, I have realized just how weak my core muscles are due to my tail bone issue. I couldn't do sit-up without bleeding. It just hurt, literally, to do sit-ups. And so I never developed those muscles. No wonder people question if I am pregnant. My gut was hanging out!

I have figured out how to do sit-ups, developed a callous so that I don't bleed. My back doesn't hurt anymore. The contour of my back isn't so dramatic anymore. I feel better. I don't have the aches and pains that I would occasionally get. It has been a gradual process. But I think I will have long term benefits from this, ones that will help me stay young and healthy. I kind of get the feeling that maybe I was down the path of something like osteoporosis and now I am going to beat that. I see these 75 year olds in my classes and they can do more than I can.

 I want to be like that. I want to be healthy and have the energy like that, even at that age.

 

Happy Halloween 2012

Halloween is still one of my favorite holidays, although some of the others are starting to rival with it, such as April Fools Day. Holidays are so much fun and I love how my children get almost as excited as I do.

We continued with our new tradition of Witches Brew for supper. It is a yummy fruit punch with dry ice. The kids LOVED the way it bubbled and made noises all through supper. We had taco salad with black corn chips.

Costumes were a little not so prepared this year as most. Of course I probably said the same things about last year and the year before. I used to be so good at making the kids costumes all well in advance. Oh, the good 'ol days.

Camie is in love with owls right now. And wonderful Pinterest had this great owl costume idea. It was simple, but probably the most complicated of all my kids Halloween costumes. Because I knew it was going to take a little more effort, I actually had this one done about a week before Halloween.

I had the supplies for Danielle's costume a few weeks before Halloween. Does that count?

I was starting to stress that the costumes weren't done. I seriously could not find the time to get them made. And I was really trying to find the time. Finally, we had Stake Conference instead of normal church the week before Halloween. And I know when I die and am on the other side, I will have to pick every stitch I sewed on Sunday out with my nose (because that is what my mom taught me), I still seized the opportunity and completed all the other 5 costumes. I only spent about 3 hours total. It was such a relief to accomplish this task that I was able to finally relax.

Gavin refused to wear the cute lion costume that I had for him. I drew his whiskers on him and then tried to get him to wear the lion costume and he absolutely wouldn't. He wouldn't even let me zip it up. He ran to the playroom where I had the dress-up box and grabbed these clothes to wear. He was so pleased with himself. But when people asked me what he was, I just had to shrug my shoulders. I have no idea. But Gavin was happy.

Nathan wanted to be Indian Jones. The Indiana Jones with the mustache. With the mustache going all around his ears, on his cheeks, etc. He was specific. And he was giddy when I drew all those whiskers on him. He even stopped some teenage boy out trick-or-treating that had one of those blood masks on and yelled at that scarry kid that Nathan could beat him. Because Nathan was Indian Jones and Indiana Jones could beat ANYBODY up! I couldn't believe Nathan was bold enough to threaten such a big, scarry kids!

Taneal was the beautiful Greek Princess, Athena. At least I think it was Athena. She showed me a picture of what she wanted and we trial and error figured it out. I actually sewed without a pattern and it worked! I had no idea that was even possible!

Here is the whole group. What a great bunch of kids!

Spencer also wanted to be Indian Jones. He didn't want facial hair. He just wanted a scar. But I forgot to put that on him that night and Spencer was so sweet and saw how busy I was getting everyone together that he didn't remind me. I felt bad afterwards. But He is seriously the sweetest boy ever! So thoughtful and considerate.

Taneal didn't get to trick-or-treat this year because she is 12 and we decided a few years ago that when you turn 12, your days of trick-or-treating are over. However, she did help Gavin trick-or-treat and then laid claim to all his candy. He was asleep at that point and didn't mind.

Here is a closer-up of Camie in her owl costume:

Nathan wouldn't make any normal faces for the camera. He said this is how Indiana Jones looks and so he had to make sure he looked like Indiana Jones for the pictures.

Thankful #18 Dansko Shoes

Today being Sunday, I should probably be writing a spiritual post. Because, today really was one of those days that the Spirit did touch me. However, as I am trying to write this post, Spencer is sitting at the kitchen table coloring and singing a song whose tune is not recognizable, it some kind of loud, gruffy voice. Taneal is washing dishes and being pretty loud. Camie is in on the piano. Gavin keeps bringing me toy pizza and play cups of water to sample. Danielle is trying to build something with blocks and is repeatedly knocking them over making way too much noise. Nathan is at the table with Spencer giggling  And Evan? Crashed on the middle of the living room floor sleeping a midst all the noise. I don't know how he does that.

Chaos is in my home. With 7 people all contributing to the noise, okay 8. Evan is snoring. It makes it a little hard to write something spiritual. Yah, and there goes a shrill scream because Spencer colored on Nathan's picture. Gavin is now riding his push car and talking on his fake iPhone  Taneal is singing and Danielle is now playing with the Lightening McQueen shake and go car. It is just loud. 

As much as I would like to share those quiet , tender moments, shoes will have to do today.

One of my swim coaches had these kind of cool shoes that could get wet yet had a little style. Not a lot of style. I asked her about them and she told me where she got them. I checked them out and decided to get me a pair. They are so stinkin' comfortable! I wear them all the time. 

I like shoes, but I'm not a big shoe kind of girl. Once I find a pair of shoes that I like, I wear that pair until they fall apart or until the season changes and it warrants a different kind of shoe. And then I stick to one pair of shoe again. And I don't like closed shoes. I need my feet open, unrestrained. Fortunately for where I live, I only need warmer shoes for maybe a month out of the whole year. Except Sunday. I like different shoes for church. But during the week, I need a quick, slip on pair of shoes that can be worn with pretty much everything. I think if I had more time, I would probably like to have more of a variety of shoes. But that time is not right now and I haven't made it a priority.

Today, I am thankful for my shoes. They are so much better than my flip flops that were my favorites that didn't offer any support of any kind. And although these aren't the cutest shoes, they are versatile and comfy.

Thankful #17 Kindle

A couple years ago for my birthday my mom and dad got me a Kindle. I was a little weary about the electronic devise because I loved books and this was something new and strange. I was super excited, but nervous. And then as I used the devise, I fell in love with it. I can store 200 books on it and it doesn't take up hardly any space, I can fit it in my purse.

And then my mom got a Kindle. And then my sisters. And several of my brothers. Taneal got one for Chrsitmas last year. And we are all on the same account so we all share the same books. That is why I have over 200 books on my Kindle.

One of the things that is pretty cool too about the Kindle is the ability to change the font size. Spencer is an early reader and still figuring things out. When we read scriptures as a family, he can read well enough to take a turn. But he gets lost very easily on the page, even when using a book mark to follow along as he reads out loud  Not to mention when he gets bumped by Nathan or Gavin fighting to be on my lap while I am trying to help Spencer follow along with his bookmark. It was frustrating! Then I realized that I should just let him use my Kindle each morning and change the font size to super big and then he no longer had the need to use a paper to keep his spot on the page. He has been using my Kindle for the last month and it is wonderful. Just completely took the frustration out of scripture reading as a family.

There are lots of other great features of the Kindle such as no back light so that it is as easy on the eyes as a regular book. But I won't go into those. Today I am thankful for the Kindle that eliminated much of the stress I was having with helping an early reader to read the scriptures.

  

Thankful #16 Pinterest

I am in love with the website Pinterest. I could spend all day on that site if I had the time. However, because I don't have the time, I dream of spending more time on that site.

Pinterest has inspired me. I love to create and have projects. Projects are how I relax. If I have any "me" time, I usually spend that time doing something. Like decorating cakes for my kids birthdays, or cleaning out my pantry, or making Halloween costumes, or  . . . There really isn't too much time.

My newest craze is the idea of building my girls some beds. Camie and Danielle have had a bunk bed in their room and it has caused major problems. There is not a clearly defined area of whose is whose. So when I ask them to clean their room, they blame the mess on the other one. And then Danielle shakes the top bunk when she gets on it and also does it to make Camie mad. Danielle's bedding often hangs over and that makes Camie mad. Just lots and lots of issues and fighting. I finally got Evan to take the blasted thing down, even if that meant putting the mattresses on the floor for a while. I have looked at twin beds and they are all so cheaply built for the price I am wanting to pay.

That is where Pinterest has inspired me. Evan does not have time to build beds. I don't want to spend a small fortune on beds that the girls may or may not take care of. Yes, I know I can teach them to take care of them, but they are kids and sometimes the battle isn't worth it. I just don't want to add to the daily disciplining list. I want beds that aren't going to fall apart and will be easier to take care of (I know I am not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition, so I will end it with a parenthesis).

I am going to build Camie and Danielle twin beds. I don't have a lot of know how. But the web site convinced me I didn't have to have much know how, just mostly the desire. And as much as I would just like for Evan to hurry and build the beds, I know he doesn't have the time nor the strong desire like I do. So I am going to try to tackle this project. Hopefully I can, will probably need a little help from Evan. But if I can do this, wouldn't it be so cool?

And then as I was sitting in my playroom looking at my oh, so ugly entertainment center with all the clutter of toys and kid stuff, I was thinking about how to fix that problem. I remembering seeing on Pinterest how to refurbish a bookcase by tearing off the old molding, replacing it, and then painting. Wait! I can do that!

So, I headed to Home Depot this afternoon with the 30 minutes I had to spare before picking kids up from school. I looked down the isle with all the molding on it, talked to some of the Home Depot experts. And got the confidence I need to tackle this project. All inspired by Pinterest.

Now to take those ideas and put them into action!

Thankful #15 Eye Liner

I have always worn make-up. I wear it about like I wear a bra. It just isn't appropriate for me to go out of the house without it. I can go to the gym without make-up because that's okay. And in recent years, I can drop the kids off at school without make-up because there just isn't time to put it on and I am already too sleep deprived to get up any earlier.

I recently discovered this new kind of eye liner. Okay, maybe it was about a year ago. But I love, love, love this new eyeliner. It doesn't smudge. It goes on so easy. And looks like liquid eye liner, but so much easier.

Thankful #14 Tender Mercies

Tender mercies are all over the place in my life. Days that I need to accomplish 26 hours of things into a 24 hour period, and I actually do! The only way that happened was through Divine help from above. I like to call it my "super mom" power that is only possible through the Savior, Jesus Christ. Without my Savior to carry the burden or to give me the strength to do that which my human body is not capable of, I would not be who I am.

This week has been difficult for me, a lot going on. Friday Danielle had foot surgery and now she is on crutches and home from school for at least a week. Monday night I wasn't able to go to bed until 3am and then up again at 6am. Yesterday the kids were out of school for voting (yes, I am scheduling this post to post in a week from the day that I am writing it) and I had Parent Teacher Conferences.

Around 10am Camie started complaining of her stomach hurting. At 2pm she threw up. The pain in her side continued to increase, she threw up a few more times and also had a low fever. Around 6pm she started sobbing that the pain was too much. She sat on the couch rocking herself and crying. Around 8 I decided to look on the Internet and see if it was something other than a stomach bug. I looked up appendicitis and she had all the symptoms. I called Bonnie, my sister who is an RN in an emergency room, and asked her opinion. Bonnie agreed I should take Camie in.

We decided to call Evan's brother over to help give Camie a blessing. She was hurting and I felt so bad for her. After the blessing, we got in the car and took Camie to the hospital. As we got there, the pain started to go away. It was slowly,  but she stopped crying and the pain almost completely went away. When the doctor pushed on her side it was very tender. Something was going on in that area. They pumped her full of fluids and had her drink 32 ounces of this liquid so she could have a CAT scan. The CAT scan showed she was fine, no appendix. Camie was very dehydrated. We were able to come back home around 3am. It was a long night for us all.

I don't really know what happened. I think Camie getting better had everything to do with that priesthood blessing. Another tender mercy form Heavenly Father because he knew it was something I couldn't handle.

I was so exhausted this morning that I couldn't pull myself out of bed to get the kids up and going for school. Gavin was pushing on my back with his feet demanding I "hop up!" I just couldn't and finally he gave up and who know where he went. Around 8:30 Taneal came in and said she needed a ride to school, so Evan gave her one. And for the rest of my children  Camie couldn't go to school because she was up so late and she also had a doctor's note. Danielle can't go to school until Friday because of the surgery. I just had Spencer miss today.

I took Camie to go get her prescription. I was so tired I felt it best to go home and not drive anymore. I wasn't as alert as I was comfortable with. I just needed a nap. But I had 5 children here so a nap was unlikely.

Around 2 I just couldn't handle how tired I was and I was wishing I had the ability to sleep like Evan does. But I just can't. I have to be laying down.

I decided to make a deal with Camie, who wasn't acting sick AT ALL! She was a busy bee around the house. She wasn't even tired! I told her that if she would tidy up the downstairs, I would pay her. She looked at me like, are you kidding? I remembered money isn't a motivator in my home. So I offered her a Costco Pumpkin Pie if she would watch the kids and tidy the downstairs while I went to bed and took a nap.

Camie was all over that one. And I slept for 3 hours! In the middle of the day! I had my phone on my nightstand and the volume was still one. When I finally awoke, it had rung 3 times along with several texts. I never heard it.

I slept too late to drive to Costco to get the pie, I won't go out in the going home traffic. It would take me over an hour to even get to Costco during 5 o'clock traffic. So I told Camie we still had a deal and she definitely lived up to her end of it. I could either go to Costco tomorrow and get the pie OR I could make the pie for her tonight. She opted for homemade pies, so I made 2 of them tonight. And one of them is all Camie's, all to herself.

I needed that nap. I needed a tender mercy. And the Lord gave it to me. I am thankful that Camie was willing to be that tender mercy for me.