A week in pictures.

Instagram this week. Just cuz.

"But I don't want to put my face in the water..."

It's official. Summer has begun!

Where I have been 3 mornings a week.

Great fun with family and friends on Memorial Day!

May my kids remain strong in their faith, like this tree. No matter the spiritual disasters happening around them, may they stand firm in Christ.

Can someone please tell him to stop growing. Please!!!

There's a sliver in my foot.

You know what really hurts?

 A blond sliver in your foot.

I would know. I have one.

They are pretty hard to get, unless you have 3 blond male children in your family and you happen to cut their hair while wearing sandals.

And forget getting those suckers out. The hair is practically invisible.

But the pain is not.

Yeah, blond slivers hurt.

Epic.

Today was Epic.

The movie.

It came out today.. This is the new movie put out by the same people who made Ice Age. I tell you this in case you don't have 5 kids who have been begging to see this show for the past 8 months. I do.

But the movie wasn't the only epic going on.

First there was the crew. .  Seven children and one adult to be exact..To say I was slightly outnumbered would be an understatement. I had my five along with two of my brother's kids. Pretty epic.

Then there was the concession stand. I ordered a large popcorn with the free refill already refilled...not in another bag. That would make too much sense and be far too easy. Nope, the second bag was actually put in two large trays.  I also got two large sodas with 5 extra cups.

I had to make two trips.

And as epic as that was, the distributing of said goods was epic times two. Pouring, dividing, spilling, refilling, passing, counting, positioning, spilling.

But my epic didn't start until Epic started.

As I looked down that long row of children, I saw eyes glued to the screen, smiles and giggles, whispers and laughter, enjoyment that you can only see on the face of a child. Isn't that why we do these things? To create memories; both for them and for us? 

Mission accomplished.

Epic, indeed.

There will be no more thinking...

I should just stop thinking. Nothing good come from it.

Like today, for example, when I thought taking all my kids to Sam's Club with me was a good idea.

"They are getting older," I tell myself. "Heck, only one of them really fits in the cart anymore but he's 13 and prefers to walk. We can handle this."

See, there I go thinking again.

I won't give you the details, because that might stress you out and drive you to not-thinking yourself.

Just know that my kids don't understand what the words "No" and "We don't need that" and "Keep your hands to yourself" and "Please leave your sister alone" and  "Just stop talking" means. .

Guess that's what happens when one starts thinking...

school-is-out-Summer!!

Ahhhh....it's school-is-out-summer!!

You know what that means, right?

1- Because my kids can now sleep in, they are guaranteed to wake up before 6:00 every morning. Why? Why does this happen!!?? No, really....why?

2- Cereal for breakfast just ain't gonna cut it. You know the saying "Where much time is given, much breakfast is required." You've never heard of that one? What can I say....I'm cultured.

3- I am bound to forget to sunblock all of my children, 50% of the time we go to the pool. You would think that after having 5 kids, it would be like breathing. But I've always been asthmatic, so..... 

4- My food bill is gonna go through the roof. And I live in a two story house. Who chooses PBJ when there is pizza in the freezer.

5- Hours and hours of fun!!!.....minus the 20 hours that are filled with complete and utter boredom.

But the best part of school-is-out-summer is that I get to take all the time I want with my little ones. I get to watch them play and just be. They grow up too fast and somehow school steals that time away from me. Everyday they get older. I bet you didn't know that, but it's true.

So I try and cherish the time I get to have with them...until about Aug 1. By then I am totally cherished out.

Watch out, school-is-out-summer! Here we come!!

...because that's what I really want.

I love the smell of cinnamon.

Cinnamon gum. Cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon candles. Cinnamon husbands...you name it, I love it. Heck if I could marry it, I would! The smell that is....I already have a husband. He doesn't smell like cinnamon, but he has other qualities that make up for what he lacks.

Poor Hubs.

So as you can imagine, I like my house to smell like cinnamon. There are many ways to go about accomplishing that goal.

Making the c-rolls. Boiling a cinnamon concoction all day on the stove. Air-sprays. Plug-ins. Oils. Candles.

But today, my friends, I have discovered, quite by accident, another way of filling your home with that amazing aroma. Okay, so I can't take full credit for this discovery. Nope, my 4 year old and his Spidey-Build-a-Bear should get most of the credit.

All I did was light my bright, red cinnamon candle and put it in my archway and let it burn for about 2 hours.

Briggy then decided that it was time for Spidey to learn how to fly...minutes before we had to walk out the door.

Let me tell you....Spidey is a natural. He was doing an amazing job of flying until that dang candle got in the way. So Spidey decided to knock it over. All over....my light colored living room carpet.

Now the cinnamon smell and red stains remain on my carpet...and on my hands, my knees, half a roll of paper towels, 25+ lunch bags, my iron, and my rocking chair.

Needless to say, I am in HEAVEN!!!!

When there isn't enough time....

......