Remember that week that Ben signed up to get his soccer coaching license and he was gone Monday night, Tuesday Night, Thursday night and 6 hours on Saturday? That was this week and he is ALMOST home and that means I get my husband back! We are excited. We missed him. The kids made me wrestle with them and play video games with them and do all of the dad activities that he usually does in the evenings. AND It was a SURPRISINGLY good week. I had more energy and patience than I expected and we survived. I definitely don’t prefer him gone but I was impressed at how well the kids behaved and we avoided the tired grouchy mom needs a break evenings. Heavenly Father is aware of us and our little needs and prayers.

A big part of the success was that we are finally HEALTHY! All of us seem to be germ free. No runny noses and the whinyness has been minimal. In retrospect it appears that my 3 youngest children have been fighting a cold or virus or teething for the last month. Healthy kids are happy kids and my days have been SO MUCH nicer. I hope this lasts for a while.

November 2012 almost killed me! I felt OVERWHELMED on several occasions which just isn’t like me. I debated if we could ever handle another kid BUT this past week I’ve felt more in control. I feel like i have energy and am able to cope better with every situation. Having the kids and myself healthy is a huge factor and I feel like I am back to the real me, not pregnant, not nursing, usually sleeping for a good 6 hour chunk at night. I feel more alive. I hope this too will last. At least until we are ready for number 6. Today I envisioned movies with the kids and waiting around for Dad BUT the kids had other plans: airplanes, christmas chains, homemade necklaces, and cousins. It has been a good day.

Packer was the common theme to our art day. He LOVES crafts. He wants to be an ARTIST when he grows up. And Raymond took a SUPER nap today so I better go tend to him now that he’s awake and the boys are itching to play Skylanders so I am done!