ALL these blessings

Last week, I went to Whole Foods during the day (meaning: I had all the little ones with me). They were very well behaved, but it is still a sight seeing two kids in the cart and four hanging onto it. We got a few eyes. One older lady asked: "Are they ALL yours???" with a definite look of disgust. This was my first rude encounter. (I was prepared for this to happen often, but the truth is: people are much kinder than I originally thought!) There's no way I could have convinced this woman that I'm not a worn-out, stressed-out momma, but it got me thinking.

"ALL" these kids are precious to me. I had to work hard and wait long to add each one of them to our family. Life isn't always easy and I definitely don't always get what I want (since when is that a bad thing??), but I have never laughed with such regularity. Everyday I laugh. Everyday I get at least a dozen hugs and kisses. Everyday I have multiple reasons to smile. I'm proud of my children. My kids are my joy.

Case in point: Sunday morning, we were awakened at 7:15 am by the sound of kids making noise. It is very unusual for them to wake before us (not that they sleep late!), so we drug ourselves out of bed to investigate. When we went into the girls' room, we found all four of them up and dressed for church! Maya got Lydia out of bed, changed her diaper and got her dressed, bloomers and all! As we stood there in amazement, Isaac came walking in from the bathroom. He was fully dressed as well. They all explained that they wanted to surprise us. So, we had a relaxing morning getting ready for church. People wonder how I come to church looking so rested and relaxed. My kids are my greatest blessings.