I hope they are dreaming of more for themselves. I hope they are thinking about happy times. I hope they are soaking in their existence. I hope they are dreaming about a better future. I hope they are dreaming about what they want to achieve. I hope they are peacefully sleeping.

The girls are still sleeping. I watch them as they sleep. I am happy that they are resting comfortably. I am happy they get a plenty of sleep. I am counting my blessings. I am praying over them. I want them to be happy and healthy.

We have a busy day planned. The kids will get to play with one of their friends after school. I know they are excited about that. So often they sink into a routine. Mom and Dad are busy and they keep themselves occupied for a while before bed.

When I am pre-occupied, the kids know what to do. They keep busy. There is no question about what needs to be done around here. They know to do their homework. They know to get ready for the next day. They know that they can play when they are done with their work.

They know they can do whatever they set their minds to. They are independent. They love to take on something new. They love to do something different. Having options makes them happy. I think about what we did this time last year.

We have done some different things. This year, we got sick all at the same time. We did not have much to do this time. We know we can do some things differently. We know we have choices. When faced with adversity. It is good to have options. That is the lesson learned this time around.

The girls rooted for their big brother, while he was competing. I was not able to see my son compete. I was at home making dinner. The kids were so excited to see their big brother compete. I have seen him compete before.

He really does quite well. I let him know that I see him working hard to give it his all. That is all I can expect as a parent. When we give it our all, we can do great things. I love it that his siblings got to see him give it his all.

As a bonus, there was no computer or screen time. There was just pure enjoyment in watching a family member go for it. There is nothing like the thrill of competing. I am amazed at how far my son has come. I am touched that my other kids were watching him. My husband made it an adventure. It was more than just a family outing. It was a window into what it takes to do well.

The kids are enjoying their weekend. They can’t get over the time that I have spent with them. It means a lot to them. I have been trying to get some things done early on so that I can spend the rest of the time with them. It makes them so happy.

We are milling around this morning, just talking and catching up. We are happy to be together. We make plans to spend some quality time together. There is a lot for me to do today. I will finish up those tasks, just to be with the kids.

They have had their fun. They are just waiting to start the activities that they love to do. To be young and carefree again. They only are concerned with what games we will play. It would be nice to be concerned with simple things.

My kids love to be involved in many activities. I had to shift how things were done around here, because of their activities. I am happy to do it. I don’t get to sit around and figure out what needs to be done last minute. We have to be on the ball.

We have to plan ahead for these activities and routing to the activities. It takes a little ingenuity and a lot of planning. We are working together to make it happen. Our entire family is a team. We each do our part and make it work.

The girls know that I will not be able to pick them up all the time. My son knows that someone else may pick him up. He knows to send me a message and tell me where he is at. My husband does his part when he can. It is the only way to stay on track and to be the best we can be.

My daughter saw a picture of herself as I see her. She is a beauty. I tell her she is a beauty on the inside and on the outside. I emphasize how important it is to be a good person and have the inner beauty shine through.

She saw her school picture. They captured her spirit. She is surrounded by some flowers. She has a nice smile. She is capable of being the most kind and loving gentle spirit. There are other times when she can be cranky. It is true, that most kids are cranky when they are tired, hungry, or thirsty.

I don’t pay much attention to her when she gets like that because I know it is because of one of the above reasons. She has a good heart. She saw her picture and could not believe that it was her. I tell her that if she takes care of herself and is nice and kind it will shine through. She saw her picture as I see her. She is a picture of beauty on the inside and out. She is a treasure. The picture captures her at one moment in time. I know what she is capable of how and how much caring she is capable of. That is the picture I hold in my mind.

Today I promised my kids dessert if they did their homework and ate their dinner. We don’t often eat dessert. I am grateful that I was able to make a healthy meal for us all. We had a variety of good homemade food. I am proud that I did not get a to go order from somewhere.

Also, I was excited to try a new recipe. It is the little things that make for big memories. It happened to be a decent day. I finished my work early. I started on dinner. There was a salad made ahead of time. We had homemade mashed potatoes. Not from a box.

When I think about how important it is for us to have some time together, I am grateful that we had dinner and dessert tonight. There are moments we take for granted. Spending a little extra time together for dessert, made our lives a little sweeter in more ways than one.

The kids have so much awareness, that they recognize that the school we went to, was not their brothers regular school. My son had an event after school. We were so fortunate to have our phones. We were able to connect and then make our way home.

I went to the wrong school. My son used quick thinking and sent a picture of the water tower nearby. I knew we were at the wrong school immediately. It did not look like there had been a multi school event.

The girls knew it was not his regular school immediately. I told them they were right. However, we had to pick him up due to an event. I am glad the girls are super aware of their surroundings. They recognize how to get to his school. They know where their schools are. I don’t think I was that with it at their ages. The amount of information they take in is astounding.

It is funny how when it comes time to do homework, we don’t have what is needed. I swear I made sure we had a dozen or so rulers. I think we had extra. I put extra ones in their bags. I could have had a ruler sale.

We had a plan of attack. Do your homework, eat, and then you can play with your friend. That is how it was supposed to go. Things never go the way they are supposed to go.

I was not about to go out an buy another ruler. There must be some other solution. I know I have measuring tapes around the house. We will use a measuring tape. She will miss out on playing with her friend. She found her ruler. I did not have to remind her to do it. She knew the reward was to get to play with a friend. Sometimes, that is all it takes.

The girls are having a blast with one of their friends. They are bike riding. The weather is good enough to go outside today. It is warmer than it has been. It is nice to have them out of the house. They have been cooped up all week.

We love to play outside if we can. The kids have a trampoline to get on. This is a wonderful time. When they can be outside on a day like today, they ran at the chance. Also, they got to ride their newer bikes.

My husband got me a new bike as well. It was fun to ride again. He knows how much I enjoy it. Being able to ride with the kids is very special. I know there are times when the kids would rather be with their friends. This seems to be the right day for it. I do encourage them to stay active for as long as they can. It is no fun getting older and not being able to ride your bike as often as you like. I want them to enjoy their childhood. Bike riding has wonderful memories for me.