Thursday. . . Thursday. . .

It feels very much like a Monday at the troops.

We had a lovely break from school, yesterday.  Normally Wednesdays are half days for us, but yesterday, the whole day was ours.  I even made my first venture into cooking with venison (thanks to Son's #1 successful hunting trip last December).  The deer chili was delicious!

But we had several appointments, a long list of things to do, kids everywhere, and I told the Coach my day "off" was feeling a big busier than I had anticipated.

He gave me his usual, "We have eight kids. This is our life.  Just enjoy it."

He's right.

Somehow, I expect to be able to sit down and read a book, or finish a big project.  I expect to have morning coffee with the Coach, instead of him heading out to run with Son #3 and me hitting the treadmill - after which we all rush to the next thing.

Not.  Restful.

But good.

We've started a new thing at the troops.  Electronic free evenings.  I can't say it's been easy (and maybe hardest of all for me?).  The kids have struggled.  But it has resulted in such peaceful evenings.

School nights between 4-10 pm:
No computer (except for homework).
No i-pods.
No electronic games (except for the Wii on rainy days).
No TV.
No Netflix or movies.
Limited phone usage.

We haven't been home every evening during basketball season.  But now that it's winding down (Regionals today), we wanted to be more purposeful in our time all together at home.

You know what has surprised me?

The kids could all go to their rooms, or the playroom, or the sunroom, or anywhere else. . . and work on homework, study, read.  But instead?  They all sit IN the living room, together on the couches.  It amazes me.

And I love it.

I love the laughter.  The goofballness (of some certain boys).  The Nerf basketball hoop tournaments.  The "Here. Quiz me on this," to the sibling sitting next to them.  The math homework is the Coach's expertise, but I love watching them sit head to head working math problems.  And I love it even more when I hear the kids say, "Ahhh!  I got it!"

These are busy days.  School, sports, practice schedules, the school play, science fair, math olympics, orthodontist, piano lessons, etc.  But I want, more than anything, to ENJOY them.  To take the time to laugh, read books to the littles, sing "one more song" at bedtime.  I want to joke with my teens and talk about what they are reading and what tests are tomorrow and how practice went today.

I don't want to miss this.

Because I know it won't last.

Now if I can only remember that when it seems like the laundry is taking over and the piles are reaching to the ceiling and the bathrooms are dirty and the microwave is broken (yes, it really is) and everyone is growing out of their shoes. . .

Remember to enjoy every moment.

And thank the Lord every moment for the blessing of being "Mom" to my troops.

Happy Thursday!