What I am learning this summer...

To say that my summer has been tough would be an understatement. And I am the self-proclaimed Queen of the Understatement descended from a long line of Understaters, thereby giving legitimacy to my title. However, I can say with equal accuracy, my summer has also been richly blessed:

• I have seen the work of God in extraordinary ways.
• He has showered me with blessings from friends and creative answers to my financial difficulties.
• I have seen kittens from the day of their birth until the day I took them to the pet store to find new homes and continue to enjoy watching one kitten playing with her Mama.
• I have watched my youngest child become a swimmer and jump readily into the waves at Bunker Beach.
• I have enjoyed the laughter of my children as they play a game or make up a joke.
• True, I have been tired, very, very tired.
• I have spent many a night, parked outside the door of the boys room giving stern warnings to settle down and stop swinging from the bunk bed.
• I have confiscated Legos and grounded my children from their bikes.
• But I have also sat with them and enjoyed a movie that they looked forward to seeing.
• Together, we have read 4 of the Chronicles of Narnia books and I have discussed the allegorical components with my daughter and seen her eyes sparkle with understanding when she said, "Ohhhh, so Aslan is like Jesus..."
• I have cried myself to sleep, wondering how I am going to make ends meet only to wake up feeling refreshed and confident that while I don't know the "how", I do know there is an answer and then I have been blown away by the answers that have come.
• I have grown and stretched in ways I would not have thought possible.
• I have fallen down the stairs, in front of my children.
• One child told me my kisses don't work any more but a few weeks later, asked if he could kiss my owie for me and then asked me to kiss his owies again. (Grandpa's talk about how Mommy kisses are magic because they are full of love may have sunk in after all!).
• I have trained my kids to clear their dishes from the table so well that most of the time, they do it without me saying a word.
• My daughter remarked "We have never kept our house this clean before" which encourages me that my plan of Saturday jobs and rotating chores with consistency is working.

In many ways, I don't think I have ever had a better summer.