21 days...

It has been a great 21 days.

21 days of spending time with my adult children.
Some of this time was in Nebraska and much of it was spent here in Salem.
But regardless of where, it has been memorable.

It sometimes is difficult to go back and recall all the conversations, the laughter, the memories I thought I would always remember. Yet some things I can recall like a snapshot in my mind.

The holiday break this year is coming to a close as Aimee and Mike leave on Wednesday and Brad and Samantha leave on Thursday. We have had trips to Portland, the coast, Multnomah Falls, Silver Falls and a multitude of trips to the grocery store!

With a house filled with hungry kids on break we make trips to the store every day and sometimes multiple trips. But it is all worth it to have eight kids back in the house even if they aren't the same eight I started with. Sometimes we numbered 10 kids and on a number of occasions there were 15 of us for meals.

I have for the most part embraced the chaos. Only a couple of late nights did I have minor 'melt-downs'where I longed for a few minutes of peace and quiet, and found myself hiding in my room until someone sought me out to make dinner, watch another movie, or join in on the board game.

I have enjoyed family time with our kids and their friends as well as with my sister and her family.

At the end of this week I imagine I will be torn between missing the extra company and embracing the quiet routine of only four kids.

Quiet routine of only four kids....

Who am I kidding? There will still be chaos, just a different level of chaos!