So many adventures...or is that too many?

It seems like every time I get the hang of three, I go off and do something new. This last week I took my first trip without Dan. He drove me up to Santa Cruz and then on Sunday, he left me there with his three sons. In all actuality, it wasn't too bad. Everyone up there pitched in and despite us all being under the weather at various times we made it through. I could have been more gracious (when can't I be more of this) and definitely more patient (really, me?) but all in all there was no death. No lost children and no huge melt-downs. I really tried to protect their bedtimes and it helped that Annabelle does the same with Henry.
Now with my first major cold (why are they always more miserable than anything else?) that just won't go away and seems to be moving to my chest. Oh, and did I mention that I managed to share it with all THREE of the boys? I am meeting this new wrinkle too. Sick children at every turn, each rightfully needing my attention.
But, on the bright side. Easter was lovely. It was the first time we've celebrated a holiday with just us. We did end up with the elders for dinner, but it was just us. How wonderful and relaxed it was. There was no rushing, no frustration. This might just become a habit. We were able to happily let the boys get hopped up on jellybeans with no major consequences (ok, except maybe dinner with the Elders, one was more understanding than the other). It seemed we were the only egg hunters in the area, we branched out and once again commandeered the grassy area in front of our home. It was more fun than just finding them in the gate. It is so much fun to watch the boys grow and learn.
I love being at home with them. It is one of my greatest joys and challenges. I am grateful to all of the examples I have before me in being a mother. For good or ill I am learning every day to be better, and I and my boys are so thankful. So here is to a week of meeting my goals. They seem to be so simple these days. Laundry, dishes, clean home. Family Home Evening, Scripture Study, Family Prayer. Dinner in the home every night. Getting outside every day (what could be more basic than that?). And then there are all of the other to do lists. But there will never be enough space for all of that. These are the basics, the things that I want our family to built on. I'll keep trying. I fall short on so many fronts these days. But, with all things I know it will come back around. Like John Petrucci wrote, "We move in circles, balanced all the while on a gleaming razor's edge". I like to think of that as life, moving carefully in and out of easy and hard, but always back to the things that will ultimately make us happy. For me, this is my family. My home is where these four precious men in my life reside. Who could want more than that?