Life Is Good

I'm starting to get a handle on our new back-in-school schedule, and it is BUSY! But I like it. I guess summer break ends when the crops no longer need tending, just harvesting. I have the equipment I need to process and preserve the food from my garden, and I love having the dehydrator running or a canner boiling while I do my regular chores. Today my day started early with some weight lifting and a quiet half hour with the scriptures and my journal. Once the kids were at school, I managed to pick up the downstairs in time for a meeting to organize a neighborhood preschool co-op, then eat a sandwich of homemade bread and freshly picked tomato and basil. I finished that just in time to drop off the younger kids and have a few minutes alone in the temple baptistery before Kent's aunt and uncle's family joined me with their relatives' names. It was so nice to have that peaceful, joyful hour-and-a-half with that good family. Then I lingered a bit at my friend's house who was babysitting before running errands with #2 and making a yummy dinner with a cream-based squash soup. After dropping by a neighbor's for a quick visit and checking off homework, I played a board game with the kids. After our evening devotional I read books with the younger children and caught up on blog reading. I still have an hour of work before I go to bed, and even though it's been one thing after another all day, it has been very satisfying and fulfilling. I am grateful that Kent works so I can be home, and I am grateful for days like today when running the household is more of a joy than a chore.