Monkeying around...

One Amazing Day!!!

Every now and then a day comes along that stands out among the rest.

Today was one of those days. We got up early this morning and went to gymnastics. The kids did things today that they had never done before and they did them phenomenally! Sadly, Braji did get two gynormous rips on her hands which will take several weeks to heal. They only have one more lesson left before we leave so it really stinks that this happened now. But, Braji is not a child to be defeated and like an amazing trooper she continued on with her lessons.

So much encouragement my children show each other. I don't see it that often with other siblings and I think that is sad. They were all so proud of each others acheivements. In the gym I can hear them saying "look" so and so. They want each other to see and cheer them on. Which they are so willing to do and in such loving ways.

Next we grabbed Wendy's (yuck, I know, but sometimes...) on the way home and then I had to get Braji somehow to hurry up and get a shower then rather than waiting and get her to get dressed to go out tonight. You see, last week her Daddy bought tickets to take her to the Rascal Flats concert. It was a surprise of course so I had to do some fanangling to get her ready to go without letting her in on the secret. Poor girl, I had to wash her hair in the sink cause she couldn't do it due to her hands being in such bad shape.

Then we had a little time to kill before Daddy got home from work and the kids went outside in the back yard to play with a cat tail (the water plant) that Zachary had given to me a while back. One of our cats had gotten to it and it was beginning to explode every where. Wow, there are a lot of seeds on a cat tail. Who knew? They had such a good time with their "cat tail snow". I laughed as I watched them have so much fun together with something so simple. I love how much my kids love each other.

Finally, Daddy came home showered and we left. We told her that we were taking her out to dinner to thank her for all the things that she does every day to help her Mama. She really is an amazing kid. If only everyone had a daughter as sweet, outgoing, helpful, respectful and loving as she is. There simply aren't enough words to describe how amazing a person she is.

After we ate, the waiter brought the bill in one of those black folder jobbies. Well Daddy took the tickets and put them in the folder. He asked her to check to see if he tipped correctly (cause she is a whiz at percentages). When she opened it and looked at the tickets she had no idea what they were. She thought that they were movie tickets or something. She started looking closer and a huge smile started to spread across her face. Her cheeks went hot pink and then came the tears. My heart pounded in my chest watching how happy we were able to make her. I am so glad that we did this for her.

We left the restaurant and went to the concert. She had a blast. Sang her heart out. Screamed until I know she will have no voice tomorrow. Cried some more and showered us with hugs, kisses and the kind of love that only Braji can give. It was incredible. I am so thankful she had a great time.

While we were out, the other four children cleaned the house. They cleaned everything so that Braji wouldn't have to feel like she had anything to help with. What a blessing that was to her as well. They did a fantastic job and even vacuumed all the floors. So nice.

It really was the perfect ending to a perfect day. Life isn't perfect, but there are times around here when it comes really, really close. I love my children. I like being around them. I like the kind of people they have all blossomed to be. I am so glad that I am so priveleged to be their mother. I am so glad that we chose to keep them out of school and that I get to spend so much quality time with them.

My monkeys are my own personal fairy tale in real life...