Did You Know...

...that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month?

I didn't.

And that saddens me because my nephew, Jake, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma at the age of 4 and received multiple treatments over a 7 year period before he lost his battle at age 11.  Neuroblastoma is a childhood cancer.  Throughout those seven years I learned A LOT about cancer, chemotherapy, blood counts, medications, and just how amazing pediatric cancer nurses and doctors are among so many other things cancer-related.  I even learned that a gold ribbon symbolizes support for pediatric cancer and I have one I can pin on my shirt.  But I was never made aware that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.





I know that April is Daffodil month, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month with a pink ribbon symbol, and November finds mustaches sprouting everywhere changing the face of men's health. I've walked the track and lit candles at a Relay For Life and cheered on those shaving their locks at Cops for Cancer. Each of these events and awareness campaigns make a huge impact and mean a lot to me personally because people I love have been impacted by cancer.  So how did I miss September's campaign about something so close to my heart?

I'm not even sure how I became aware that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month actually.  I believe it may have popped up somewhere in one of my social media feeds at some point along the way.  So now I am informing myself more about it and want to make others aware of it as well.



Did you know...

 - pediatric cancers are unique from adult cancers

- pediatric cancers are most often found in the blood, brain or bones

- pediatric cancer is the leading cause of disease related death in children (www.cancer.ca)
 
- in Canada only 3% of all cancer research funding is directed toward childhood cancer research

- there are 10,000 children in Canada living with cancer

- 1,500 children will be diagnosed with a pediatric cancer this year

- 1 in 5 children will not survive

 - survival rates for childhood cancer patients is now over 82%! 

 - 2 out of 3 survivors live with long term side effects (www.childhoodcancer.ca)


To get started finding out more information and ways to donate you can check out the following websites and videos:

Videos 
Childhood Cancer Canada Whiteboard Video
SickKids - Childhood Cancer

Websites
www.childhoodcancer.ca
www.cancer.ca


Maybe you can help me spread the word by sharing posts on social media to make others aware.  The children fighting these diseases and their families need all the support we can give them.

I know.  I was part of the family team that helped care for Jake when he was home from the hospital. All the prayers and love that were directed toward Jake and his family through a really tough time has never been forgotten.  Jake will never be forgotten.  He was one of a kind.



1. www.cancer.ca, Childhood Cancer Statistics, 2016 [Sept 21, 2016]
2. www.childhoodcancer.ca, 2016 [Sept 19, 2016]

When Your Baby Is No Longer A Baby

Things are slowly beginning to take on a new and different shape around our home.  The cupboard no longer has a shelf designated for just sippy cups.  Smaller bowls with cartoon designs have been replaced by a stack of small fruit nappies.  There is no longer a diaper bag just inside the door ready to be grabbed as we slip out the door.  And there are no booster seats or high chairs pulled up to the table.

Even the toys are taking on a different form.  Each room has its own collection of Lego, stacks of books and various forms of building toys and trucks.  Gone are the Mega Bloks.  There isn't a Little People bus to be found.

Although the shapes of things have changed and roles are beginning to alter as each of the boys grow older, there are some fundamental parts of our family that will always remain the same. The twins will always be the oldest, or 'the big boys' as I call them. Sweet Evan will always be our very middle boy. Nicholas, our most determined boy. And Dylan is our baby.


A few weeks ago our baby turned 4.  Just like all parents we asked ourselves how so much time had passed so quickly.  He's so clearly not a baby any longer but there is still just enough little in him to help take the sting of his growing up away.  We celebrated with his choice of birthday supper - spaghetti and meatballs.  His brothers gave him our traditional simple birthday gifts - chocolate bars.  He was a happy little boy.

My sweet boy, Dylan, is quick to smile, spreads his love around freely with hugs for people when he greets them, and he is always excited to head out to do something.  He tells me he loves me at least 15 times a day.  He loves big.  He expects everyone loves him in return.  He plays hard.  His biggest fear is squirrels.

And each night when it's time to be tucked into bed, I stand just outside his bedroom door with his little arms wrapped around my neck.  He calls out good-night to everyone in turn and waits for the response he clearly anticipates. He almost always includes his beloved pets Kacy the dog, Minnie the cat and Red Bandit the guinea pig. Then his little head snuggles in to my shoulder, his thumb pops into his mouth and he tells me one last time he loves me as I carry him into his bed. 

Even though the number of years say he might not be a baby any longer, he will always be my baby.  

The Best Place To Be {Is Spending Time Together}

 The weather was predicted to be -20 Celsius with large accumulations of lake effect snow flurries piling up on us that day.  The permission form had been signed and returned granting permission for Evan to join his class in a day of outdoor activities including bird watching and snowshoeing.  Arrangements had been made for the youngest, not yet in school, to spend the day with my mom, freeing me up to join Evan on his class trip.


After enduring the previous week of sick in our house, I had ended up with a really nasty sinus cold.  I felt miserable!  There was no way I really wanted to participate in anything so...cold and uncomfortable.  Winter and I have a bit of a love/hate relationship.  I love its beauty.  I love how the world is covered in a beautiful blanket of white concealing the brown and bare beneath it.  I love that winter is a time of slow down and stay home all warm and cozy.  On the other hand, I am not a fan of being cold.  Nor am I a fan of driving on winter slippery roads. 

With careful consideration I made sure Evan wasn't aware of my lack of enthusiasm for joining him on the outing.  After all, I was looking forward to spending the time with my Evan, it was the cold itinerary and nasty sinus cold that had me bemoaning the fact I had so readily agreed to accompany him.  Since snowshoeing is a winter activity I enjoy, I knew it would be alright.  Still I just did not want to.

Checking the forecast for a final time the night before, Evan and I laid out extra layers of clothes to wear beneath our snow clothes, packed a hearty lunch and had our backpacks filled with only what we would need to carry.  I pulled my warmest snowmobiling suit out of the back of the closet and found myself a cozy toque to pull over my ears that would meet my soft scarf.  I was not going to be any colder than necessary.  I carefully planned the limited time I would have in the morning and went to bed a little earlier than usual.  All the while I was still apprehensive about the following day predicted to be one of the coldest we had yet experienced this winter.

Although the morning held a few challenges that started the day offtrack, the day turned out to be nothing like I had envisioned.  The sky was a beautiful clear blue and the sun was shining brightly.  There wasn't a snowflake to mar the brilliance.  Oh, it was definitely cold!  But we were in an area sheltered by trees for most of our outdoor time.  It was only when the strong, cold wind blew at us that our cheeks smarted and we burrowed a little deeper in our snow gear.  Spending part of our time indoors making bird feeders and learning about different types of birds before heading out to find them also helped keep us warm enough.

Throughout the day Evan leaned close to me, beaming all his happiness in my direction with his sweet gapped-tooth smile.  We held hands both while we walked and wore our snowshoes, even though it was awkward and hard.  Our chairs were pulled close whenever we sat doing crafts or eating our lunches.  Evan was not letting a single moment of our time together be wasted.  We'll always have our memories of our day in the snow to share together.

It was so worth spending every moment of the day trudging through snow and shivering with cold!  Even though it felt like the last place I wanted to be, it turned out to be the best place to be.

Some Weeks Are Hard

Weeks of sick are hard.  Days blur.  Bodies filled with limitless energy, lie still.  Growing boys, changing day by day, reflect their younger selves as they lay with stillness.  Loud boy voices subdued with no energy left to squander.  Each boy has his turn with tears and moans and pleas to make it stop.  Night time rest disrupted to tend to ailments suffered.


Hours disappear in the busyness of tending each need in the makeshift sickroom that was once our living room.  Favourite blankets line the couches and chairs making cozy where little bodies nestle.  The television plays movies and shows chosen to whisk sick boys from the misery they feel to worlds where all is right.  Tired eyes heavy with weariness watch the screen

 without reaction.  Sleep claims still bodies.

Mommy moves between them: rubbing backs, touching hollow cheeks, kissing hot foreheads.  Sippy cups with straws are pulled from the back of the cupboard, refilled as soon as it's empty, encouraging parched lips to receive another sip.  Light foods are offered to empty tummies refusing any nourishment.

Some days one or two children venture to school.  The bus rolls up for just so few feet to wearily climb its stairs.  The tired boys returns at the close of the school day, exhausted from energy burned before bodies are fully restored to that of the days before the sickness started.  Back to the days when life was normal.  Normal seems so long ago.

Slowly, day-by-day,  boys become more active.  Tummies stop rebelling.  Throbbing heads clear.  All boys sleep the night through, feeling as they should and resting deeply.

Until finally, a week after it all began, the living room is again filled with log houses and trucks, not blankets covering still bodies.  Boys yelling and playing drown out thoughts, not the television.  Fights break out as they work out different ideas, not cries from feeling awful.  Life is back to normal.

The Truth - Day 29

Capturing elusive moments throughout these days of writing for Write 31 Days allows to me be selective as I tell my tales.  (See my landing page here to learn more about this challenge.)  Some of what I've recorded have been experiences with others.  Other times my impressions or memories have been the focus.  Always they are the moments of greatest significance that I reflect on at the end of the day.

Daily expectations to seek out moments finds me slowing down, taking time to reflect, considering why or what a moment means.  It's been good.  Appreciating simple actions and kind words creates healthy perspective.  Finding significance and beauty in all types of experiences forces me to remember why all this daily hard and messy life is being lived.  They are all split seconds that lay the foundation of who we are as a family, and as individuals.  Not big flashy moments but the hugs, chats, smiles and laughter shared together that make all the hard, worth it.

For our home, there is far more mess than there is beauty.  Always the housework needs to be done as there are crumbs on the floor and dust on the shelves.  Scattered wherever you look are toys, books, trucks and Lego.  Always Lego!  Dishes need washing.  Baskets of clothes, both clean and dirty, move throughout the house as good intentions to wash or fold are left waiting.  Toilets need brushing.  Summer clothes need storing and winter clothes need finding.  Organization is lacking!

For our family, there is often more frustration than there is harmony.  Boys are disagreeing.  Mom's instructions are ignored.  The most insignificant of things has caused a fight to break out.  Boys run, still yelling, even after being told to stop being so loud.  Always loud!  Parent's raise voices to be heard over the din as they try sharing together some of their day.  Reminders are given.  Items are misplaced and time is spent looking.  Then looking some more.  Tantrums happen.  Frustration is felt by all.

Still in the midst of all that going on, the most important things are never neglected.  The children are clean and tummies are full.  The house is warm.  There are clean clothes aplenty even if socks from the sock box are matched as we head out the door.  We read together (most days).  Hugs are given.  Sorry's are said.  Laughter is shared over silly jokes or misspoken words.  I love you's are shown, not just spoken.  Thoughtfulness is extended.

For the last twenty-nine days I have stolen time from these hectic days to record the best parts of this chaos that is made beautiful simply because we are living it together.

Click here to see the rest of my Write 31 Days series:  Simple Gems

Pumpkin Carving - Day 25

The fire crackles in the corner stove.  Smells of fresh cut pumpkin blends with fresh cut wood.  The boys murmur quietly to each other, each at their own pumpkin, working intently pulling pumpkin guts out.  Every once in awhile Luke's power saw buzzes loudly, deafening us all for the moment it takes to make a cut; the whir of the drill fills the silence in between.

Every couple of years pumpkin carving has grown a little bigger in our family as we add another pumpkin for another boy to claim as his own.  This year I considered having all the boys carve only the one Big Max pumpkin I grew in our garden.  Not only did I think it would be a little less...well, less everything, but my pumpkins didn't produce all that well.  I only ended up with one Big Max carving pumpkin and three small pie pumpkins.  Fortunately our friendly neighbours had a big bunch of pumpkins to share and the boys happily picked out far more than we needed in a variety of sizes.  Needless to say, each boy had their own pumpkin to carve this year again.

Incorporating some fun pumpkin carving and seed counting homework Evan had with our family tradition prompted the afternoon in Luke's garage.  Dylan napped, Evan planned and counted, the boys each waited their turn to start.  Luke continued to work at his project, pausing to carve the pumpkin faces while I sorted plump white seeds from gooey, stringy orange slime.  The boys each settled in, elbow-deep, concentration mixed with offbeat boy-humour.

Dylan awoke and joined us, blinking sleep from his eyes.  His uncertainty quickly gave way to handfuls of pumpkin chunks.  Nicholas perched on the side of the table balancing precariously so his strong arms could reach further.  Evan methodically counted his seeds.  The twins grew bored and challenged each other to lift Dad's tools and pieces of wood a little higher than the other.

An easy clean up.  Seeds roasted.  Marshmallows bobbing in hot chocolate.  Chairs gathered in front of the toasty warm fire.  A perfect way to spend a cool autumn afternoon with daddy in his shop.

Click here to see the rest of my Write 31 Days series:  Simple Gems

Reflection - Day 17

Her hand reached out, slightly cupped with fingers extended, asking me to pass her sweater.  A simple gesture, no words needed.  In that motion with the slight turn of her wrist, the grace of her arm, I saw her mother reflected.

It startled me to see the grandmother I remember so fondly.  A shiver washed over my shoulders and clear down the back of me.  Déjà vu?  So clearly the manner of my grandmother.  So clearly the hand of my mother.  One small movement causing present and past to commingle.  The body and needs of my mother; the reflection and gesture of her mother.

Oh, how my Granny did tickle me!  Her quirks and peculiarities so uniquely her own causing her to be unlike any other grandmother.  My Mom is gentleness and sweetness all wrapped up in loving. Opposites in many ways with a likeness born through inheritance.

Limitations of movement and needing assistance were previously unknown to my Mom.  A woman of strength helping others with needs are part of what makes her her.  But for now, for this short duration of recovery, things once easy are cause to ask for assistance.  Requests and needs often indicated, not spoken, using mannerisms echoing her mothers'.

The reflection of my Granny in Mom paints such a beautiful picture of my heritage: a legacy of helping and loving.  Someday I hope I also emulate the actions and traits of my mother.

Click here to see the rest of my Write 31 Days series:  Simple Gems

A Season of Birthdays

Birthdays!  Sometimes it seems as though all our boys want to talk about is their birthday.  Typically they begin planning their next birthday party about a month after their birthday.  Here I am just recuperating from the past few months of birthdays and parties, and they're already talking about the next one!  So we have a standing rule established that starts in January: no birthday talk until Dylan's birthday.  In August!


Sometimes the mundane of daily existence can outshine moments.  Special moments need to be embraced.  It is in the stopping, the experiencing of those moments where we catch the true essence of what matters.

Although birthday talk is banished for a great part of the year, we try our best to make each birthday special.  Family traditions have evolved over the past almost nine years to become a family dinner consisting of the birthday boys' favourite, cake and, of course, presents on the actual day.  We try not to overdo.  Dinner is simple and homemade.  Gifts are small, consisting of useful items and candy.  Weekday birthdays usually mean the cake will be cupcakes with icing.  Nothing fancy.

We want our boys to appreciate simple,  We want them to understand the things that truly matter are made up of moments, not money.  It is about being with people they truly enjoy and love, not a place.  It is about embracing what is happening around and for them, not what they get.

September is Nicholas's birthday month.  He turned the most wonderful age of 5!  He's still at that magical stage of being excited about all things in life.  He's also at the age in our family where he could have a small birthday party with a few friends.  This means now there are two events surrounding each boys birthday, the family meal AND a kid party.  But in a family our size, it's nice to be able to celebrate them as individuals more than once to make them feel really special.


It's also a chance for us to do a fancy decorated cake (I use the word 'fancy' loosely here, by the way).  It's taken us a few years of practice, but I'd say this cake is our best yet.  It had candy and a monster truck on a ramp, Nicholas was thrilled!

There isn't a boys in our house who isn't excited by a gift of candy in any form.  I hope my boys will always appreciate the simple gift of a chocolate bar.  Not because of what it is, but because it was a gift given to them.

Not {Quite} Ready...Yet

Early Tuesday morning the big yellow bus stopped at the end of our lane where four excited boys climbed up the stairs and were whisked off to begin another school year.

The night before backpacks hung ready with labelled indoor shoes and pencil cases.  Lunches were packed with the ease of repetition.  The excitement of returning to friends and loved teachers hung heavy mixed with the trepidation of change and new and different.  But even as school routine fell into place as easily as slipping on a favorite cozy sweater, I don't feel ready.

A couple of days into the week still finds me not quite ready for summer to be over and the busyness of school to begin once more.  I'm not ready to say good-bye to four of my boys for so many hours each day.  I'm not ready to give up the slower routine of summertime that is forgiving of stolen moments of play or exploration that drift into stolen hours.

Life this summer looked a little differently for us as we are now baby-free and more easily mobile.  Being able to go out the door in a relatively short time opens up so many more opportunities of doing and going.  I want to hold these moments a little longer and cherish the days while they are still my little boys playing, climbing, jumping and imagining.  I know in a time that is no longer far enough away they will not all be littles anymore.  I still love having littles.  I'm also thoroughly enjoying all the flexibility that boys, not babies and toddlers, provide.

Even as I savoured the lazier days of summer, I used the slower pace to begin implementing new routines to help shift our home form a house of littles and chaos and piles to a home with some semblance of order.  Sometimes we had a few slower days in a row when we could do a really workable routine that included chores, meal planning, and a smooth bedtime.  It gave me a little taste of what our back-to-school routine would look like.  It felt good.  It felt doable.  It felt calm.




But really, for the majority of summer the days of going left routine behind.  And often, those days were even better.  

Mother Nature was so accommodating in providing hot summer days right up to the very last day of summer vacation.  And in true McLaughlin fashion, we kept the days full and busy with a little relaxing time sprinkled in - picnics, visiting with friends, sleepovers with grandparents, playing in the pool, browsing at the market, swimming at the falls, crafting, Lego, WII, the garden and preparing for the local Fair.






 And of course, the beach!

It's all good.  It's all been good.  I'm just not quite ready to let it all go,  Not yet.  Even as we slipped so easily into the routine of preparing for school once again after a lovely two month break, I am going to hold tight to my resistance in giving up summer for just a little longer.  There are still hours after school when we can pretend school routine hasn't caught up with us just yet.

My New Year Begins Tomorrow

The first day of 2014 is winding down.  Boys are in bed, dishes are done.  The busyness of the holiday season is officially over.  I sat drinking a cup of steaming tea while the Christmas tree lights still twinkled.

Tomorrow I will truly begin this new year.  I will fold the baskets of clothes that have sat unfolded these last days.  I will sort and put away the gifts still scattered beneath the tree.  I will sort out the pile of winter coats, skates, helmets and boots littered in the entrance.  I will once more begin the laundry cycle to rid our rooms of the mountains of unwashed clothes.  I will plan the meals we will eat for the last few days of the boys' vacation from school.

Tonight I will just sit and enjoy.  I will reflect on the year we left behind with the stroke of midnight barely 24 hours ago.  I will think of the happiness reflected on the faces of my boys as they enjoyed the wonder of the holiday.  I will make mental notes of how to accomplish it all in a more timely, less stressful way next year.

Memories were made.  Happiness was given and received.  Wonderful food was eaten.  The holidays were celebrated with family and friends.

Tomorrow I will start my new year and all the fullness that life will bring each day.  Today I will embrace the year we just made wonderful with laughter and music and smiles and hugs.

Finally FIVE!

Waiting is not easy when you are four.   And yet it seems there is always something you have to wait for - wait your turn, wait for your little brothers, wait for mommy to finish, wait for your big brothers and daddy to come home.  Probably the hardest is that you have to wait until your birthday so you can become the magical age of FIVE!

Evan and his "cake"

Evan has been waiting a really long time for the day to finally arrive.  Sometime during the night of November 23, while his eyes were closed, that magic happened.  In the morning when he opened his eyes and said good morning to mommy he was no longer a little boy of four, but was instead a big boy of FIVE.  He giggled with giddiness when I said "Happy Birthday" to him and kissed his sweet cheek.


To make it even better, we made it "the weekend of Evan".

Birthday Fun!

Saturday was the birthday party day when he invited four of his little friends and Nicholas to celebrate with him.  Of course, when you have four brothers all of them are part of the fun.  However, Evan was very specific that Nicholas was an invited guest.

Cupcakes and Christmas ornaments

 All of my boys love making stuff so I wasn't surprised when Evan asked to decorate cupcakes at his party.  I think all of them enjoyed the glittery-gluey mess of decorating the ornaments too.  It took the promise of snacks to stop the running, but once they started it was also fun making a lovely birthday party mess.

November 24

Sunday, November 24, was his actual birthday.  We followed our family tradition of having the birthday boys' choice of supper (Evan chose pizza) and giving him our gifts.  After the big party the day before, we spent the cold, wintry day watching movies, playing in the snow and eating popcorn.

Although the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow the day he was born, I told him that not every year will have enough snow for sledding on his birthday.  I clearly remember bundling up in snow pants that barely fit and pulling not-quite-2-year-old James and Morgan in their sled during the days before Evan was born.


Five years can bring so many wonderful things.  Evan has brought joy, laughter and sweetness to our lives.  He is my little buddy and I am so blessed that he is my son.  You made it Evan!  You are Finally FIVE!

Autumn Bounty

It's become a tradition in our family.  Every year that the apple trees are loaded with fruit we collect our bushel baskets and start picking.  It's time for making juice!

Nicholas, James, Evan, Morgan and Dylan - eating what they were gathering

Friday was the perfect day for apple picking. The boys were all home from school for a PD day.  (Yay!  we also got to sleep in!).  The sky was a beautiful clear blue.  The day was warm enough James and Morgan were in shorts.  Even I didn't need a sweater.  But Nicholas was still in his favorite Spiderman shirt (long sleeves) and camo pants.

Dylan and Nicholas loaded and ready to go

Luke is home from work shortly after lunch on Friday's so we gathered up baskets and empty feed bags before we loaded up.  Everyone was happy to get going.

The boys were ground crew, picking up any apples already fallen or the ones we shook down that were beyond our reach.  Luke was mostly up the ladder, but I got up in amongst the really high places.  Whichever one of us was on the ground spent our time picking apples we could reach or retrieving Dylan from a ladder.  Or, we held him while picking one handed.


Evan was a trooper at helping today.  I was very proud of how he stayed focused on the task. 

The collected bounty!

Well, we got the required eight bushels we need to take to the press.  There are also a bunch designated for apple pie filling and apple sauce.  And still more to simply eat.  That is, after all, what Simple Bounty is all about.

Apple Picking 2013

My Mom

My mom celebrated her birthday last week.  We didn't get to see her so we gave her a call and everyone took turns wishing her a Happy Birthday.

I love my mom.  She has nurtured me and taught me.  I don't think I have ever clearly expressed to her how I truly admire her.  Today I want to change that by paying tribute to the woman that helped shape me into the woman I am.  She has probably been the single most influential person in my life; not just because she is my mom, but because of the woman she is.

My mom was raised in a family that had little more than each other.  She was only 11 when her dad was killed in a car/train accident.  At 18 she married my dad and became a mom the following year.  Together my parents have lived in four countries and travelled across Canada, through much of the United States and visited countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. 

Living through a tornado was one of many events that seriously impacted her life.  My parents first home and a lot of their belongings were destroyed when the tornado picked up the house and moved it from its foundation.  My mom was in the house with her mom, her younger sister and brother, and her own two baby boys when it struck.

Nurturing and caring for others is who my mom is.  She has raised four of her own children, fostered children and has had a hand in raising other children including some of her grandchildren.  Our home was always open for us to invite our friends over for meals, sleepovers, movie nights and some of them even moved in for awhile. Over the years there were also a variety of animals she helped rescue, hand-raise, keep as pets or had on the farm. 

My mom knows what it is to love and be loved.  She knows how to care for others and celebrate the joys of family and life.  She knows what it is to say good-bye to parents and grandchildren.  She knows what it is to watch a grandchild fight a life-threatening disease and to watch her children suffer the loss of their children.
 
What I have written here are just some of the snippets from her life.  But it is from all of this rich life experience that my mom has been shaped into the woman she is.  She is dependable, resilient, bold, kind, loving, helpful, hard-working, gentle and caring.  As we were growing up she could always be counted on to listen to our worries, gave us space to make our own decisions and help when we asked for it.  She is loyal and proud of each one of us.

                              

This saying is so true for me.  I hear her in how I talk, the words I choose and how I parent my boys.  Sometimes it makes me flinch; always it makes me smile.  I am pleased that I can claim to be a little like the strong, courageous woman she is.  And I hope that someday my boys will be able to say that I, too, am a mom they are proud of.

A New Beginning

It's been a long time since I've been here.  What can I say, life got busy.  A big part of that busyness is the newest addition to our family.  Meet Dylan - our fifth wonderful son who is now 13 months old.

Dylan riding his favorite toy.

For a long time now I've been wanting to get my fingers back to tapping on the keyboard; putting in print these fabulous musings I write in my head each and every day.  Yet, I don't think it is befitting to continue to write something titled Michelles4boys.  Still, the overwhelming need to get this started can no longer be denied.

There is a chaos that comes with a large family.  I am the first to admit that organization, routine and scheduling are probably my weakest traits.  Let me tell you, chaos is magnified many times over when a young family like ours is left to run according to its whims.  However, we are on a mission to change that.  Out of the chaos we want to initiate some very necessary changes that will bring more harmony within these walls.  For me, part of that is taking some time to reflect and chronicle my view of this world in which I live.

I keep telling myself that I will begin writing again when I get that done or this sorted.  But I no longer want to wait.  I am ready NOW to begin something new, even if this isn't the best time to start something else in my already busy life.  While I accept that our lives will always be full with so many little people to care for, I am hopeful it will be a little less tumultuous as we move forward with our quest to redirect the ways of our family.

And so I welcome you to my new home, Simple Bounty.