Today is the 1st day of a new week.  It is also the 1st day of a new month.  When last you heard from me I was ending a long and full day of family and exertion both mental and physical.  In other words:  I was hammered and I needed some sleep.  So I pooped the party and went to bed before everyone had gone home and I heard Sheila telling the grand kids to quiet down because grandpa had gone to bed.  Not counting a couple of wake-ups during the night the next thing that I remember is the alarm going off at 6:30 a.m.  That doesn't often happen.  Anyway it woke me from a sound sleep and I was up and busy doing all the things that I do to start my day.  Because it was a new month I did my 41 and then because it was Sunday I shaved my face.  The next several hours were a bit of a blur as I attended choir practice and we attended the block.  Sheila was such a hit with her Sunbeams that it took a while for us to get home where we found Sharolyn and the girls about ready to embark on their return trip home.  Then the house became quiet for a while.  In fact, Sheila and I spent some time talking about some good gospel principles for the priesthood lesson in my quorum.  It was edifying for me and I hope for her as well. 

Before long family began showing up for part two of our weekend celebration of Mother's Day and Sheila's birthday.  We had another splendid time together.  During the lesson  from Shelli and Phil on 'patience' I gave out my thought for the day. " The opposite of patience may be impatience, but it could also be defined with the word: selfish." 

Just as with the night before our family time drained the energy out of me.  It also made me wish for a situation where we could afford to pack up the whole family and take them some where nice for a vacation.  But that seems as impossible because of logistics as it does because of funding.  This family has just gotten so large that it presents challenges we could not imagine in our early years.  And it is only going to get harder.

Despite my frustrations I do realize the great blessing that we have in our family.  We see it as a wonderful and good thing and indeed we feel like we have made the world a better place by sharing with Heavenly Father the task of our multiplying the earth.  It goes to Him, but we have been able to share in this great blessing and we are the better for it, and we sincerely feel that the world is a better place because of it also.  The best part of it all is that it isn't over by a long shot.  There is so very much yet to come, and we hope to be around it far as long as the Lord will allow.