I'm going to call this one, count it it all joy Friday!

We have pretty quickly settled into a routine. Faith even sleeps past 6:00 a.m. of late. Mallory and Hailey are pleased as punch to go to school everyday. They have Friday's off and just hate that they couldn't go to school this morning.

Boy, I did forget what morning time was like from the last school season. Every girl in the house has a turn with the tears, if I'm lucky. Most mornings they each just take turns all morning. It's really ridiculous actually. I can't tell you how many times Tyler's shower has been interrupted by his sisters potty runs first thing in the morning. It's not fun in the moment each morning but I laugh about it later on each day. Most people wouldn't survive a single morning in this house. My mom does a lot of road work for her job and it allows her to work at home. She's been gone by 6:00 a.m. most mornings lately; I wonder why?

My twins and I walk up to get Faith and Karli from school each afternoon and leave Tyler to his tinkering in the backyard with Grandpa. Most days Faith and Karli come running out with a new friend for me to meet. "Mom this is so-and-so, so-and-so, this is my mom." "Hi, so-and-so, nice to meet you." Which is always immediately followed by "will you be my friend?" and "will you be my friend too?" from the peanut gallery which is Mallory and Hailey. I wonder if Faith and Karli's friends realize that when you become friends with one of them, it's a four-for-one deal? Ah, it's so much fun though.

Polish dance started again last night with tons of new students. We have 26 kids in the first group alone which is all pre-school and kindergartners! Sounds fun, no? Our Director was the Artistic Director at the school we all left and has been doing double duty for the past three years. Running a new dance school, which is now the largest PRCUA dance group in the nation, and coordinating and creating new costumes in too big a job for one person. This is the first year she has taken on two costume assistants, yours truly and another wonderful lady. It's going to be a big job but I'm really excited about it. I'm looking forward to helping the new moms with the wealth of costume information they will be bombarded with in the coming weeks. I'm very proud of the time and effort I put into my children's costumes. They each own their own regional costume from the region of Krakow in Poland made of authentic polish pieces from Poland. I'm very proud of it. I just want to pass on a bit of that pride and assist the other moms. I'm looking forward to getting to know them and their children and mingling a bit more. Not my forte'. Not because I don't like people but believe it or not, I'm painfully shy! It's hideous really and I despise it.

I just feel really good about so many things. Todd and I are on a financial plan to get us to the end of this chapter so we can start a new one. All the kids are transitioning very well and socializing and making friends. Tyler has made more friends in two weeks then he did in four years at the old school. I'm so relieved and proud of him for conquering his fear. He's even beginning a bit of girl chatter. Oh no! Quick change of gears: his health teacher did a survey and wanted to know how many kids are allowed to go to the movies with friends. Tyler was the only one that didn't raise his hand. Sorry, I don't find it ridiculous to tell your children "no" sometimes for their protection. I want to ensure he is equipped enough to resist temptation to make a mistake when the temptation comes and I'm not convinced he's there yet. So for now, no movies! Besides, he wouldn't be allowed to watch any of the movies his gentleman friends would want to see. He is 13 but we don't necessarily allow him to watch all PG 13 movies. Guard your heart, eyes, and ears. Garbage in, garbage out. My husband's favorite words!

This seems to be sort of a jumble of things and I'm all over the map but I'm just full of joy and excited about all the good things happening and the many things I have to be thankful for. May His blessing continue to be upon us and more importantly upon you!

I'm going to leave you with a verse I read this morning over at Consider It All Joy by Cindy that just exudes from my soul this morning.

Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."