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Blessings

 By the end of the summer I was half looking forward to school starting and having a more structured routine again.  Well, that lasted two weeks.  Now I'm ready for a vacation.  

Hosting several dinners, starting a new school year, and the abundance of the late summer garden are all good things, but they have me feeling a little overwhelmed on the day-to-day stuff.  I'm not typically an essential oils person, but I just doused myself in an entire bottle of "calming blend" after looking at the laundry situation.  Still waiting for it to kick in.    

We don't have real high daily standards around here to begin with: clean shirt, clean underwear, brush your teeth and don't kill your brother.  I think we are only averaging one out of four.  I'm not sure how we have fallen so low so fast.  I'm questioning my life choices.   

Homeschooling two kids in two different grades is part three ring circus and part boot camp.  Currently, neither system is winning.  It always looks better on paper.  Our pencils are already dull, 1/3 of the crayons are broken, and the marker box is ripped.  The girls have destroyed at least two assignments.  Two weeks has felt like an eternity.  I'm not sure what 8.5 more months is going to feel like.

Gratefully, I have a mom and sister who came to my rescue yesterday.  My house was sparkling when they left, and although it stressed me out the entire time they were cleaning, it was such a huge blessing as we head into the next week.  They will receive many rewards in heaven for that act of mercy.  And my children now know what it feels like to have a clean house.      

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