our new normal

1. I know that eventually we will be able to talk on the phone without crying. We will be able to hang up the phone without crying. The tears will just stop.

2. I know that some days they really do just want their daddy. And when they hold on to the Daddy dolls like a life preserver, it's the next best thing.

3. Two more Daddy dolls are on the way but you can't overnight or Express ship those things because every other kid requesting a Daddy doll wants it for the same reason we do. I should have invented those things.

4. Every day I will choose joy. Some days it will be harder than others but I will choose joy. At the end of this, I will not have sad, bitter children.

5. The one thing I know without a doubt, my children know sacrifice. They know service. They know courage. They know honor. They will be proud.

They know these first hand more than some adults will ever know.

6. On week one day, day one, our car battery died. The kids were loaded in the van, ready to head to dance and straight to church. We weren't going anywhere. I pushed the van out in the driveway, with Sammy steering and her mom helping. The battery was so dead it couldn't even be jumped. I hitched a ride to buy a new battery while Sammy watched the kids and her dad came over to change it in the freezing cold.

7. On day 1, reduex, the vacuum cleaner died. If this didn't happen every.single.time I would probably cry. I actually laughed. It happens every time. I can now fix vacuum cleaners and jump car batteries. Pretty soon I will be a mini electrician and a plumber.

8. People ask what they can do to help. When someone starts puking here, that's when you can help. Jason handles all the puke.

9. The kids are fighting less than I thought. They are all very excited to help each other out and help me do things. The girls actually enjoy getting Drew dressed in the morning.

10. Sometimes people come out of no where to help you. To bring you coffee, to hug you when you when you need it most, to say nothing when that's what you need to hear, to laugh at with you when you flush markers down toilets, to stand in your driveway in the pitch black to change a battery, to feed you cheeseburgers. We are blessed beyond measure and I thank God for all of you.