Olympic Shopping

Well, going with the Olympic theme since the Olympics have been on at our house (TV & Internet) 24/7 since Friday, we went on a shopping trip that I think would qualify for a gold medal! A little background first: I spent the weekend really sick. I guess the go- go- go week we had last week with Mike & Chelle wore me out. I woke up Friday morning with a sore throat and headache, but wanting to be a good host on the last day of their visit, I ignored the cold & just kept going. When they left, I had the kids help me pick up the house a bit & we had dinner. Then I decided it was ok to be sick, so I grabbed my pillow & blanket, and laid on the couch until bedtime watching the Olympic Ceremony. On Saturday, I felt so awful that I was in bed pretty much all day. Kaitlyn was in charge of the kids until Stephen came home around 3pm. When Stephen came home, I told him how stressed out I was about being sick because of all the shopping I needed to get done during the next week to get the kids ready for school. Usually when I get that sick, it takes me a week or two to return back to full health & strength. The first thing he said was, "I can take them shopping for you." I thought this was funny & very considerate considering the fact that just a few days ago he told me how thankful he was that I did "the shopping thing" because he felt clueless on where to even begin. So we both knew it wasn't a real option. So I asked him for a blessing instead. From that point on, I rested really well, & I could feel my energy returning. It was amazing. On Sunday, I was able to sit up for more than ten minutes at a time. I just rested and took life slow all day long. I woke up yesterday feeling my best.
So, as soon as I got up, I went to work. I spent the morning going through all the kid's clothes, bagging up clothes we no longer need, throwing away all of their old hole ridden socks, & making a list of everything they had & what was needed. By 1pm, I was done. This amazed me because this process usually takes me a day or two. At 2pm, I left with Emily to do her shopping. By 5, we had all her school clothes purchased, plus I bought all of the kids socks, tank tops etc. I called home & told Hannah to get her shoes on & be waiting for me. I dropped Em off & took Hannah shopping. It took us two hours to find everything on her list & at 7, I dropped her off & picked Jonathan up. Now Jonathan & I had already purchased most of his shirts on Old Navy online, so he only needed jeans & a jacket. It took him 45 minutes to find what he needed! We then went & bought his school supplies. We were home by 8:30.
So, a saga that usually takes me a full week, was accomplished in one day! I am so amazed! I still need to take Kaitlyn shopping for pants, buy Jonathan a set of seminary scriptures, & take the kids to get haircuts, but we are much further along than I thought we would be!
Oh, & I have to say how thankful I am for Jonathan & Kaitlyn's willingness to babysit so I can take each kid one at a time. While I was getting the girl's tank tops at Downeast Outfitters, there was a mother there with her four children. The kids were tired & arguing. Their poor mom was trying to shop, intervene & make the kids behave & trying not to lose her cool all at once. I really felt for her & felt really blessed that my shopping experience was going so smoothly. It is the simple things that makes life great!
Sorry this is so long today.