Never would have thought

Lately, Patrick and I have been laughing at those, "10 years ago, I never would have thought...." lines.  Mine usually involve the following:

Ten Years Ago:

1.  I never would have guessed I would have 6 children.
2.  I never would have guessed I would be homeschooling the kids.
3.  I never would have guessed I would live on 6 acres  (I always thought I'd live in a development)
4.  I never would have guessed I would drive a big, red bus.  Something must have gotten lost in translation with the Lord, because I always assumed it would be white BMW.
5.  I never would have thought laundry could take multiple days to complete, and that it never, ever ends.  This is my latest discovery in mothering a large brood.  I really dislike laundry.

But Patrick loved his latest moment of this game.  Laughing, he shared it with a patient at the office.  It involved a text message from me and it read.

"The garden you were working on was very pretty.  The goat found it.  She likes collard greens.  I am trying to keep her out using the dog and the boys with a hose.  I took pictures of the garden in case it doesn't work out."

Patrick muttered, "Who would have thought I would have a goat ten years ago?"  And his patient replied with, "What are you doing with goats?"

The Great Wolf Lodge

This past weekend we went with some friends to the Great Wolf Lodge and had a wonderfully fantastic time.  I was a bit leary about 6 kids in a water park, especially a 1 1/2 year old and a newborn.  But it was awesome.  I cannot say enough about the lifeguard staff there.  I have never been so comfortable letting my kids have free reign over a place, and this one was a waterpark!  This "method" of lifesaving was so involved, I was exhausted after just watching them watch people.  You have to go and see it to believe it.  Patrick looked at me just a few minutes into our first steps into the water park and said, "What are they doing?"  A few minutes after that we understood that those summer lifeguards at a neighborhood pool....are so junior varsity.  Moving on....the kids loved the slides.  The big three made friends with other kids and just ran from slide to slide. Patrick and I took turns hanging out with them and having slide adventures.  At one point, I was sliding with the big kids for over 2 hours.  It was so nice to play with them and talk to them without little ones interrupting or spilling things.  Sean was standing next to me just rubbing my arm and talking to me.  I realized then and there that I need to make an effort to just have fun with the kids more.  It was such a blessing to have that time with them.  My second realization was that I am old.  Patrick realized this too.  I can't go down waterslides backwards anymore....it kind of ruins it.  I feel old and sick after that.  Patrick renamed the "Whirling Tornado" the "Hurling Tornado", it could be a more accurate name.  After our sliding adventures the kids went trick-or-treating throughout the hotel for candy, and we got to see a story hour show  in the lobby.  There were a few more adventures in the hotel, but really...the waterslides were great.

Apple Picking Time

Kevin and Lisa came for visit, and we headed to the apple orchard to celebrate fall, and eat funnel cakes, and apple donuts, and cider....oh and apples.  As an aside, taking Kelty brothers anywhere can be trouble.  Luke, Patrick, and Kevin started a game of "apple catch".  It turned into target practice involving a tree.  I decided this didn't look very good to passersby.  Then Max and Sean got in on the game.  The boys "solved" the problem by only using apples that had fallen on the ground.  Yeah....we were done after that.

A Day at the Lake

I love almost all there is to love about North Carolina.  I love that we are 1 hour from the mountains and 4 from the beach.  To welcome fall, we took the kids to a mountain lake for some hiking and swimming.  Patrick had the day off, so we had the lake to ourselves.  The only stress was a 3 mile hike just before lunch.  The kids did remarkably well.  Max found a way to hike nearly the whole 3 miles. Patrick had to throw him up on his shoulders for just a bit, which I imagine was difficult since he had Lucy on his back.  I carried the baby and the other kids ran from trail marker to trail marker.  At each marker they got pistachios from Patrick's pocket stash, which helped keep hunger at bay.  The funniest moment was a discussion I had with Sean on the trail which went something like this.

Sean:  "Mom, are you afraid to die?"

Mom:  some long winded answer on the bliss of Heaven and while dying is not something I look forward to, I do look forward to Heaven, God, the saints....etc...etc..

Sean:  (several minutes later...after pondering my answer)  "I just don't want to die on this hike."

he was serious.  and that is so Sean.  he is a half empty...or still looking for the milk to pour in the glass kind of kid.

Our Gossie

I don't know if you have read the series of books about Gossie and her gosling friends.  A friend got us the first book a few years ago.  And it sat on the shelf for a bit.  Until Lucy took a liking to her red boots.  And we just couldn't get over having our own Gossie.  (Gossie is a gosling who likes to wear bright red boots, every day.  She wears them when she walks...)  Anyhow, now we read Gossie all the time.  I ordered almost the complete set of books and we are loving getting to know Gossie and her friends better.

The Aftermath.....

This is what happens when you live a busy life with six kids, including a newborn.

Your animals decide to make a run for it....or a run to you, I guess.  Felicity has realized that the electric fence just doesn't hurt all that much.  So she is now a free-range goat.  She roams the yard and eats the weeds (a perk), and sometimes...makes it up onto the porch.  It is bizarre to look out your front door, only to see a goat staring back at you.  However, Felicity has become a much more friendly goat and much less skittish.  Our games now involve..the goat.  We play ball, around the goat.  We ride bikes, around the goat.  It is a new dimension to life on the "farm".

After Thomas's baptism the pool filter got turned off (a mystery).  The solar cover was on.  The filter was off.    We forgot to put chlorine in the pool.  When Patrick remembered (about 10 days later), this lovely swamp was the result.  Luke and I battled a good fight against the pool, and it looks like we won.  Now it is time to close it for the winter as it is now too cold to swim.  And it will take time for the image of green-nasty pool to work its way out of my memory.

We also received an unusual perk of having 6 kids this past weekend.  And luckily there are no pictures.  On our way home from Mass on Sunday, Patrick and I were having a nice discussion about Father's homily.  We  weren't watching how fast we were going.  We didn't notice the speed limit drop.  But we did get pulled over by the State Highway Patrol.  We were driving the big red bus.  We had 6 kids, a babysitter, and Patrick's mom.  We were going to go out on a date after we got home.  Did I mention the State Highway Patrol?  Well, the trooper was very nice and explained we were speeding.  He asked for Patrick's ID.  The same ID that he left at home that morning with this wallet.  (we were running late, and I told him just to drive...we wouldn't need it..uh...)  Anyhow, after that chaos, the trooper looks in and says, "Just how many kids are in there?"  I just cracked up!  I told him 6.  He then asked, "Are they all yours?"  I laughed harder and said yes....all but the babysitter.  Anyhow, end result was the trooper saying, "I know how hard it is to raise 3 kids...I can't imagine raising 6.  I can't give you a ticket.  Please slow down and have a nice day"  I love my kids.  I love the South!  And Patrick's first words to the kids, "See kids.  That is one more reason to have a big family!"  My words were, "Don't talk too much while driving kids.  And always check your spedometer!"

Thomas's Baptism

When Thomas was 3 weeks old he celebrated his first sacrament in the Catholic Church.  It was such a wonderful day, and we were all so happy.  Perhaps none was more happy than big brother Sean, who reminded me on several occasions that Thomas should really be baptized as he still had original sin on his soul.  "He needs grace Mom".  And Sean was right!  On a funny note....during the middle of labor, in the hospital, Patrick answered a phone call from our priest.  Apparently, after talking with Luke, Father had the impression that something may be wrong.  So he was calling to see why we were at the hospital.  Anyhow, Patrick chuckled and thought maybe Father was calling to set up a baptism.  A few weeks later, all was well and Thomas More was welcomed into the church by family and friends...and certainly the saints in Heaven.  It was quite a site at church as Thomas's godparents have four children and other friends that came have 5.  Other friends and their children came too!  Then back to the house for a cookout and swimming.