I just did it.

On Easter Sunday, we loaded up the van and headed to the Minnesota Zoo. It was a beautiful day and I love any and all opportunities for family time. We spent five hours at the zoo. We saw all kinds of animals including lots of babies. We decided to break for lunch around 1:00. My mother-in-law joined us for lunch, looked at me and said, "how did you do it?" "Do what?" I asked. "Raise all these amazing children." I gave my usual answer of "with a lot of love and a great sense of humor". But over the past few days, as my family is growing up and out, I have been asking myself that very same question. My answer is, "I just did it". I can remember going to the grocery store with 2 in a stroller, one seated in the shopping cart and another in the infant seat placed sideways in the grocery cart. 4 children age 5 and under and I did not give it a second thought going out on my own. I laugh when I hear moms of one or two children whining about how hard it is to handle their children. Then we added two more children and still that did not slow me down. I wouldn't trade my large family for anything. Yes, I made tons of sacrifices and gave up lots of me time, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I honestly don't know how I did it. I had two options, sink or swim. As we left the zoo, I realized it has been awhile since I have taken a picture of my family minus Angela. So, for your enjoyment, I give you my amazing children:

And their pretty cool parents:

I thank God for all of you each and every day. Like Grandma Shirley said, you all are truly amazing!