It's been a long holiday season. The kids go back to school tomorrow. (Yeah!!!!!). The Christmas break seemed really long this year since splitcat was out of school the week before and the week of Christmas, but the kids were out the week of and the week after. So I've had three weeks of holiday. splitcat and I were looking forward to spending the week together without everybody, but E. and W. got sick. then me, then P. then M. Splitcat got it the next week. Then W. developed a second ear infection last week. He is not pleasant when ill. Here are the ways we now know he is sick: he stops eating, gets really gassy, screams(not cries) at all hours(especially in the night) and doesn't sleep(unless his mother needs some sleep and she gives him some benadryl). The week before Christmas I got very little sleep. At one point both babies and E. would wake up in the night screaming. I was up at least once an hour for anywhere from five to forty-five minutes each time. I don't remember too much about Christmas. I would probably have gone totally insane if splitcat hadn't been around. It wasn't a fun way to spend his vacation, but I appreciate his not complaining.

I was able to recover, however, when my mom and I went to Pensacola to attend a conference. I had been praying about going for some time, but I knew I would have to have somewhere free to stay. My grandmother was already in P'cola with my Uncle and his family and called when she heard about the conference. My mom told her we had heard of it and were trying to figure out a way for us to go. So my grandmother found us a place to stay. One of her friends was going out of town and let us use her house. It was kinda like staying at a bed and breakfast. I was originally going to take the twins so they could visit all my family, but since they had been sick I left them with my sister(who I owe bigtime). So I had no children to take care of from Tuesday through Friday. It was very strange, but I really needed the break. Really bad.

The conference we went to was in Foley, Alabama. It was called the "Sons of the Kingdom and the Seven Spirits of God Conference." And since the novel I am working on is about the Seven Spirits of God, I thought it might be useful. And while I didn't necessarily get a great deal for my novel, I got a lot out of it for me. It was hosted by White Dove Ministries and Paul Keith Davis, Bob Jones(not the university guy), and Bobby Connor were the speakers and Joann MacFatter did the music. It was held at the Palm Lake RV Park and Opry/Conference center. We were next door to a cotton field. There were about 300-500 people in attendance about half were from out of state, and about 5 or 6 from out of the country. We had a very good time. I was glad to get back to my family, though. It's been a long week, home alone with the four kids, but the house will probably feel empty this week.

But I have a busy week ahead of me. The boy wants to have his birthday party here, so I'll be busy putting away laundry and cleaning up all our messes.

I can't believe my boy is about to turn six. Here he is as a baby. He was born at 7:47 pm six years ago this Friday. He weighed in at 8 lbs 12 ozs.

He's a good kid. As splitcat said in his most recent post, he's somewhat of a mystic. He always has been. I think it is because he loves to know the answers to all his questions. He has been a challenge, though. His personality tends towards order, while mine tends to chaos. He has challenged me to add some order to my life(which I am still working on). But I think I have helped him learn to adapt. He use to get upset if things weren't just so-like he had to have fives pieces of cheese, any more or less would send him into total turmoil- and now he goes a little better with the flow and doesn't count how many pieces. And I think I've finally convinced him that it's really okay if the toilet paper isn't perforated perfectly, you can have some straggly ends and it still works just fine when properly applied. And as maddening as his many and varied quirks can sometimes be, they are what make him my little boy. My hope is not to eradicate his quirks, but to make him better able to deal with them when they are unreasonable.

He has grown up a lot already this year, but in some ways that make me sad. Like having to deal with the boys at school who call him names like weirdo, dork, and zero. He has always seen everyone as a potential friend, and it has bewildered him that people would call him mean names. He is different than a lot of boys his age, and a lot the same. I have not allowed him to do or watch some things because I want him to enjoy being a little boy. There is plenty of time for growing up. But he can seem immature next to others his age because he does not have a whole lot of worldly knowledge or experience. He knows how to pretend and how to enjoy a good story. He can be just as happy lost in the intricacies of his own mind as in watching his favorite movie or show. I hope that I can help him understand that it takes all kinds of people to make the world.

He loves his baby brothers and spends a lot of time talking to them and hugging them. I wish I could say he was as sweet to his sister, but he's known her longer and they are much closer in age. He is very smart and learns so very quickly. He has an innate sense of logic that is frightening to those of us who barely know what the word logic means. He loves to play with his light sabers, especially now that he has one that lights up and makes noise. He likes to help his daddy in the garden. He loves to play with Lego and is quite good at making up his own stories and designs. He's fun to talk to and get his perspective on things.

I have to say I'm quite smitten with him. He is very special to me, and I hope he will always know that. Happy Birthday, my boy.