I Have Been Pampered ...

Pamper: To gratify to the full; to furnish with that which delights; to feed luxuriously; as "to pamper the body or appetite"


This week I have been fully pampered ... my heart has been gratified to the full ... my body has been taken care of luxuriously ... my appetite has been fed luxuriously ... my home has been furnished with that which delights ...


Tuesday ...

Two close friends of mine had been discussing pedicures with me recently, and one friend was quite surprised that the other two of us had never been pampered with a pedicure. So, last week, this friend suggested a late lunch date and afternoon pedicure for the 3 of us. Sounded good to me. But, what do you do with all of the children (total of 14 kids under 15 years old ... 4 of them being 6 year olds.) when 3 homeschool moms want a mid-week "girlfriend time"? You pass them all off to my amazing 21 year old son for an hour, who then is joined by my amazing husband. Not only do these amazing men "watch" the 14 children; but they load them all into the 15 pass. van and take them to the local dairy for ice cream cones.



So, in only a few short hours, my body was "taken care of luxuriously" (pedicure), my appetite was "fed luxuriously" (lunch at the Olive Garden, my favorite restaurant), and my heart was "gratified to the full" (by friendship fun ... and by my amazing husband and son).

I came home relaxed, thankful, feeling blessed, and ... totally not expecting a BIG surprise. Come to find out ... it was NOT my girlfriends that planned this amazing afternoon; it was my husband (who had overheard our silly pedicure conversation). He arranged the lunch date and pedicure, in order to get me out of the house. Because ... he had workers come in to pamper my house for Mother's Day. After 6 years of being frustrated with an unusable kitchen counter space (due to an ugly and awkward 1970's JenAir grill), I had finally come up with a solution (other than the very expensive solution of replacing all counter tops). I had suggested to my husband that maybe we could replace that one counter top with a Butcher Block counter, since it was right next to the stove, and the perfect place for cutting and chopping. So, for Mother's Day, my kitchen was "furnished with that which delights".



Well, that day alone would have filled my tank for a looong time ... but the week wasn't over yet ...

Saturday ...

The dear 21 year old son watched the 8 younger siblings for several hours in the morning, and then passed them off to amazing husband ... so that I could go to a "12 Hour Scrapbooking Extravaganza" ... from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. (I actually got there at 8:00, and had to leave at 6:00, to get home in time for church.) I had 10 full hours of scrapbooking (pampers my heart) ... girlfriend time (big time heart pampering) ... and good food (more appetite pampering).




(Does anyone have any tips on photographing scrapbook pages?)


After church, my 2 precious pedicure friends and their wonderful families came for dessert (my amazing husband and children had not only arranged the dessert date and cleaned house, but had baked a yummy dessert while I was gone). So, our 15 children played and we visited until 11:00 p.m. (more heart pampering).

Sunday ...

A wake up call from my dear son, Gregg, in Georgia ... the first time I had talked to him since he RETURNED FROM IRAQ. YEA!!! Definitely a Mother's Day gift ... to hear the voice of her favorite soldier, and to know he is out of the dangerous war zone.

Breakfast ... planned and prepared (helped Papa) by precious Sarah.

Afternoon phone calls from ...

Jeremiah in Arkansas (yes, the same 21 y.o. that helped with the kids yesterday morning). He caught the midnight flight to Arkansas to help a friend drive home from college (Arkansas to NW Washington ... via Fresno, CA ... in 4 days ... Yikes!) Before leaving for the plane last night, he left an amazing gift on my bed ... a Digital Photo Frame with MP3 player. Wow!

Cassie in Oregon ... telling me she HAD bought my Mother's Day present before today; but that rather than mailing it she would bring it to me next weekend, when she is coming home for 5 days.

Then ... cards and letters from Elijah, Rachel, Josiah, and Jacob ... a necklace from Hosanna ... a dozen roses from Ben ... flowers and a Woods Coffee gift card from Lindsey ...




And ... a late night dinner at Black Angus with my dear husband, after getting all of the young ones ready for bed ... more heart and appetite pampering.


My tank is FULL ... my life is BLESSED ... my heart, mind, soul, and body have been PAMPERED beyond measure this week.

Thank you LORD for my amazing, wonderful, romantic husband ... who would have guessed, 25 years ago, what YOU had in store for us!!!

Thank you LORD for blessing me with 13 beautiful treasures ... to train up for service to YOU!

Thank you LORD for these 2 precious friends and their families ... priceless gifts, more valuable than gold or silver!