Whew!

It was quite a weekend.

My son, (2nd boy, 5th child) turned 12 on Saturday. In the LDS church, that's a magic age. Shortly before he turned 12, he earned his Faith in God in Primary and passed off the requirements in Boy Scouts to become a First Class Scout. Since boys can, at the age of 12, receive the priesthood and be ordained a Deacon in the LDS church, we decided to invite family and friends over after church Sunday to celebrate my son's birthday and his ordination.

Now, keep in mind, I have 10 people living at my house. Many of those are professional mess-makers. It takes time, energy, and patience to thoroughly clean my house, especially since, most of the time, my younger kids are only a step behind me uncleaning what I've just cleaned. (I think they gleefully follow behind me undoing all the work I've done just to see my reaction!). Thankfully, my husband pitched in and helped all through the week. He washed dishes, cooked the turkey, mowed the lawn, cut down weeds, and cleaned the yard/outside areas around the house. He's my very best helper and he's by far the hardest worker of all of us.

Which is why I was quite distraught when I realized that my husband ( as well as my son and my older daughters) would be gone all day on Saturday (the last day to really get everything clean) at a youth activity. Let's do the math: 10 people, minus my husband and older kids (the cleaners) = me left with the younger kids (non-cleaners). Hmmm. I needed a little (okay, a lot of) chocolate when I realized this.

In addition to the youth activity, my older girls were also performing in "Fiddler on the Roof" at the high school Friday night, Saturday night, and in a matinee on Saturday afternoon (they attended the youth activity in between performances).

And, my daughter who attends college decided to come home for the weekend.

Can I also add that my six-year-old son had a talk in Primary on Sunday?

Did I mention the carpet cleaner and the hard surface cleaner both stopped working mid-cleaning?

And the icing on the cake? Our family spoke in church at Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. On charity. As if I had any left!

Well, I survived, but it was oh, so hectic and I collapsed Sunday evening after everyone left (including my husband and son who attended a church meeting Sunday night). I was pleased with the support of family and friends for my son's ordination and happy to have a clean (just barely) house for it.

It's always nice to have family get-togethers. I must admit, though, I like the get-togethers best at someone else's house!

How was your weekend?