Ups and Downs

Ok.. so today definitely had its ups and downs.  I watched Little Miss Ellie (18mos) today, which is always a hoot.  It was pay day {thank goodness} so I was finally able to take the younger 3 girls to get some new school clothes for their first day tomorrow.  Those were the good things... the ups. 
I was excited to have received the gift I ordered for Mallory's birthday (which is Saturday) only to realize I ordered the wrong size. {facepalm} So, I have to return it and order a new one, which of course will not be here in time.  Mallory was very gracious about it.  (Her middle name is Patience after all.) 
I bought the wrong book for Madison for band... said I needed the 7th grade book (she's going into 8th grade).  Madison was totally cool about it and laughed about me forgetting what grade she was going in.  The big epic fail of my day was not realizing that it was Melody's open house tonight from 6pm -7pm.  We missed it because we were shopping.  I have no idea how that didn't make it on the calendar.  Major bummer.  She is already so incredibly nervous for the first day, and now doesn't know where her room is and has to carry all her stuff to school.  There were tears initially, but after a few minutes, she accepted the situation and accepted my apology.
So... where's the joy?  My joy today was in my children.  They were so kind to me during my failures.  Sometimes, as a Mom, you mess up.  It happens.  It is an epic bummer.  I try so hard to do everything right, but as a human, it doesn't always work out that way.  Knowing that my children can be so forgiving to me, and actually comfort me when I "fall" brings me tremendous joy.  It lets me know that I must be doing something right to have such amazing kids. 
The lesson I learned today is that God definitely hides the joy, sometimes, in the strangest places.