What a Sweetie

A picture of kiddo #4 taken a few days ago. Just way too cute not to share. That's her, always full of smiles and laughter. :)

The Adventure Begins

They gathered at the airport at 5:45 this morning. The plane was scheduled to leave at 7:50. Day one has begun. This group of 10 people have begun their journey to Haiti. I know that at least two of them have never been on a mission trip before. I wonder what it will be like for them. Will this be the first of many? I hope the experience is a great one for them all.

Their adventure has begun. So has mine. 9 days alone with 4 kids. Some people think that is no big deal. Some people have done this many times themselves. Well, it is a big deal for this little family. I have never been on my own with them like this before. Of course, Gram is still around to lend a helping hand if needed but, I am on my own in a way that I have never had to be before. I must admit that it is a little overwhelming. I am feeling a little lonely right now.

It is about 1:30 in the afternoon right now and so far we have managed just fine on our own. There is a full schedule for the rest of the day in front of us and I am quite sure that we will get through day one fairly well. The remaining 8 days are a mystery.

I am a little excited that I will have this time to develope the routine and schedule that is severly lacking in our household. I hope that by the time the daddy comes home we will be in the swing of things integrating schooltime, clean-up time, and playtime in our days. I actually started with this plan on Monday and we have faired rather well so far. We still need to figure some things out though, and this will be a good time for the kids and me to do that. We already miss the daddy so very much, though!

So, the adventure has officially begun. I am interested to see what the next 8 days will bring.
Please pray for the group of 10 who are headed to Haiti. Pray that they stay safe and that they are able to accomplish what they are headed there for. It is a very exciting time for them, I am sure!

Prayer Hands

Maybe he picked it up from church. Maybe he picked it up from watching his big brother and sister. Maybe it came from the Mom or Dad. Whatever it is, child number three has become a little boy who loves to pray. It is the cutest thing in the world!
Praying is something that has become important to him. It is something that is part of his daily routine. He will not lay down for naptime or bedtime without first saying a prayer. When he sees other people praying he wants to pray too. Sometimes he comes to me wanting to pray for no obvious reason. He would rather have somebody praying with him although, I have seen him praying on his own. The other day he saw the cat sleeping and he went over and said a little prayer with her.

Child number three is only two years old. He does not talk as well as most two year olds (probably just because he doesn't want to). When he prays the majority of his words are not unerstandable. I wonder what he prays about in those sweet little prayers. My guess is that he is just repeating things he has heard those of us around him say when praying but, maybe not. Maybe he has come up with his own things to say to God. Whatever it is that he is actually saying, it warms my heart to see those little hands go together to make "prayer hands" and to hear that sweet little voice babble away some message to God.

Back to the Real World

Well, we have been home for 3 whole days now. I am still disappointed that our flight made it out Sunday evening. The husband and I had such a fantastic time. I can't even decide what my favorite part of our little mini-vacation was. Was it the just the time alone with the husband? The cold weather? The snow? The hockey game? The snowy walk down to the river? The fantastic food? I think experiencing all these things with the husband is the winner.
Our trip started off wonderful and never stopped. It was bit hard leaving the baby behind and not knowing how she was going to handle it but, as the plane took off I said a little prayer and felt the weight of worry leave me and the excitement of the trip settle in.
The flight was uneventful and felt short. I was extremely tired and tried to sleep but, as always, was unable to sleep on the plane. I did enjoy some uninterupted reading, though. When we got to Des Moines we found ourselves sharing the shuttle to the hotel with some scouts who work for the Dallas Stars and a hockey player who I think was on his way to play for the Iowa Stars. That was pretty fun. We ended up at the wrong hotel but, the 3 block walk to the correct one was worth it.
Lunch Friday afternoon was at a brewery which I can't remember the name of. The food was absolutely wonderful, the waiter was very good, and the private tour of the brewery was very interesting. I did learn that there is probably not a single beer on this planet that I will like, though. Overall it was a very interesting, educational, and pleasant lunch. A good way to spend our first afternoon in Des Moines.
I won't bore you all with a detailed description of the whole trip. Here are a few of my favorite highlights, though:
-lunch at the brewery
-taking a guilt free nap
-hockey game number one
-walking out in the cold
-drinking mint mochas from Java Joes
-waking up to snow on Saturday
-sitting on the glass for hockey game number two
-walking in the snow
-the yummiest tuna melt in the world for lunch on Sunday
-all that time to spend with husband

Due to the weather in Dallas our noon flight was cancelled on Sunday so, we got to spend a little extra time together. That was a nice suprise. As the snow began to fall in Des Moines Sunday afternoon we hoped that our 6 o'clock flight would be cancelled as well but, no such luck. We ended up being the last flight out. It was a long and bumpy flight but, we made it back to Dallas safely. I don't think we were gone long enough, though because the kiddos hardly noticed our return. Well, except for the baby. She began to cry accusingly almost as soon as she saw us. I hear that she was just fine all weekend, though. Pappy's little girl the whole time.
It was a fantastic weekend and we will have to do it again.
Now we have gotten back into our routine of no real routine. Back to work and back to parenting.

Iowa Bound

It is so hard to wrap my mind around the concept of going away for a couple days without the children. Just the husband and me for the weekend. Friday morning we get on the plane and don't return until Sunday afternoon. Did I mention no children? I just can't get my mind around it! Yet, at 11:00 (or so) we will be getting on that airplane and they will be under the supervision of the Gram and the Pappy. Whoa! All I can say is THANK YOU to Gram and Pappy! Thank you for the trip and thank you for keeping the kiddos.
Why Iowa you might ask. To go see a hockey game, of course. :) The husband and I are big Stars fans. The Stars has their minor league team up in Iowa. It is going to be so fun watching the players at that level play! Players that may end up in the NHL and some who have been up and down from the NHL. I am pretty excited to see the game. Games, actually, we have tickets for Friday and Saturday nights. Once again, thank you, Gram and Pappy.
This is a much needed vacation for me. I have been totally overwhelmed since the birth of our youngest child. She is almost 6 months old already and I still haven't figured out how to manage life with 4 children and I am really feeling the effects of all the related stress. So, thank you!
Wow, two whole nights that I don't have to get up with any kids at all. One morning that I can sleep in as late as I want. A whole couple days without dragging children around everywhere I go. All this time to spend with the husband. Lucky me!
I have been worried about the baby and how she will take this. I have been worried about the grandparents and how the kiddos will behave for them. I have been assured by the Gram that they can handle two days of anything and that I really just need to get over my worries. So, this is me getting over it. I will just go and have a good time. I will not call 16 times a day to check on them. Once, or twice is okay, though. Right? :)

I Need A Friend

I never really thought of myself as a person who is in need of social interaction. There are those out there in the world who just have a need to be around other people, doing the social thing. I have always been a quiet person in need of my "alone" time. Maybe it's because I grew up with two sisters who did not like me very much and preferred activities that included just the two of them so, I have been trained to appreciate time on my own. Maybe there's no real reason for it and that's just the way I am. Now, don't get me wrong. I do enjoy spending time with people and socializing. I just never really felt like it was a priority in my life. I always had friends growing up, though. Friends that I could call and chat with, or go to the movies with, or whatever crazy thing we could come up with. Lately though, I find myself lacking in friends. It has been a pretty lonely time.
About a year ago a friend of mine moved down here from Idaho. I was so excited to have her here. To have somebody close by whom I have known since first grade. Somebody to talk to and do things with. I have since learned that the paths of our lives are going in completely different directions and don't cross very often anymore. She is still single and I am married with four kids.....not a lot in common right now. Not the same priorities either.
I do have my husband. We are very close. He is truely my very best friend in the world. I am very grateful for him. Where's the "but", you ask. He's a guy. There is a difference there. He is also a home-body. He would rather hang out at home most days and I would rather get out, especially since I spend so much time here.
There are the women that I work with. There are many of them that I like very much. It's a joy to work with them. Not much has developed outside of work, though.
Honestly, I am just no good at this whole making friends thing. I often wonder what's wrong with me. How come I don't know how to make friends? I am not entirely sure but, I think I am a relatively nice and likable person. There is something lacking, though. Where have my social skills gone? Did I ever actually have any? Maybe it's just this stage in life....four small children take up a lot of time. Well, it's a pretty lonely stage right now.
I have learned of a mini-church that a lady I met through working at the church runs with her husband. I like this lady very much and our kids get along very well so, I am really excited to go and check out this mini-church and I really hope that my family fits in and we can do something about this friend situation. Unfortunately they meet on the same day my husband has his mission meetings so, we cannot go together until the mission is over. Maybe I should go without him? I have been considering it.
Anyway, enough of my whining. I hope that this new year brings new friends with it. :)

Happy New Year

Well, 2006 had it's good times and hard times and a few surprises for us. Looking back on it there is so much that I am thankful for. My sweet baby girl definitely tops the list. There are moments that make me sad as well. Like Uncle Bill being diagnosed with cancer. And, as always, our Lord was there with us every step of the way, watching over us, taking care of us, and providing for us. I am so thankful for a loving Father full of grace!

As for 2007 there are already so many plans that will make for an adventurous year for us. The year starts with the husband and the Pappy heading to Haiti on a mission trip and continues with the daily adventure of life with four little ones and an actual family vacation this summer (a first for this little family). My biggest hopes for the year is that I will continue to grow spiritually and as a wife and mother. There are many little things that I hope for for the next year. It is pretty exciting to see what the Lord has planned for this little family.

Happy New Year, everybody. May yours hold some adventure for you.