And, Now I'm Off!

I will leave tomorrow morning for a long weekend with a very good friend/sister-in-love, my Jen. I will wake up early and kiss my darling boys and wonderful man goodbye. Then, I will drive several hours and pick Jen up at the Nashville airport. She has already made reservations for us to stay at a quaint little B & B in the area! Our room is complete with two twin beds!! How fun and like college is that!!!

I just finished packing my bags, and I laughed as I did it. There was a time when we traveled to see each other and our bags held very different items. In college our bags may have held nursing school books, a bag of jelly beans, diet coke, Extra Sugar-free gum peppermint flavor, Bride magazines, a disposable camera for fun road-trip pics, a picture or two of the precious brothers that we were in love with, our calendars, and our Bibles.

Today, my packed bags hold some different items. . . A sound machine (I simply can't sleep w/o the sound I hear every night on the monitor that sits by my bed. And, Jen uses the same sound machine with her children, so I know that the noise will make her feel right at home, too. :-)), Bifferdoodle coffee, a cookbook, my control journal, a book about home scheduling and routines, a couple parenting books, a real camera, a picture of my boys (Erik included), my calendar, and my Bible.

So, if we step back and analyze these two lists, we will find that three things haven't changed - our love for Erik & Jason, our love of all things order (calendars), and our love of the Word of God! Our love for Jesus is by far the the chain that binds our hearts. It is what initially drew us to each other when we met in college, it is what has kept us united though miles separate us, and it is why we come away from time together feeling refreshed, revived, and ready to go back to our families with a renewed sense of purpose and a renewed passion for the calling God has placed on our hearts!!

Now, after all those blissful thoughts, let me be real with you.

Yesterday was terrible. Oh, yes, yesterday my life was a miserable tragedy, or at least, it felt that way. Let's see if I can recap. . .

My garage door broke and locked my van in the garage. I was stuck at home all day. Good, we'll make it a swim day - life gives you lemons - make lemonade, right? So, we swam, and I had to jump in the pool and literally save JCT's life when he came out of his floaty by accident. The funny part is that Joshua had been begging me to jump in the pool, but I kept refusing! When I saw JCT start to flail, I jumped in without a second thought! So, the first thing Joshua said after I had JCT safely in my arms was, "Hey! You jumped in!!!" And, the second thing Joshua said was, "Next time, wait and let me save him, okay?" Yes, okay, I'll just sit back and watch. . . Umm. . . No.

Anyway, we recouped and kept on going. . . Then, after dinner JCT began throwing up, and throwing up, and throwing up - that's 3 times. Makes me nauseated just thinking about it. Erik and I just looked at each other like - "You're kidding, right? He didn't just throw up, did he?" So, now there is the possibility that Erik will be left at home with 3 sick children while I am in Nashville, and there is the possibility that I will be as sick as a dog on my highly anticipated getaway! Ugggh.

So, yesterday was terrible, but tomorrow will be wonderful. I am counting on it, claiming it! And, hey, even if I am running to the bathroom every five minutes, I'll have a fun friend to hang out with in between trips!

Today, I am simply enjoying my boys. I am kissing foreheads and cheeks and thinking about how I won't be able to do this again for a few days. I better go! Gotta get some more sugar from the baby cheeks that just waddled over to see me! That reminds me, grandparents, Elijah has officially joined the ranks of the walking! He is officially on two legs now!!! Yay, for him! And, he is doing the cutest thing! We sing the song "Elijah Rock" to him, and he says the "Shout! Shout! Shout!" part!!!!! Too cute! Can't wait for you to see and hear him! He is a handful of joy, that little man! I'm going to miss him, his big brothers, and his Daddy, too!!!!

Later, sweet friends!