A Little Honey-Get-Away

We have been married almost 12 years.  Most people would say that the honeymoon is over.  My dear husband surprised me a few weeks with ago with a plan to go out of town for a couple of nights - just the two of us!  Yes, it was hard to leave the kids, and I felt like a horrible mother for leaving Aria at only 4 months old.  I don't know any moms who would do such a thing.  However, Grandma and Grandpa came to stay with the kids, and I knew in my head the kids would be fine.  In fact, I knew that Noah would have a fabulous time.

So, we decided to go to McCall, ID.  For those of you who aren't from around here, McCall is a beautiful town 2-3 hours from where we live.  It's in the mountains on a gorgeous lake.  Our timeshare has a resort there, and we were able to book a very nice unit.  Being in the mountains the whole area is still covered in snow, but the road were dry and good for driving.  It snowed a little the first night we were there and this was the view outside our windows.  

We cuddled up in front of the fire and watched movie the first night.  The next day we shopped at some of the little touristy shops and (my favorite) a couple of thrift stores.  We spent almost the entire day shopping for gifts for the children.  Ha ha!  It was worth it though because we found this for only $3.  It's a queen size comforter bag filled with Mega Bloks.

A STEAL! We found a few other souvenirs as well, but one of the antique shops we wanted to see was closed, so we have to go back the next day before heading home.  I'm so glad we did!  We found these "vintage" toys (ouch!  I played with these toys as a kid).  They weren't priced, and needing to get a toy for Aria (since we got the Mega Bloks for Noah), I made Derek ask.  $12.  I suspected that these were Tupperware, but they weren't marked as such.  I looked it up when we got home and found that not only are they Tupperware, but they are worth *at least* twice what we paid!  

Good deal on some really great toys for my kids!  I love that!

Because we were in a timeshare, we had a full kitchen and grill.  We took our own food and this is what we had the first night.  This was one of the best meals we have ever cooked!  It made me feel truly sorry for vegetarians. We had a fantastic late lunch at The Pancake House the next day, and a late dinner of grilled salmon and broccoli for a very late dinner.  I don't know why we eat so well on vacation, but we always seem to really spoil ourselves!  (Without spending a lot because we cook most of the meals in our unit).

On the way out of McCall we stopped by an art and home furnishings gallery.  It was so nice.  We dreamed about future homes and how we would design/decorate.  Sweet, sweet quality time.

Even though it was only a couple of days, we missed the kids.  So it was great to be home and kiss on their faces.  I'm not sure what all they did while we were gone, but Noah was asking for cookies and candy within 10 minutes of our arrival.  By "asking" I mean, asking and POINTING.  I have my suspicions . . .. :)  He went to bed early because he was so exhausted, so I know he had fun with Grandma and Grandpa.  It turned out that his exhaustion was also due to oncoming sickness.  He was running a fever the next day.  Good thing we came home when we did as I would hate for Grandma and Grandpa to be stuck with a sick, very FUSSY little boy.  Although, he gets very cuddly when he's sick, so mostly I'm glad that I didn't miss that.  If he has to be sick his mommy should be there for him.

It was a wonderful get away.  Good food, good shopping, relaxing and being together.  My husband is such a blessing from God!

Also, when we got home we found some Mega Bloks toys on Craiglist for very cheap.  So we got Noah a large dump truck filled with Mega Bloks.  Combined with the McCall find, here's what Noah's Easter gift looks like.  They are in the bathtub here because that's where we had to clean them.

It's always a blessing for me to be able to give things to my kids, especially these things that I know they will enjoy!  I get such a thrill out of finding a good deal.

God's Gifts

Aria is now FOUR months old!  I can hardly believe it.  She is a happy, healthy baby.  The first three months we dealt with a lot of fussiness and gas issues, but she's seems to have outgrown that now.  Thank you all for your prayers.  I believe with all my heart that those prayers were heard and answered.

During the time that Aria was in the NICU, Derek changed real estate brokerages.  It's a lot like a job change.  He's doing the same job (real estate agent) but for a difference brokerage (Keller-Williams).  The way he works now is so different that it's like a different job.  His business has grown A LOT.  It's a funny thing with me being so very sick and now having two kids.  We needed to hire someone to help, but we couldn't afford it.  As long as Derek was having to take care of the kids and work, he couldn't work enough to increase our income enough to afford to hire someone to help.  Vicious circle.  By God's grace, Derek's business increased so much with the change that we were able to hire a nanny at the beginning of the year.  We have been praying for so long that God would make it possible for us to hire someone to help.  I still don't fully understand it all, but God did it.  It's only by His grace.  Not only did we hire someone, but God gave us someone that we already knew and trusted.  I'm so relieved.  My children are VERY well looked after.  Laura, our nanny, has a gift for working with small children and an incredible heart for helping others.  We are very grateful for her.

Now that we're up to speed let me tell you about my day today.  I was awake and feeling very bad until around 4am.  When I woke up early this afternoon I was convinced I wouldn't be able to get out of bed.  For several weeks (actually much longer) I have had the same difficulty when first waking up.  Each time I wonder if I will have to spend the day in bed.  Often I lay there for an hour "talking" myself into getting out of bed.  You know what helps me?  I want to see my children.  Noah is so excited to see me when I drag myself across the house to his room that I look forward to that moment everyday.  Today an hour passed and I still couldn't get up.  I thought of coffee, my children, and food (yuck), but the pain was too much.  I didn't want to move.  Fortunately, Derek was still home and just getting ready to leave, so he was in and out of our of the bedroom.  Even though Noah had just gone down for a nap, I asked Derek to bring him in to see me.  I had resigned to the pain and fatigue, so if I was going to see Noah he was going to have to come to me.  Or, if I was going to somehow muster the determination to get up, my little ray of sunshine and joy would have to help me.  He wasn't sleeping, so Derek brought him to me.  "Mommy! Mommy!"  He was soooooo happy to see me.  Hugs and kisses, and then, "gup!  gup!"  He started gesturing for me to get out of bed. "Mommy, gup!"  I still didn't think I could move out of bed.  I started to explain.  "Mommy, gup!  Mommy, down!"  (Because "gup" hadn't worked, he thought I'd understand "down").  He ran back and forth around the bed a couple of times. "Mommy, gup!"  By now he was trying to pull the covers off of me.  "Mommy, sit dere."  This means he wants to sit with me in my chair.  Then he grabbed my hand and started pulling.  "Mommy, shair."  He wants to lead me to my chair.  Finally, I mustered the strength.  How could I resist that sweet little face?  All he wanted was for his Mommy to "gup"  and "sit dere" in her "shair" with him.  I got up, changed my clothes, and started to get ready.  My little ray of sunshine was with me.  I washed my face, he asked me to wash his face.  He told me to comb my hair next and so on.  Once we were basically groomed, or so I thought, he asked for lotion.  Apparently, the last thing you are suppose to do when getting ready is apply lotion.   I suspect he remembers this from Grandmother's last visit. :)  We put lotion on our hands and "sat dere."

If I had felt that bad three years ago, I would have stayed in bed.  Praise God for giving me what I needed to keep going today!  I actually got a few things accomplished.  I played with Aria and made her laugh.  I cuddled Noah when he woke up crying from his nap.  Loved, cuddled, and made Aria laugh some more.  I made dinner and did a few other very small miscellaneous tasks.  At the end of the day it doesn't seem like much, but it's a whole lot more than if I had stayed in bed.  God is good to me.  He has blessed me richly.