Our Vacation

I've wanted to type this for two days, but this is the first moment I've actually had to articulate all that's been on my mind.

Our trip to Fort Worth was very smooth on our drive up.  There is something to be said for planning your stops.  Our first stop was in Anson.  It was the mid-way
point.  We had a lovely visit with Melissa and Tommy.  They treated us to Dairy Queen!  I can't tell you how much I LOVE Peanut Butter Cup Blizzards. haha  We were able to sit in a back room which allowed Jadon to walk around, climb on chairs, etc.  We also visited Melissa's awesome antique mall.  I found the cutest bell Christmas earrings for 2 bucks!  We were there about 2 hours.  Once we got back in the car both boys crashed.  Our next stop was the Alder's.  Both boys were amazing travelers... until the last half hour.  My nerves were completely fried by the time we got there.  It took me a few minutes to unwind.  The portable DVD Player was a God send!

We had a lovely time with the Alder's.  I've had a lot of people tell me they considered me family and I've discovered their actions never really match up with their words.  Oddly enough, her parents never called me their daughter or my kids their grandkids, but they treated us as such!  We were both humbled with all the love, generosity, and hospitality.  We never once felt like we were putting them out or that Jadon overwhelmed them.  They truly seemed captivated with his learning, energy, and loving attitude.  Jadon was in heaven!  He ran and played the entire time.  Ethan, (Amy's nephew - Julie's son) was such a great kid!  He had this ability to make Joshua laugh whenever he played with him.  He and Jadon were great friends.  Jadon really took to having an older kid to play with.  He was a champion sleeper!   I was so worried he'd feel scared being in an unknown place, but He napped with NO problems and he slept hard 12 hours plus at night.

TuTu (Pamm - Amy's mom) really showered me with compliments.  She kept complimenting me on my parenting, how smart Jadon is, and what a great job I've done.  They were really impressed with Jadon's ability to know his colors, his vocabulary, his manners, and his shapes.  One night, during dinner, he pointed to his napkin and said, "rectangle."  I wish you could have seen Dennis' face (Amy's dad).  They were so impressed with that.  I left their house feeling like I really am accomplishing a lot with my boys... heck, even homeschooling them already.  I can't tell you how therapeutic it was for me to have someone see me in 'action', acknowledge all my hard work, and make sure I knew they believe I'm doing a good job.

The rest of the trip was wonderful!  Having all that time with Amy was priceless.  Julie and I really clicked too.  It was just so comfortable the entire time.  The food was DELICIOUS!!!  I've eaten a lot of turkey in my life, but the fried/marinate injection was DIVINE.  No exaggeration.  We got to spend time with Erin at the aquarium.  She taught Jadon what sounds an owl makes.  He remembered and said it today when he saw the owl in his book!  We also ate at a DELICIOUS hamburger place called, "Burger House".  A definite recommend!

The trip home was painful.  We didn't plan our stops, the gps went a little wonky, and the 6-7 hour trip took ELEVEN painful hours.  Neither one of us ever want to hear another Mickey Mouse episode again.  That's all that kept Jadon from whining.  Jason decided to take a 'short cut', that ended us up lost, and when we turned on the GPS to help us it sent us to the middle of a cotton field.  It really was scary because it was pitch dark (no lie) and we didn't know how we were going to get out.  I could have cried in relief when we finally got home.

But we did, safely! Thank the Lord.  I have so much more to say, but I'm going to end this for now because Joshua is sick and just woke up crying for his mommy.

I'm so Thankful!

I thought I'd use this opportunity to list just a few things I'm eternally grateful for.  There is so much!

• The Lord's Grace, Love, and unending Mercies.  I don't say that to be full of cliche's.  I really mean that.
• A warm house with good food, heating, cooling, cable TV (with DVR :P), running hot water, and warm clothes in our dressers!
• A hard working best friend (who also happens to be my husband) that loves us with every breath he takes.
• A family vacation that is only a day away!  All of the different ways that's worked out so wonderfully (rental car, borrowed movies, dvd player, and GPS.)
• Health!  For our entire household!
• Two beautiful, smart, and amazing boys.  Their love and intelligence humbles me every day.  I know they are great despite me, but it does bring me a measure of confidence as a mother to see how they are developing.
• The Internet.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to reach out, communicate, and have friends who support and challenge me in the Big Wide World.
• A car that runs and is paid for!
• I'm thankful for the future vehicle we'll have that'll allow more space and the opportunity for me to 'run' when I want to.
• I'm so thankful and excited that my cooking skills are becoming not only good, but Delicious!
• I'm thankful for a little boy who wants to listen.  I love it when he does what I ask and then says, "Good Listen" because he wants me to know he did.
• I'm so thankful I can stay home, have all our needs met, and even some wants!

And last, but certainly not least, I'm thankful for my born again experience.  For the healing and revelation God has brought into my life through His Word, the Holy Spirit, my husband, friends, and two boys.

CHRISTMAS CARD

With Love Chartreuse Christmas 5x7 folded card

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Whew, it's been a while!

It's been a long time since I've taken a moment to blog about my thoughts.  It's so easy to update my status on facebook instead of taking the time to articulate everything racing through my head.  I was laying in bed last night thinking about the trip, Christmas, the things I need to do, etc... when I realized just how much I MISSED blogging.  I need to type out what I'm thinking and feeling to move on from a lot of things.  Plus, I think blogging helps me figure out who I am and how I feel vs. just being a mother, home keeper, and wife.  It's so easy to lose yourself in that role. 

I confess I put on another show of Mickey Mouse to have this moment! haha

This week has been busy.   We're leaving for a family vacation to visit Amy and her family tomorrow!  I'm very excited.  I have everything packed except for the essentials (kids favorite blanket(s), stuffed animal, etc.)  I'm excited to have my husband for six whole days.  Plus, the thought of exposing our boys to people who will love them like family is a huge plus.  They need aunts and uncles to dote on them in person.  They love to be loved.  It'll be nice to have others exert their energy (outside of myself) to show them how much they are loved.

The Lord has been so good to us by using others to make this trip as smooth as possible.  A friend of mine loaned us her dual portable DVD player and another friend loaned us movies/cartoons for Jadon to watch.  I'm VERY excited to rent a car!  It's going to be so nice to have a CD player to listen to music, more space, and more comfortability.  Another plus!

I'm happy to tell the world that my cooking skills are only improving!  I've wondered when it would come to the point where I was not only proud of what I'd made, but glad Jason requested it for another meal.  Such a relief.

Well, I think I'll end this for now.  Jadon is wanting my undivided attention and Joshua is napping.  Maybe I'll even pull out the playdoh... or just wait to do that for Joshua's afternoon nap, LOL.  I don't have a huge load of guilt for being a 'bad' mom because he's going to have lots of stuff to do starting tomorrow.