Re-entry sure is hard

I mentioned that Jason and I went to a marriage conference last weekend. We drove down to Florida and had two nights in a beautiful St. Augustine resort while attending the conference. Saturday night is the scheduled date night. We drove into St. Augustine and walked around in the shops, had dinner at one of those really cool hole-in-the-wall but yummy restaurants, and just enjoyed being together.



The conference itself was wonderful. It was a Family Life Weekend to Remember event. We attended one about 8 years ago. Both times were good but this one was more intense for us. I won't share details here, but I'll just say it was needed and very valuable for us. I highly recommend it for ANY married couple, no matter how long you have been married and no matter the condition of your marriage. I have wanted to blog about it, but I have decided that it was just too personal and I want to keep it between my beloved and myself. Anything I would feel comfortable sharing can be found on the Family Life website...great speakers, names of sessions, etc.



We got home around 9:00PM on Sunday night. We came home to our sweet, sweet girls and were so happy to see them. But the older two had sunburns and Rachel was running a fever. She continued to be sick until Tuesday night. Betsie was clingy and whiney and needed a day or so to re-attach to us. Mary Evelyn was so sweet and gave us a welcome home picture she had made and some applejacks (she said she knew the drive would make us hungry...LOL!), but by Monday morning we were battling a bit. Mary Evelyn was not remembering what it means to honor us as her parents and I confess it was pretty hard to keep my cool a few times. By Tuesday night I decided she and I needed to do something fun together. So I took her to a movie and things have been a lot better since. (not perfect, but better) By the way, I loved Kung Fu Panda...and I am not always a kid movie fan!



Rachel is better but now I am sick. Jason was sweet enough to make sure everyone had breakfast and was settled before he went to work this morning. Plus he made me some hot tea to soothe my raw throat before he left. I do love that man! I think I just have a cold, but colds seem to feel worse the older I get so I am resting a lot...at least until we have to be at swimming lessons this afternoon.



So we are back in the trenches but trying to apply the lessons learned and the old reminders we were given this weekend. I am thankful for the time we had together, for a husband who initiated the whole trip because he is committed to our oneness, and for parents who are willing babysitters. And I am thankful that God is with us in real life.

I'm Still Around

Well, I do still exist, but apparently just don't blog much anymore. I'll have to work on that. Now that tax season is over and Jason isn't working at night, I guess I'm hanging out with him and not spending as much time at the computer desk in the evenings!

Here's a little of what has been going on:

• We've been planning trips! Jason and I have a Family Life Marriage Conference coming up (Weekend to Remember). We are going out of town for that. Also, we received a gift certificate for a night at a local B&B so we will be spending a night there soon for our 15th wedding anniversary. In a few months we are planning a family vacation to the Creation Museum and lots of other attractions in the area. So nailing down details for all of that has been fun.
• Foster: He came to us with kennel cough so we have been dealing with that and just adjusting to a new pup in the house.
• Mother's Day! We only got to see Jason's mom very briefly but we had dinner with my mom and dad Saturday night. My sister and her family were there as well.
• School: About 3 more weeks to go. I am still very excited about our plans for next year.
• Betsie: potty training...good days and not so good days. Also, if you've read my blog for a while you know she was a climber and had a crib tent to keep her in. We took that off and lowered her crib rails so that it's sort of like a toddler bed. She is staying put so that is a good thing.

Not sure what else to tell you...we've been watching way too much TV for people who get no channels. Netflix is a good thing. Then there are the swimming lessons we have twice a week and the very cool lake with walking trails we found just a couple of miles from here. So we are enjoying the spring and being together. I am so thankful to have Jason around a little more at this time of year. I hope you are enjoying your spring time too.

Today Was...

The Last Saturday of Tax Season '08!!!!

I think Jason has worked at least a part of every Saturday since early/mid January. But this was the last one for a while. (He knows there might be a "conflict" if he tries it for a few weeks.) We only have a few more days until the 15th and then he is off for a few days, including the weekend. We have a party coming up Friday to celebrate. Lots to do between now and then, including calling a plumber...another post for another day.

Two Special Children

Thanks for the great comments on my previous post. My girls have always been the messy, creative types. I LOVE that about them(well, the creative part), but the mess you saw in that post is the norm rather than the exception. So it has taken some getting used to. They love to take every toy or box or anything and make BIG towns, houses, vet offices, etc. Clean up time here takes a while every day.

But that's okay. As the end of the week approached and over this past weekend, God has once again helped me to see that these little messes really are nothing to whine about. God has used two very special children to show me what matters and to show me that I am blessed...messes and all.

The first child is Baby Cohen. His parents are friends with my sister and brother-in-law. He was born Wednesday night and was not expected to live. He had been diagnosed with a fatal disorder during pregnancy. Well, he's still here and God is using him to bring glory to Himself! Cohen is breathing on his own, beginning to take bottles and nurse, and his parents are making appointments for him for the months to come...something they never expected to get to do. God has shown me through Cohen that there can never really be anything that is 100% sure in the medical world. He is truly Sovereign and the giver of life!

The next is Ellie. Regular visitors are familiar with three year old Ellie by now. Well, keep praying. She is currently in a Charleston hospital in traction preparing for two very important operations this week. Ellie did have some considerable pain after her first surgery last Wednesday but she is doing well so far. Pray that God would continue to give her parents (Greg and Denise) peace as they anticipate these surgeries. For some reason, I am thinking I read that the surgery would be something like ten hours, but I can't find that now on Denise's blog. Here is a picture of Denise and Ellie wearing her halo.

On a completely unrelated note: Happy dating anniversary to Jason (18 years since our first date!) and Happy Sweet 16 to my lovely niece Jordan! I called her on her cell phone earlier and she was driving around...I feel old. I can't believe she is old enough for cars and cell phones! Have a great day JJ, from the original JJ!

My First Guest Blog

Jason's a tad busy these days with tax season. (That is so understated it's not even funny.) Anyway, he's finding it a little hard to devote any time to his business blog. So that's why I am the guest blogger for him. It's not because I know anything about small business or taxes or other boring stuff like that. (kidding!) My perspective is simply from living with a guy who loves all things entrepreneur and business for close to 15 years. If you want to read it, you can visit here. But the really good post is the mushy one right under mine that Jason wrote on my birthday. Now that's some good bloggin'!