Come Home, Daddy!!

So, I was flying solo this past week.  Blair was up in Virginia meeting with people about financially supporting our ministry.  Half of me dreaded him leaving and half of me saw it as a challenge (which is really not like me at all!)  I usually choose the easy and comfortable life, to a fault!  To sum the week up in a couple of words: up and down.  Here are a few moments that stood out . . .

My sweet friend, Christy,  graced me with her presence (because I'm a big chicken when it comes to staying by myself) for 2 nights since she was in town.  Well, her birthday is at the end of the month, so Little Guy helped me decorate a cake that we made for her.  He was so proud, but it looks like a cross between an advertisement for Universal's Halloween Horror Nights and Betty Crocker run amuck.  See for yourself.



I felt very blessed to be living in community here.  We don't have family close by, but we have wonderful friends that feel like family.  Several friends watched the kids for me so I could do a few things or invited us over for dinner so I wouldn't have to cook.  So, Day 4 Dana invited us over for dinner.  Her husband had a class that night, so it worked out well.  Well, by Day 4, the kids were tired, missing their Daddy, and who knows what else.  As we were leaving, Little Guy decided he would show his friend how fast he could run (boys will be boys) and he fell and skinned his knee.  I kid you not -- people were coming out of their houses because he was screaming so loud.  He cried all the way home until he went to bed.  You are probably thinking "poor thing" which I can totally understand, but I have to confess my sympathy was pretty low.

I came home and did some thinking.  I don't usually think of myself as a controlling person, but the control monster came out in me this week!  I was trying to control the kids' behavior, how they interacted with each other, and the kicker was . . . my level of comfort.  I realized I wanted them to be obedient little robots who acted perfectly and let me have rest.  I'm sure no one else has ever felt that way!  But, I did.  The next day my goal was to loosen up on them a little bit and take all that effort to control and try to turn it into enjoyment of my kids.  The next few days were . . . well, I won't say easy, but definitely better!

I kept them busy over the weekend!  On Friday, we treated ourselves to pretzels at the mall.  Here's a video we made for Daddy while we were there.  Little Guy just could not get over the penny he found.  It's the little things in life for kids . . . 

We did a Fall Festival that night.  Let me tell you keeping up with kids by myself amidst hundreds of other people at an event like that is not a pleasure I'm likely to soon repeat!  The kids had fun though.  With the chaos, I only got 1 picture.  Oh, and you can tell I'm a big fan of this bow!

Thankfully, Sweet Girl saved up her double ear infections and hand, foot, and mouth disease until Daddy came home this week.  Trust me those 2 things (understandably so) does not a happy girl make!