extra hands

a couple of weeks ago, i traveled to visit kristi and family for a few days. from the moment i hugged their necks at the airport till the hurried last moment together before we said goodbye, we were busy! and i loved every minute of it. we had high hopes of being really fun for her kids that weekend, but i'm not sure of how well we succeeded in the fun department! we did play some games and go for ice cream, but most of our weekend was spent doing what a mom of four does... laundry, dishes, feeding a baby, laundry, dishes, etc. :) and that's what i was there for... to be two extra hands for a few days.


within the first 30 minutes of being in kristi's home, i think i said "i'm so proud of you" about 20 times. every time i entered a room for the first time, i had to exclaim it. every time i re-entered a room, i had to congratulate her again. for what? you are thinking... for piles, for dishes, for laundry waiting to be done...for a MESS! my dear friend is usually the ultimate housekeeper. no clutter. no mess. ever. but since shepherd's birth, she has made a conscious effort to focus more on sleep and on her family and less on her house. so her house looked a lot like mine does on a regular basis! ha! while i was there, i tried to help her catch up on laundry and dishes and stuff, but it was good to see my dear friend relaxing in the midst of piles. at least for a little while. :)

i loved spending time with lydia, steven, and meredith. these kiddos are growing up so fast (just like my own kids are!), and we just don't see them enough! when i was last with meredith, she was using a bunch of single words with her cute little voice. well, now she is talking up a storm in sentences, saying exactly whatever lydia and steven say... still in her cute little voice. :) i had a ball with lydia and steven... when i wasn't calling them ethan & caroline! ha! they loved hearing stories about what ethan & caroline are doing and saying right now. we talked to my kids on ichat, read books, played memory, drew pictures, and ummm... i'm sure we did some other fun things that i've already forgotten.


one funny story from the morning i left... lydia has been learning the pledge of allegiance, so we were reviewing it at breakfast on monday morning. after going through the pledge, we talked about what "allegiance" meant and how we are proud to be americans. kristi sat down, and we both broke out in the chorus of "God bless the USA" (yes, we're cheesy!). we ended with "God bless.... the.... UUUUUU..... SSSSSS...." and lydia chimed in with "TEEEEEEEEE!" kristi, don't forget to write that one down. :)

and then there was sweet shepherd. there's just something about snuggling with an infant. they fall asleep on you, and your heart immediately melts. (sigh.) even when they spit up all down the inside of your shirt the very first time you ever hold them. :) thanks, shepherd! that little boy looks so much like his daddy and his biggest sister. i just couldn't get over it. he is such a happy baby, and he is going to grow up to be one tough kid, let me tell ya! i fed him several bottles, and the kids loved messing with him, poking him and "patting" him while he ate. he didn't seem to mind, but i came to his defense anyway. :) before i left, i realized that the next time i see this baby, he will probably be crawling. they do grow up so fast. here's some shots of sweet baby shepherd.




kristi and i were able to squeeze in a little friend time here and there, mostly while we were driving somewhere or folding laundry. we even ended up dressing in the same t-shirt once without planning it! (our radar was on that day!) eric & kristi shared some great new worship music with me, and i spent the night before i left uploading music to my itunes, which is pretty much a tradition for my last night at their house. i try to plan my visits to kristi's around a sunday so that i can go to church with them. eric is such a talented and humble worship leader, and i loved worshipping under his leadership once again. one of the funniest moments from the weekend was when i was holding shepherd on the couch. kristi came over to admire him, and she said, "ohhh, his sweet little feet!" i looked down, and she was stroking my big toe! i think his feet are much cuter and softer than my big toe! haha. we had many many laughs over that over the weekend!

one of the main goals of the weekend was to take outdoor family pictures. whew! this would be a challenge at any time with four children 5 yrs old and under, but throw in very stormy weather, a husband with a very busy weekend, and well, the four kids, and you can easily say that the odds are against you! after driving around town in the pouring rain one day, we finally got some good ones on their front porch the next morning in between thunderstorms. here is my favorite:


of course, the next day was beautiful, but after two attempts, we'd had enough!

i did insist on this picture of me with all four kiddos. this is actually on monday morning when we were walking out the door. my weekend with them went by way too quickly, but i am already looking forward to our next visit together (by the way, kristi, we need to start planning that!!) thank you, kristi, for a wonderful visit.


being with those kids was a huge blessing, but boy oh boy, did it make me miss my little ones!!! i sang to them over the phone or ichat every night, and ethan was just downright hilarious on the phone. when i finally made it home despite some bad weather, i got pretty teary-eyed to see my kids at the airport. i had only been gone four days, but it felt like i hadn't seen them in a very long time! it took them a few days to realize i wasn't leaving again (caroline, especially), but we are back to our crazy normal routine now. i don't plan on leaving them for a long time! but daddy and family did a wonderful job holding down the fort while i was gone. thank you to all of you who helped with the kids while i was away. thank you, brian, for your willingness to let me go on this trip. and thank you, Lord, for safe travels and wonderful memories. it will be a long time before i forget about kristi stroking my toe! :)