Words about our Weekend

Our weekend just flew by! It's hard to believe it's Sunday night already.

Saturday our neighbor, Katie, joined us as the boys and I ventured out to the mall. It was nice to finally get out. It seems like it's been awhile since we've gone anywhere or done anything since the boys were sick. We returned home from the mall just in time for naps. Both boys napped while I showered and got ready for my work holiday party. (The party wasn't until 6 p.m. but I thought I better take advantage of nap time to shower and get ready with as lil interruption as possible).

The boys went over to Natalie and Dennis' house who graciously offered to watch them and keep them overnight! It was a nice treat for me. The boys are so used to going over there since that is where they go while I work and Natalie knows them just about as well as I do. Benjamin was so excited to be having a sleep over.

I had a nice time at the holiday party. Although I have to admit that the quiet drive to the party was a bit odd. No kids in the car and no date. I had several co-workers who were going alone for one reason or another and they had decided on a "singles table" ahead of time so no worries on feeling outta place at all. The food was awesome and it was nice to catch up with some co-workers too. I was inundated with inquires about how Don is doing. It is nice to have the support and concern of my co-workers but at some point I thought the idea of holding a press conference before hand regarding Don's status could have ended a lot of repetition of my conversations. However, it was definitely a conversation starter.

I left the party around 11 p.m. It was close to home so I was home by 11:15 p.m. I thought I would let the dogs out then head straight for bed. But as soon as I opened the door to the house I smelled an incredibly overwhelming icky funk. ugh. It is pretty rare that one of our dogs gets really sick. But as I approached Loudoun's crate I realized she was the culprit and had been sick for some time. Poor girl. I felt horrible for her and was also dreading the amount of cleanup time this operation was going to take. All in all, it wasn't too bad really. I was in bed by 11:45 p.m.

This morning I first woke up at 6 a.m. Somehow the clock in my body is just set so that I open my eyes and look at the clock at that time regardless of any lil people waking me. ugh. I finally pryed myself outta bed around 7 a.m. and discovered that while I was cleaning up Loudoun's mess downstairs last night she was upstairs getting sick. I hadn't realized this. So, the cleanup continued. Then I walked the dogs which was nice. I know they miss those daily morning walks. By the time I arrived to pick up the boys it was about 8:30 a.m. Samuel was just waking up. But Benjamin woke up first at their house around 7 a.m. Natalie mentioned that they were surprised how much energy he wakes up with. Ahh. Did I forget to mention that? Sorry. I guess I'm just used to his early morning happy energy. Some days it is endearing other days it is overpowering.

Just this week Benjamin had snuggled up in bed with me around 6 a.m. one day and declared "Mommy, I love you so much." (That's when it's endearing).

The rest of our day today was not so eventful. We finally made our way back to church after a long hiatus of traveling and the boys being sick. It was nice to see our church family again.

Don called this afternoon, right as Benjamin was going down for his nap. They got to talk for a lil bit and Benjamin told Daddy how he had been sick. Benjamin also asked Daddy if he has his gun. I don't know if I mentioned to Don that Benjamin had asked me about Daddy carrying a gun recently but he did. I thought it was rather out of the blue. But it's amazing what kids think about. I just reassured him that Daddy carries a gun to keep him safe. This is a recent fascination. He hadn't brought it up again since his original inquiry over a week ago so I was a bit surprised when he started to asked Don about it again today. Oh well. Boys will be boys. He is also fascinated with dragons and monsters lately too.

Don sounded good. He reported that he's down to only about 9 1/2 months now until he leaves Iraq.

Of course, I missed having Don by my side at my work's holiday party last night. He usually enjoys himself as much as I do. I have been with that company over 5 years now and we've gotten to know some really neat people. Some co-workers got a package together over the holidays and shipped it off to him. I think he was overwhelmed with all the cards, letters and packages he received and truly enjoyed getting all the mail too. I have the next package to him in the works but I have not been really good about sending him things lately. I've got to get on the ball again now that everyone here is feeling better. No more excuses!

Samuel is 11 months old today! It is hard to believe that he will be a year old next month already! Time is going by so fast. He surely is not a lil baby anymore. I miss that already! He is just go, go, go now and a true joy in so many ways.