Seems like I'm not making good on my promises for pictures and updates, but our world has been spinning at a pretty high rate of speed for the last few weeks, and I just haven't had the time to compile everything! While my parents were in Dominica, we stayed at their home and cared for my granny. We also decided to strip, stain, and finish our hardwood floors since we would be out of our house for a couple of weeks.
Our little project took longer than we had originally thought, we ended up staying at my parent's house for an additional three days. We were able to move everything back into our living room and the boy's room last Saturday, which was just in time for us to be able to pack up for student convention.
After taking care of a couple of things at the school on Monday morning, I loaded Aubrey, Annie, Kaitlynn, Allison, and Evan into the van and we took off for Cincinnati. I was returning my nieces, who had spent the weekend with my parents, and leaving my youngest three with Valerie during convention.
Here's where the fun begins. About 45 minutes into the trip, I could sense that Annie was a little uncomfortable. Evan checked her and said that she had wet through her clothes, so when we reached the next available McDonald's, we went in to get her changed. So here I am with 4 girls, a diaper bag, and a suitcase in the McD's bathroom. I stripped Annie, and opened the suitcase, only to find that they had packed separately and I only had Aubrey's clothes. By this time, Alli and Aubrey were racing back and forth trying to keep all of the automatic dryers going, and laughing hysterically. I reached for the door, and asked Evan to go to the van to get the other suitcase - I wasn't quite comfortable with him going out there by himself, but didn't have a whole lot of a choice. :-)
He brought me the other suitcase, and by the time I finished dressing Annie and getting everything put back together, the escalating noise of the girls laughing over the noisy dryers was almost unbearable. Relieved to be ready to escape and be back on the road, I opened the bathroom door...to a lunch rush lobby and several inquisitive stares. I was tempted to try to explain the 5 kids, 2 suitcases, and a diaper bag, but opted for a sweet smile for all of the onlookers.
By about noon, I had delivered the kids safely to their aunt and momma in Mt. Auburn (and met with a couple of girls from our church in the GBS cafeteria), and I raced back up to Kenwood to order take out from Bob Evans for my grandma who was struggling with a virus. I so hated to stop at her door, hand her that bag of food, and leave, but she was afraid I would catch what she had and she would not let me in. :-)
The next three hours were the most peaceful I have had in forever. Nothing but me, the Dayton Mall, Cousin Vinny's pizza, my minivan, and the open road. Mmmm. Still savoring! At about 4:30, I arrived home and packed my bags for Regional Student Convention in Muncie...and I was ready to leave in one hour. I'm still amazed how quickly one can accomplish things when there are no children underfoot. Please don't misunderstand...I wouldn't trade them for the world. But I'm still amazed.
The next five days were spent in Muncie, IN with one of the best student groups we've ever taken. I don't know when I have laughed so hard! We had a blast. The messages at the rallies were inspirational and challenging, and the students did well in competition. We all came away excited about what we might tackle for next year.
Greg was super busy, and it seems that we spend less and less time together at convention each year, but he did a great job in organizing all of the athletics. It's a complex responsibility, especially on a campus the size of Ball State, but he has learned it well and definitely gives it 100%. I love it that this is something we can do together, and we look forward to our oldest being able to compete next year!
Greg left Muncie after the Awards Rally yesterday, headed for Lima with the van load of kids, and I left for Dayton to pick up our youngest three. It was nice to have another couple of hours of peace and quiet, but not nearly as enjoyable as the previous Monday. Our family was ready just to be together. A month of abnormal was all we could stand. :-)
So, here I sit on Saturday night...getting ready to lose an hour of sleep thanks to daylight savings time. I'm still smiling thinking about our lazy morning spent passing out lots of hugs, reconnecting with the kids, laughing at their antics, and wondering if they had really grown that much in a week. It sure seemed as such.
I spent most of the rest of the day working on our yearbook, which was due yesterday...yikes...but I wanted to check in and let you all know that pics will be posted shortly.
May you be blessed as you worship our great Saviour tomorrow!
