Paradise Found...

Okay, well, maybe this isn't paradise but it is the closest I have felt in a long time.  Here it is, only 7:40 in the morning, and I have NOTHING that I have to do until 4:00 pm.  And, to top it all off, I have wireless Internet. Can't get much better than that :)

But let me back up a tad...

Friday morning was kind of crazy.  Jason NEEDED to get out of town fairly early so that he would be sure to make it through the Atlanta traffic and be at the shipping warehouse by five.  There was still quite a bit to do and we scurried around.  Thankfully, many of the staff came over and helped out....taking Alaina to VBS, hauling trash, helping Jason load, etc.  Once Jason was gone the stress was down a bit since I didn't have any real time schedule.  I was hoping to be done by 11:30 so I could pick Alaina up at VBS and leave straight from there, but if it didn't happen, it was no big deal.  But it DID happen, even with 20 minutes to spare, totally thanks to my friend Erika who is much better at telling people what to do than I am ;)  I was so tired that I could barely speak or think..but Erika came in, could focus on what needed to be done, and gave people that were willing to help jobs.  It was great.  I was also very thankful that I had done a lot of the deep cleaning last weekend -- cleaning out the fridge, wiping out cabinets, etc.  We finished , we got out, and it was good to go.  Thanks, Erika, for everything. 

Caleb had driven in the truck with Jason so I had the other three kids.  I decided that for their sake I would only drive half way to Atlanta.  So we just drove for a few hours and then stopped at a hotel for the night...went swimming, watched TV, and relaxed. 

On Saturday we drove the rest of the way to Atlanta to meet up with Jason and Caleb.  We played at the hotel, went swimming, went to a park, ordered pizza, and just tried to enjoy each other.  It has been so long since we have been able to just hang out with the kids without having to say, "okay, but just for a minute."  You know it is bad when your four year old walks into a room and before he tells me what he wants to do he just asks, "Mom, are you busy again?" Poor kid!

(***note*** I have not calibrated my laptop so these colors look a little wonky, but I'll just leave it for now)

Yesterday (after a tragic death of our bike rack and a three-store scurry to replace it) we drove through Alabama and Mississippi to end up in Southhaven Mississippi (right near Memphis, Tennessee).  During our two weeks of orientation and training we will be staying with a family. The kids are in kiddie heaven -- more toys than they have ever seen, a trampoline in the back, and a little puppy that will be sure to hate kids after these two weeks! LOL!  Seriously, it is just such a blessing to have space and time and time to be together.  Right now Caleb is busy playing doctor on Jason and is, "giving him his meds" and giving him shots in his mouth :)

Things don't start up until this afternoon so I hope that this morning we can relax some and then run some errands.  Should be a good day!

This picture totally cracks me up...

HOW MANY PHILLIPS DOES IT TAKE TO PUSH A STROLLER??

And just because he is so cute, here are some pictures of Levi last week. A big group came to the Ranch where we worked and had big blow up toys and a snowcone machine.  He wanted nothing to do with the big water slide but the snow cones, well, what do you think?

Comments

[MandaKay]

Just made me smile reading your post this morning! Cute pictures, sounds like you had/are having great family time, etc..!!!

[Daisy]

Thanks for the updates, will continue to keep your family in prayer! We'll be in the south part of MS to see family in a few days, then possibly travel to the Meridian area to visit other family. Here's hoping we all have great weather!!

[Rona]

LOL on the whole family pushing the stroller! Reminded me of MY family when we had the youngest baby.....4 years after the 3rd child, hehehehe.

Cute pics--all of them!

[lauriewe]

imagine my surprise when reading your blog to see my niece Erika!