Good for the Soul

So here's the deal: Mark and I haven't been away just the two of us since we were in Ethiopia which is three years ago this week. There are a few reasons why it hasn't happened. The glaringly obvious is finding someone to watch our brood of children. Or maybe I should word it differently....asking someone to watch our children because we have people offer from time to time but I hate to ask someone to fill my shoes for a few days. Another reason why it doesn't happen is we are cheap! I don't know if we think we aren't worth the time and money or if it is just a comfortable excuse. Because getting away is costly but oh so worth it!! And the lovely thing about this get-away was that our hotel was paid for! I won a contest so we had a lovely room that didn't cost us a penny. The outlets located about a mile from the hotel did actually cost us a few pennies!

It was so nice sleeping in, taking naps, browsing shops, eating yummy food and not having to keep looking at your watch to see if we needed to head home yet. The first day/night I thought I might cry because I missed my Heidi so much. Spent a few minutes stressing about the fact I didn't seem to miss the other kids as intensely but chalked it up to this being the first time leaving her. I have been away from the other kids and they survived so I knew this time would be no different.

I loved getting phone calls from the kids and hearing how grown up they sounded. I realized that the older two really are way more capable and responsible than I knew. Judah packed his lunch, remembered to take his saxophone to school, fed his snake.....things I wondered if he could pull off without me being around and he did beautifully!!

As great as it was being away and spending uninterrupted time with Mark (and it was wonderful) coming home to my children was great!! I missed them so much and it felt great coming home to their hugs and endless chatter! Who wouldn't want to come home to this?

Of course they slept great for grandma and jumped right back into being awake all hours of the night when I returned. Grrr....These three bambino's must have some sort of pact to keep their mother tired. I wish they would call it off!!

And I celebrated being home by taking Eden to our local urgent care - it is a whole long process actually talking to a doctor at the pediatrician's office on the weekends. She has swelling on her jawline very similar to the two times she had an infected gland so I figured that is what we were dealing with again. The doctor didn't address the swollen cheek as much after checking her ears and seeing they were both infected. Hopefully the strong antibiotics will knock it out of her system soon seeing she can hardly eat from the pain in her cheek. She is being a trooper though. True Eden fashion!!