The Making of M.O.M.

Thanks to those of you who offered up some prayer about the vacation I mentioned. May I elaborate? (Of course I can, it's my blog.)

You see, several months ago, Luke and I went in with some friends and "bid" on a week long vacation in the mountains. It was a silent auction and benefit dinner for our friends, Chris and Lindy, who were about to leave for the mission field.

We won the auction, ecstatic at the awesome price we paid. However, God sure is a funny fellow (can I call God a fellow?..I'm guessing He'd be okay with that, we're tight like that).

LOTS has changed since that evening in April. For starters, we've added Baby D and Baby Girl to our home and our friends ~~are past the point of being ready to meet their first bundle of joy~~ are eager to meet their first baby boy, who is due a week from Monday.

Needless to say, coordinating a time for the four of us to get away isn't going to happen in the next 5 years. So, it with great pains that Luke and I will endure a week long vacation, ALONE, in the wonderful North Carolina mountains skiing, hiking and just hanging out!

We've been saying for a while now that we need to get away, for longer than just a few hours, and spend some quality time investing in our marriage. Well, the time has come...or it will in about 2 weeks!

I called today and confirmed the reservation and I've all but got all 5 kids' care covered. Luke and I NEED time away. Plus, it's already paid for...woohoo!

So, thanks for the prayers earlier this week (all you faithful prayin' people), and thanks Chris and Lindy for becoming missionaries and giving us a great excuse to bid on a vacation we would have otherwise never bought. I know you did it all for us, didn't you?

1. Baby D's birth parents canceled the visit AGAIN today. Apparently, birth dad is still sick. That means they saw him for FOUR hours total in the month of January. Luke said he thought birth dad needed to see a Dr if he was still sick...and then followed it with "a head doctor." Somedays I DO wonder if I married a comedian.

2. Can I get a "Praise the Lord" for Miralax? Seriously. Baby Girl has struggled with constipation since about 3 weeks old. Nothing has worked, NOTHING. We've tried prune juice, dark Karo syrup and apple juice and STILL she was only going every 5 to 6 days and screaming her head off each time until I "helped" her. Because God is merciful, He created Miralax (not sure which day that fell on) and now Baby Girl is pooping like a champ! She even woke me up at 3:30am to poop. I'm so proud. (Don't worry, I DID consult our pediatrician about giving Miralax to her.) I never knew I'd be so happy to see a poopy diaper. I'm sure the newness of that will wear off faster than yesterday's deodorant.

3. I got this in an email today. Normally, I loathe forwards (hint hint), but since this one was A) from my husband and B) incredibly hilarious I will gladly accept it and now share it via my blog. I choose to do so here because...I loathe forwards but this one is GOOD.

(Here's the reply the teacher received the following day)

Dear Mrs. Jones,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.

I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot. From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith

Freakin' hysterical.

4. Luke and I are plotting an ~~evil~~ wonderful scheme to spend 4 or 5 days together, secluded from the "real" world and our kids. If you feel led, please pray this happens soon as my patience and mental capacity are both diminishing rather quickly. I NEED some time away. Not to say I don't love and cherish and adore my kids, but it would be good for us to get away.

5. Here's 5 pics for your viewing pleasure. Happy Friday!