rest and travel

I thoroughly enjoyed my moms retreat this weekend...and had the whole weekend with no kids! Bennett actually took the bottle and everyone got through the weekend pretty well. Chris took Austin to McDonald's Saturday night and won big points with an ice cream cone. I think that was Austin's firsts McDonald's ice cream cone- that was all he talked about on the phone.

I was so thankful to have time with old friends (I roomed with my friend Jenny who lives in another city these days), time to shop and have fun and I learned a lot from our guest speaker Sally Clarkson, a seasoned mother, homeschooler, author and speaker. She gave a fresh perspective and had a lot of great stories, which I always love. I am always drawn to the power of story and tend to remember those more than the facts or principles. I did not rest as much as I would have liked, but stayed up socializing more than I should have...it is hard to choose between fellowship with friends and good sleep.

I returned home to a whirlwind though. I had two hours after getting home Sunday afternoon to finish all the packing and get everyone ready for our trip...we went to the airport and are now in a southern city. Chris had a trip this week and after a lot of deliberation on my part, I decided (at Chris' invitation) to come with the boys instead of have another week apart. I have some friends in this city and was interested in the content of his trip, which I won't elaborate about. Our flight was delayed and so we arrived at our hotel about midnight...not so fun with two little ones. Bennett slept most of the flight but Austin did not sleep at all until he got in his tent at 12:30 am! He did take a three hour nap today, so hopefully he will catch up on lost sleep. Despite having moments of wondering why I decided it was a good idea to come, I think it will be a good week.