Fun along the way

We had great visits with family and old & new friends on our trip. The kids loved seeing their cuzzies (my sister's kids) and being spoiled by MaMaw with candy and sleepovers.

Even though we didn't make it to Missourri we got to eat a watermelon grown by my grandfather in my sister's backyard. We ate the whole thing. The best watermelon I had in years...seriously!!! Even Nathaniel liked it. It was so funny. He was sucking on a slice of watermelon and when I took it away he would just cry and cry. My sister is going to have watermelon vines growing out from under her deck before too long. The kids began to learn the art of spitting watermelon seeds. My mom got pictures so I will have to post when I get them from her.

We had a great time at a bar-b-que at my brother-in-laws house. My mother-in-law, father-in-law and my brother-in-law and his girlfriend worked hard to make it a great night. Nathaniel was labeled...dimpl-imatic. Like diplomatic because he went to everyone he was passed to but his face was plastered with a smile full of dimples. He has at least 3 when he has a great big smile. Got to find pics of that too.

The Hampton Inn- actually the household of the Hampton's, the friends we had an impromptu stay with in Tennessee, were so hospitable. The our kids had so much fun with their girls they were slightly torn at how to feel about leaving them even though we were headed to a great time with our cuzzies.

Finally!

2,532 miles, 4 states, 11 days, and one fuel pump later...
We are home!!!!

day one- drive to and spend the night in chatanooga, TN
day 2-3 to Georgia to stay with my matron of honor and awesome friend Jennifer (kids and I) while John went to Ducktown for camp
day 4 Nashville TN- my sisters
Day 5-6 Bowling Green, KY - John spoke Sunday morning to youth and then car trouble kept us from making it to Missourri for a family reunion for night 5 and 6.
night 6- Franklin, TN with impromptu stay with some friends
Day 7-8- Nashville with my sis and family (John spoke at the Nashville Rescue mission on the 8th night)
Day 9-10 North Carolina visiting with John's family
Day 11 driving home.

We have been in the car so long that E(5 years old) today said...when are we going to get to our destination on the right?...sounding just like our GPS. It was sooo funny. I suppose you had to be there.

God showed his amazing grace and blessing by allowing us to have car problems as we were approaching the church John was going to speak at in Bowling Green. Having left my sis' house early in the morning Sunday we didn't have any problems with the vehicle until just before pulling into the parking lot of the church. That day several men spent their Sunday underneath our vehicle working on it. A family from the church took the kids and I home while we waited to find out the diagnosis for Black Beauty (the name of our vehicle). There kids were college age and older but they played on the floor with my kids, fed and changed Nathaniel, bought us Happy Meals and set up the old Disney VHS tapes in the bonus room for the kids. Since it was already about 5 when the guys got done with the vehicle the church offered to put us up in a hotel...2 rooms. With 6 in our family it was SOOOO nice. The pastor took John and some guys out to play golf for the evening while the kids and I swam and ordered room service. Too fun. So waited to head to Missourri after a good night's sleep. We left about 9:30 and about 20 miles out of town the Black Beauty started sputtering again. So John had the insight to turn around and head back to Bowling Green where we could ask some of the nice people we had met on Sunday about a reputable mechanic. The pastor called somebody and they took the vehicle in immediately. One of the guys that had golfed with John the night before loaned us his car so we didn't have to stay in the nasty little room at the mechanic shop. We went to Logan's...MMMM, yeast rolls!!! and then the mall for several hours. Around 5 o'clock Black Beauty was done and we decided it was too late to make it to the family reunion after the 3 hour drive to Missourri and just too much to drive there and then have to drive back to Nashville the next day about 5 hours. So we surprised a friend in Nashville with an impromptu visit and she insisted we stay with her and her family. What a blessing.

I truly hated missing the reunion and the opportunity to introduce my hubbie and kids to my Grandfather in Missourri. But we are determined to make a trip up to Missourri again. Sometime. God was so faithful to keep us safe through our travels and we has so much fun.

Thank goodness for the blessings of others!!!

Today a week into our trip John looked at me and said, "Um we never got anybody to to get our mail. I know it would be awkward but can you call Bon-bon and ask them to get our mail?" So I called dear sweet Bon-bon and asked if she would send Carri-friend over to check our mail and do you know what she says... She responds with, "We've been getting your mail. I read your blog and figured you were too busy to think about your mail. figured it would take you about a week to call." Does she know me or what? It has been exactly one week since we left. Since she reads my blog she knew we were gone and has been watching the house for us.

The frenzy begins

OK..we are (I should say I am) packing for our at least 9 day trip to at least 4 states. We leave Wednesday. John didn't seem to be too keen on a recent comment I left on his Myspace blog that we split the packing...I pack the girls, he packs the girls. Oh well.

So today washed two car seats. Baby is now almost 8 months and right at 20 pounds and very long for his age. Too big for the carrier. So he is upgrading to the big car seat. That creates some problems because then I won't have the carrier on the trip to use as his impromptu high chair and to use when we are in grocery carts. Going to pick up a portable baby booster seat with tray for high chair and one of those grocery cart covers, tomorrow.

The laundry is pretty much caught up so I can get the clothes ready for the trip. I think we will take 5 days worth. We will be staying in houses for most of this trip so laundry facilities are available for free at each stop.

I am so excited about the trip. Wednesday, we drop John off at camp in Tennessee and then drive about an hour to Georgia to my dear sweet college chum/matron of honor and her family for 3 days and nights. Saturday morning, we drive back to pick up John and drive 3 hours over to spend a night with my prego sister in Tennessee. John will be doing something with the youth that Sunday at a church in Kentucky(about an hour from my sisters). After lunch we will drive 3 hours to Missouri to converge upon my Grandfather's house along with my sister and her husband and 2 kids, my parents and our 6. We will have a whirlwind 2 days and 2 nights of family introductions (my sister's hubby and my hubby and our kids) and reunions. Most of my mom's family from both sides is up there. They are planning a joint reunion for us at a local park. That way we don't have to troop around the country side trying to see everyone. My grandfather has only met one of his great grandchildren - my oldest when she was one year old. We are excited to share the kiddos with him. I hope that we won't have to wait 6 years before we get to head up there again. I am hoping it won't be the last time I get to visit my grandfather and Great aunts and uncles. I always loved going up there as a kid. Some of them lived on farms out in the country and would have some form of fresh baked good waiting for us warm just out of the oven. Mmmmm!!! I am hoping that my grandfather can give us a lesson in making his homemade brittle...JOHN loves it when he sends it around the holidays. Though I suppose it will be too busy and probably too hot and humid to make. The weather really affects that stuff.

When we are done in Missourri, we will head back to my sister's near Nashville so John makesome important connections with Christian organizations there. I think after that we are trying to see if we can get over to North Carolina to visit John's family about an 8 hour drive. Then when that is done we will make the 11 hour drive home. We haven't had a chance to get up there this year as a family. We have usually tried to get up there sometime in the summer and sometime in the winter. I am looking forward to introducing Nathaniel to John's family. John's Mom is the only one that has met him so far.

I can't figure out where this year has gone and how quickly summer is coming to an end. As soon as we get back we will start with a homeschool co-op group that meets twice a month. Our school lessons will start full-swing, as well.

I am tired just thinking about it all...whew!

What day is it?

I have completely lost track of my days somehow. We have been home most of the week. Except for doctor appointments Monday and Friday. Baby boy had a fever from Tues. p.m. until Fri. p.m. He has done much better today.

We went to a conference today where Daddy was the emcee and David Nasser spoke. The kids got to go up on stage with Daddy and do their "bit." They love the limelight. They definitely take after Daddy!!

#3 today said that Daddy was hers and argued with me for a few minutes about it. It was sooo cute. She loves her Daddy so much! #1 resolved our conflict by saying that Mommy had Daddy first. I see legal counsel in her future.

Last night the kids got to watch a movie on the TV/DVD combo that Mamaw and Uncle Gary got them a few years back. Not such a big deal except I made a fort in the living room and the TV and all 3 of them fit under it. They thought that was cool. I should have taken pictures but I haven't figured out exactly how I need to clean the children's finger smudges off the camera lense. UGH! Windex and a Q-tip? I suppose I need to look for a kit at WalMart or something. Any suggestions. Wiping it with a cloth hasn't worked.

Security Issues or Paranoia

I don't like to use actual names of places or cities because of safety reasons. I have been using my kids names but I am going to switch to something else as well but haven't come up with clever nicknames that we don't already use for them. I don't want to use anything that we actually call them because I would hate for a stranger to walk up to them and use it with them and confuse them by using such a familiar nickname. OK...can you say PARANOID! I don't list the city we live in on my profile either. Just don't think it is smart.

Good ol' Doc

Anyone have a frequent flyer points with their Doctor's office. I have tried to encourage our doctor to look into it. He did give us a free circumcision "to bless our growing family in ministry" (he said).

April- the boys had a joint well check. 4 months and 5 years.
June - C's 3 year check up and N's 6 month
July-the week after C's and N's check ups N and C and Hubbie got sick and all needed antibiotics and steroids. I can't remember if it was L or C now that I think about it...hmmm. We actually had 2 visits on the same day...2 kids in the morning and Hubbie and baby N in the afternoon. Then L had her well check at the end of July.
August first-a week after L's well check, we were back with itchy things on C's elbow pits and N had a fever since Tuesday with lots of congestion. So we have another round of antibiotics to start for N if he doesn't get better by Sunday and C has eczema.

I am going to have to keep a log of when each child has been sick so I can watch for allergy trends. We are a seasonal allergy family. Got to keep track of when who gets what annually and see if I can track when to start the kids on Claritin so we skip the infections that our allergies usually end with.

I told a fellow blogger I was going to be brief with my blogs so this is my first attempt at brevity.