This Weekend

Well, this weekend went by incredibly fast.

First of all, I did take the kids to Fred Meyer (which is like a Target-type store here in AK) by myself on Friday. I think it took me more time to load the kids in the car, change into my driving shoes, drive to Freddie's, change back into my boots, and unload the kids from the car and put them in a "car" buggy, than it did for me to actually pick up the five or so items I had on my list. And, then I had to do it all again in reverse, but, I did it, and it felt good to get out of the house.

Friday night I did not sleep well at all...so I slept late Saturday morning. I am so thankful to have a husband who lets me sleep late almost every Saturday morning. I know that come fishing season, he will head out to fish on those mornings, but I am thankful for the mornings that I have now.

After I did get up and make it upstairs, it was almost 10am. Nathan wanted to take Brianna on a walk...on the snowy, icy path behind our home. So, he did that and left Baby Nate with me. Now, I have not been able to do a good job cleaning the kids rooms since my surgery. It is very difficult for me to get up and down from the floor, so I just don't do it very often. It is awkward, and I always think..."if someone were watching me, they would be laughing their head off." Anyway, so I decided that this would be a good time to clean Brianna's room. Just to show you how bad it was, I took before pictures.

So, I cleaned out Brianna's room, and put a huge bag of stuffed animals away to donate somewhere. I also set aside several toys that really needed to go into Nate's room. So then I started on Nate's room. And, I took out a huge bag of "baby" toys from his room. I also threw away a bunch of toys that came from McD's or something like that. So, after a couple of hours working on their rooms, they were completely clean. I wouldn't even let them go into them for about five minutes so that I could enjoy the fact that they were clean. Here are the finished products.Of course after that, I had to pay attention to the rest of my house. I cleaned and finished the laundry, which is always a good feeling. Then, we went to our friend's home that evening for a relaxing, fun time.

Sunday is always a hectic day with church. We are teaching Radically Married for our Sunday School class and also for a Discipleship training class in the afternoon at 5pm. Yesterday was especially fun because we always have a 5th Sunday potluck Praise and Prayer service for the evening service. It was a really good time, and then I brought the kids home while Nathan had a Pastor Search Committee meeting.

In addition to all that fun stuff on Sunday, I spent the kids nap time planning and scheduling our summer vacation here in AK. We have learned that if you don't do this early, than you may not get hotels or the activities that you want. So, I planned that. It will have to be another post because this one is already too long.

Have a blessed week!

Easter Pics and More

So,here is a picture that we took of the kids on Easter morning. I threw some easter baskets together at the last minute. Since I can't drive anywhere, I had to wait for Nathan to drive me to the store. Saturday morning, we went to the BX and Commissary. I had to get the kids new socks and sippee cups anyway, so they went in the baskets. Then, I realized I didn't have a basket to put Nate's stuff in, so that night Nathan and I went on a date, and we went to Fred Meyer and got another basket, some easter grass and some books for the kids. I love it that the kids are at an age that it doesn't really matter what (or even if) you give them for easter. We had a good day at church and then Nathan's brother Josh came over for lunch. I had put a roast in to cook that morning, and then Nathan went to the store for some side dishes (I still am not cooking too much, because it requires a lot of standing on my feet).
We had taken some Strawberry Shortcake to our Sunday School class and had some leftovers. So, that evening we ate some along with the kids. Baby Nate really enjoyed playing with, I mean eating his. Isn't he a cutie? The rest of this week has been fairly uneventful. Nathan is battling a head cold, and the kids have had runny noses, but no fevers or anything serious. I went back to the doctor on Wednesday, and I now have very beautiful driving shoes. I can drive short distances if I need to, but I still have to take my boots with me to change into before I actually get out of the car. It sounds like more trouble than it is worth if you ask me, but I think I am going to try to venture to Fred Meyer with the kids tomorrow. I'll have to let you know how it goes. This last pic is of Nate today. I was getting ready to put him down for his nap, and I went in his room, and he was just happily playing with books while he was stuck in his little toy bin. It was so cute, I had to get a picture.

Why Do You Love Your Daddy?

My second post in one day, but this is too cute...

Why do you love your daddy?
"Because he kisses me and loves me very much."
My daddy loves to eat olives and pickles too.
My daddy likes to drink water and orange juice.
My daddy likes the color orange.
My daddy loves my Mommy because she is pretty and has big band aids.
My daddy flies an airplane.
My daddy like to play football with me.
My daddy says "Hookem Horns". (Which her daddy does not say, but Mrs. Nicole does- she is trying to convert my child to be a Texas fan.)

I love you! Love, Brianna

(My good friend Nicole did this with Brianna the day after my surgery while she was helping take care of the kids. I just recently found it while attempting to clean my house.) The picture is just a cute one we took this past week of Nate in his Daddy's shoes.

My New Toes

So, I am posting some pictures of my new toes. I know, they are not the prettiest thing, but, they are straight. Actually, these pictures were taken about a week ago, and the swelling has gone down even more since then. My stitches are out, which is nice...I have taken several showers this past week. I am now halfway through the "boot" phase of this adventure. I only have three more weeks to wear the boots, and not drive.

Airline Advantages

OK, so since we live in Alaska, we have been flying quite a bit. Brianna has been on an airplane way more than most other two year olds- something like seven different trips. So, having accounts with different airlines has been quite an asset. When we flew to Seattle in January to visit my in-laws, we used miles from our AMEX card to pay for two of the three tickets. To fly my mom up here to help out after my surgery, we used our Delta points to get her a ticket her for virtually free. So, I was pretty much depleted to my American Airlines account for trying to have any advantage in trying to get home in May for Brooke's graduation. I have been checking on it for over a month. I had about 60,000 miles in my account, but since we would be flying back in peak season for Alaska, I was only going to be able to get one free ticket. Until yesterday. I just hopped on the computer quickly before we were heading to church on Sunday evening, and they had the flight that I wanted for only 25,000 points per ticket. May 24th was the only day in the entire month that I could have flown back for only 25,000 points. So, after checking with Nathan, I was able to get both tickets for Brianna and myself for 50,000 points, and the fee for taxes, equaling a full $20 out of pocket. I could not believe it!!! I was so excited, because I was ready to buy a ticket for $626, and then I got it FREE. And, to make it even better, I checked again today, and the tickets are back at 50,000 points each. Isn't that awesome??? So, the kids and I will officially be in OK from May 8th until May 24th. We are getting there on Bryce's birthday and leaving on Brianna's birthday. Brianna is very excited to be able to fly on her birthday...she loves airplanes. We can't wait to get there and see everyone!

A Lonely Day

Today, Nathan got up very early and got the kids up and took them to a friends house for the day, because I am still supposed to be off of my feet all the time. And, with it being the first day that Mom was gone, I felt very lonely all day. I did get up and hug my children before they were taken away for the day, but I missed them very much. I only called my friend Ginger (who was watching them) twice today, so I thought that wasn't so bad. I tried to go back to sleep after they left, but I didn't get much sleep. I sat on my bed and folded laundry, watched a little TV downstairs, took a shower, and then I plopped myself in my recliner for the rest of the day. It is a lot harder to sit and do nothing than you would anticipate. I am sick of TV...I have watched way too much HGTV this past week. Anyway, I am thankful that my children will be with me tomorrow. I have a friend from church coming to the house in the morning to help out, and then our babysitter is coming over at about noon and she will stay with us until Nathan gets home. I am so blessed to have good friends who have been volunteering to help out with the kids, make meals, run errands, etc. The Lord always provides!!!

Momma's Going Home

I hate it when Momma has to leave. I think that no matter how old we get, we will always need our Momma. It has been absolutely great having Mom here this past week. When I was incapable of taking care of my family, I knew that she was doing everything she could to take care of them for me. I had no worries, which is probably one of the reasons I have had such a great recovery so far. So, Nathan left to take Mom to the airport, and I have been crying of and on ever since. It is never easy to say goodbye to your Momma. Anyway, thank you Mom for everything you did for us this past week. You are going to be missed bunches by Brianna and Nate, and of course Nathan and I. And, I am sure my house won't be clean again until I can get on my feet comfortably for any extended period of time.

On, another note, my recovery has gone exceptionally well. I am going to post a picture of my feet soon. I got to see them for the first time Monday at the doctor's office. It was the first time in my life that I have had straight toes. They were absolutely beautiful...and swollen and bruised. I just have to remember to stay off my feet as much as possible. I will go back next Wednesday to get the stitches out, which I am looking forward to so that I can then take a shower without shower bags on my feet. I can't drive anywhere for the next month, so I told Nathan that we would save a lot of money because I wouldn't be able to go shopping for an entire month, unless he takes me. Somehow I don't think that bothered him too much. Overall, I am really glad that we went ahead and had my feet taken care of now because I know in the long run I will feel much better.

Grandma Clay went with us to the Iditarod this morning, and a chilly one it was, with a 17 degree temp and a wind chill bringing it down to single digits, it was very cold. But luckily, the Iditarod starts in Anchorage downtown, so we were able to stop in a coffee shop, gift shop, and the mall periodically to warm ourselves up! Brianna and Baby Nate were especially excited to see the dogs run past on those sleds. Grandma Clay was given permission to get right down on the track, and got a great shot of #42 sled team taking off. (You'll notice all the dogs are smiling big for the camera!) We picked up a few things while we were there, and came back home for some hot apple cider afterwards. Brianna was really concerned because her feet were "frozen" to put it in her words. But she still wanted to go back to see the dogs. Anyway, hope you're all having fun down there in those balmy temperatures!

Nathan