After a day filled with conflicting opinions and my children's need for strong encouragement to do as I ask, we were still willing to take the family to
Applebees Restaurant last night (the other night, by the time I post) for a promotion that they were having. It was not that we're trying to take advantage of the free meal for a veteran or current military servicemen. But that we were hoping to give our children the experience of sharing their appreciation for those that have or are sacrificing for our country.
So earlier in the day we talked about what Veterans Day was, looked at photos of where "the army men and women" were. We talked about what they had given up to protect anyone from doing anything bad to the United States. "Some mommy's and daddy's don't get to see their children each day because they are far away. They don't get to watch t.v. They get hot and have to wear the same dirty socks and can't wash the sand off of their faces when they want," I told them. They were surprised. They were willing to made thank you cards to hand out at dinner.
As we arrived we realized that we were not alone in our plan to show up early to avoid crowds. We saw many older veterans during our wait. As we stood waiting at the door we did see one servicewoman dressed in full army attire. I did not say anything because I wanted to see if Skylar saw her. Throughout dinner we talked about who we wanted to give our cards to. Dustin shyly said, "I don't know." Adam and I saw one Marine that we had spoken to while waiting. He was now, alone, two tables away. So we pointed him out to Dustin and said that a card would be wonderful for that man. So he gathered all he had for guts and headed to the bathroom in hopes to muster up enough courage to drop it off on the table on his way by. There he went and back he came, still carrying the green card he had made.
Skylar, on the other hand, says, "I know mommy, the lady. I want to give mine to the lady." I knew exactly who she meant and sure enough, as Dustin came out of the bathroom the lady was headed in. So I grabbed Skylar and cornered this poor lady in the restroom. She was tickled pink to hear that Skylar had sought her out and showed us a picture of her little girl that she does not get to see much. She gave Skylar a hug and thanked her though we were the ones who should be doing all the thanking.
As we headed back to our table we noticed the marine was gone but the green card was still sitting on our table. As we cleared our table and headed out, of what seemed like a busy dinner; getting up and down for the bathroom and seeking these servicemen and Kamden, a couple sitting near us said, "Wow, they were wonderfully behaved." I responded with, "Did we pull it off?" They assured me that we had. It felt so nice.
I noticed a veteran license plate on the truck in front of the van, as we were leaving and asked Dustin if he wanted to leave his card there. He quickly said, "Yes." It meant someone would get it but he did not have to timidly do it. Adam and I talked about this marine and felt like we had missed an opportunity that God had given us. Off to Walmart we went to pick up 7 things; always need milk right!? Guess who we saw...the marine. We smiled at him but did not have the card anymore. Then I thought about the purple one I had made "from Kamden" only it was in the car. Missed opportunity number two. We finished shopping, payed for out things, and buckled into the van. Now you will never believe me when I say we saw the marine heading to his car. I quickly requested that Adam get the card and he had parked right in our path of leaving the parking lot. I knew this was the man who was to get the last card.
I pulled up and explained how we felt the Lord had placed us in this place and that he was the man we wanted to thank for his service. He asked if he could thank "our son". Dustin sitting in the back seat, face half covered with is sweatshirt, smiled as this man thanked him for the card.
Though we do not have any spectacular pictures, we do have the memory of the green card.
Ok, now isn't this a nice perk of having 5 years in between the oldest and the youngest. Kamden seems to be going through a stage of waking during the night. If ever asked, "when did Kamden start sleeping though the night?" I am not sure I will be able to answer that in month but rather in years. Don't get me wrong, he does not get up to eat, he just is starting to cry during the night and needs a little loving squeeze to reassure that you are still here. Then he goes to sleep fine for the rest of the night. But in keeping with his habit of waking at around 6 a.m. during the week and singing in his bed for about a half hour, then getting up to eat breakfast with daddy, he decided to continue to do this on Saturday. I am not a morning person and certainly not before 7 on a weekend! So when he started to fuss before 7 a.m. I just let it go for a few minutes. Then I found that I had fallen back asleep. I owe much thanks to my responsible 6 1/2 year old. Thanks, Dustin. He is so good. He lets me know if I am really needed. I can honestly say I do miss those nights of getting up to hold and nurse babies back to sleep but when the cry is letting you know that your day is set to begin...I try to sneak in another minute if I can.
The purpose of my blog is to remind myself of what I am to be thankful for each day. So it is so natural for me to want to participate in this week's I ♥ Faces opportunity. This week we are challanged to share what we are thankful for through the use of photos. The only challange for me is going to be choosing the photos to share. (I have a tendency to stock pile on shots of my little guys.)
Little Miss Sunshine. If ever there were a child of mine that resembles their father, this is the one; a ray of sunshine, never holds a grudge, sees the good in all, carefree about the unneccesary, loving, compassionate, trusting in the Lord, beautiful. I am thankful for my sweet Skylar. I need more days of seeing things through her eyes.
Now where do I start with my Little Bear? Wow, to be thankful for the feel of his loving arms around me letting me know that I was able to meet his need. To be thankful that I can still meet his needs. I am thankful for his sweet face that lights up many lives. For the sound of his sweet little voice as he tries to say new words. For his sensitivity to the cry of another human. For his excitement over God's creation, cats. Kamden, what an added blessing to our family.
To the neighbors driving by I may have looked a bit strange laying on the ground but I would have done almost anything to capture the pure joy on Kamden's little round face as he swung giggling on this swing. 
Enjoy.
I LOVE YOU, LITTLE BEAR!!!
So I am on my third day home with children who are a little under the weather. Sunday Kamden had a cough and very runny nose so we decided not to expose him to any of the other children in the nursery in order to not deprive other parents of sleep from a coughing child. So for the first time, I volunteered to be the one to stay home. Boy did that through everyone for a loop. Mommy is not running around this time. The thought of staying home in my sweats seemed nice. Till I put Kamden to nap 2 minutes after the crew pulled out of the driveway. The time change and the cold was really taking a toll on him. Now what was I supposed to do? I took a shower, put a load of laundry in, lisoled the house, cleared the breakfast table, I think I even loaded the dishwasher and it had barely been a half hour. So I decided to do some scrappin'. Time to myself, with no helping hands to pull at my work. Sounds great. Kamden slept for 2 hours and I got to scrap Skylar's 1st fall. I am only 4 years behind. But my philosophy is make the memories and take the pictures. The rest you can do later. Here are some pics of the mess that I make while scrapping. 
This is the mess my helper made when he got up, before I could clean up. They are the tiny grommets that he apparently can open and dump, making a quick mess. Then the "uh, oh" from his tiny voice seems to melt your little heart. 
We were so excited for the second chance at going on the Pumpkin Patch field trip for Skylar's preschool class. The first date was scheduled for last week but the fields were too wet for the hayride so the farm asked us, kindly to not attend. They were also not sure they were going to be able to accomodate a reschedule. I was supper sad because I was going to be able to have the one on one time with Skylar. 
But needless to say, we were able to go yesterday. And although I am not a good passenger on buses, I did make it through. (That motion sickness stuff gets me.) We were able to go on the hayride were the farmer picked up some kale for us to feed the oxen and the goats.
Then we made the circle around to pick up some pumpkins. The farmer seemed apologetic for the size due to the lateness in the season. But everyone was completely thrilled to have the opportunity. And what great sized pumpkins for small children.
Finally, we finished up with a quick trip through the corn maze. What a cute set up. 
Then, reluctantly, we got back on the bus for a 40 minute ride back to the school. It was a great trip to the Hurst Farm in Andover and it was a beautiful day.
