We're Back!

After being away 2 weeks, we're safely back home! We had a wonderful trip, although there were a few days that weren't so great. I had a cold for most of the time I was gone, Caleb had a sore throat that robbed him of his voice for a couple days, Lucas developed a double ear infection, and Kimberly was dealing with 2 molars that STILL refuse to poke through. Thanks be to God for the measure of healing we have experienced! :)

The trip up went SO well, I was amazed at how well the kids did! I wasn't stressed out at all because of their behavior, and Jess was a huge help when they all started to get tired and antsy on the flight from Denver to Edmonton. She had Kimberly sleeping for a little while and Lucas as well. When we got to mom and dad's the kids all went right to bed and slept really well for it being a strange place! I guess when they're tired enough, they'll sleep about anywhere... They all adjusted really well too. I think what helped with that was the fact that we came in at night and they went to bed, had a good sleep and woke up to somewhat familiar faces.

I was not able to go to Lacombe for my cousin's wedding as I had hoped due to the weather and road conditons, so I was not able to visit with my grandparents at all as I had hoped, or many of my uncles and aunts either. I was a little bummed about that, but I was excited to be able to spend time with my mom and dad and brothers and sisters more than anything. We also had Michael and Heidi's 5 kids for 6 days when Michael had surgery, so they all kept each other entertained. When those 5 kids were there, we had 11 kiddos under the age of 10! Talk about busy! :) And Kimberly FINALLY learned to walk, so we had 2 toddlers, 2 3 year olds, 2 4 year old, 2 5 year olds, a 2 year old, a 6 year old, a 7 year old and a 9 year old! Fun times!

Also while I was gone, a dear friend of the family passed away after a long battle with cancer. I was able to attend the funeral thanks to Rebecca's boys babysitting my kids. It will be strange visiting Edmonton without seeing him in church anymore. Our prayers go to the Tolsma family as they continue to mourn their husband, father and grandfather.

 I was able to spend one-on-one time with my mom and sister, which was REALLY nice. I think that's something I really miss out on by living so far away. I found some really nice "after baby" clothes as well as some nice maternity ones. I was in need of some new maternity clothes as some of what I was wearing I had bought when I was preggo with Caleb over 6 years ago! Yea for new stuff!

We were also given the experience of a frigid Alberta winter. There were mornings it was -40C (Which is the same in Fahrenheit) plus the wind chill!!! Lucas kept saying he was brr... don't blame the kid, do you? Those were the days they spent hours playing with legos, coloring, or playing games.

The kids were also brought to Dad's work to see what Grandpa does all day. They were full of questions and asked anything that popped into their little heads. I got a few pictures of that, (one time I DIDN'T forget by camera) and I'll be posting them on soon. Those are memories that will stick with them for a long time, I hope.

The trip home was a little more eventful. The kids were not as shy and reserved as on the way up, creating a little more stress than on the way up, but thanks to Chantelle's help, we made it! I was never so glad for a plane to be landing as I was when it went down in Grand Rapids! The flight from Chicago was a very short 45 minutes thankfully, and we were home at about 10:30. We all slept in this morning, which is something that does not happen here very often at all.

We are thankful for the traveling mercies that we experienced and that God has brought us together as a family again. The next couple days I have doctors appointments and the kids will bet readjusting to being at home, so it will probably be a little busy. We are also adjusting to having a dog in the house again. No, we have not found Skip back, but our neighbor has generously let us have her dog, which is Skips full brother Russell who is a year older. Kimberly LOVES dogs and goes crazy when she sees him, and the boys are fighting over him too. They all love him and want him to be theirs, and only theirs... :S

Well, that's my update... Gotta start some supper and get some other work done...