Wednesday...oh Wednesday...

Well Wednesday came, amen, even thought I swear I thought it never would. Just a quick recap, in case you missed a post or two, Matt and I are excitedly and nervously expecting again. We had an ultrasound at six and a half weeks and saw a sweet baby and a beautiful heartbeat. Due to previous miscarriages we asked the doctor for another ultrasound about three weeks later. The wait between the two wasn't bad for the first week and a half- then the good ol' nerves would get the best of me and I was so ready for the second ultrasound. 


We were very blessed because my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew were in town. My BIL has been out of work for over six months. He started applying for jobs in our area. He got an interview and they all drove down. In fact, he's at the interview right now. Anyway, my sister was here to watch Lauren while we had the appointment. She was also awesome because she cooked us up a yummy breakfast. 


We headed out the door a few minutes late, but I feel like you always have to wait anyway so if we were a couple minutes behind it would be fine. Well...silly Jennifer...we had also had a change of insurance. When Matt got his new job in June we carried over the old insurance until July. This being so soon after him applying for the insurance and filling out all the paperwork we didn't even have our card yet. Thankful Matt was able to get a copy of the card to bring with us. When we checked in the lady at the desk went to imput our new insurance information and she couldn't get something to work. I think it was the company address wasn't in her system. Well she asked us to have a seat and then went back to give our card to the office manager. She came back and I asked her if we should continue waiting here or next door (where the ultrasound room is). She said that she hadn't checked us in yet so to stay here. 


I was like...WHAT!!! Are you kidding me. We're already late and this is just making us wait longer. We're going to miss the appointment slot. I just lowered my head and started to cry to myself. I had been waiting too long already. I didn't have it in me to wait another minute. My emotions were already on the surface- I already cried my heart out on the way there. The emotions I was holding back for the last week and a half. The unknown. The hope. The nerves. The prayers. I couldn't take a moments more of waiting. What was wrong with this lady. Why couldn't she take care of this paperwork stuff while we were in the appointment?


Matt patiently rubbed my back and whispered it was going to be okay and everything was going to be alright over and over. After twenty minutes the lady told us to go ahead on. From what I could hear as I was crying the office manager was upset that this lady had kept us waiting in the first place. After she had come out and had some stern words the receptionist, she finished with the woman at the counter and then sent us on our marry way. 


Amen, that meant that once we got to the ultrasound waiting room we were ushered into the exam room quickly. As soon as I laid on the table the bubbling emotions got the best of me again and the salty tears came streaming out again. Matt held my hand and the tech asked me what was wrong. I couldn't answer as I'm a babbling emotional basket case at this point. Matt told her that we've had a history of miscarriages. The tech got right down to business and whipped the computer screen my way to show me my sweet baby and the beautiful heartbeat once again. That of course brought about more tears and a big AMEN from me. She let us watch our sweet baby three more times while she did her thing in between. She kept reassuring me that all was well. And thanks to Aunt Shauna's rocking breakfast the baby was moving all over the place dancing around in there.


I just feel so blessed that God had breathed his breath of life into this special baby. That He's created this baby for us to care for. How lucky that makes us.


Matt headed to work after the ultrasound and then I headed to see the doctor. She smiled and said "It's it nice to be here for good news!" I just smiled my biggest smile and said "Yes, yes it is."


Give thanks to the Lord
Our God and King
His love endures forever
For He is good, He is above all things
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
With a mighty hand
and outstretched arm
His love endures forever
For the life that's been reborn
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise

Yeah
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever
Forever

From the rising to the setting sun
His love endures forever
By the grace of God
We will carry on
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
Yeah
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever
Forever
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever
Forever
Forever

His love endures forever
His love endures forever
His love endures forever 
Forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
Yeah
Forever you are faithful
Forever you are strong
Forever you are with us
Forever
And ever
Yeah

Forever you are faithful
Forever you are strong
Forever you are with us
Forever
Forever
You are God.....
Forever
And ever and ever ....
~Chris Tomlin

Silly Little Lauren at 19.5 months

TOP TEN LIST:
WHAT LITTLE LAUREN SHEA IS UP TO...

10. Holding her hands in the air and saying "bup" when she wants up 

9. Putting her baby dolls in the pack-n-play or crib, closing the door while she says "Shhhh" to anyone who will listen
8. Swimming like a "Ish" in the bathtub and blowing bubbles 
7. Telling you the sounds all kinds of animals make 
6. Trying so very hard to jump, which often is just her on her tiptoes 
5. Taking chairs or stools where she needs to get up to see or get at things (yikes!)
4. Putting her clothes away in the hamper when prompted
3. Running from you when she knows you want her to be someplace - like to get her diaper changed, silly girl
2. Fish, Eggs, and Bah (her bunny) rule her world!
1. Giving kisses and hugs. There is nothing like our little girl running up and hugging you just because she loves you!

Cups and Cars

Silly things happen all the time in our house. I'm not one of those people, like my husband, who remembers them and can repeat them back- that is unless it is something on going. In this case, the case of the cup, I found myself chuckling last night as Matt cleaned up the dinner table. Thought I would share our on going fun...

So I have an issue. I'm a big enough girl to admit it. So here it is...I almost always have a cup filled with something to drink. Sounds normal so far right. I drink from this cup throughout the day, but I never seem to finish it. Whenever it is getting low or I do take the last sip, I fill it up again. Then I continue drinking from it as the day progresses. By the end of the night this cup always has about a sip left that I never seem to finish. At dinner, I will often drink all but the one last sip of my drink. If I have a can of pop, same issue, I often leave behind just a splash and never actually finish the beverage. 

This drives Matt nuts. He will often make a comment about how I, once again, left a cup with a splash of drink left in it. I'm not sure why I do it and most of the time don't pay the cup a care in the world. If I'm cleaning up I just dump it and move on. Well to add insult to injury, a few nights ago I had left some lemon aid on the table from dinner. I was playing with Lauren and then I think I ran an errand and later that  night went into the kitchen anticipating my lemon aid that I knew was there, but low and behold it was gone. I called to Matt asking him what happened with my lemon aid. He promptly tells me that he drank the little that was left and put the glass in the dishwasher. I then proceeded to harass him about how I wanted to drink it and how "dare" he help himself to MY lemon aid. He swiftly returned with "there's more in the fridge...help yourself." I told him that I didn't want what was in the fridge I wanted my lemon aid from dinner. The banter continued back and forth as he made fun of me for my silly little habit. 

I love knowing that we enjoy and play fun on each others quirks. Lord knows I have plenty to go around. It makes living with him fun and allows us to make sure we take time to laugh at not only ourselves but each other. Life shouldn't be taken too seriously!

So on to the cars part. Well when I was pregnant with Lauren I had a random fear of highway overpasses. There was one in particular that really bothered me and it was one I took regularly to get home from church. I would drive very slowly and make sure that I wasn't going to have to stop quickly due to an animal and crash over the side (You should have seen the scenes play out in my head as I took this overpass weekly- they were right out of a 1960's drivers ed. movie). This fear is not one I had ever possessed before become pregnant and was gone once I delivered. I have no problem zoom over it now. 

I found this fear very odd, but hey, lots of odd things happen when you're pregnant. Well last week I started having a fear of backing over someone or something in my car. I absolutely hate backing up now. I get the same anxious feeling and get super paranoid the whole time the car is in reverse. Now I've owned this car since 2009 and never before had this fear. I'm telling you that so much of this pregnancy mirrors my pregnancy with Lauren. I pray that is a great sign, since she turned out to be a wonderful baby! 

Anyway, just some random thought that fly around this head daily. Now I'm going to lay down for a moment before my sweet baby is up from nap.

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~ Dr. Seuss

Silly Little Things...

Oh goodness. I thought I was never going to live through last night. I don't know if this pregnancy is harder because I feel like doodoo more or just that I don't remember as well as I thought how the last one felt. I just know I feel blessed to be pregnant. I'm still anxiously awaiting Wednesday, but for some reason it feels not as far away as it did yesterday (well duh Jennifer, it's not...you know what I mean). 


This morning I woke up for the second time to use the bathroom, and I was just laying there for awhile. Then I got to thinking about how I only half prepared for teaching Sunday School this morning. I thought, well I'm up- I should go take care of that because I feel rested and I'm not falling back to sleep. Well I got up to a nice quiet house, picked up a little, finished planning for Sunday School, read a few blogs I enjoy and then thought how blessed this time has been. 


I think I struggle these days because I spend nap-time feeling like I just got punched in the stomach or I feel like if I don't nap myself I might die a slow death once she wakes up. So I don't have too many moments of doing things while feeling of sound mind and health. And if you know me, I enjoy cleaning my house and picking up (most of the time). So this morning to feel this good physically and to be this productive while enjoying it with a quiet house- I feel like God has sent me a little gift and it's my birthday! 


I know I'm not letting myself get as excited as most women are at this point in their pregnancy, but if I'm honest with myself I feel like this ones going to stick and my hopes of that being true are up. I'm praying for answered prayers on Wednesday, and I say this with a smile of hope on my face.


Oh, well Matt just woke up and says Lauren is calling for us in her crib. Time to start the day and hope this good feeling lasts just a little while longer!


"Give thanks with a grateful heart, Give thanks to the Holy One, Give thanks because he's given Jesus Christ His Son..." -Just a line from a song I remember from my Church back "home"

Batter Up!

It was the middle of the night when I woke up, woke up worried and thinking of the dream I just had. The dream was about me being on a softball team. The team was playing indoors on a makeshift diamond. The place was very crowded. I was up to bat, I swung and made a connection. It was a base hit and I was proud and I could see my coach was too. The next person up to bat got out and ended the inning. Pretty much the same scene played out again- up to bat, got on base, then the inning ended and I got no where else. Then all of a sudden it was the end of the game and we were down. My coach trying to rally us has me up to bat and has plans for me to steal second base. So I head up to bat and there is a person in a wheelchair pitching. His first pitch was a ball. Then out of nowhere he pitches two pitches together and I wasn't able to keep up and I got out and the game ended. I was so confused and trying to figure out if what just happened followed league rules. I was frustrated and irritated. The coach was upset but complying with the officials as they explained the pitcher did nothing wrong. 


As I lay in bed trying to figure out what my brain was thinking as I dreamed this I had to use the bathroom- like every pregnant women, it's rarer to make it through the night and early morning without having to wake up once to head there. I got out of bed and when I closed the door to the bathroom, Lauren wakes up. I know she'll fall right back to sleep but I listen to her fuss for me as I think about how much that dream bothered me. I think about how much I want to head in there and hold her, telling her the noise she heard was just mama. That she should just fall back asleep and dream happy dreams. Unlike my dreams that wake me up annoyed and frustrated. Like I had felt all day yesterday.


Yesterday was another tough day. I was tired and feeling like sleeping all day wouldn't help me shake how slow I was moving. A guy from church, Dennis, was over helping me by painting our downstairs bathroom. He is currently unemployed and needed to keep himself busy. I know him well from LebCamp and when I told him I had a few painting jobs that would keep him busy he jumped at the chance to help us out. When I asked he said he didn't want any monetary compensation for his work, but there was a book he wanted for his daughter-in-law. It was a children's book he noticed Lauren had. So yesterday morning Lauren and I set out to get it. There is a book store less then five minutes from my house. The computer said they had one copy but no one could find it. So I headed to the Target next door. They had every other book by Sandra Boyton but not the one we needed. "Luckily" the book store had located one at a different location. So we stopped at home to let Dennis know what was going on, get a drink, use the restroom, and head back out. This location is twenty minutes away and I thought that while I was out there I'd hit up Party City. I've been looking for batman stickers for Lebcamp. According to the website they had some. So we got the book and headed to Party City. Of course they had no stickers.By now it was quarter to twelve and I hadn't done anything for lunch. I was hungry, Lauren was whiny and hungry, and I could only imagine that Dennis was ready to eat too. So I stopped at Arby's to get some sandwiches (figuring grapes and pretzels would round out the lunch and cost far less than fries). We were in that drive thru line FOREVER!!! Lauren fussing and me feeling so tired- both of us hungry- I thought we'd never make it home.


Thank God I did and after giving our bodies the food it was demanding things got a little better. But I just hate that I had such negative thoughts all day long. I just wanted to lay around. And I feel that way all the time these days. I feel lazy. I usually run circles around Matt and lately he is so much more productive. Now I know it is because I'm pregnant- but that is what frustrates me even more. I want to be pregnant. I would be devastated if something went wrong, but I'm no good at being "under the weather." I'm horrible when my body isn't functioning at peak capacity. I know I need to slow down and just allow my body to feel how it feels. Embrace the fact that I'm growing a baby and that takes lots of work. Taking lots of energy. Causing aches and pains. Making me feel yucky. It's just a lot harder to do when you're got a 19 month old running around at your feet. 


I can't tell you how much I need everything to be okay this Wednesday. I can't tell you how much I pray and worry, which causes me to pray even more. I wish I had more energy to pray even more. I'm thankful for the days when life is a bit busy because then I think about all the scary stuff less. But those are the days I find myself more crabby and irritable because I'm so tired. Then I feel guilty because I'm so miserable when I should be so excited and overjoyed. It's like a viscous cycle. 


I know that Wednesday will help. I keep trying to have faith and happy thoughts. I keep praying for a good outcome this time. I keep reminding myself that God is good and to relax and give myself a break. I sure wish I was smart enough to take my own advice. Oh goodness. Let's just start with the fact that Matt's yummy homemade buttermilk waffles and writing down my thoughts have helped to get this day off to a good start. So I hope when I go to bed tonight my dreams are not laced with frustration or annoyance, but of potential and excitement. I hope in my dreams tonight I can make it to second base, or even home plate. That my stealing second will help us win the game!


Casting Crowns - Praise You in this Storm This song helps remind me where God is when things are tough and I pray that I'm never taking my eyes off him.

New Beginnings

Well as I mentioned a few posts ago we are happily and nervously expecting again. We've already had the joy of an early ultrasound showing a sweet baby and a sweet heartbeat. My doctors office is being so great with us. They had no problem giving us an early ultrasound and in fact, I have another scheduled for next week, when I'll be nine and a half weeks (most pregnant women wouldn't receive another one). I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have one scheduled- oh I know what I'd do...the same thing that happened when I was pregnant with Lauren I'd have a nervous breakdown waiting, and waiting to see that everything was okay. 

The pregnancy is a mirror image of how I was with Lauren. I do fine in the morning and then about lunch time I start to peter out with energy and by dinner time I feel like doodoo on a stick and I'm done. I still have nervous days like today where I feel better then I usually do and I start to get nervous and panic. That's most likely why I'm taking the time to write this post today, when there are about seven hundred other things I should be doing. But this is easing my nerves. 

The greater public is not aware of our happy news. I feel safe writing it on here because I only know of three people who might take the time to read this and two of which already know. I enjoy knowing that not to many people I know personally read my blog...as crazy as that statement might be, but I think it helps me to write more honestly and feel more free to share. It's not like I'm telling top secret information here, lol, just the nuts and bolts of my brain...more scary then secret. 

Anyway, I'm at that point where I'm ready to accept that I'm pregnant but I'm still not ready to believe it with my whole heart. I'm just ready to go next Wednesday and see the blob blinking that wonderful blink. 

I keep saying this whole situation is a testament to my faith. Whenever I start think negative thoughts, whenever I start wondering if we could handle yet another round of bad news, I remember how God works for the good in all things. That I need to pray my nerves away. That I need to put faith in Him who knows what I can handle and what I can't. That I need to relax a little. That I just need to wait a few more days (7 to be exact) and allow God to give me some affirmation. 

Why is it so hard to keep a strong faith. I mean if someone were to ask if I had a strong faith, I'd say yes. But then times like this come up, days like this come up, and I think to myself "why are you questioning God's plans for your life Jennifer?!?" Are my nerves lack of faith? Then I remind myself that I'm human. That my nerves are from past experiences. That had I never had three failed pregnancies that I mostly likely wouldn't be praying a dozen times a day that God help me to rely on Him and take the next step forward. That's not lack of faith that God will give us another wonderful healthy full term baby, it's me coping with the past. Lack of faith would result in me not praying and allowing my nerves to rule my life. I hope my logic stands up because that is what's getting me through. 

Well I'm sure I'll be on here again. Definitely next Wednesday or Thursday with news about how everything is going. But I need to spend the rest of this nap time getting some of my "to do list" onto my "ta-done" list.

"As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12

Our Story

I don't think I've ever taken the time to write down the story of how Matt and I came to be. It's not a particularly breathtaking story. No punch line, no flashiness, and no mind-blowing action. Just a story about us and how God brought together two humans that he made to be partners in life. So, as you read don't be excepting too much. In fact, I mostly wrote this post for selfish reasons. I wanted to think about our humble begins and look at how far we've come. The end of this past June puts us together for the last 11 years. It's a special story to us, and frankly that is all that matters to me. So here it is- and just to warn you this could get long...

I transferred colleges after my first year. I was pressured to go away from home when I was applying for colleges and after my first year I knew that being so far away wasn't for me (now that makes me chuckle since I live 9 hours from where I grew up). So I transferred to a college closer to home (twenty minutes on the other side of the city from where I grew up) at the end of my freshman year. So when I started school my sophomore year I did the whole "Freshman Orientation" thing again. I was grouped with other transfers and I was thankful for that. It was a nice way to transition into a new school. In my group was a guy named Pat. He and I hit it off right away and after school started we would still meet up to study in the library or go to the dinning hall every once and a while. He was a nice guy and I think we went out a few times that winter. That is how I met his group of friends.

Pat was local as well and so his high school friends who went to school locally were around. I met them a few times with Pat. That spring we weren't hanging out as much and I hadn't seen many of them. This is until the following summer when I saw Sue at K-Mart (that's where she worked). She invited me to hang out and so I joined up with them again. I started hanging out with them more. That is the summer is when I met Matt.

Matt went to a college about three hours away from home and so when I first meet everyone, he wasn't around. But that summer when I was hanging out with them there he was. I honestly didn't think much of him at first. I mean, I thought he was cute- but he wasn't (and still isn't with people he doesn't know) a talker. On the other hand Phil was out going and easy to talk to, so I naturally got to know him faster. This would be instrumental to Matt and me getting together. 

One night I had everyone over to my house, my parents were out of town- so shhhh and don't tell them. That night Phil was working and didn't come. I guess since he wasn't there to chat with I noticed Matt a little more than usually. He was quite funny himself and he had me laughing. I also noticed that when everyone left he stayed behind to help me clean up and I thought to myself- who is this guy? After that night I started paying a little more attention to him.

My friendship with Phil helped me out since Matt and Phil are/were best buds. After noticing Matt more I was liking the kind, funny, sweet guy I was seeing. I asked Phil about him and he filled me in that Matt is painfully shy and if I was interested I better be the one to make a move. I asked Phil to talk to him, but from what I recall he never did. I laugh now thinking about how shy Matt can be. God picked out a perfect complimentary partner right from the beginning. If you know me, you know that I'm NOT shy at all. I can make a friend in a public restroom, and I have. I can also talk to a brick wall and get it to answer. God gave me these skill for a lot of reasons, but my favorite reason is that my shy Matt needed an outgoing Jennifer!

I was nannying Emily and Ethan that summer (the best job in the whole world aside from being a mommy to Lauren) and I took them on "field trips" each week. One week I was taking them to the Children's Museum and asked Sue and Matt to come along with me. Bob, Emily and Ethan's dad, let me drive their SUV so I had enough room for everyone. And I was so excited to go!!! This would be the first thing Matt and I did that wasn't in a huge group of people. I honestly don't remember to much about the day at the museum but I remember the kids passing out in the back on our way home. I dropped off Sue and then headed to Matt's house to drop him off. While I had him alone and the kids sleeping I asked him if he wanted to go out some time, without the kids of course. He said sure. I remember being so nervous. I dropped him off and headed back to Emily and Ethan's house with major butterflies in my stomach.

I didn't hear anything from Matt for a week or so and then after hanging out with the group one night, Matt was driving, he asked me to stay in the car when everyone else was getting out. I did and we set our first date. We went to Applebee's for dinner. Remember how I told you I can talk to a brick wall, well my shy husband was very close to being a brick wall that night. I remember him looking at the TV that was behind me on the wall (he later told me it was because he was so nervous) and I was thinking- hey buddy I'm right here. Then we went to the dollar theater to see a movie. The movie was awful! It was "Traffic" and I remember thinking it was about a traffic jam and it was about drug trafficking. Not my kind of movie at all! We sat in his van after the movie and talked to wee hours of the night. In fact, I got into trouble for coming home so late that night. It was worth it. 

After that first date we continued to enjoy seeing each other. A week later he came to my side of the city (we lived on opposite sides of the city- forty minutes apart) and we went to the bay and took a walk and we started "going steady." LOL! Oh I remember how awkward it felt and how nervous I was when we talked about it. That night he had dinner at my house and I remember my step-mom saying he was a handsome man. We started dating/going steady June 26th 2001. We got engaged July 20th 2004, and we were married October 22nd 2005. 

Since we started dating so long ago, lol, we didn't have digital cameras back then and so I don't have too many of our first photos on the computer. I did find two picture from later that summer though...

Matt and I in August 2001

Matt and I in September 2001, at Matt's birthday party.

Is it really July?!

Well June is out the door and in swings July, a H.O.T. July. So summer is in full swing. We just got back from a wonderful trip back home. This annual trip for us was very eventful and utterly exhausting. Eventful because we enjoyed boat trips, visits with friends, a funeral, visits with family, and more. Exhausting because Matt and I find ourselves joyfully expecting yet again!!!! And when I'm pregnant all I want is sleep, sleep, sleep. So as relaxing as the trip was, at some points, my body craved sleep. But there will be more about this in a later post. This post is all about our faithful trip.


Our trip started at our home with a visit from my mom. She flew in and enjoyed a short time here at our place. We played, went to our local amusement park to enjoy the park and a rockin' Christian concert, and just had fun visiting. At the end of the visit we had the pleasure of her riding with us back "home." It's funny that even though I've lived where I am for the last eight years- I still refer to where I grew up as home too. Anyway, the trip took a "few" hours longer than normal- I did mention my mom was with us right?!?...all in all it was a nice time.

Me, Lauren, and Grandma P about to ride the carousel. 

Once "home" we stayed with my dad first. Matt wasn't with us yet, still working, hence my mom riding with Lauren and I. There we got to enjoy a few boat rides, my fondest childhood memories are associated with boating. I feel lucky that even though it is just a few times a year that I get the joy of being on the open water, I still get to go out. As I was riding there, with Lauren in my lap, I was looking out into the open water- I was reminiscing of why I love the boat so much. Is it the water, the wind, the smell of the air, the noise of the motor, the view of endless water, the joy of relaxing your body and flowing with the motion of the boat, or the fact that your "free to move about the cabin" (unlike a car where you're belted in) that really does it for me? Then I realized it was the whole kitten kabutal (sp?- I hope you can figure out what I'm saying and you're not laughing too hard). I just love it all. The best was sitting there sharing it with Lauren. I know that she won't have the same childhood as me, growing up boating every summer, all summer long. But I'm glad my dad still owns a boat and she's able to get a glimpse into my cherished childhood memories.

Lauren enjoying the boat trip (even though she had to wear that uncomfortable life-vest. 

While at my dads we also enjoyed a visit from my sister and nephew. They were suppose to come up for a day and stay over night, leaving after we visited our grandmother the following day. However, plans changed when my great grandmother passed. She was 99.5 years old and it was her time. I was happy to know that she is  in a better place- a place with God holding her hand. The up side is that I got to see them longer. We enjoyed some sister time together, although it's hard since we were at my dads and not either of our houses. We also had a few sister moments too...some things you never grow out of.

Playing with cousin Finn!

Matt arrived, via a plane, on Tuesday night. I'd never been so happy to see him. That single parent thing is just too hard. Especially when you're trying to be "hands off" so the grandparents can enjoy Lauren. Not mommy micro-managed Lauren. That wording makes it sound bad, but honestly most grandparents would have time alone with their grand-kids. Not having mommy standing by telling them what to do with her, what she likes, and telling her what to do. It was hard for me- oh very hard. Watching her act a crazy when you know if she was with  you she wouldn't even attempt that behavior (since just a few months ago she did and I took the time to work with her so she wouldn't continue those ways). But grandparents are suppose to spoil the kids. They'll suppose to let the rules out and treat them differently then you do. It was just hard sometimes to be there and witness it. Other times I was grateful for a chance to nap or read my book and then I seem to rolled with it a lot better. All I know is that I didn't have my grandparents (only 2 of the 4 were alive when I was born) around for very long. I want Lauren to know and love her grandparents (lucky girl has 6) and her time with them- not them with mommy in control. 

Lauren and Daddy enjoying some nap time together (the girl was so tired from all the fun she had, she fell asleep four hours before nap on my lap- I transferred her to daddy, who was also interested in napping)

We enjoyed a visit with out wonderful friends Phil and Melissa. Although the 4th of July was hot, hot, hot. We spent time at the park having a picnic. Lauren loved collecting rocks, eating Phil's pirate booty, trying out everyone's chairs, and just being her silly self. Matt parents came and picked her up early, heaven sent- makes me wish even more that they lived closer/we lived closer. Then we chilled and played games, talked, and tried to keep cool. I also got to see my great friend Jamie with Melissa earlier in the week. Two great college roomies that I still enjoy. Wish we lived closer to them too.

Lauren at the picnic

All in all it was a wonderful trip. I'm glad that Lauren got to enjoy her grandparents and I got to see everyone too. Although I wonder about making the trip next year, I told Matt since we'll have two kids the only way I'm doing it is if he comes for the whole time. We'll have to see how it all works out and just enjoy the memories we have from this year. 


"The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble." Proverbs 19:23