We counted our blessings!

Well we're at home and we survived our trip! Being down there is a piece of cake. I told Seth I wasn't ready to come home because I have soooo many more freedoms in South Carolina. Mutiple sets of extra hands....lots of outside space to run and ride bikes....never had to cook dinner.....someone is always at the house during naptime so I can go run errands. Ahhh, it was glorious. There were a few bumps in the road driving back home, but the kids eventually went to sleep, praise the Lord! We got in at 2:00 am and the entire family was in bed by 2:17 am. :) Also thankful we got a few hours of sleep in before the kidlets were up and ready to play a few minutes after 7. My mom knew I was stressed coming home. There was an accident on the highway that left us sitting still for over an hour. Then we turned to the right and noticed a forest fire. The smoke stretched for miles and miles. Lovely. You know it's bad when other travelers start getting out of their cars to sit on the side of the road. I was trying my dead level best to keep 3 squirmy kids happy and content in the minivan, but an hour is a long time! I was losing patience fast, and that's when I got this text from my mom: "Ok.....so......you are not lost....the car is still running.....you are with people you love....no snow or ice in the forecast.....you WILL be home and by tomorrow night you will have forgotten about this trip." I love her! She's so good at looking at the bright side and being positive. Well, unless someone is driving too slowly in front of her or she has to work with incompetent secretaries at lawyer's offices. :) Love you mom! And so glad she didn't come out with a "well honey, that happened to us when you girls were little and we had no air conditioning or toys to play with and we sat still for 4 hours, and......" I hate it when people do that. Ugh. Anyway! We packed 5 suitcases, 2 sleeping bags, an entire box of food, one dvd player, 3 computers, and 21 pairs of shoes. My husband totally rocks in the "van packing" department. And I only had to crawl to the back of the van 57 times to retrieve a dropped blanket, or distribute juice or give a stern "warning" to whomever cried one more time. And get this! My loving hubby had secretly packed an empty apple juice jug. Any guesses why??? He knew that the one and only potty trained child would need numerous potty breaks and he didn't want to have to take the time to stop! Sheesh! Guess who got to hold the jug and the little boy still so he could do his business!?!?!?! You guessed it! :( In other news, we brought home a little more than what we came with. I got some cute new workout clothes for all of this working out that I'll supposedly be doing, as well as some really great new wall-hangings for our home. Hobby Lobby is just about the best thing the south has to offer, and I took total advantage of their 50% off sale. Not sure where I'll put the stuff yet, but I can figure that out later. We had a great trip, and it was so nice to be with his family again. I could just cry even thinking about how much lovin' my kids got while we were down there. They soaked up every minute and literally cried on and off the entire way home to go back to "papa's house". All of you moms out there know the feeling when someone loves your child unconditionally. Mine were sleep deprived, dirt covered, booger dripping, sticky handed and they still were met with open arms. Wishing they lived north of the mason dixon line. :)

Phil. 4:8 "Whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely... think on these things"

"Faith makes things possible... not easy."

Found these adorable fabrics in a clearance bin! I've been learning to sew dresses for my little girl, so I can't wait to put these to good use!

This thing was only $15!!! Love it!