I suck at blog right now. I have 3 post in my head that I really want to get into my blog but for some reason I never have the time to get them out. We did arrive home safely from Michigan last Sunday night at around 10pm. I ended up working every day this week and even picking up extra hours at both the hospital and nursing home. It does appear that things are going to slow down on that front either this next week so I need to crave out some time for myself.

I am making the list and hopefully this week, I will be able to at least get caught up with them! Here is the list:
Saturday of quiz and Angel Food
Final Day in Michigan and the trip home….. got to love an adventure
November in Review

The other thing that I am planning is a post about Lily’s birthday party that we had today as well as I need to write her birth story down. I will be posting pictures for Wordless Wednesday at least.

So now that I have the this posted maybe I will be more inclined to write a real post instead of just this list!

The last couple of days have flowen but with lots family and fun. Currently, we are in a hotel room in Farmington Hills. We decided on the short 2 hour trip yesterday from Claire to Farmington Hills that we need a full day of rest before attempting to make the 12 trip home. I have to say this was a very smart and needed day. I choose not to attempt Black Friday shopping in a strange area, instead finished up most of my shopping online. The Disney store had an awesome sale with prices at $5, $10 $15 and $20 on top of that I received 20% off and free shipping. I ended up purchasing 10 items that I can’t list because of Christmas for $75 total shipped.

We stopped in Birch Run initially for Starbucks, ou treat on this trip. Matt causally asked if I want to hit a particular sale. I responsed with the jean sale at Old Navy. He stayed in the car with the kids and I ran in to purchase 2 pair of jeans for Matt, 2 pair of jeans for myself and a pair each for Amanda and Haley, for a total of 95. I know that Haley has spent this much on one pair in the past was I was really pleased. I was even more pleased to find “short” jeans for both Haley and myself. I have never founded this in the regular Old Navy and boy does it feel awesome to have jean fit without needing to hem!

We checked into the hotel and spent about 10 minutes before heading to Matt’s brothers house. We all had an awesome time and some good mexican turkey cassrole. This was the first time in several years that the 3 brothers have been together on a happy occasion. They really enjoyed each other and both myself and the kids could not have asked for a better time. Time did get away from us and by 9:15 we loaded up the kids to head back to the hotel. We had missed the point at which everyone sleeps wells and gone into overload. Zach woke up 5 times and Kendall 2x prior to 7am this morning.

Currently the kids are on the 2 hour of a needed nap. We have already spent some time inthe pool this morning and plan to go to Costco and Trader Joes this afternoon. We may end up back at Matt ‘s brother house if he calls them. Our plan is to finish packing the car tonight after the kids go to sleep. We hope to hit the road around 8am with breakfast eaten. Our goal is to make the trip in one day and arrive Lexington sometime around 11pm. Sounds simple doesn’t it!

Currently, I am sitting in a hotel in Clare MI. Zach has having a allergic reaction to something. We have tried to be careful about what he eats but it is nearly impossible to monitor everything he touchs and he loves to find things on floors and eat as well. Matt and I are also considering the possibility that he is allergic to something in the hotels we are staying at or the new t-shirts that I purchased and didnt pre-wash just for this trip. A third possibility is that he has a virus that is working its way out because that has been the case in the past. He is sleeping and hopeful will feel better.

I wanted to post a few more things I am thankful for as well. I should post 14 to catch up for the past 2 weeks so here is the attempt.

1. Bendryll and the ability to try and make Zach feel better without causing everyone else to sit and wait in a strange hospital or walk in clinic
2. A very gracious hostess who has included our family in her celebrations just because of who we are.
3. PBS and Disney that can be seen in all of our hotel rooms so far and manage to make the girls feel at home and on a type of schedule during our week of traveling.
4. Having a God that I know is in control, my devotion this morning was about being still and knowing HE is God! This was also the sense received at church Sunday. I am waiting for direction. I know I must be still and KNOW he is God.
5. The ability to text and/or call my older girls at any point. I wish they were with us but I also know that they are happy and ok, even 800 miles away.
6. The ability to shop and buy things this year, without being concerned that we may not be able to pay a certain bill.
7. The ability to eat out and even grab extra snacks while traveling without the worry of not having enough money to make it home. This sounds silly but until you have been in that position it is a huge relieft.
8. A car that was found at just the right time. If I could have said this is the car we need at this point in our life I don’t think I could have designed it better. God does provide in his timing!
9. Neighbors and friends that continue to support and encourage us, even if they never realize how much we need it!
10. Our military…. a special thanks to both Derrick and Eric G.
11. The internet and it ability to stay in touch with friends and family as well as the hours of entertainment it provides.
12. My husband who not only encourages me on a regular basis but continues to mature and amaze me at how great of a dad he is.
13. Doctors and others who are able to not only identify problems with my kid but provide solutions that were not available even 30 years ago.
14. The ability to love, laugh, cry and blog about it. A freedom I take for granted most days!

Happy Thanksgiving! Don’t forget to count your blessings!

Matt summed up the weather correctly COLD! The high today was 36 at 9am and the wind is blowing so it is so cold even I can’t make it from the hotel to the car without a coat. We arrived at Bronner’s just prior to opening so I wanted to get a picture in front of the giant Santa of Lily and Kendall. I thought it would be cool to compare it to the one I have of Amanda and Haley the first time they visited. Kendall was going to have nothing to do with this idea. She was terrified, I had to hold her to even get a picture. She would not even touch the top of his feet. I LOVE Bronner’s they were currently running a promotion for 4.99 they would ship any purchase over $100 home, to sweeten the deal if they ship to a non-Michigan address you don’t have to pay the sales tax. I ended up buying a house for my snow village, several new ornaments and a stocking holder for 5 stockings. We also ended up buying snack while there. Zach was so hungry he ate an entire hot dog! We decided to pick up lunch on the way back and eat in our room. I went to the outlet mall while the kids took a nap. I found some awesome deals including clothes for the older girls for Christmas, ski bibs for Lily, several cute long sleeve shirts for the girls for under $5, a pair of cords for Z and several shirts for me. I went back and picked up Matt and the kids before heading to Old Navy. Matt and I both found several shirts, gloves and hats. In fact, on the way out of town on Wednesday, we went back to Old Navy to pick of up additional shirts Matt. The only stressful part of the day was bedtime. It is taking the kids about 2 hours to fall asleep and it is not a pleasant two hours for us either.

I will have to admit that I was not at all excited to start this trip. The logisticis alone would scare a normal person. Traveling 800 plus miles in a 10 year old car with 3 children 4 and under, staying in 3-5 different cities with only 2 stops being planned add in the family visiting and seriously would you want to attempt it?

We planned to leave on Sunday afternoon following lunch with my family. The idea was that should give us a few good hours of travel. It went smoother than plan. We actually ended up over half way staying in Dover OHIO on Sunday night. We used Tom Tom for both dinner and for locating the hotel and it’s phone number in advance. Everyone settled fairly quickly and we had a decent night of sleep. We decided to try and make it to the Franklin Cider Mill. We ate lunch just inside the OHIO state line and made it to the mill in the early afternoon. Unfortately the mill is closing in a week so we were not able to watch the process. They did enjoy feeding the ducks and watching Daddy “stomp them away. We decide to go by Keith and Belinda’s for a potty break. We ended up staying over an hour. We arrived in Birch Run about 4pm. I chose not go shopping tonight because of the nasty rain and I am tired.

The only problem of the day was that the car decided to cut off at the Cider Mill. We are still not sure why but it has ran just fine since. The kids have travelled really really well. They enjoyed the DVD player and the white boards. I hope the rest of the trip goes as smoothly.

Boy do I have alot of these….

We are going to enter the family costume contest at the church on Sunday night. I can’t give away too much but all seven of us are going and we have a theme. I promise pictures next week for sure.

I am working ALOT this week. When I say alot I mean that I am schedule for both the hospital and the nursing home every day this week. This will not last long as of next week I am down to 2 days a week at the nursing home until December. With the change of rehab directors I am unsure how much of the schedule will last but at least for this week I can complain of being tired.

Matt and I are starting a couple’s devotional time. We hope this will help deepen our faith and keep our marriage strong.

I have already started a list of things that need to get done before our trip and it appears that it just may be a smooth transition because of the busy week is the one just prior to our trip so I have to get as much done ahead of time as possible.

Potty training with Kendall is frustrating. We think she is starting to get the idea then then she pees in her panties 3 times in an hour. GRRRRR I was so hoping to have her trained prior to the trip but I seriously wonder if this is possible.

Kendall and Zach are now in the same room. We are only using the room for sleeping so it is not a big deal. Nap times are a nightmare. But after falling asleep they both slept at least 8 hour straight last night which is better than average prior to moving them in the same room.

I have decided that we are all are affected by the dreary weather because the mood around here tonight is YUCKY!