Orlando

As you probably already know, the second part of our Orlando trip was not fun.  Our fourth night there Hannah, Samuel and I came down with a terrible stomach bug.  Bobby kept the kids on the pull out bed in the living room and was up with them all night long.  The poor babies couldn't even keep water down.  I was in our bedroom feeling so miserable from being sick and not being able to take care of Hannah & Samuel.  Praise the Lord that Amos slept through the entire night - which included Sammy vomiting in our bed and housekeeping coming to change the sheets & clean.  

The next day (Wednesday) we were keeping fluids down but still tired and blah.  Our housekeeping lady, Jag, was such a blessing to us!!  She cleaned our room like it was her favorite thing in the world to do.  She gently carried Sam back to bed after she put fresh sheets on and then made swans out of (new fresh) towels to entertain the kids.  And let me tell you, with three people sick we used ALL the towels and the kids didn't always make it to the bathroom/trashcan.  I loved her.

The day we left she hugged the kids goodbye.  I filled out the survey card for her and plan to write a letter on her behalf.  

We still struggled over the next few days.  Hannah was sick a couple of times Thursday morning but was better by the afternoon.  I was worried b/c we had planned to meet Bobby's aunt and cousins for supper that evening.  We made it though.  Sammy was sick a couple of times Friday morning but thankfully recovered so we could finish Universal and head home.  We only stopped once on the way home because we still didn't have appetites and were still exhausted from being sick.

We survived though.  I was humbled by not being able to be in control and giving that job over to Bobby.  Who was amazing by the way!  He has always been the best husband/father ever but that night was just more evidence of this.  

Here are pics of our supper with Aunt Patti, Mike, Sean and Mary as well as our last day at Universal...

Beautiful

I have so many blog posts in my mind...I need to write about our last day at Universal Studios, our trip to Durham to visit Dave & the twins and what we've been doing with home school lately.  We're finally getting settled down now that Upward is over and we're home until May.  I've been spring cleaning and organizing like crazy but our house definitely needed some TLC after months of neglect.

Today was such a sweet day.  We didn't do a lot but I feel like I got so much accomplished.  I sat in the floor with the kids and played what they wanted to play.  We worked on mini greenhouses (made from empty rotisserie chicken boxes) for school.  I'll post pictures soon.

This afternoon, as supper was cooking in the stove, I gave Amos a bath in the kitchen sink.  He splashed happily and "chatted."  From where I was standing I could see Hannah & Samuel, dressed in their new cowboy/cowgirl outfits, jumping on the trampoline. 

It's these small moments that encourage me as a mother.  Bathing my plump little baby and smelling his hair as we snuggle.  Watching my two older children playing happily and laughing together.  I know I'm probably not making a lot of sense.  It's just hard to put into words that feeling that catches you by surprise as you go about your day.  That feeling that, even though it is so hard sometimes - and there are times I want to just walk out the door - this job of being a mother is fun and crazy and full of adventure.  It's sweet and wonderful and I don't want to be anywhere else or doing anything else.  Soon enough they'll be grown and all I'll have are these pictures and memories.