Aprils' Fools :)

I'd love to say that the week Shawn was gone flew by, but alas it seemed like a pretty long week. In any event, it ended! :) Palm Sunday was April 1, and he left in the morning to catch his flight. I took the kiddos to church by myself, a little apprehensive of how it might go taking three kids to three different sections of a big church. But, it went fine and I was glad I had ventured out. I do miss days of waving palm branches during worship! Why don't more churches do that?

That evening was my nephew John's 3rd birthday party. Aunt Jen hid a dozen eggs per child attending, so the boys had the opportunity to hunt for eggs with their cousins; and we ate dinner there. All the pictures in this post are from that event. That evening, bed time tuck-ins went well. Each time the boys said they missed Daddy, I suggested we pray for him. Caleb said he wanted to pray for his ankle. Joshua said he wanted to pray for his health. Daddy needed both prayers! :)

Monday was a very "normal" day. I took the kids to the gym in the morning, and I teach at night so Mamaw watched the boys at her house. I don't normally see Shawn much those days, so other than bed-time, it felt like a usual day. Tuesday was exactly the opposite. I didn't have a very wonderful day - nothing big but little things like Ryan's nursery workers not showing up for Study & Share and things just not going my way. I was missing Shawn and couldn't even talk to him with all his meetings. We went to the gym as a family that night and I was grateful that each night the tucking in process (which usually takes two of us between nursing Ryan and meeting the older boys' requests) went fine. God was gracious to me! And when Shawn called home after midnight and woke me from a sound sleep, the things I wanted to tell him didn't seem all that important to me anymore.

Wednesday morning, I called Grandpa Georgia to see if he'd like to head to the Ephrata Walmart with me while the older kids were in school to pick up the supplies I needed for the Easter bunny to deliver baskets and hide eggs, etc. He said sure, and I got everything I needed for the weekend. From there we went to Sharp Shopper for a few things and then I picked up the older boys from preschool. He treated us out to lunch at Red Robin, which was really nice. My other plans for the day didn't work out, so that night I went to the gym and enjoyed the Zumba class. It had been a good day overall.

Thursday, we did our typically daily plans and then that evening we met my friend Lisa and her daughter Isabella at the mall to eat dinner together (the boys were excited for their "king burger" which we haven't done in a while) and let them play. We left around 7:30ish so I could bathe the boys and get them into PJs before Daddy got home. When he walked in the door, though, he dropped to his knees in pain. After hearing his symptoms, I suggested Urgent Care and he agreed to let me take him. The boys & I went to Mamaw's house - since she lives really close to it - and then picked Daddy up, who had a double ear infection. We drove to get his medicine and then home for him to sleep. While we didn't get any quality time with him that night, I was SO relieved he was safe, sound and HOME! :)

I must say that the boys did an AMAZING job all week. Joshua said he was the big man of the house and my "helper." And he lived up to it. Caleb said when Joshua was at school, HE was the big man of the house and my "helper" and he also took the job seriously. They were very well-behaved and we had a good week overall. That said, I'm so thankful not to be a single mom on a regular basis.