What happens when Mom is away?

( This is Luke and all spelling and grammar errors are not to be made fun of, and all pictures were taken on an iPod)

So Jess got away for the weekend.  She went up to the mountains with 3 other wonderful friends and sisters in Christ (and Abigail - I am not good enough to keep all seven for 3 days).

Many ask how we do it.  I will be the first to tell you we do not do it on our own.  We have loving Meme's, Maw's, and Nana's who desire to watch the kids often.  Great people around us who offer to bring us dinner on Friday night.  A great and very dependable friend to watch the kids while I go to work.  An amazing brother in Christ, who understands what I am going through, and I can be honest with and tell him I need time alone over the weekend to be with God.

So I didn't like leaving my kids with someone else Friday morning.  While I went to work.  While I am grateful to have a wonderful person to take care of them, the thought hit me of how thankful I am I get to leave every day and know they will be in the care of their Mom.  It really made me appreciate the heart of my wife and the ways in which we have structured our lives so that she can be the one to take care of them.

All we were doing is going to lunch at Burger King.  By the end of it, Elizabeth was crying and so was I.  She remembered sitting in the same corner booth with Paige and Mary.  She is every where.  Then Elizabeth started to ask questions of how I found out.  Who told me?  How did I react?  Where was Mommy?  

Ella and I have been going punch for punch, many times she wins and I make Jess take care of her.  She must have told me a dozen times, "Daddy I lub ew".  Oh give me more!!

You may ask "What happens when Mom is away?".  Here is a small glimpse.

Dinner in front of the TV.....


Watermelon in the bathtub.  I will spare you the pictures of that one.  <No I was not in the bathtub with them>

My six year old son waking me up the the morning to tell me "You have to come see this!"  I quickly follow him into the bathroom to find his morning deposit.  Again, I will spare you the picture <yes I took one, that's what Dad does when Mom is away remember>

Stat Wars anyone....



Daddy I hep (help) uw (you)....



Time at the library (read.... tried to go to splash park, but it was closed.  So then decided to play on the playground.  Aaron has to take a deuce, just after the community center closes.  We drive to Krispy Kreme to take care of his deposit.  I buy some coffee because I feel guilty for using their bathroom.  We have an hour to burn before Lucas is going to a birthday party)






Dinner at Mexico, as Aaron calls it.....



Anyone up for a little face painting......



To top it all off two hours of Nerf guns.  I think I pulled a hammy.........



We couldn't do it again, we tried.........


Maybe this should have been two different post.  The more I think about it, it all comes down to time.  How do we spend it?  When people choose to spend time with us, we feel the love they poor out on us and they become like family, and yes there are memories of them all over the place.  What precious time we had and how it was so well spent.  Yes these past few days had times of stress, but I will choose to remember the tears, kisses, tender words, and hits by nerf bullets.