A change of heart...

I know these posts are scattered...and I have yet to post about the rest of my trip or Christmas for that matter, but I had some thoughts after I wrote this post the other day airing my frustrations for the sickness that has plagued this house for what feels like FOREVER.

It was that evening when Brandon and I knelt in prayer and I was expressing my frustration in prayer and pleading for the kids to be better--and I uttered the words, "we recognize they hand in all things"..and it made me pause for a moment. It was true...it made sense. And I DID recognize his hand at that moment when it all clicked and made sense...

It isn't that I think my Heavenly Father made my kids sick. :) But I recognized all the good that came out of these experiences this Christmas break...cooped up in our house...longing for fresh air and healthy little people. I realized that for the first time in a long time our calendar had nothing on it--and what WAS there was dismissed. So truly, we had a ton of downtime that exists at no other time of the year...I wasn't babysitting over Christmas break, like usually am, so it was time for just our family. Just US. And during that time of caring for my sick kids and husband, I didn't get sick once. Felt a little off one day, but nothing to write home about.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day people felt good--and we had company over and enjoyed being around others. So even if it was a short time, we got a glimpse of the good life. :)

I also cleaned my house far more the past few weeks than I have the past few months. I have tackled tasks that needed to be done but there was never the time for--and in a sense, I have put some things in priority that I have desperately been longing to do but didn't know how to make myself change. And all this cleaning has really motivated me to dejunk and clear out not only my house, but my life. I am feeling so drawn to SIMPLIFY things. And I feel such peace in that.

While part of me still misses that we couldn't go and do things and be out and about, the truth that after that prayer I realized I have an underlying expression of thankfulness for it--for the cleaning, the cuddling in bed with my sick kids, the simplifying of life, and the way that the timing fell into place at a time where nobody had to miss school for weeks on end because they were battling illness.

Just realizing there were lessons to learn...and a change of heart to take place...and a Heavenly Father who was still aware of me through it all.
And I am grateful for that.

Trip Day 2--Oakland

My sister formed an awesome plan to set up babysitting so we could go to the temple while I was there. So it was just us girls, cruising with the top down along the California freeway with the breeze blowing through our hair.
Okay...kidding...the minivan we were in was definitely not convertible and the only breeze would have come from the vents. :)

But it WAS just the two of us, and it was another beautiful day--

We attended a session at the temple and hurried out to find someone to take our pictures. We asked all the wrong people, all who were VERY kind, but mysteriously disappeared, or spoke a secret language, or were not able to operate a camera. lol




So Sarah snapped this of me...



And another random kind soul took this of us together...



And that was about all we got. :)

We were able to squeeze in lunch at Cheesecake Factory--I don't believe I have ever eaten anything but just cheesecake there--so it was a real treat! :)


When our server took our order, he asked if I wanted red or white sauce...and quite honestly I didn't know! So I asked for half and half, assuming they would put white sauce on half my pasta and red on the other half, as other places have done for me in the past.

So I was QUITE surprised when 2 different FULL SIZE lunch portions showed up...
one with white, one with red.


Needless to say, I had leftovers. :) And the extras were free.

Lunch was followed up with a trip to Trader Joes for a few things--my FIRST trip there, I might add...
And then home to relax, since the day was almost over at that point.

My niece Emma is a budding artist, and writes the BEST notes.
So I had to document that for the books. :)


And my niece Ellie is just so squeezable and cute! I loved that she would come to me and let me hold her--even though I don't think she has any recollection of me. :)

And Sarah and Jon have chickens in the backyard--so we went out in the back to let them out for a bit, and it was funny to watch Ellie run after them. She was quite the character!


When I look back at this trip, one of the things that sticks out to me is how much I love my nieces and nephew. I have always felt jealous of families that have those close ties--where being an aunt or uncle is such a close knit experience. My family is all spread out--and we don't talk much (which drives me nuts sometimes! :) But being there, with them, and getting to be a part of their lives for those few days without the chaos that comes with a great big family reunion or other big event, touched my heart so deeply.
I truly love them. And I miss them. And I miss my sister especially...
A lot.
And I hope I can be part of their lives...a real, significant part with a meaningful connection...even from a couple thousand miles away.

SO done...

I am SO done...

with Christmas break.

The happy time I looked forward to, where we would lounge around and watch movies, or get together with friends, or play at the park, or whatever we wanted...

I am so done with it.

Because it has felt like since the second the bus pulled up and let my kids off, they have been coughing, puking, fevered, grouchy, cooped up, and contagious....

And I am so done.

Done with co-pays and medication, with moaning and aches and pains that I cannot take away, with having to say "no" to get togethers with friends, with washing blankets almost daily because of vomit or diarrhea--take your pick. I am done with watching my poor little Spencer cough so hard it activates his apparently ultra-sensitive gag-reflux...and I am sad watching him walk around with a giant yellow bowl everywhere he goes.

I just feel like I am working 10x as hard and seeing few results...and I just feel disappointed right now. And quite frankly THEY are disappointed...

The latest is a case of bronchitis...for my poor, achy girl...with medication for 5 days...
Spencer threw up 3 times before bed because he was coughing so hard...
Can I please push a fast forward button and get through this? Because I am SO done...

San Francisco photo dump--day 1

Last week I spent several days visiting my sister, Sarah, in San Francisco before flying to Idaho for a wedding. I have been looking forward to this trip--and next thing I knew it had sneaked up on me! 

I booked the non-stop flight from Austin to San Fran. Guilty confession:  I paid $13 more for the airline that had TV. We don't pay for TV at our house...and I was so excited to flip through the channels and watch what I wanted to watch and catch up on everything I was missing. 

Truth is...there is a lot of junk on TV! Holy moly!

But I managed to find some shows and I definitely still enjoyed myself... :)

I landed in California, just after the end of a rainstorm...and the clouds cleared and presented us with the most beautiful sunny day!

We stopped at Coit tower for some pictures of Sarah and Jon's family, and to scope out the beautiful scenery...

And these sweet munchkins shivered together...it's chilly on the bay! :)

We stopped for some "authentic" Italian pizza and calzones in Little Italy and made our way to the Pier.


After a long walk, and expensive parking garage, and a short wait in line, we hopped aboard the ferry to head out to Alcatraz. Truth be told, I didn't really know what to think about that place. Which translates to "I don't know anything about that place except that it was a prison". Brandon was disgusted. lol. Mainly because he has always wanted to go there...and here I was having the chance, without having any clue! :)









Alcatraz in the distance...






We got instructions from our Park Ranger and then made the trek up to the prison for the audio tour.




I got a little artsy shmartsy and honestly couldn't remember the direction certain pictures should go once I took them. lol. Oh well...it was really fun to just be there taking it all in and snapping pictures to my heart's content.




the cells were SO teeny! It is hard to imagine that someone could be locked up in here for long periods of time.















Inside the office


A few things surprised me about Alcatraz...
1--the island it was BEAUTIFUL! Exotic looking plants, greenery in abundance, gorgeous!
2- When Alcatraz was operating, the prison guards and employees lived on Alcatraz with their families. There was a whole community set up there--little store, school, etc. I kept thinking what I would feel if I were in that situation--safe? A nervous wreck? I have no idea...





(sidenote: I totally love the retro office--left as was, and so cool! SO many fun things to see! And that phone--LOVE! :)




In the cafeteria, they put the outline of all the knives so they would know if anything was missing...






I can think of few things that rival the beauty of the sun setting on that perfectly clear day on Alcatraz. It was so peaceful and the sun just glowed all around us.




We took the last ferry back and walked through Pier 39 as the sun hid behind the hills and water's edge.




We grabbed a bite at Boudin--which is apparently a big deal for Sourdough lovers.




Had some warm soup in a bread bowl--which was good, but way too big!



And after some fresh mini-donuts for the kiddos and a pit stop or two in little gift shops along the way, we headed out for the night.


(Sarah's family)


I seriously fell in love with so many things about San Francisco that day...I love the beautiful water, that goes as far as the eye can see. Driving over the bridges and watching the waves, and seeing all the houses stacked together in eclectic colors and patterns was so mesmerizing. And the chance to live by my sister? Would be SO awesome! Perhaps I was seeing through rose colored glasses, so to speak...but it was a place that made me re-think my total opposition to living in California. :)

Once upon a Halloweekend

A winter storm is approaching and the blustery wind woke me up...so I decided to browse through pictures and see what I have failed to post...which is lots. :) I decided that since Christmas is fast approaching, it was probably a good time to post about Halloween. lol

I know I posted about our other Halloween festivities a while back, but we had some random pictures left from the weekend we had Lita and Papa, Jason and Mindi & co, and Travis and Jenny and their little clan. :) We had a wonderful time with them! Even though our time with everyone was short, I LOVE family time. We have missed having people stop by en route to somewhere else, or fly into the airport near us and need a place to stay, as was the case in Cleveland. Unfortunately, living an hour and 15 minutes from the nearest airport puts a damper on things...and most people don't have a reason to come to or through Temple, Texas on vacation. :) So we have felt somewhat isolated at times, and really miss seeing family more often.

But the end of October brought us some visitors!! And this Halloweekend was SO welcomed! We love hosting overnight guests...planning a yummy menu and having the kids wake up to Grandparents or cousins. It's the "Christmas morning" anticipation...which I love...and it always gives me a great reason to clean house. lol :)

Just a few random pictures of our afternoon together. We had several different soups, and homemade rolls, and yummy dessert. And the hours were spent chatting, laughing, playing...just being together.

When it was finally time to part ways, we had to snap a Grandkid pic of all the kiddos in attendance. :)

...which didn't last long. :)

A couple more of sweet cousins together...

...and really hilarious brothers...

 

and the "hair toucher" 

(Carter LOVES to stroke baby hair! We laugh so hard, but every time, he's there stroking and patting so gently!)

(Missing Jason & Mindi + crew and Travis here)

I am so grateful for these glimpses of wonderful...for family we love to be around, and the opportunity we had to make some really wonderful memories. :)

Love you Holloway family!!

And on a final note...

A group picture with our favorite little trick or treaters!


This Halloween was incredibly busy for me...so many of our traditions went out the window and I was lucky to just get everyone in costume for the "big night" :). Jenna decided to be in charge of her own this year...she bought the dress at a yard sale this summer, and paired it with a crown and some wings. And ya know what? I rolled with it. And was actually really grateful she took charge on her own. :) Kaden wanted to be something scary...which stressed me out because 1-I don't do scary. and 2-he's only 6. So after some sweet talking, I convinced him that he could be an X-RAY. lol  For some reason it just felt better to me.  A very sweet friend loaned us his costume, which he loved. Spencer was a super sweet Ninja Turtle--also picked up at a garage sale a while back. And Carter was...the leftover monkey costume. I intend to use hand-me-downs as long as I can. :) And thankfully he didn't notice...or feel short-changed...yet.


Do not ask me what is going on in the picture above? I cannot recall...I just know I've got some crazy kiddos on my hands! lol