Too Busy!!

Whenever I log on here and see that it's been more than a week since I've blogged, I think "That can't be right!" This time, though, I know it's right. We have been busier than a three-legged cat in a sandbox.

Last weekend, we went to TX for my cousin, Melody's, wedding. We arrived in Stephenville on Thursday evening, after driving all day from Kansas. Friday, we had a quick lunch with my dad, then Grace and I headed to Mineral Wells, site of the wedding. Then the rehearsal dinner was in Weatherford. Thankfully, we rode with my sister, Katie, who drove to and from. The next day was crazy, too. We celebrated my sister, Angie's 20th birthday (!!!), with a breakfast at Mom's house, then went to Dad's to visit more with Angie, my sister, Amy and her family, before we had to leave for the wedding. By 2 p.m., we were off for "Miserable Wells." As anyone knows, the time before a wedding is nuts. So I was a runner for the bridal party. Davis stayed behind in S'ville and rode to the wedding with Amy, Jeff, Randall and Reagan.

As I mentioned before, the wedding was gorgeous. It was held in the Channel Garden at Clark Gardens between M. Wells and W'ford. Beautiful setting and lots of family and dancing. Grace dropped her rose petals into the fountain and not on the ground. That was probably a big no-no, but whatever!! She turned into a dancing MACHINE on the dance floor. She wanted no part of boogeying with anyone but herself and she was getting down! Davis was the only dancer with a pacifier!

The next day, we hung out at Mom's until lunch, went to lunch with the sisters and Dad, then we headed to Breckenridge. We visited both sets of Jasen's grandparents, then headed to Lawton to stay with our friends, the Micheners. By the time we got there, the kids were tuckered out (can't imagine why) so they went to bed and I stayed up to visit. We were able to meet Mara Michener's fiance, Thomas, which was so nice. We've yet to meet their other daughter, Jessie's, husband (!!), but know that he is wonderful, too. Mara and Jessie are frozen in time for me at age 12. It's hard for me to imagine them married!

We came home the next morning, absolutely exhausted. We did all of that Thursday to Monday. I don't foresee me making that trip again in five days!

The next day, I started buying things for the boxes we were sending the single soldiers in Jasen's unit. Because of some help from friends, we were able to send every single soldier (over 65) a box with a magazine, crossword puzzle/Sudoku book, candy, beef jerky, and cupcakes/Little Debbie snack. It doesn't look like or sound like much, but I know they will appreciate it. I can't tell you the joy I felt buying all of this stuff, knowing what it was going to be used for. For me, that's what my voluteer position ought to be about: supporting the soldiers. I know that by supporting families, I am supporting soldiers. But I like supporting the single soldiers more than anything.

Today, we had a combination Thanksgiving dinner/FRG meeting. We had a meal to start with, then began stuffing the boxes. We had 70 boxes, filled with the above mentioned items, wrapped in holiday paper, ready to go to the soldiers. Truly warms my heart.

It's been a busy few weeks, but it's all been wonderful. The kids are great. Davis is fighting a cold, but he's being a trooper. He slept with me last night, which means I didn't get much sleep. Hopefully, he'll sleep more peacefully tonight and I won't feel the need to bring him to bed with me. Grace continues to be a joy. Even when she's "hard" she's still pretty sweet. Last night, she had a nasty meltdown before bed. I handled it with more patience than normal and about ten minutes later, Grace came downstairs and asked me to forgive her for acting "not nice." Warms my heart again!