Unpacking.

I'm back. All of our feet are back on the soil of the same state. Together again.

The flight was great, the boys hardly made a sound. The airport itself was more taxing than the actual flight- simply because Ezra would not stop talking to anyone who looked in his general direction. One of his favorite topics of discussion for the day was "a plane crashed" (he saw a news clip about the AirFrance flight on the TV at my parent's house) which NO ONE wants to hear about while in an airport, so I was kept quite busy trying to get him to shut his mouth for two seconds while attending to myer and our bags at the same time. I probably looked so very comical. And crayzee.

sidenote: I noticed that the very last seat taken on the plane was the seat right next to me. Apparently the seat next to a woman with two small children is less desirable than even the seats waaaaaay in the back of the plane- next to the bathrooms and loud engine noises. How funny.

After looking out of the window of the plane for awhile after takeoff, Ezra released the tray from the seat in front of him, crawled onto the floor underneath it, declared it his "fort", and played his V-Tech games quietly under there for almost the entire rest of the flight.

Myer played with a package of unopened peanuts for most of the two hour trek back home. Good thing I lugged all those baby toys onto the plane in my already monster-heavy backpack, eh? *slaps head*

The only other stressful part of the traveling was the car ride back home from the airport. Chris picked us all up and as we were loading Myer's carseat into the car, we discovered some straps were missing. The straps that latch the base of the carseat into the car. Frustrating.

(We are now researching new seats-- mainly because the one we have is not safe anymore... some piece of it was recalled a couple of years ago... and also because Myer is much too heavy to carry in the infant seat these days- so we're looking at the seats that convert from baby to toddler to preschooler to FULL GROWN MAN before you have to upgrade them again. Any suggestions on all that?)

We figured out how to make the seat belt work, got everyone situated, and then started the 20 minute drive to our house.

Myer SCREAMED the whole way home.

He was just overly tired (he'd slept a total of about 30 minutes the entire day and our plane didn't land until 10:30 PM) and couldn't calm himself back down, and everything I tried to do to help was making him more angry.

By the time I walked in the door of my house, I was stressed to the MAX. I'd been with these kids non-stop for over 4 weeks straight, and this final stretch towards home was like the straw that finally broke the mamma camel's back.

However, I couldn't stay stressed long, because Chris had wine and chocolates and cheese and crackers and fruit out on the table for us to enjoy after the kids were finally in bed. A little Miles Davis drifted softly through the air and dared me to remain tense under the influence of his crooning trumpet.

I didn't remain stressed for long.

*********************

After nibbling on chocolate and drinking some wine, I decided to take a bath.

I went to start the water- pulled back the shower curtain, and then squealed in surprise.

During the two weeks that I was gone, Chris had completely redone our shower/bath. He ripped out the old tub and tile and backer board, redid all the plumbing and fixtures, and installed the most gorgeous new tub & tile I've ever seen.



Pictures really don't do it justice. The bathroom is so narrow, I couldn't get a good shot of all the fancy new wonderment. It's like a totally luxurious shower. IN MY OWN HOME!

He (obviously) worked very, very hard on all of this, and did an excellent job. And since I spend about half of my waking life in the bathtub, it really was the most thoughtful and sweet thing that he could have possibly done while I was away.

To top it all off, he bought me a glorious new loofah and some yummy smelling body wash so I could feel even more pampered than I already am.

Crazy, ridiculous, sensational man.

Do I deserve such over-the-top love and adoration?

I'm learning to say "yes" to that question. Even though my knee-jerk response is a big fat NO.

And the thing is... ladies... I believe that we all do. Every one of us was created for love like that. Passionate, unhesitating love. Love that runs TOWARDS you. Pursues you. And if we don't find it here in this life time, it's available to us (times onefinity billion) in the next.

Ridiculous love that does ridiculous things just to see us smile.

God love.

*****************

Today was the absolute 'breaking point' for me. Ezra has been talking my ear off for a month without ceasing, and Myer wouldn't let me put him down all day today, and I seriously had visions of driving off into the sunset by myself and coming home... maybe next January? Instead, I stayed put and played 'Candy Land' for the fiftieth time in two days with my insanely hyper and overly-talkative four year old.

SERIOUSLY... why was I so anxious to get to the 'talking phase' of his life? I worry that Myer will never have a chance to get a word in edgewise at this rate. Ezra talks so much that he is now somehow managing to interrupt himself 90% of the time.

Whenever it finally is silent, my ears ache and ring. Like they're all, "Where'd all the noise go, woman??"

******************

In other news, I was offered a job. I am the new assistant wedding/event coordinator at my church. I have a job! And it's what I went to school for! I am so excited about this, I could just explode.

POW.

'Sploded.

******************

Just overheard from Ezra in the bathtub, as he sat narrating a robot fight scene full of woe and trepidation:

"YOU are in the trouble of my MUSCLES!"

*smack smack sploosh*

I intend to adopt this line of warning and use it regularly in my daily conversations from here on out.


*******************

Lastly... Just, this:



The boy who fell asleep tonight with one of his little hands in my mouth... hooked on my teeth like he was trying to grab my voice as I sang him 'Amazing Grace' and walked him around his room.

That right there is plenty of reason enough to keep going. To keep going with a weary smile plastered alllllll over my tired, happy face.