Quiet

It's my favorite time of the day... the smack dab middle of the night! I hate going to bed... I always have. And part of the reason is that I miss out on this part of the night. I love the stillness of a sleeping house, street, city... I love the tiny lights that pierce the night sky... I love the possibilities that come with hours on end where the phone doesn't ring and the world is stopped- allowing me to catch up. I love that I can get so much done all on a forgotten bankroll of time. I love hearing the house and all it's creaks and moans, ticking and humming like the body of an old man after a long, hard day's work. That harmony joined with the sweet melody of a childs deep sleepy breathing is such a contrast to the cacophony of daylight and business as usual. And when I've gotten all that I want from it, there is still the bliss of surrendering to my heavy eyelids and slipping off into a slumber both instant and deep. Really, it is the quintessential free time.

Travel, Guests and Airport Runs

So, in the past week, I have been to the airport 6 times and will go again tomorrow to drop one more off. It's starting to feel like everyone is going somewhere but me! Mason off to Europe, Gray off to Brazil with Lol and Jackie, Deb went to San Fran, Julia and her mom back to Slovakia, and tomorrow Diana back to Molodova. Everyone is leaving and I am going to be here at home holding down the fort I guess. I sure miss both my kids and the girls. At least my kids are coming back and I am so grateful they have this opportunity to travel.

Adding insult to the injury of all my babies leaving me, is the price of gas! Almost $100 to fill up my tank these days and it's only going to get worse! Between the airport construction, drivers with no common sense or courtesy and gas prices, I am not sure the luxury of a car is worth it! Time to tune up the old bike and add baskets!

It Begins!

I should start with a warning that I tend toward verbosity.... and bragging about my great kids. Other than that, I am pretty open. No real secrets and pretty much any part of my life could end up here. So buckle up, hang on and enjoy the ride!

Today is the first official day of summer!! Kids are done with school for the Summer as of the 18th!! YAY!! Mason is officially a senior and Gray is a junior.... Man... how time does fly and things change so much, so fast!

As of today, Mason is in Scotland and Gray is at Youth Conference, so I am basically on my own. The last 6 weeks have been unbelievably crazed. Getting Mason ready for his European tour (as many as 10 countries) and Gray ready for Brazil all while trying to tie up finals on top of working was a bit of a job. But Mason is off and on his way and hopefully Gray will have her Visa in time to leave on Tuesday as scheduled! (Stay tuned here for photos from the babies adventures!)

It's kinda a crazy thing. I don't like my kids to be away from me. I love having them around and don't find parenting to be anything but wonderful. But between Mark living in Utah, and the kids travels, they seem to be gone from home more than most. I am so excited they get to travel and see the world (hopefully, my time will come soon) and am so extremely proud that I can trust them so much as to let them venture out on their own. But, Dangit!, I miss them! I love their sweet faces, their thoughts and ideas, having their friends fill my house, and teenage kisses as they head off to bed (way later than I think they should) or out the door to school or to hang out with friends. I love text messages about their latest crush, asking for help, advice or permission, even the ones that express frustration with me for some reason. I love being a mom. I love being their mom. They really are such amazing human beings. I am so lucky they belong to me! I often say Heavenly Father sent me angels because real children wouldn't last long at my house!! I'm not all that amazing, but they really are. I'm not sure how that happened, but I'm really glad it did!!