Time away..

Our much anticipated Costco rebate coupon showed up in the mail on Thursday. To some, this might not seem like a big deal, but when you use your AMEX to purchase all of those plane tickets (9 total) and purchase your new business purchases with (and paid off each month), the rebate coupon adds up to alot!! Unfortunately, now that we live in ND, the nearest Costco is 5 hours away.

Friday afternoon, Mike and I hopped in his truck(pulling a trailer) and hit the road for Billings for a very rare night away. We had a great young lady stay with our kids here. We felt a bit like young marrieds, without kids in tow and LOVED our time together, time to enjoy each other, pray together and laugh together. Everything went super smooth until about 8:00 Friday night. Mike and I had just gotten back to the hotel after presaling Costco and got a call from Elli describing her littlest sister throwing up in her hands. Little L threw up not once, but 3 times~~~ this is NOT a common occurrance, since she had a NIssen when she was a baby and can't really throw up unless it's pretty violent~~ My Mommy's heart hurt, knowing that she was sick at home but was relieved to know that Elli, the other kids, and our helper knew how to help her. She probably couldn't have been in better hands. ~~ HUGE plus to homeschooling, all of the kids really know each other and know how to pitch in when someone else needs the help!!!


Saturday started with another phone call telling us she was feeling a bit better and she actually talked to me on the phone, which was reassuring...Then, it was off to Costco. Mike and I are used to lots of stares when we go out in public, but that's because of our large family size, not because we have two overflowing shopping carts between us- Mike's was actually the big flat bed kind...I had to laugh as we got into the check-out line and I saw all of the papertowels, napkins, toilet paper and SALSA in the carts. I'm sure the check-out guy was wishing we had gone through another line..the best part was we got a bunch back after we were finished!! BONUS!!

Little L was much better by the time we got home and all of the kids were thrilled we were home, especially little L and our little one who has struggled these past few weeks. Mike and I were both pretty well rested and refreshed and ready to dive back in. I was reminded how much I LOVE this man and our time together. THANK YOU MJ for staying with our kids and remaining calm when my sweet baby was sick. THANK YOU big kids for all of our your help and your great attitudes about Mommy and Daddy taking a date. Even though we had a great time, we were definitely happy to be home with EVERYONE. We LOVE THIS FAMILY!!!