Catching up

Making Sundays a day of rest is a fierce act of the will. I'm tempted to do a million things today - put some of the clean, folded laundry away, round up more dirty clothes and throw them in the wash, straighten shoes by the door, unload the dishwasher. Work never entirely disappears on the Sabbath. There are always hungry mouths to feed. And while my body longs for a long nap under the covers, I also see a quiet moment to spend with Audrey. We're at the table "journaling." She's keeping a journal for the summer. Her most recent topic was, "I am happy when. . ." She writes, "I am happy when I don't get yelled at." I ask her, "Did you get yelled at the day you wrote this?" She says no, and I thank God for the short accounts children keep.

Our vacation was wonderful. I came back exhausted. Traveling with two babies, let's be honest, is hardly a vacation. But how can I complain when the days were cheerfully sunny, I read a novel in its entirety, and Starbucks was within walking distance? I joked with Ryan that the fatigue of sharing a room with two babies on Illinois time could be measured by the size coffee I ordered each day. The week started with tall half-caff lattes. By the end of the week, I was tempted to order up a venti triple shot.

We made wonderful new friends on the flight to CA. A kind face peered around my shoulder as the plane was about ready to take off. "Any time you need a break holding one of those babies, you let me know!" And so it was, an hour later, that our friendship with Chris and Sherry began. Chris is an Allstate agent and was traveling for the same conference. They have two older sons, both out of high school, and they craved some warm baby skin. We, of course, were happy to oblige. We saw them a little throughout the week and discovered, to our jubilation, that they were also on our return flight. Again, Sherry paced the aisle with a fussy Colin, calming him, endearing all the passengers to this squeaky baby. We convinced them to spend the night at our house the night we arrived, rather than start for home in downstate Illinois at 9:30 at night or crash at a hotel. Our big kids had already been tucked in their own beds that night by Grandma and Grandpa, so it was the next morning that Chris and Sherry also met (and fell in love with) Audrey, Nathan and Camille.

Our weekend was full of fun as my step-sister, Kathi, and her husband, Herb, visited. Saturday, we hunted for a dress for her daughter, Elizabeth's wedding. We started at Lord and Taylor at 10 a.m. and left Nordstrom at 8 p.m. with a few stops back home to fill our bellies and feed the babes. I'm happy to report the hunt was a success. Kathi returns home today with the perfect dress in hand.