At the beginning of December Ben was flying around for interviews; he was gone for 9 days. During that time I had so many wonderful friends and family thinking of me, praying for me, and helping me out. It was just after Thanksgiving so I was thinking of things to be grateful for anyway, but this long week with Ben away, me very pregnant and the kids very active was going to be really difficult and I was really worried about it. But just to show you how wonderful and thoughtful people can be I made a list of all the things people did for me, for the most part purely volunteer and unasked for (but so much appreiciated). I learned that there are so many little things that one person can do to make someones day better.
1. Ben left on a Sunday, that night I called my mom practically in tears and asked if my sister could use some of her Frequent Flyer miles and spend some time with me. Mom made it work and so my little sister who I haven't seen for a long time (she's been studying abroad in Italy) spent Tuesday through with me.
2. Sunday I got several calls from ward memebers asking if I was okay and if I needed babysitting or anything (I took one of them up on it for a doc appt on Monday).
3. One of the friends who called to see if I needed anything brought me a care package! Complete with two free movie rentals, little toys for the kids, relaxing foot lotions and such. It was so surprising and sweet!
4. My sister, Sharlie, came! We went to Salem to visit our other sister, Alaina, and an old roommate who I haven't seen for 3 years. I spent the night with my sister Alaina and we had a great talk that night and the kids had so much fun with their cousins. It was awesome.
5. Sharlie helped SO SO much. She always made sure my kitchen was clean. There were never dishes in the sink, and she did all sorts of things to help round up the kids and entertain them (and me).
6. Ben's Grandma (from Klamath Falls) sent us a care package with candy and a kids movie.
7. Saturday a friend offered to watch Reina and Vaughn for a couple hours, then Ben's parents took the kids to the mall for a couple hours.
8. Sunday it snowed a TON. We missed church and had a great day together.
We made snow flakes and hung out in PJ's.
Our neighbor shoveled the snow off our porch steps every day until Ben got home.
There were so many more calls and people checking up on us. We are so grateful for our friends and family.
Here is a picture of the stockings I made while Ben was away, and also the wreath that Sharlie made!
