The Way it Goes

It always happens this way...I want to write about something that happened, and I keep putting it off until I have time or "feel like it" and the two rarely happen simultaneously so I never write.

But here goes! Jonny came to see us for two weeks and it was wonderful! We did a whole lot of nothing, just hanging out and playing with the kids. We threw in a little swimming, eating at favorite restaurants, visiting Emma's class at school and letting all the kids ask questions about "army guys", and spent a night in Park City. It felt like he hadn't been even gone for the last nine months. We had so much fun.



Here we are at the airport right before he left. They gave us a gate pass so we waited with him until his flight boarded, at which point Matthew attached himself to Jonny's leg and started crying, "Daddy! Don't go! I miss you! Don't leave me again daddy!" And then Emma started crying and I was doing OK until I looked at their little faces and then I lost it too. It was bad. I had to peel Matthew off of Jonny's leg and drag him away. There were at least five people in the waiting area crying watching the whole scene. So I'm pushing the stroller away and crashing into peoples' legs because I can't see for all the tears in my eyes and the kids were crying - except Sophie. She had no idea what was going on. Ignorance, as they say, is in fact bliss. Although she asked me approximately 30 times that day, "Mama? Wars (where) daddy go?"

We all have kind of had the blues since he left, but we are getting close - three more months folks!



And we had the sixth birthday of the wee Miss Emma to celebrate this last week! We had an early party for her while Jonny was here (just because this is the third year in a row that he has missed her birthday!) We had a rip roaring good time at Pirate Island with all her cousins on my side of the family and she had another party this past week with her cousin, Stockton, who has the same birthday as her.



Emma is a dream to have in our family. She is always telling me she wants to help me and often comes up and rubs my back and even my feet! She loves to decorate things - anything - and make things beautiful. She helps me take care of her little brother and sister and is so loving with them (unless they touch her things!) She is an excellent story teller - very dramatic you see - and loves to make artsy crafty things. She is so brave about all the care that is required for her diabetes and takes it in stride. She has to hug and kiss all of us before she leaves for school each day and when she sees her carpool ride coming she hurries and closes her eyes and says a prayer that she won't be scared going in their car.

She made me a mommy and it has been a dream come true ever since she was born. We love you Emma!