Thanks to everyone who commented either here on my blog or on Facebook and asked me a question for my very first Q&A. I’m very excited. I realize some of you must have had a hard time thinking of your questions…as evidenced by your questions…but I must assume it was a temporary lack of creativity and not that you don’t think I’m interesting. Surely you’re curious about Rachel Harmon. I know I am! So, for all the questions, I offer a heartfelt thank you. Every contribution to the great Rachel’s Blog Revival is appreciated.

Without further ado, here is the first (of hopefully several as time goes by) Nothing Gold Q&A.

Chris asks, “Who paid for your cool new haircut in the pictures you posted?”
Well, Chris, that would be you. Thank you.

Brandon asks, “Which is your favorite child?”
He also warned me not to say, “all of them”. I’ll do my best to answer this one. I don’t have a favorite child. I know this because if I thought, “Which kid could I live without? If I had to choose one child to lose, which one would it be?” I cannot do it. Sorry, Brandon. However, I do have favorite children at different times. Abby Jo is always very close to favorite child position on a daily basis. She rarely throws temper tantrums about what she has to wear to church on Sunday, goes into a five year old rage and does a crazy caveman fit over being told to go to her room because of freaking out on whichever sibling made her mad, nor does she poop on herself, take off her pull up, and then try to go to the potty by herself, smearing horrible nastiness all over the bathroom. Also, she completely adores me at all times. So, she doesn’t have to do much to be the cutest, sweetest, most easily satisfied child. However, she doesn’t do random acts of service like Kyra does…she doesn’t say, “Mama…” wait thirty seconds, grin from ear to ear, and continue “…I love you!” like Elijah does, and she doesn’t make me laugh till I pee my pants over three year old one liners like Owen does. They all get to be my favorite for unspecified amounts of time. Poop has a lot to do with it.

Haley asks, “What has been the turning point in your life…the moment in which you realized something and it changed how you view the world?”
This is a hard question, not in that I can’t think of such a point, but to think of only one point. I’ve had several of those moments over the last few years. One that stands out to me, though, is the time during my third semester of college when I was taking a Psychology class, a Sociology class, and a History of Western Civilization class all at the same time. It was the perfect storm of getting really ticked off about the way women have been treated throughout history. I started to see a lot of correlation between history and my own life. I was outraged to see that the rest of the country had conceded that women were not second class citizens, but that in my own little religious bubble, in practice, the thought was still pretty prevalent. It was not the rule, but it was also not the exception. I would read about Aristotle teaching that women were inferior in Western Civ, and then see how that thinking was still going strong…if not in teaching, in practice…in my own life. All three classes just coincided with one another, and I started to get kind of upset about it. The people who were confronting me about worrying about me, my family, and my spiritual condition because I had chosen to continue my education, were not helping me to see my thoughts as in error. I felt like they were trying to keep me in “my place”. I remembered that I do have a mind of my own. I do have thoughts and ideas. I have hopes and dreams. I realized one day that I was an adult in the United States of America. I was free to pursue my education. I was free to break away from the pack if the pack was not helping me. I was free not to concern myself with whether or not people wanted me to or not. I was free, and it felt pretty refreshing.

Chris (yes, again) asks, “Which do you like better…chili or potato salad?”

Chili.

Taylor asks, “What do you do with most of your time not spent with the hubby or kids?”

The most honest and concise answer…waste time on the Internet. I read a lot of blogs, spend too much time on Facebook, and chat with friends on gmail. Following that, I talk to Amy on the phone a lot. I don’t really get out much without Chris and the kids, but if I do, it’s usually church related.

Travis asks, “Peanut butter…crunchy or creamy?” and “How do you feel about Goober grape?”

Well, Trav, I like Smuckers All Nautral creamy peanut butter…the kind you have to mix the oil all up with it. It’s the best. I’ve never tried Goober grape, but it seems like something I wouldn’t like too much.

Natasha asks, “So how are the kids? What is everyone into these days? Are you guys still planning to move?”

Tasha, the kids are doing great. Kyra is in 2nd grade, and doing quite well in school. She is into computer games, playing xbox, occasionally blogging, and reading. She loves chapter books these days, especially Junie B. Jones and Ramona. She is a great help with pretty much everything. Elijah is in kindergarten, and he loves it. He’s a fast learner, and very excited to learn. He loves computer games and xbox games, too, but he is especially adept at games of logic. He amazes Chris and I at his ability to do puzzle games that are hard for us to do. Owen is not yet in school, but he sits through kindergarten with Elijah and is learning his letter sounds. He’s our little comedian. He’s hilarious and keeps us in stitches. He likes to watch the big kids play games, and occasionally gives it a go himself. He likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Scooby Doo, and superheroes. They all love going to Awana at church.

Yes, we are still planning on moving, if Chris does go active duty with the Army. That is our general plan, but it could always change. He will be a Reserve chaplain first for a couple of years. He is not yet a chaplain, but he could be by the end of the year or shortly thereafter. We will not move until he goes active duty.

Cassandra asks, “The last few years, I have been reading your blog, and when I first started, we had a ton in common. We were both at independent fundamental Baptist churches, we had children in ACE ( I think you used to have Kyra in one-maybe I am mistaken about that) schools, we stayed home with our kiddos, both wore skirts all the time, etc. etc… Now, we still have alot in common- (our ages, our kiddos, our mommyness moments) but alot has changed for you! I’ve witnessed alot in your life the last couple of years. Starting up your schooling again, going to a different church, your husband’s change in vocation, leaving behind alot of the fundamentalist ideas…so, I am just curious. What started it all? Do you still consider yourself an independent Baptist? I am not condemning your choices in any way, I am just curious about the journey that you have started on. Was there a defining moment when you decided you wanted to do things differently, or did it slowly happen?”

Cassandra, thank you for your question. I will be happy to answer each part of it in detail, but I’m going to give it it’s own post. So, hang around a bit longer, and it will be my next post. (You were so one of the three loyal readers I was talking about.)

April asks, “Did you get your nose pierced?”

Yes.

Emily Moore asks, “How bad did it hurt to get your nose pierced?”

It hurt quite a bit, but just for a moment. As he pushed the needle through the cartilage, it hurt pretty bad, but, as soon as the needle was through, it was just sore. It was sore for a few hours, and, after that, it’s only been sore if I bump it.

Emily McMichael asks, “Do you think I’m hot?”

Emily, my dear…I think you are beautiful…lovely…talented…wonderful…hilarious…compassionate…loving…and completely awesome, but I have never thought you were hot.

Emily McMichael also asked,”Why did you get your nose pierced on the right side instead of the left?”

I had it pierced on the right side because it looked better, I thought. At the time, I had my cartilage pierced on my left ear, so I thought it looked more balanced with my nose pierced on the right. It was purely an aesthetic choice, and it means nothing.

Maurice asks, “If a hen and a half laid an egg and a half in a day and a half, how long does it take 7 hens to lay 7 eggs?”

There is no such thing as a half a hen that is still capable of laying eggs, so the question is moot.

Maurice also asks, “Which direction is up?”

Stand up with your feet on the floor, tilt your head backwards as far as it will go…the direction your nose is pointed is up.

Heather asks, “How do your children keep getting cuter?”

Well, Heather, the funny answer is that as they get meaner, God realizes they need to get cuter so that I don’t start beating them. The serious answer? Superb genetics.

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I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had fun. If anyone else thinks of any questions they’d like to ask, leave them in the comments and we’ll have a You Asked: Part Deuce sometime in the future. Stay tuned to the answer to Cassandra’s question in my next post, and I’ll also have a post up soon about getting my nose pierced, with pictures and video, since it was such a popular topic.

Thanks! You guys rock!

August 28, 2009 was a big day for Chris. He graduated from Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course, which finished up his chaplain training, at the Chaplain School at Fort Jackson, SC. The kids and I were so proud of him. Here are some photos and videos from our day. (I was having trouble with my camera, and I didn’t get videos of the last two platoons, including Chris’, singing their division songs, nor a photo of Chris walking across the stage.)

Christopher before the ceremony.

This is me with Mrs. Diann Hart, a chaplain’s wife that I got to know a little bit during my time at the Spouses’ Seminar. She, along with her two daughters, babysat all four of our children during the banquet.

This is me with Mrs. Teresa Boone, the wife of the Commandant. I enjoyed getting to know her at the seminar.

The whole family.

This is us with Chris’ mom, Velvet.

Me and Christopher

Daddy and his boys.

Daddy and his girls.

Daddy and all of his young’uns.

I love you, Christopher, and I’m very proud of you. I’m so glad you’re home!

It’s been a little while since I’ve blogged. I’ve been busy…and sick. I have had a lot of fun over the last few days, though. 

Amy and her kids came for a short visit over the weekend. They got here early (early) in the morning on Thursday, and stayed through about noon yesterday. We didn’t do a whole lot because of how I am 32 weeks pregnant, and that translates to tired, sore, and swollen feet. We watched several movies, spent a lot of time on the couch with my feet up, and broke up a lot of kid fights. Turns out, nearly two years later, our kids still only like each other about half the time  a third of the time  thirty minutes a day. Okay, maybe a little more than that, but not much. We’ve decided that, in the future, we’re going to have to divide the Maxwell kids from the Harmon kids for a portion of each day. They just get too much of each other, and then we all go crazy. Anyway, we did do one fun thing while they were here. On Friday, we skipped Friday school at church, and took the kids on a field trip the Children’s Museum in Oak Ridge. That was a lot of fun. My camera battery was dead, so I didn’t get any pictures. Amy did, though, and I’ll have her send them to me so I can post a link to them later.

It was great to see my friend again, and it’s awesome to think that I’ll see her again in right around forty days…when she comes to be with me when my baby is born! Exciting days these are!

On Sunday morning, Chris had the opportunity to preach at our church. He did really well, and I was extremely proud of him. It’s cool for me to see how he’s evolving as a preacher since he’s been in Seminary. He preached on “Have You Been With Jesus”, and it really ministered to me. It’s exciting to get a little taste of what Chris will be doing as a Chaplain. We also had Awana Sunday night, which is always fun. Chris led a discussion in our Journey class with the teenagers, and it was good to hear them discussing how they could do more for God. We really enjoy working with the young people at our church.

Yesterday, we got to go out and enjoy some of the great weather we’ve had for the last few days. It has been unseasonably warm. We played outside yesterday in short sleeves! Chris had to go to the range yesterday, so, even though he didn’t get the whole day off, he was off by three, so we took the kids and went to the park. His mom met us there, and then ordered pizza for all of us while we played. It was awesome.  A great day with our family. Here’s a link to my Facebook photos from yesterday. I’m still having trouble uploading photos directly to my blog. I’ll get Chris or Amy to help me update my wordpress sometime soon, so that I can do that again. For now, I’ll just have to link you to Facebook.

Kyra just finished taking her last couple of first grade tests, and she is now…drum roll please…a second grader! I’m awfully proud of her. She’s made a lot of progress academically since the beginning of the school year. When we started the school year, she really struggled with reading. She spent half of her school days crying over how her words were too hard and she didn’t like reading. She has made tremendous gains in reading, and does quite well now. It’s been an interesting adjustment for me. I have to make sure she’s not standing behind me while having a private instant message conversation, or it’s not so private anymore.

So, that’s a bit of an update on us, for those who are interested. 

I’m 30 weeks pregnant now. The end is in sight. I am slowing down considerably, but everything is progressing well. Abby Jo is a very, very active baby. I find random strangers watching my belly and grinning. She’s already making sure her presence is known in the world. I’m getting bigger all the time, and am consistently gaining weight now. I don’t have much of an appetite, so I’m having to make a conscious effort to eat enough. I’m sure, once I’m not pregnant anymore, I’ll be ravenous.

From Babycenter.com:

How your baby’s growing:
Your baby’s about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it’s not very keen; even after she’s born, she’ll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she’ll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

I haven’t made a whole lot of progress with all of the heavy duty cleaning and sorting that I need to do, but I did get the boys’ room (getting used to saying “the boys’ room” instead of “Elijah’s room”, still) cleaned out. I got four trash bags of toys out of their room to take to Goodwill. I haven’t got to Kyra’s room yet. Therefore, I haven’t got to the sorting of outgrown clothes yet. As a result, I have not yet got to sorting through the baby stuff I have stored away. I really don’t know how many clothes I have left from Kyra. I know I sold a lot of my baby girl clothes after we found out Owen was a boy. I sold a lot of my baby stuff period. I need to do an inventory and see what I still have. I only have about eight and a half weeks left before she’s here. 

This may be a repeat, I’m not sure. I thought I would tell you guys how I picked Abby’s name. All of my kids are named after someone. Kyra’s middle name, Joy, is after my childhood friend, Joy. Elijah’s middle name, Christopher, is of course after his daddy, and Owen’s middle name, Shane, is his daddy’s middle name. This time around, I really wanted to name my baby after my best friend, Amy. Chris wasn’t on board with using her first name, and so I had to get creative. Amy’s name is Amy Jo, and I call her that more often than not. So, I chose Abigail Joanna with the idea of having the same intials as Amy and having the nickname of Abby Jo. While Abby Jo is not exactly the same, it does sound like Amy Jo. As an added bonus, my middle name is Anna, so, combining Amy’s middle name with mine was a sneaky way of doing something I always thought I should do…naming a baby after me. After all, I’m the one who does all the work.  So, that was the best I could do to honor my best friend and work with my husband and his naming preferences. Name meanings are important to me, and I’m very happy with the meanings of Abby Jo’s names. Abigail means “my father’s joy” and Joanna means “God is gracious”. Coincidentally, Shane means “God is gracious”, as well, so Chris, Owen, and Abby’s middle names all have the same meaning. I thought that was cool. I find myself calling my second daughter “Abigail”, “Abby”, or “Abby Jo” with nearly the same frequency. They’re all fine with me, so you can call her whichever comes out. I’m not picky. 

And that, my friends, is how Abby Jo got her name. 

who stays at home!!! Ahh…the freedom!

I seriously couldn’t be much more content with how things are going to be for a while. I finished my semester. I got A’s in both my classes. Yes, that means that I got an A in the Statistics course that has kept me half insane all semester. I have 12 classes completed towards my Associate of Science degree (plus the two developmental algebra classes I had to take when I first started), and a 3.75 GPA. So, I’m halfway finished with my A.S. I think that’s a pretty good stopping place for now. I’ll take a nice long break to have my little girl and get things established with Elijah’s kindergarten, and then, hopefully, I will return to my education refreshed from a year or so off. For now, I’m quite content with where things stand. The way I see it, this is not a race. I have four babies to take care of and be with and enjoy, and I’m not worried about how long it takes me to finish school. I want to do what I can when I can while they’re growing up, and maybe I’ll be finished with school when they’re starting to leave home. That’s really the goal.

As much as I enjoy school, I’ve had a lot on my plate recently, and have really looked forward to a break. As soon as I finished up my semester, Chris kept the kids and let me go visit Amy for a few days. It was so good to get a break from absolutely everything, and, as always, so good to be with my best friend.

I really needed to have some time away. Monday was my due date for the baby I lost. It was kind of a hard day for me, and it helped to be with Amy on that day. She knows what it’s like, because she’s been there. That seems really important in these kinds of things. Knowing someone understands what you’re going through helps.

My sweet friend bought me these flowers. She was so kind to me on such a sad day.

I got home from Springfield late Thursday, refreshed and excited to be a true stay at home mom for a while. I have big plans for getting things done around the house and preparing for Abigail’s arrival. It’s going to be good.

…but I’ve seen Amy cuddling up to another man.

Owen and Jer sharing a chair while they enjoyed their Krispy Kremes.

Sweet Sarah

“Me love donuts.” (Said in a deadpan Cookie Monster voice, of course.)

The anticipation!

I just got back from eight fun-filled days in Springfield, Missouri. Woohoo, right? Seriously. The kids and I went to visit Amy and her kids for a week or so. The ten hour trip there was uneventful. The kids were great. They’re awesome travelers. We made it there by one thirty central time. We left at five a.m., and we only had to stop three times.

Most of our days were pretty low key, but we had tons of fun being together. It’s always interesting to see how our kids are going to react to each other. In the past, Jeremiah and Kyra have played together more than any of them. This time, however, Jeremiah and Elijah decided to be best buddies. They spent the whole time locking the girls out of their “Elijah and Jeremiah Club”. It was nice to see them actually getting along with each other. They slept in Jer’s top bunk most every night, and were usually still awake talking when the rest of us went to bed.

The girls didn’t get along quite as well, but they did have their moments of playing well together.

On, I think, the second day we were there, we went grocery shopping and to Target. Why am I telling you this? Because it was fun, and we have pictures.

That’s a cartload of babies, huh?

Our friend, Aimee met us at Target, and then we went home and made quesadillas.

Aimee and Amy cooking and talking. I don’t remember what they were talking about, but I love the look on Aimee’s face.

Our friend, Joy, came over, too. The kids all love Joy, but I think Kyra is especially enamored with her.

We sat around the kitchen table talking till after midnight. It was really nice. I wish I lived closer. I could get used to hanging out with friends.

Amy had class on Monday morning and all day Tuesday, and her kids had school all week. So, a lot of my time was spent taking and picking up kids from school, cleaning up their messes, and fixing a bajillion cups of chocolate milk. Five kids go through a lot of milk. I was really happy to actually get to be of practical help to Amy…watching Sarah and taking her to school when the babysitter unexpectedly couldn’t, etc. Living so far away, I can never do the kind of things that best friends do. I wish I could be helpful more often.

We had a donut party one day, but other than this one photo…I’m going to make a new post later with all our donut pics and video. They’re really cute.

We were supposed to leave on Friday morning, but we hit a little hangup. The night before, on the way to Bible study, my tire was low. We aired it up, and were going to check it in the morning. So, Friday morning, I was gonna leave at six, but I ended up sleeping later and getting up at six. I went outside in the freezing cold to check my tire, and it looked like it could be a tad low but not much. So, I got ready, packed up our stuff, and went to load the van. When I went out there, at about nine, the tire was completely flat. I had to call a tow service to come change my tire for me, and then we took it to the tire store to get it fixed. It had a nail in it. It was the grace of God, though, that I slept later, and we weren’t on the road when the tire went flat. That would have really rained on my parade. Especially if it blew out on me.

These are some pictures from our wait at the tire shop. They’re fun.

Hugging my boy.

Biting my boy.

My bitten boy.

Our beautiful girls, waiting patiently.

After we go the tire fixed, we went out for pizza for lunch, and decided it was too late to head to Tennessee, so we were staying another night. We then picked Jeremiah up from school, went to Honey Heaven (a honey store that had a hive of real bees that we looked at and honey sticks that we ate), and went to the Army Surplus store. We were looking for an old school Army pt jacket. Chris lost his, and I wanted one. Amy had one that used to be Joel’s that I was coveting. Anyway, while we were there, we had fun trying on silly hats.

I think we’ll all agree on who was the cutest.

After the crazy Army Surplus fun, we went to get Andy’s Frozen Custard. Apparently, it’s a must if you’re in Springfield. It was delicious. After that, we ordered sushi. I wasn’t the only one who tried sushi for the first time.

Sushi is good. I think it’s my new favorite. Seriously. I had it for dinner last night, and then ate it for breakfast at four thirty this morning, and then I had some more on the drive home since my amazing friend packed me a little cooler of it. She really does make my life better…breakfast burritos and sushi are enough to warrant a lifelong friendship, no?

I so enjoyed my trip. It’s always good to be with my friend. To go to church and worship with her, to sing along to the song playing while we wait to pick up a kid from school, to eat sushi in her living room floor…no matter what we’re doing, it’s fun. I treasure each moment that I get to spend with Amy and her kids.

She made me laugh right before she took the picture.

Craziness. We have so much fun together.

I don’t look so great in this photo, but Amy looks so pretty I had to post it.

I love my friend. I miss her already.

Here’s to hoping that our next visit is just as awesome as this one was.

So, on the way to the scope test I had done today, I had an interesting conversation with my husband and best friend. I remind you ahead of time, just as I’ve told you before, that my husband is warped. That’s all.

Me: “Chris, when we get to your mom’s, can you take the kids in by yourself so I can stay out here and pray with Amy?”

Chris: “Pray with Amy? Why do you have to do that? In case you die when you get scoped?”

Me: “Yes. That’s exactly why.”

Amy, on the phone with me: “That’s horrible.”

Chris: “Her  praying with you won’t help anything. ‘As it is appointed unto man once to die, and, after this, the judgement.’ If it’s your time, Rachel, it’s your time.”

Me: “Amy, he says if it’s my appointed time, it’s my appointed time.”

Amy: “Tell him you’re going to make an appointment for him.”

Me, laughing: “Chris, she says I should make an appointment for you.”

Chris, not amused: “That’s just silly. It’s not funny.”

Me: “Oh, it’d be funny if you had said it.”

Amy, laughing.

Me: “Amy, he’s not amused. He only thinks it’s funny when he’s the one who says things like that.”

Pulling up to an intersection in the rain, Chris looks at the oncoming traffic from both directions.

Chris: “We’re never going to get across. If I gun it, my tires will spin.”

Me: “Yeah. Then we’ll all die.”

Chris: “If it’s our appointed time, we will.”

Me: “What if it’s not our appointed time.”

Chris: “Then we may just all end up as vegetables.”

Me: “That would be horrible. Amy, if we all end up as vegetables, will you come down here and pull the plugs for us.”

Amy, singing, “Broccoli. Celery.”

Me, laughing, then turning serious, “Amy, honey. If ever Chris calls and tells you I’ve been in an accident and am in a vegetative state, you just keep him on the phone, get in the car, and drive here as fast as you can.”

Amy laughs.

Me: “No, I’m serious. We’ve had this conversation before. I don’t trust him. His definition of no chance of survival and mine may be different.”

Chris: “Hey, if I pull the plug and it’s not your appointed time, God will keep you alive.”

Me: “See, Amy! See!”

Amy, using her ‘Chris voice’: “La la la. Oops. Oh, sorry. I tripped over this plug.”

I whimper.

Wow! What a great trip!

Seriously. It was good. I left at five fifteen Thursday morning, made four quick stops along the 560(?) mile drive to Springfield, Missouri, and arrived at Amy’s apartment at two o’clock their time (three mine). That gave us a great deal of Thursday to spend together, too. It was so cool to pull up to her apartment complex and see my friend outside waiting on me. The fact that I had just drove ten hours with three little kids by myself was not the least of the coolness. I was pretty proud of myself. The kids were excellent, though. They were no trouble at all. Amy laughed at me when she saw that I really did wear my Supermom shirt. What can I say? I really believe in the power of positive thinking.

Thursday evening, I was so excited to get to go to Amy’s Bible study with her. It’s a group of wives of Chaplains, Chaplain candidates, and a couple of the ladies, including Amy, were Chaplain candidates themselves. So, it was a group of women that I felt an instant connection with. They had childcare, so we had some great girls downstairs watching all our kiddos while we got to relax and enjoy the fellowship upstairs. It was really good. I was very blessed by being there. That night, we (of course) stayed up most of the night. That’s what we do, I suppose. Really, though. We have five kids six and under between us. The only quiet time we have to hang out together in peace is when they are sleeping. It was great to spend time with my friend again.

Friday morning, we got up early, on just a few hours sleep, and got everyone ready, took Jeremiah to school, and went to Joy’s church for a women’s group thing. I had talked to Joy on Facebook and heard a lot about her from Amy, but I had not yet met her in person. So, I was so very excited to get to meet her and hear her speak to the women’s group. The service there was awesome. I didn’t know any of the worship songs, but just standing there and enjoying it with all of my sisters in Christ was amazing. Joy was awesome. She spoke about the importance of our words. It was good stuff! Our friend, Aimee, was also there. I had met her once before at Fort Jackson, briefly, and I was so excited to get to see her in person. (Yes, I am claiming all of Amy’s friends. They’re great!) Before we left, we made plans to meet up with Joy and Aimee later on, and went to pick up our kids from childcare. This was a huge, huge church, and they had a highly impressive set up for the kids. It was like Disneyland or something. The kids were in rooms by their ages, and got to go out to the playland which was like a McDonald’s playland on steroids. It was awesome. They had a blast. Elijah’s favorite part, I think, was the tiny little toilet and sink they had in the bathroom. He kept saying, “They have a wittle potty, Mama!”. You should have seen his eyes sparkle over that miniature toilet. Really, it was highly impressive.

Friday evening, we went to Amy’s Seminary for a game night they were having. I enjoyed getting to meet some of Amy’s classmates, and put some faces with names. We didn’t play any games, though. Really, we just ate their food and took advantage of their childcare. We mingled a bit, ate, and then sat in the prayer chapel talking in complete peace and quiet for a long time. We eventually picked up our kids and headed home.

Saturday, we met Joy, Aimee, and Aimee’s cousin, Thomas, at a park, and just hung out while the kids played. We spent the rest of the day hanging out at home.

Sunday, I was so excited to get to go to church with Amy. We dropped all the kids off in their various classes, and got to enjoy the service sans kids. I was highly impressed with Amy’s church. The music was so good. It was contemporary but not crazy. Very worshipful and good. I enjoyed it a lot. They put their drummer in a box, though. Not sure what that was about. (Seriously. He was in a box.) I knew several of the songs, and it was good. The message was by a guest preacher, Bro. George Wood, (who is someone very important in the AG, but I forgot his title), and it was a really good message. I was highly impressed with him. That night, we went back to church, and it was just as good. I really liked Amy’s church a lot. I look forward to going back some time.

Monday, we spent most of the day at home, but took the kids to the park for a little while after picking Jeremiah up from school. That evening, we ordered pizza, and Joy came over for just a little while. It was just such a great time.

The whole trip was so much fun. It was a much needed break, and I came away feeling refreshed. Really, between the conversations with Amy and getting to pray with my friend again and then getting to attend a Bible study, a women’s meeting, and two church services, how could I not come away refreshed? It was so good to be there. I hated to leave. It never seems like enough time. I was excited to get home to my husband, though. Sometimes I feel torn between my two best friends. Really, someone needs to move. I am praying that someday we will be stationed at the same Army post, and I will get to spend as much time with my friend as I want.

Yesterday morning, I got up, packed all my stuff up, Amy fixed me breakfast, and then, after many sad looks and a few dozen hugs goodbye, we pulled out and headed back to Tennessee. The trip was great for most of the way. I only stopped twice between Springfield and Nashville. Things got complicated in Nashville when the ramp to I-40 was completely closed. I had to get off in downtown Nashville, and find my way back to 40 via Chris telling me roads to take over the phone. I ended up spending an hour in Nashville between the waiting on the interstate to get to an exit I could get off at and finding my way back to 40. Really, though, that was a blessing, too. It reinforced what I had learned several times this summer. I am capable.I…the girl who, up until Chris went to Vegas two years ago, was too scared to drive to Knoxville…have drove two trips to Fort Jackson and back, one trip to Florida and back, and now a trip to Springfield and back (all of those with three little kids, mind you!)…and I did fine. I am more competent than I often gave myself credit for. So, I count the hour in Nashville as a blessing.

Elijah spent the rest of the trip home…all the way from Nashville back to Harriman…crying. It was about to drive me crazy. The other kids were asleep, but he just kept crying and crying. Oh, and did I mention it was raining? My nerves were frazzled from the incessant crying, but I made it home safely close to midnight last night. I praise the Lord for safety and that I still have my sanity!

So, yay for friends! Yay for roadtrips! Yay for competence! And yay for arriving home with all children present and accounted for!

Addendum: For all of you grandmother and adoring great aunt types who read my blog searching for any little piece of information about the children and are probably wondering, “But how did the kids do? Did they have fun?”. Well, yes. They did have a good time. However, Amy and I don’t like to admit that our children don’t really like each other very often. So, la, la, la.