April

Nick was transferred to a different position at work, one that requires him to travel every once in awhile. At the end of March we found out he'd be travelling to Germany for 3 weeks in April. I went through a plethora of emotions and thoughts as the day of his departure got closer. I was scared, excited for him, nervous for us, worried about his safety, worried about our safety, etc. etc. We decided it would really help to have my parents come out and help me and break up such a long period of time. It was so sad to say goodbye to Nick...Josh, once again our detached child, gave dad a quick hug and kiss and went off to play with his cars. Maya and I were both crying and had a very difficult time. I'm so thankful we had Skype and email so that we could keep in contact.


This was the view from Nick's hotel room. That's the Rhine river with a pretty cathedral in the background.

The night my parents came in my neighbor came and stayed at the house with our sleeping kids while I ran to the airport. The next morning I had the kids come downstairs in the guest room while my parents hid under the covers then jumped out and surprised them. It was AWESOME! I'm happy I was able to keep it a secret for so long. Here's their reaction:





Here are some of the things we did with them:

Ate out a lot
Went to an arcade
My dad and I took Maya and Josh to the park and attempted to fly kites, but really we all just got frustrated.
My parents took the older kids to a movie and the dollar store and I stayed home and napped while Cora slept...LOVELY.
My dad fertilized the grass for us because it would be too late to wait until Nick got home. Thanks Papa!
We just had a blast spending time together and it definitely helped me to not stress out as much about having Nick away. I'm so grateful they were able to come here to help me. I love them!

Again, I didn't tell the kids what time Nick would be flying in because I wanted to surprise them. Josh and I were playing cars on the couch when I got a text from Nick on Friday afternoon that he had landed and he was on his way home. So I didn't say anything to Josh and we kept playing until he heard Nick's car pull up into the driveway. His expression was so cute! Maya was still in school so Nick had some special time with Josh and Cora. We were so happy to see him! He brought special treats for all of us...he really liked the chocolate bars and brought home a few stacks of them! After being together all weekend and eating too much chocolate, I put most of the bars in a brown paper bag and sent them to work with him on Monday. After hanging out for awhile we headed over to pick up Maya from school. Of course she was extremely excited to see her dad and could stop smiling and hugging him.


We're glad that Nick was able to experience Germany, but I'm so happy he's home with us. We kinda like him!