A Monday with Heidi

I'm thankful for…leaders for VBS!!! I finally have enough leaders…with one week to spareJ. I’m also thankful to have my vacuum cleaner back!!!

I'm listening to…the hum of the computer.

What's for supper tonight…taco salad…a family favorite.

Highlights from last week…lots of VBS prep for the first 2 days & then I hardly touched it the rest of the week…by Saturday I was behind & had a lot to do before Sunday morning. On Wednesday I purposefully set aside VBS stuff to have fun with the kids. We headed to the museum for the Canada Day festivities in town. Although waiting in line for face painting for an hour & a half wasn’t very fun, the kids loved the results! Thursday I spent nearly all morning & early afternoon doing bookwork. With all the VBS stuff that’s been getting behind. The best part of Thursday was being able to go on a date with Cheri! It’s been fun to hang out since she’s been back in Canada, but we haven’t done nearly enough & it bugged me because I know I’m the one who’s too busy! We had a blast getting pedicures together, going out for supper at Red Lobster & then just doing a little lazy shopping. It was wonderful just to hang out & be able to talk.

Ben was pouring a pad that day, which usually means a long day for him by the time it’s all finished. He was hopeful though that this one would go fairly quickly. Well…I got back with Cheri just before 10:30 & called him to see where he was at. I was surprised to find that he didn’t answer the phone at home or on his cell…and the kids hadn’t been picked up yet. We hadn’t talked since about 3:30 because he was busy & I was with Cheri, but I had been thinking he’d probably call me if he wasn’t done yet. I loaded up the kids to head home & called my dad to see if he’d heard from Ben. I didn’t know if Jonny was still with Ben or if he was by himself. To make a long story short, I finally got through to Ben. The pad had been within 2 trowellings of being done at 6:00…& then they got rained on. My dad was on his way home from Calgary (the job was between here & Calgary) so he stopped to see if there was anything he could do. Thank you Papa…that meant a lot to BenJ. By this time it’s about midnight.

Meanwhile I was at home stressing because I was overtired & I had to get up early the next morning…but I still had a lot to get ready. I was taking the kids to the Calgary Stampede parade. My sister Jodi was on the West Jet float with part of the percussion ensemble she’s with. I’d only ever been to the parade once…when I was about 15. I had no clue how to get there, where to park, etc. I discovered online that the best was going to be to take the C-train. Having never done that before either I spent over an hour trying to figure out schedules & whatnot so the kids & I could make it to the parade on time & not get lost. They sure don’t make it simple to figure out! After having a badly needed shower, I crawled into bed at 2:40am…Ben still wasn’t home. My alarm went off at 5:50…Ben had only gotten in bed about 10 minutes before. I was worried I was going to fall apart…being so overtired, plus having the stress of not knowing where I was going…plus having overtired kids… All in all it went fairly well. I woke the kids up at 6:30 & quickly fed & dressed them. I had been hoping to leave by 7…I think we pulled away by 7:15, which is actually pretty good if you know meJ. The whole C-train thing ended up being a lot simpler than it appears online. I was worried about having to transfer to a bus part way through (because that’s what it showed online), but it turned out we didn’t need to. The kids loved the train, probably more than the paradeJ. You have to understand…this parade starts at 8:55…but the “pre” parade starts at 7:30 for people who come early to find a good spot! Well, we got there at about 8:53…it was packed! We finally found a little spot where the kids could stand, but I knew they weren’t going to last 2 hours standing! Then a kind lady who was sitting in some nearby bleachers said we could use a chair she had brought. The kids took turns sitting & standing. I was thankful that Jodi was about a third to half way through so we got to see her. We stayed a bit more after that, but the kids had had enough so we headed back to the van. It was very nice to beat the rush back to the C-train. The ride back was a little trickier as there was only room for 2 of the kids to sit. Benjamin & I had to stand (25 min. ride). I knew I’d be fine (although by this time I was exhausted), but Benjamin was falling apart. About halfway through someone got off & he was able to sit down. It was a long morning & we were all worn out, but it was fun to see such a big parade…so much more extravagant than ours here…and especially fun to see JodiJ.

On the way home I told the kids they all had to have a nap…thankfully they did…I only wished I could join them! If that had been the end of my day I would have gone home & had a nap…but as soon as I got home I had to get stuff ready for Ben & Benjamin to go to camp! There is a camp here that is geared specifically for boys. For the younger ages (5-7) they do a father/son camp for only $60(for both of them)!!! Ben did it with Benjamin for the first time last year. Next year Benjamin will go on his own & Ben will take Kirby. Anyways…I managed to get them off to camp. Then Manda, Kirby & I went for a bike ride (the first time out on the road since they’re without training wheels!) before heading home & putting them to bed. I knew I needed to go to bed, but I sat down on the couch & couldn’t get the energy to get back up. I ended up falling asleep at about 10:15…and woke up at 1:30 to drag myself off to bed. It was very nice to be able to sleep in a bit on Saturday while the kids played.

I spent most of Saturday afternoon at the church. Manda & Kirby played & I organized supplies & such for VBS. It took longer than I expected & by the time we were done it was nearly suppertime. I decided to take the kids out for supper as a treat. We enjoyed watching the downpour while we waited for our foodJ. Once I got them to bed I sat down to finish all the VBS stuff I had to get sorted out before church. This was the last week for me to enlist help so I had a lot to get done. It ended up taking me a lot longer than I anticipated & resulted in another late night.
I managed to get the kids to church early to set up VBS stuff…and even got the last leader I needed which felt great! Ben & Benjamin were home by the time we got home. Benjamin had a great time! Ben was exhausted after his all-nighter on Thursday & then 2 late camp nights. He managed to get a quick nap in before we headed out to a surprise 30^th birthday party. Although we work pretty hard to not over book ourselves like this, we felt like we needed to be at this party…and were definitely glad we went.

Phew…I’m tired just writing about last week!

What's happening this week…I’ll be doing a LOT of VBS this week…last week of prep!! The kids are also going to a book club at the library which should be fun. Other than that…there’ll be a long trip to the city I’m sure…for groceries & VBS stuff. I’m hoping to get Manda’s special night done this week if Ben gets home early enough one night. Seems like it’ll be a slow week…but I know it’s going to be crazy!

I am missing…sleep! Too many late nights!

I am praying for…God to prepare kids hearts to hear about Him & that we could touch families through the kids who come to VBS!