Cavalry Arrives

Above is the view of my husband's hotel room right now: yes, that is Hawaii! I am very proud of him for earning this vacation from his company for his excellent job performance. He deserves it! The prize was for Chris and his spouse, but I wasn't in condition to travel 5,600 miles when 34 weeks pregnant, and there were no options to move the dates or accept cash. (The orange duck in the photo is one of the children's little toys, so Chris has been emailing photos to the children of their duck on his business trip.)

Chris went straight from his latest business trip to Hawaii, so this is an eight-day absence. The cavalry arrived a few days ago in the form of Chris' dad, otherwise known to the grandchildren as Pop-Pops!

Having Pop-Pops here has been a little bit like having a mama's spa day. He is so helpful! He patiently plays with the children so I can lay down throughout the day. He washes dishes, wipes down the counters, sweeps the floors, and cooks or orders take-out food. I've had to be conserving my energy and, specifically, how much I'm walking, so I haven't been able to do a lot of fun stuff with the kids. John has been so kind about it, but sad (which makes me feel worse, in a sense, than if he threw bratty tantrums). It sure tugged at me the other day when I had to say 'no' yet again to John's request and he replied wistfully, "Maybe when the new baby is born, you'll be able to take walks with me again."

So, with Pop-Pops here, he's taken the kids on a walk and to the neighborhood sandbox. We were able to go to the homeschoolers' Friday free play in the gymnasium because I could sit in a chair while Pop-Pops chased Mary around (keeping her safe). On Saturday we were able to go to a Civil War re-enactment because Pop-Pops could pull the red wagon with the kids.

Also, I've been able to get some alone time, which makes me a much more sane mama. Today I went to a children's consignment sale without two children hanging off me, ran to the drug store, had an uninterrupted phone call (what is that?!), and made it to Confession at church. All alone!

I am so grateful for this help! Thank you, Pop-Pops!