Big blessings!!
Whenever I'm feeling discouraged, I am reminded of how much God loves me. When I stick close to Him, He gives me comfort, peace of mind, and grace for every moment. But sometimes, God chooses to show me how much He loves me through other people! I'm thankful for those who are willing to let God use them to bless us.
1) On Friday night, Roger was told that his golf outing with the church men was paid for by a friend! This was a totally unexpected surprise and such an encouragement to us!
2) On Sunday morning, a friend at church came up to Roger. She said that she had a gift for us, and she wanted us to go on a date. She generously gave Roger $50.00 to take me on a date! Yay!
3) Pastor Brenenstuhl preached on not giving up on dreams. He reminded us of Joseph and how God gave him a dream, but it was years before God fulfilled that dream. Roger and I have both been particularly discouraged lately, and this message was exactly what we needed to hear. Thank you, Lord!
4) Following the morning service, a lady came up to me. She said she didn't know why, but God had impressed upon her heart to pray for us on Saturday. She said that God wanted her to give me something, and she was praying for us. I hardly know this lady, I'm not close in age to her, we don't chat, but she was willing to be used of God! She tucked a bill into my hand and gave me a hug. Of course, I was all teary eyed, and I couldn't speak. As I walked away, I looked at the bill she had given me. This dear lady had gifted me with $100.00! I could hardly believe it...wow! Since I don't have a specific plan for it, I'm half expecting the mail man to bring me an unexpected bill this week! :)
What a weekend it was to remember! We had a fabulous weekend, but it went by way too quickly! :( 
Thursday ... I took the three younger children to Milwaukee with me to pick up Roger. By the time we arrived, he had already landed and was waiting for us. But of course, two of the three children needed to use the bathroom, and Emma just wanted out of the car! :) After parking the car, we walked towards the baggage claim area. We stopped at the first bathroom. :) As we walked toward the baggage claim, we saw Roger looking out the window with his back to us. Wyatt took off running for Roger and practically took him out at the knees! The boys were delighted to have "scared" daddy, and they all wanted to talk about ninety miles an hour! Emma was a little hesitant at first, but she quickly warmed up to daddy.
We stopped for coffee on the way home, and to let the kids out for a bit. I had called the clinic earlier this morning to see about getting a different medication. The clinic called back and said that I could pick up my changed prescription in Oshkosh. However, when we went to the pharmacy, the prescription wasn't ready. Knowing how anxious Garett and Chandler were to see daddy, I decided I would just come back later and pick it up. We headed to our house first, and Roger stayed with the three younger children, while I went to pick up Garett and Chandler. My kids are not usually anxious to leave my parents house, but those two couldn't get in the car fast enough! :)
Back home, everyone wanted to talk to daddy, be by daddy, sit by daddy, wrestle with daddy, work with daddy, etc. The boys were determined to soak up every minute! I had a special ladies get together to go to tonight, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave our family. But, Roger reminded me that I still needed to pick up that prescription, and that he was home to try to give me a break too. So, I left a little early to pick up the medication, and run a few errands. I can't believe how emotional I've been since Roger is home! I spent a good twenty minutes crying in the car..why? It's such a relief to have the person I trust the most watch our children, to not have to worry about inconveniencing someone, or to wonder if I should pay someone and how much for watching our kids. I haven't really noticed the strain it's been until Roger has been home to relieve that burden. It's like I'm free to release all the emotion, tears, and weariness I've been holding at bay. I'm sure to be a basket case all weekend!
On Friday, I took the boys to school with me, while Emma stayed home with Roger. She hadn't slept well the night before, so she was sleeping when it was time to leave for school. For whatever reason, she was up screaming from one to three in the morning. She wanted to nurse, but she didn't realize that once she quit nursing, she couldn't go back. 😟 So, I spent some time cuddling her and convincing her to try a cup! Finally, she fell asleep...praise the Lord. But the boys were up early to spend time with Roger. School was hard for everyone and no one wanted to concentrate...but my mom and I decided that the boys would not have school on Monday.
Roger and Emma came over to the school house after Emma woke up. Roger listened to reading, and then took Wyatt home with him while the older boys finished up school. The boys were more than ready to leave school, and they were very anxious to get back to dad! The boys were more than happy to help when they got home from school. They worked on cleaning out the pool, scrubbing gutters, cleaning the garage, and picking up the yard. We gave them the option to take a nap or help work...they picked working. 😋
We headed into Oshkosh about 3:30 to get the key for the church van. (We had a college activity that night.) The boys and Roger stayed at church while I picked up a few groceries for the Deacon family night on Sunday night. At six pm, we gathered at the church with the college kids. We went to play laser tag up in Appleton. Normally, we don't take our kids with us to college activities as they aren't for them. But since Roger is only home for a few days, we took all the kids with us. Garett was the only one old enough to play laser tag, but the other boys were able to play on the inflatables that were there as well. It was a super late night for us all, but the kids did pretty well about not falling apart. It was 11:30 by the time we were home and in bed.
Roger was up early on Saturday to play golf in the Pastors Cup outing at church. While I know that he really wanted to spend time with us, Roger also really needs adult fellowship as much as I do. I'm glad he was able to play, but it was way longer than either of us anticipated it being! Roger was also a little bummed as he had really wanted to spend time with one of his good guy friends at the golf outing, but it just didn't work out. I could tell when he got home that he was kinda frustrated with the way the day went and how long it took. It also meant that there wasn't enough time for me to go out to coffee with a friend, so we were both a tad disappointed. Know what though? Life moves on. 😬
My parents came over for supper, so we had a good visit with them. We are so appreciative of all their help this summer. And guess what? Our lawn mower MiGHT be fixed...I guess we will find out when I cut grass this week! Of course, we only have a few more weeks of grass cutting anyways, but either way, I'm glad it might be working again.
I had wanted to go out my myself after my parents left, but since it was already 8 pm, I decided to stay home. Roger and I rented the movie "Mom's Night Out", and we had a good time laughing together.
Sunday was a day spend with church, cooking, baking, talking, church, Deacon family night, friends, and not much rest! Since Roger has been away, we are kinda "out of the loop" sometimes about what's going on, so we were both thankful that our deacon families were combined with another deacon family. However, we definitely want to help out as much as possible, so I made two pans of brownies, two pans of gluten free brownies, two pans of Rice Krispies, and Roger cut up seven pounds of cheese to serve with crackers. I also made a meal for one of our families in our deacon group, and one for our pastors family, since Heather was sick. Shall I admit it was a busy afternoon?! However, it was a lot of fun too. The kids played nicely while making a huge mess with Legos while Roger and I talked and made food. We had to leave for church by 4:30 so that we could help set up chairs for our deacon families, and I was practicing some music with a ladies group. I'm so thankful for a good church to serve in, families that love God, ladies to fellowship with and accept me for all my failures.
Roger was up early on Monday morning to meet up with someone from church. I'm thankful for all the people that have supported us, encouraged us, and loved us. I'm especially thankful for those who have recognized that while things are difficult for me, life isn't a walk in the park for Roger either! He desires fellowship with believers just as much as I do, and he needs friends to help encourage him and ask him how is he doing.
It's going to be a rough day...no one wants to see daddy go back to Florida. I'm thankful it's not for forever. Ever time Roger comes for the weekend, it's a reminder of how blessed I am to have a great man for a husband and a daddy. I'm looking forward to being together again, no matter wherever God may choose to put us. Roger and I both recognize the fact that we are coming to an interesting place in our relationship. Not that I've been hiding things from him, because I haven't, but I also haven't wanted to "unburden" on him when he's 1600 miles away! We both realize that when we are back together as a family for good, it's going to take lots of talking, date nights, and communication to reinforce those ties in our marriage. We both have the need of fellowship, probably me more than him, simply because I like to talk. :) However, Roger has the needs of needing his wife, interacting with his children, and battling of the discouragement attacks of the devil.
Well, as I predicted, it was a rough day for the kids. We left early to take Roger to the airport, and had a pizza lunch before heading dropping Roger off. The kids wanted to get out of the car for a bit, so we parked, walked Roger to security, and said good bye...again. The boys are getting used to the airport, but these moments are always going to be tough. They did well, with minimal tears, but it was a quiet walk back to the car.
On the way back to Oshkosh, Travis and Emma took a nap. :) I cancelled my plasma appointment since I'm taking an antibiotic for my infection on my leg. The clinic called me this morning to confirm that it was a staff infection. It's a good thing that they called and told me that, because it's looking a bit better, and I was tempted to quit taking the antibiotics. However, I'd like to keep running, so I'll take the antibiotic! I did decide to go to the YMCA and walk for a bit. I'm learning to quit when my body starts squawking about pain, but I need a little activity. I needed to pick up a few things at Target, so we went there first. While at Target, I told the boys that next we would be going to the YMCA. Chandler asked if we were going home first. I replied, "no, why?" Well, my crazy six year old son had locked a pocket knife to his pants and the key was at home! Why you would do that, I have NO idea! I didn't think it would be a wise idea for him to go to the YMCA with the knife on his pants, so I bought him some pants off the clearance rack at Target. (I love that boy, but he does some crazy things!)
Home again! My leg is now bothering me just a bit, so I'm putting warm compresses on it, and the boys are playing outside. Back to school tomorrow, so it will be an early night! 
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