The Journey Continues

One of my favorite songs: https://youtu.be/HGpu6QBUz7M


As some of our readers may know, Roger managed a surprise visit last week! It was only for "four sleeps", as our children would say, but I am so thankful for any time with him. It would've been twelve weeks on Saturday since the kids have seen their daddy. The boys are doing okay, but we are definitely feeling the effects of separation.




However, I want to write this down in our memory bank. Someday, all we will have is the memories we have written down, and I want to preserve these for our children...and as a reminder that I didn't go crazy! (Stop laughing!

Fun with friends!

My heart overflows!

From my thoughtful friend 

Last Wednesday, Travis had a follow visit with the dentist concerning his dental surgery. I decided to take Chandler along also as he has a spacer that has been bothering him. The appointment was in Madison, and it was at 12:45 pm. We made good time to the dentist office, and the appointment itself only took about twenty minutes. The boys were ready to be out of the car for a bit, so we wandered around a store for a few minutes. As we were leaving, Roger called. He told me that he had something special planned for us, and that he had sent something to my email. The best surprise I could think of was that he was emailing me his flight itinerary for his visit. I quickly checked my email, and I discovered that I was wrong. Roger had booked a hotel for us in Oshkosh, and it was the reservation number. I knew the boys would be excited about staying in a hotel and going swimming, but I really was disappointed that it wasn't Roger. When Roger called a few minutes later, he asked what I thought of the surprise. I actually started crying as I told him I was not very excited about the surprise. We still had one more day of school, I would be taking five kids swimming by myself,and I missed him! Roger tried to sway my doubts, and he said that he just wanted to give me and the kids a bit of a get-a-way. This hotel had a very nice pool for kids, a good breakfast, and it would be different.




I knew that the kids would really enjoy an over night at the hotel, so I knew I needed to get over my disappointment and face reality. I picked up a quick lunch with Chandler and Travis and then we headed back home to pick up the other kids. As I drove home, I started to have a sneaky suspicion that Roger was trying to fool me and he really was in Wisconsin. However, in case I was wrong, I did not say anything to the kids.






At home we quickly took care of JoEllen (the calf), packed up our swim clothes and toothbrushes, and headed to the hotel in Oshkosh. Chandler told me that he was really excited about staying overnight in a hotel, but he really wanted to see his daddy. Garett was worried that we would have to hurry back from the hotel to do our last day of school. I had already decided though, that we would be done with school. The older two had actually met the requirements for the state about a week before, but I wanted Wyatt to get in his last few days. Thursday became a field trip day, and we would be done with the 2015-2016 school year. Oh, Hallelujah!






We arrived at the hotel at about 4:30pm., and the kids were all ready to check in and go swimming. It was a little bit like trying to herd cats to get everyone to pay attention and grab something out of the truck! We did it! When we got to the desk, the clerk said that Roger had already paid for it online, so we could enjoy our stay. We headed down the hall and to our room. As we opened the door, the boys immediately noticed that Roger's iPad was on the counter. "But where's Daddy?", asked Wyatt. Chandler and Garett discovered him first in the bedroom. Oh what joyful hugs and voices rang out! Everyone started talking at once, "Daddy, the Schilders have a dog?", "Dad, we are going camping!", "Roko coming?", "Hey, are you going swimming with us?" "When are we going to Maine?" Oh, it was a delight to my heart to watch them all talk to dad at one time!






Everyone was pretty excited about going swimming, so we did that first. The boys swam for over an hour before we decided to get some supper and head to church. The boys have a few weeks left of the kids program at church and they are really enjoying that. After church we came back to swim some more! The boys and Emma are part fish, so they go swimming every chance they get!






The next morning the boys were up early for more swimming! We swam, ate breakfast, and check out of the hotel. Garett did not want to go home, which is unusual for him. Upon asking him some questions, I discovered that he was worried that he'd have to do school while his daddy was home! We had such a fun day as a family, and I soaked up the memories, the kisses from my husband, and delighted in the fact that they all wanted to be with daddy! We went to Lowes to look at some paint colors for our new house, we went to the sporting goods store to look at fishing stuff, we went to Sam's club for lunch and to pick up a few items, and it was a good time.






We arrived home at about 3:30pm., and around four, the lobsters arrived. Roger's boss told roger that he was sending our family some live lobster to eat. We had four very excited boys to see the lobsters! They had just been caught the day before, so they were very fresh! We had twelve of them, and we knew we couldn't eat them all at one meal, so we invited the neighbors to join us for supper. It was our first experience with lobsters, and it was fun and different. I'm not sure I'm crazy about lobster, but it was free, and I ate it.






Friday was the boys camping trip with Papa for the end of the school year. The boys really wanted Roger to come fishing and camping with them, and I know Roger wanted to spend time with them. The boys enjoyed showing Roger all the new things they've learned and are working on. Emma spent most of her time saying, "daddy, come." She was eager to show him all of her new learnings as well.






Saturday was our last day with Roger. It was hard to enjoy the day to its fullest as I knew that Roger had to leave by 2:30 am, to make his flight in Milwaukee. We had a cookout at the Schilder's house, and several of our close friends and family came. It was a good time of fellowship and since we don't know if Roger will be coming back to move us out, it was perhaps his last time to see some of his friends.






Roger's brothers were willing to take him to the airport early Sunday morning, so that was helpful to us. It was a challenging morning for me as we were all out-of-sorts a little bit. Everyone was a little depressed and emotional, but we made it, by the grace of God. It didn't help matters that our family picture for the church directory was on Sunday morning...and we were missing Roger!






I had already made arrangements about two weeks ago, to go to visit our friends in Milwaukee. The Longsines have children that are close in ages to our children, so I knew it would be s good distraction for them. We left on Sunday afternoon, and we made good time to Milwaukee. The boys were able to play for a bit before church. We stayed with them thru Tuesday afternoon, and the kids spent the time outside. They rode the bike trail, played catch, rode bikes, played football, and enjoyed their time with their friends. It was enjoyable to have some time for conversations with Beka and Jared as we used to be close neighbors. I am thankful for their friendship and love for our family.






Tuesday was my birthday...and it was not as exciting at when I turned thirteen! Our friends, the Longsines, took us all out to Chick-fila for lunch. That was a special treat, and it was fun. All the kids were tired out after their visit with friends, so it was a quiet ride home. My parents took us out to supper for my birthday, so I didn't wash any dishes or make any meals on my birthday. I'm thankful for all my friends that sent texts or messages wishing me a happy birthday. It was a bit depressing without Roger here, but he did send me a card and a gift card for my birthday. I did get a smile out of all the people on Facebook who wished me a happy birthday and told me they hoped it was my best one ever. Um....that would be awkward to say it was my best birthday ever and Roger isn't here!!






We are enjoying the days without school schedules, but we are still reading. The boys have been working with my dad, cutting grass, and living outside.






In other news, we have a date set! We are leaving Wisconsin on June 13th unless God clearly directs otherwise. Although this is extremely exciting for me, it does hold some sorrow with it. These relationships that we've cultivated over the past few years have grown dear to my heart. We will be 21 hours away from my parents, and I know the boys are going to miss the experiences they have with my dad.






We are closing on our new house on June 1, Lord willing. We are very excited about being together again as a family. The house does need some painting and cleaning, so Roger will be working on getting that done before we come out. Please pray that Roger would be able to coordinate his work schedule so that he can come out to get us.






For those of you that have asked about my health concerns, they are still concerning. I did see a different Doctor this past week, and I feel like he at least took the time to listen to me. After hearing my concerns, he agreed to take a thyroid check as well as check some vitamin levels. He did tell me that he felt that stress and depression are probably greater factors than I realize in this equation. After hearing about our situation, he asked, "Are you depressed?" To which I replied, "I think we would needmarriage counseling if I told you my husband has been gone for thirteen weeks, we have five kids, and I wasn't depressed!!" I don't feel overly depressed, but I do know that life is a bit daunting right now, which is why I don't do life in my own power, but I am constantly reminded to depend on my Lord and Savior for help. God has sustained us this far in our journeys, and He is certainly not giving up on me now! One of my favorite Bible verses states, "When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I."






One funny moment: I was discussing someone on the phone with my sister, Jen. I said that this particular person seems to have lost all her marbles. Wyatt interrupts and says, "Well, she can come here. We have lots of marbles she can have!" (He proceeded to find the jar of marbles!)






Also this week, while in the grocery store, Emma was pushing a child size cart. Travis tried to take the cart away from her, to which she replied, "Stop it, Punk!" I have told our children on an occasion or two to stop acting like a punk....meaning someone who is disrespectful, unkind or a brat. Emma must have decided to try out her new word. I may have burst out laughing as Travis was put in his place. (Before you hyper-ventilate that I'm letting my two-year-old call people names, I did take care of the situation.) However, life is fun!