Daddy’s home!

We’d hoped that Pete would be able to leave for home on Thursday, but due to an exceptionally busy day he didn’t take off homeward bound until Friday morning. He knocked on the door and I sent the kids to answer.

Truly you would have thought he’d been gone for years instead of 3 weeks!! But we were all so glad to see him. Rachael leaped straight off the ground, 4 feet in the air and just hung from his neck for the longest time, the impact of her body nearly knocked Pete back out the door. I chose not to do that because I didn’t want to spend the holiday with Pete in traction due to back injury or a major hernia. I’m so conscientious that way. Nathaniel greeted him with a much more macho and manly hug but I could see him still thrilled with to be in his dad’s arms again. Peyton was napping so Pete went in to wake her up and it took her a few moments to realize what his face meant, but she too was excited to be hugging her daddy again.

I totally burned dinner and Nathaniel was all “this is crap”, but Pete told him it was the best dinner he’d had all month. I saw that look that said “Dad must be a really lousy cook, and nothing had better happen to mom or we’ll all starve to death”. But I know for Pete, after a month eating alone in his apartment, this over-cooked meatloaf with his family really was the best meal he’d had in a long while.

In our giddy delight to be together again, Pete and I decided that we’d leave the kids with his mom and head out to run some errands today. We went to Target, Toys R Us and the mall. The Holy Trinity of Christmas shopping.

The giddy went away quickly.

Hell will look a lot like the mall parking lot three days before Christmas! I’m standing there thinking, “What are all your morons doing, waiting until the last possible moment to go to the mall?” Then I acknowledge that I too am one of those morons and I deserve my own scorn. I almost had a panic attack in Toys R Us, it was so crowded and busy that I nearly took out some poor lady with my cart in an attempt to get away from the hoards. I found a corner with some really cruddy gift ideas and just hung there while Pete braved the shelves to find the IT toy. IT wasn’t there, forcing us to go the mall.

After we’d made it out alive….actually out of the parking lot with the hopes of getting free of the madness, I told Pete these wonderful gems of holiday cheer….

“Our kids had better be ecstatic Christmas morning…I’m talking tears of joy!! I may have to beat the tears of out of them, but there will be tears of freaking joy Christmas morning!”

Ahhhh, those are the holiday sentiments they don’t put on cards.

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
–Anissa

ps…I’ve lost my EMLA cream and Peyton has a spinal on Wednesday morning at 8:30 AM….if anyone can share some “magic cream” OH would it be appreciated!

***EMLA has been offered and accepted and we’ll have it in hand this afternoon thanks to Kaylie’s mom Tisha!! Thank you to each awesome friend who scrambled to help find some for Peyton. We sure appreciate it and love you for it.