Sunday Night Walks

I have a thing about Sundays.  Sunday is for the Lord, and Sunday is for family.  From the time I was little, we attended church during the day, and Sunday evenings we visited grandparents.  Usually a bunch of my cousins were around as well.  The adults would talk, the kids would play, and I remember it being so much fun!

I've been lucky to be able to continue this tradition with my own children.  Every other Sunday night (when I'm not at work), we visit grandparents.  During the summer, when we go to my parents, we always go for a walk.  Our usual (and favorite) destination is my brother's house, which is 8/10 of a mile from my parent's house.  My kids play with their cousins in my brother's huge backyard, the adults sit on the deck and talk, and it seems to set a good tone for my week.  I really miss it on the Sunday nights I work. 

Hanging out on the deck...

Baby Logan

From June 2011

Gracie (with my dad in the background)

From June 2011

Adam and Logan

From June 2011

Me

From June 2011

Getting ready to head back...

From June 2011

My brother's kids almost always walk us down to the corner...

From June 2011

From June 2011

Someone was NOT happy to be leaving...

From June 2011

My Kyle is almost as tall as me! 

From June 2011

I swear he's had a growth spurt since school got out!

The fam...

From June 2011

(they barely tolerate my paparazzi ways, and only because they love me!)

From June 2011

For the first time in all the years we've been walking (4 now, I think) this is the first time we've been able to see the river from the road we walk on ...

From June 2011

Heidi and Adam...

From June 2011

On this particular night, we saw a little snake, which all my kids thought was super cool!  (so did I, I really like seeing little snakes...just not the big, poisonous ones!)

From June 2011

I can't think of a better way to spend my Sunday summer nights. 

A different Perspective

It was a long week. It started, unfortunately, with being called into work on a busy, crazy night. Extra help was necessary, but that doesn't mean I was glad to work extra...every extra hour away from my family is hard. They are growing up so fast, and I resent having precious time taken from them. Especially since I've learned that even when I've had to be at work more than "normal", I still have to take time for "me" in order to be a good wife and mother.

Monday was turned into a "recovery day" instead of a day off. I had big plans for some organizing, and even though I was exhausted, I still got Talia's room all cleaned and organized again (an hour later, the toys were all across her floor again, but at least the floor got vacuumed). I kind of crashed later that day...only to have to supervise Kyle finishing up the last minute things for his state report. For what seemed like 20 hours. Let's just say I'm praying that he is like me, and starts taking responsibility for his own projects soon. It seems to me like after my 5th grade year, I got better and better at keeping track of things on my own, and by 7th grade things were better. Mostly. I just don't want it to be a constant fight anymore....

Wednesday, of course was the amazing birth of my new niece. That about tops the scale of wonderful...there's just something about the birth of a baby. It's a slice of heaven to hold...(and I know that sounds sappy, but it's really the only way I could describe it).

From March 2010

Thursday and Friday were work again. Busy, crazy, work.

Saturday Night I got together with some girlfriends to eat, play cards, and talk. It was a really fun night, and I stayed out late. I should know better...

Sundays are hard enough for me, add that to a lack of adequate sleep...
Sunday afternoon I found myself grumpy, tired, frustrated, and irritable. It was too late for me to take a nap if I wanted any sleep in the night(that's the bad thing about training your body to stay up til 3:30 in the morning with an hour nap in the afternoon). We put Talia down for a nap, Cole laid down for awhile too...We let the boys have a little playstation time, and I went for a walk.

I walked around the various neighborhoods in my area. I took my ipod for mood music, and my camera to possibly capture a different perspective.

From March 2010

From March 2010

After walking for over an hour, I found myself a little less irritable, and more in control of my temper. I came home, woke Talia, and took her into the backyard. The boys shortly joined us, and the kids all played together for a good 2 hours, on the tramp and on the swings.

From March 2010

There's just something about watching your children playing together...not in perfect harmony, but in love and caring, that's totally uplifting.