Needed

I have always liked to feel needed, and I certainly felt that this week. My 2 year old and 3 month old are always quite needy; I must immediately (and exactly on the right spot) kiss Sadie's injuries, she is not completely potty trained, she wont eat much unless I make her, and Eli is still pretty much completely helpless. You would think this would be enough for me, however, this week I was especially in demand. Every 6 months, you see, I travel with Steven to Reidsville where we go to the much dreaded dentist. He will not go alone. He also will not come back for a filling so when he comes for a cleaning they make him stay to take care of it. I had just finished with my cleaning and went in to check on him as I knew he was having the cavity filled. He had already been numbed but the drill was just starting up. I walked in to hold his hand because at this point he turns from a professional, strong, manly man into a scared little boy. Sure enough he held tight and as I stood there comforting him I was fulfilled to think that my husband also needs me. Maybe it's just nice to think, even if it's not true, that your loved ones just can't make it without you. I am thankful that for now, the Lord has entrusted my dear husband and children into my care, and I pray that I do a job well done.

Parties

I love to have parties at my house, for several reasons. The planning and cooking, the clean house (usually just a few minutes before the party begins), the excuse to eat good food, but most importantly I love spending time with people that are important to me. The Lord has blessed us with a good house to host and lately we have made good use of it. Steven's cousin just adopted a new baby boy so we threw a last minute shower/cookout for her to celebrate. We ended up with a great turn out and had 5 babies 7 months and under attend (there has been quite the baby boom in the Harrell family this year). Leslie even made the trip with her 4 (including her new baby of 2 weeks) and even brough 5 monogrammed bibs for all the new babies. She is amazing (see the picture to the left). My mom and Grandma came up for a visit this week, and now we have some friends of ours staying with us as well for a couple of days. It's going to be really quiet when all of our company has left! Until next Thursday....when I have another baby shower for my friend at work. :)

Camp for toddlers

We as a family just spent most of the week at Mountain Top Youth Camp, a wonderful place to be....for people over 3 feet tall. Steven was the speaker this week for a population of about 70 8-10 year old little boys. I was the camp nurse, except for a 24 hour period in which I came home to work a shift at the hospital. The camp nursing job is not usually hard, it consists mainly of bandaids and doling out ADD/asthma meds. Camp is such a fun place to be, Steven and I both went to MTYC when we were young (we in fact shared our first kiss on the porch of Cabin 6 the summer of 1995) and have many good memories from camp. I learned this week, however, that there is a reason the campers must be 8 to attend. Eli didn't do too badly, he just mainly likes to nurse and cuddle with me at night and he's fine. Sadie, however, didn't adapt so easily. She loved watching "the boys", seeing the dogs, and playing with her buddies Anna and Abbey Hylton. It was sleeping that didn't come so easily, which in turn leads to meltdowns and severe attitude issues. After a few days at home her old self is starting to come back, which we are thankful. A small child returning home after vacation is so cute to watch, they run to every toy in the house as if it's brand new. With the installation of our new porch swing (thanks Mom and Dad!) and some much needed cleaning (thanks Carolyn!) I am pretty happy to be home, too.

Back to work...

I never thought I wouldn't be a "stay at home mom", however, I find myself at work tonight with 2 little children at home. I have 2 choices about this, I can pout and complain and become very emotional about leaving them (which I am guilty of doing at times), or I can count my blessings. Even though I don't prefer working over being with my family, I do enjoy what I do. I have a boss that is very understanding about priorities. I am now working part time, which consists of one 10 hour day shift and one 16 hour night shift per week... not bad. When I leave my children it is usually with a grandmother, their daddy, or a dear friend, all people that love to be with my kids and who I trust completely. I was walking through the NICU my first night back, feeling sorry for myself, when I saw a mother reluctant to put her premie back in his isolette for the night, but it was "shift change" and time for her to go home. I realized that these poor mothers have to leave their babies here every night, which now that I have children I know how hard that is to do. I should be thankful that the Lord has blessed me with 2 healthy children and truly,I have missed very little of their lives. It is a wonderful bond that connects mothers with their children, and I am thankful to experience it!