Coming or Going?

I have yet to decide for sure which one applies to this family. I was gone from Thursday to Sunday and Steve left yesterday and will be gone until late Friday night. Our poor children are going to forget Who's on first.

I went to the Oregon Coast last weekend to watch my little sister, whom I just met about two months ago, compete for the title of "Cranberry Queen" (similar to Junior Miss), and to watch my little brother, who I also just met, play in the Cranberry Bowl (highschool football). I also met their mother for the first time. I cannot believe how well it went. I prayed so long and so hard beforehand for grace, to be able to emulate our Blessed Mother. It was surreal to be in 'their' territory. I am so glad I was, though. At the end of the day, all we have is family. That's it. I cannot wait to begin this wonderful adventure of adding members to mine. No matter the circumstances, I am glad to just welcome more family.

Steve left for San Jose yesterday. He flew out of a neighboring town's small airport and volunteered to be "bumped", thereby scoring us TWO FREE TICKETS, roundtrip, to anywhere Alaska flies. We decided to go Boston (or maybe Maine) for our next vacation. Yay! Um, do you think it'll be cold there in late January? Hey, a little snow pack never hurt anybody!

We already booked Noni to come and stay. That will be so nice. I always have to do a little "damage control" after we take a vacation, but it's all worth it. Slumber parties, story telling under blankets with flashlights, dressing up, making cookies, and trips to the dollar store are Noni's games, 'The Spoiler' is her name. They so love it when Noni's here that they are actually disappointed when we come home. Seriously. Now that we have three children, we're going to have to start bringing out the big guns if we want to vacation anywhere other than the trusty fallback 'camping in the backyard'-- pulling sitters into our home instead of packing five people in two different directions. Our babysitting pool just got a lot smaller with the birth of our third.

So, I decided that, since we can't figure out whether we're coming or going, it would be helpful to make a list of all the activities and committees of which we are a part. Are you ready? Me: SAC (school finance), PTO, (school) Auction Decoration Chairperson, Crossroads (volunteer crisis pregnancy center), RCIA, and Book Club/Bible Study. Steve: bi-weekly Bible Study, Fiberactive committee, Committee to elect a local PUD Commissioner, RCIA, and technology maintenance for the school's lab--which has proven to be a bit more demanding than we thought. Then, at a glance, I can see that every. single. weekend. for the next five weeks is full.

So.. something is going to have to give. I just haven't figured out what yet. Maybe the kids?

A blogger friend blogged about a month ago about "doing too much", keeping us away from the home and from taking care of our own families. I have figured out that my activities are the equivalent of having a part time job on top of my full time job as Mom. I need to re-evaluate. I have and always will believe that when you serve others you serve God. We have been blessed financially and been blessed that Steve works from home most of the time. We've been blessed with healthy children and with personal talents that enable us to contribute in great ways. We have been blessed that, for the most part, we are willing to step outside of ourselves and our comfort zones and do something new, if it will be beneficial to others. I really like that about us.

What I don't like? Worrying that we are sacrificing "us" because we are doing too much for others.

There is a balance to be struck. I know that. But first, I need to sign Ella up for dance classes, Paxton for soccer, and myself for piano lessons. Is that too much? Yeah, on second thought, maybe we'll just stick to playing with playdough. They have plenty of time to hone their respective athletic abilities. No rush. I'm still trying to figure out how to throw a ball.