Thankful

Last Friday we drove up to Clearwater for a Thanksgiving/work weekend in our "new" car, a loaner from our friend Josh. It was so nice to see him after several years, and to introduce our boys to him before he goes back to Korea for 2 years. We're thankful for Josh. Despite the looks of fear on their faces, the boys had a great time playing with him.
His 2002 Honda Civic seemed like a luxury ride to us after driving in our old jalopy for the past 18 months. Max calls it a race car! Seems so, it doesn't take any effort to get up to, and well beyond, the speed limit. We're thankful for the car.

We stopped in at Mom and Dad's for a quick hello and Paul took a little inventory of what needed to be done with the "electrics", as we later heard it called. Mom & I had decided that sleeping in the tent trailer wouldn't be so pleasant for our little family this time around. Not that it was all that pleasant in the summer, but definitely not a viable option for October. She had arranged for (and paid for!) us to stay in a guest house that is owned by people from their church. So up the mountain we went a short way to the Half Moon Guest House. We were the only guests in the house that night, for which we were thankful. First thing the next morning we went back down the mountain to Mom & Dad's for pancake breakfast. Max was so delighted to discover a "Bobcat" for him to hijack explore.




I was so thankful it was there, as it entertained him and occupied his imagination for great long stretches at a time. It was supposed to have been picked up on Friday but the owner hadn't come to claim it. Phew. We had a good time playing in the neighbour's yard, as well as exploring the work being done in the house, but I didn't want to spend the whole day just hanging around there. So I packed up the boys and went to visit my Auntie Linda and Uncle Jan, the delightful proprietors of The Windmill Bed & Breakfast. I was thankful for two things when I got there, Marty had fallen asleep on the way and had a good long snooze in the car, and the coffee was on! Max explored, of course, but it was a really nice visit. Cousin Shannon popped in for a hug and a hello before she and her family went on a hunting trip. Next time I go to Clearwater I want to go see her newly painted kitchen cupboards, a project she tackled while both her kids were at summer camp. I tried to take a few pictures of Linda's pictures of my grandparents, but they didn't turn out well and Blogger doesn't seem to like them. My parents and Jan & Linda had a special dinner to celebrate what would have been my Grandpa Reuben Madland's 100th Birthday on October 5. They had his favourite Sunday meal - roast beef, rice, and peas.

After lunch at Mom & Dad's the boys and I went for a little visit at Dawn and Duane's. They live and work at Clearwater Bible Camp. That place holds all kinds of memories for me, and it was neat to watch my kids explore it too. Some things have changed but the spirit feels the same. It's so breathtakingly beautiful there at this time of year. She graciously hosted us for several hours, as we didn't really have anywhere safe and clean and warm to spend the afternoon. I was thankful for their beautifully fenced yard around the house for Max to play with the kids, and for a while by himself. Max was thankful to watch Duane finish putting up the siding on the woodshed he built. Although we have spent some time together over the years, Dawn and I know each other mostly through other people so it was nice to visit on our own. Most of the talk involved child rearing, child discipline, child weaning, child napping. And a little bit about her trip to Zimbabwe and South Africa for our friend's wedding.

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Saturday night there were some other folks staying at the guest house. That kind of threw us off a bit but we made do. One lady, from England, was lots of fun to chat with. She's the one who said "electrics". The couple that came later were a little odd. She was one of those people who seemed to be an expert on all things. The boys had been sleeping in the car while I waited for the excitement in the house to settle down. I went outside SEVERAL times to check on them, each time they were solidly sleeping. The last time I went out, they were both in hysterics. I felt so bad as they must have been so scared in a strange car in the dark and not knowing where we were. I'm so glad they had each other. I have to remember that although I know they are safe, they don't have that assurance. Through the week I've noticed a few times where I've really needed to assure Max that I won't leave him, so I think I've had some un-doing to do from my big Mommy mistake. Well, you can imagine the smug look on that lady's face when I came in with a screaming child. It was as if SHE KNEW they were awake and what a neglectful mother I was. Then it was bedtime. Max took the top bunk, Paul took the bottom, and Marty and I shared the double bed. It was a frustrating night as all he wanted to do was nurse. And touch me. It drove me crazy. Little did he know that would be his last weekend of breastfeeding! We began the final stage of weaning him this past Thursday and it's going GREAT! Last night after Paul put him to bed, he didn't wake up until 6:00 am, and then went back to sleep for at least another hour, maybe more. Bliss!

I need to fast-track the story because Paul has taken the boys out of the house so I can get some things done. I really need to take advantage of the time I have ... maybe I'll just save the rest for another day.

While you wait for the continuation, go check out my sister-in-law Kelly's new blog ... Confessions of a Car-Free Mom.