There is an Hour of Peace and Rest

We dropped the kids off at the Beasley's house (thank you Rob and Christy) yesterday morning. We returned back home, changed into church clothes and headed to the temple. As we left there, it was fun to see all the couples outside getting wedding portraits taken--thinking that 17 years prior on that very day, Z and I were doing the same. Oh how far we've come in 17 years, and we still get along and like being around each other.

We went to lunch at Olive Garden (Z's idea, and a sacrifice for him). Z doesn't love Italian food like I do, but he chose it for me. Nice guy, huh?

We spent our afternoon looking at vans and then went to a movie at the old Valley Theatre. We saw Inkheart. Z hated it; I was entertained. He is much more mature than I in his tastes.

Before we went to bed, we decided for sure that church would happen in Monmouth for us today, so we left around 7:30am and arrived in time for church at 9am with a few minutes to spare. To be honest, before I got out of the car, I was a bit nervous. It has been eleven years since we've moved from there.

That nervousness lasted for about as long as it took to enter the chapel. We were suddenly among friends--dear friends. Z and I lived in Monmouth from August 1992 (six months after we were married) until June 1995 (when Z graduated from Western Oregon University and was hired as a teacher in Beaverton). We moved back to Monmouth in July of 1997 and returned to Beaverton in July of 1998 after my mom's cancer diagnosis.

We were invited to lunch by four different families. We had people saying, "Come, sit by me," in each class we went to. How wonderful to be loved! I hope everyone reading this has a ward like this, or if you don't, that you will be this person to others who enter the doors of your ward or congregation. We are trying too. Z and I so rarely find ourselves as the visitors that it was a nice breath of fresh air.

We returned home after being showered with so much love, it was hard to leave.

So, our future plans, we will go shopping for flooring tomorrow. I know, fun, and I'm sure you're all jealous. Ugh! But, these are the things you do when you don't have little ones to take with you. We'll probably go to lunch again and just enjoy being together. If I have my druthers, we'll go out to breakfast too. I find that to be truly relaxing. Tom's Pancake House is one of my favorite places to go, but we'll see. It's just nice to fly by the seats of our pants for a change. I have my doctor's appointment at 4:30pm. We'll go pick up our kids after dinner.

I really love this time away, but I miss them. Three days is just about long enough for me.

On Tuesday, spring break will truly begin for our family. The plan is to head down to Lincoln City for a few days and just hang out--go to the beach, go to the park, hit the outlet stores, etc. We also purchased to models that we'll put together as a family for Z's mom's model railroad that she has set up running all over the property there. Should be good times.

I'm also planning on working on the baby's blanket (if you see the picture at the left, it's the multi-colored one at the bottom). I'm wondering who will start the Stratego tournament this year. We'll see how many games I can get in on this year. Sad thing is, last two times we played, A (the six year old) kicked my booty. A little humbling never hurts, I guess.