Friday

So...I get very few Fridays with my children. They are usually with their dad. The last few that I have had, we have been traveling, so not having a normal night. This last Friday, for the first time in months, we had a Friday evening together. Being the planner that I am, I planned. We were going to go bowling, look at some dresses for K for the wedding at the mall, and get some ice cream.

It started out great-we ate dinner at 4:30 and were on our way. We got to the bowling alley and hit our first snag. The bowling alley tries never to schedule a tournament on Friday...leaving it free for open bowling...EXCEPT one weekend a year....and, you guessed it, it was this weekend. The kids were grumpy, but we headed out.

The next snag: the mall close to the ice cream shop didn't have the store we were looking for: a big chain in all malls....except this one, I guess. A little frustrating.

So, we went and ate ice cream....thanks to a gift certificate from Grandma and Grandpa K for Easter! There is only one store in our city and it is kind of far, but, oh so worth it! It was yummy. We loved it. Thank-you, Grandma and Grandpa!

We came home, played some WII bowling...since we didn't get to bowl. That was fun. :) I am glad that we came up with a Plan B.

But, there was another snag: The kids wanted to buy more stuff for the WII with some gift certificates we had for Game Stop and WalMart. We went to both places. NO ONE COULD AGREE! There is definitely something to be said for having only one child. It was a lot of fighting and complaining. -sigh- So much for my perfect evening, eh?

So, we came home, all frustrated. But, it was a perfect evening. The weather was awesome. So, I forced the kids on a walk around our neighborhood. It was amazing. The boys ran and played races. K and I talked. It was wonderful. We got home, the boys still raced and K and I still talked. Soon, there were neighbor boys joining us and the big water gun came out. Soon, we had a lot of very wet boys. :) It was perfect. I would not have traded these moments for anything.

Lesson learned: I try too hard to plan our limited fun time together. This creates expectations, which create disappointments. We just need to be when we are together. The fun times will come. :)

P.S. Saturday was great, too! K went to a water park with her choir. The boys and I worked on the garage, went out to lunch and finally went bowling. It was very fun! After K got home, we went out to my new favorite restaurant in celebration of Mother's Day. All four of us loved the plantains, pupusas, and beans. And...we topped it off with very small servings from Yogurtland. It was a wonderful night! :)

P.P.S. CK moves here in 3 days! I feel so blessed. Looking back to two years ago and what I was posting then, I see that the promises have been fulfilled. I knew I would be okay, but I couldn't see how-the sorrow was so overwhelming. I am here. I am happier than I knew possible. Thank-you, Heavenly Father!