Does ANYONE miss me?

OK....since I have no idea of the readership of this blog, I assume that the only person who noticed my absence was myself. Kind of sad. I feel like I'm talking to space, but some times, there is a "point of light" that makes a comment. I love those.

Friday, we left for vacation. We will be gone for about 18 days. Kind of hard to leave for that long. We are currently in southern California. The trip has not been without it's issues. (all of our vacations have had one snafu or another....We have a precedent to uphold.)

Our first overnight on the road found us in west Texas...home of Taco Villa. Despite the fact that we had already eaten, and despite the fact that we weren't hungry, we decided that just one burrito (each) was warranted. YUM YUM!

We had a great time in NM with my best friend, Miss K. (love ya, girl! miss you already.) Then we headed to Yuma, AZ. HOT! OMG! Of course, it IS a dry heat, but sometimes it doesn't matter...it's just plain hot. It was so hot that the hot tub was the same as the ambient temp. BLECH! BUT, kids were happy, swimming was great, the pizza....eh....so-so, but with happiness in our steps, we went to our FTU (family-transport unit...a.k.a. "purple van") and went for some ice cream. We drove 1/2 block before we realized we had big troubles. Our transmission is SHOT. So...we had to leave said FTU in AZ, rent another FTU and spend $3000 for a new transmission. GULP! Hope you kids didn't want any souvenirs.

BUT, with all that said, we are so VERY thankful to God for his obvious hand on us and our adventure! A big difference 10 miles or 10 minutes would have made. If you have never been that FAR OUT (west, I mean) you need to understand that there is a stretch of highway for around 75 miles of NOTHING! Even the dust devils are trying to escape. We could have been one of the countless vehicles stranded on the side of the road in 100+ degree heat with 4 kids.

Speaking of kids...my baby turned 1 today. I'm beside myself! How in the world can this baby be 1? We did the obligatory chocolate cupcake with thick frosting. (thanks, mom-in-law)...and he would have NOTHING to do with it. The only mess he made was on his leg by crawling to his father as he tried to get the camera.

In my hometown, it is now tomorrow. I guess that is my cue to leave. I will try to be back in a few days. It will probably be Tuesday. Tomorrow will find us at the zoo. (granted...we live IN a zoo, but I mean the kind with animals....real ones.) On Friday, I'm flying out to the east coast to meet (IRL) some great gals! Pray for all of us as we will be traveling from various states. Not only do we want safety, but we would like to like each other in person. LOL.

Finally...if you are the praying type, please pray for some friends of mine. I can't reveal names, but I have 3 dear friends who are struggling with various "mother" type things.
To misses B, E, and L, you know who you are, I'm praying for you! I love you!

I shall return soon.