Friday, June 22, 2012

family

I'm home sick today, which gives me lots of time for reflection and a slower pace.  I actually woke up to an empty house!  Once I confirmed with Tim that he knew exactly where Henri was :) I gave into my body's pleas to just rest.

Resting to me = doing chores and work at a slower than usual pace though...so, as I was putting away a bowl next to the pitcher we use as a vase I thought for the 30th time, we need a vase.  And I laughed about how my very very Nazarene mother ruined our wine decanter because she used it as a vase.  And then my heart was grateful as I remembered the bouquet of flowers that welcomed us when we brought Henri home from the hospital.  My mom flew out mid-labor from Oklahoma and made it in time to see Henri's birth.  While we were still at the hospital and in the week that she stayed with us she blew us away with her generous and giving heart.  No surprise to me having been raised by this amazing woman, but still overwhelmed with gratitude.  The laundry, the dishes, new clothes small enough to fit Henri, nursing (ahem) intimates for me (that stuff's not cheap!), never mind the cost of her plane ride were all taken care of quietly and lovingly.  My sister did the same thing, at 6 months pregnant.  And her wonderful husband Joe was Mr. Mom to their almost 2 year old while she was here.

We flew to OKC in February so great gramma, grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins could all meet Henri. 

Well, in the spirit of full disclosure, money has been extremely tight for us since Henri entered the world.  I remember when we asked our life insurance guy what sort of additional expenses we should anticipate.  He said "none really".  HA!  maybe if you make 6 figures and your wife gets to stay home!!  What we've quickly realized is, daycare is a second rent payment!  Literally.  Add the new car payment since the pathfinder died (at least the civic's paid for), and the 5% in health insurance we now pay since the district's in a budget crisis (not complaining, it's still a great deal)....our expenses have gone up.  a lot.

SO, we've had to utter the very difficult words over and over to my family in Oklahoma that we just can't afford to come again until Christmas.  Which sucks.  A lot.  We haven't met our new niece, Eve, yet.  Henri's growing so fast and I want to share these moments with them...and face time just isn't enough.

And then, they all decided to pitch in and fly us out.  Originally the plan was just me and Henri.  But we got a text the day we were finalizing the plans saying, "pack your bags!  the three of you are coming to OKC!"   So this August we'll be braving the Oklahoma heat and spending lots of time watching babies coo and crawl.  I plan to smother Elle and Eve with kisses and hugs and let Henri get to know his amazing family.

I can't wait...and I'm so grateful for my family's generosity and love.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Happy Happy Henri

Remember when I said Henri wakes up happy??  Well, lest you think I'm a big fat liar...here is proof!!  This morning we heard him talking to himself around 7:15am and went into his room to witness this little Henri Houdini magic trick. 





We all had a great laugh about it. :)