Our fun anniversary evening!

We had a great time celebrating our anniversary, having some one-on-one time and enjoying a deliciously expensive meal at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. The drive was well worth the trouble because the food was so good. We came home and fell asleep early and had no little ones to bathe or put to bed. We also slept very soundly with no monitors or noisemakers and our own bodies woke us up on Saturday morning. It was so nice getting up and watching something besides cartoons and fixing something to eat when we felt like it. Of course, we missed Rachel and Bradley, but we definitely enjoyed and savored the break. We did some Christmas shopping on Saturday morning and then ate a nice peaceful lunch at a mexican restaurant. When we picked up the kids, Bradley was asleep due to his 4:30am wake up, but Rachel was very excited to see us. She was tired from all the excitement of spending the night with Gege and Papa too, so, once Bradley woke up, and was extremely grumpy and wanting me to hold him, Rachel turned on the tears too. It was melt-down central for awhile, but we loaded up the car, got them home and had a couple more melt downs before everyone was back to their old selves. The kids slept great last night and we all got up and went to church again this morning!

At church this morning, Rachel was a "pro" when it came to staying in her class. Bradley, however, knew what was coming, so he started crying when we got to his room. I sat with him for a little while and the workers who were in his room were trying very hard to get him interested in some of the toys. He just wasn't interested. So, after about 10 minutes, I realized I was going to have to leave him and see how he did, since I knew Bradley wasn't ever going to tell me to leave him. I told him I would see him in a little bit and smiled and walked out. Of course, he was crying and looking at me very sadly. So, I stood outside the door and listened and it only took him about 30 seconds before he stopped crying. I was amazed, but very glad!!! I peeked back into the classroom through the window and he was sitting in the teacher's lap. He didn't look happy, but at least he wasn't crying. So, I actually got to sit with Nick and hear a really good sermon. I am so proud of Bradley, because I know this is very new to him and he doesn't understand why he has to do this. It's not like I've provided him very many opportunities to get comfortable with strangers. But, I feel very encouraged and excited that he's doing so well and I'm very happy to be back in church! A funny thing at church...right before the last prayer and invitation, our pew made a large cracking sound and we felt a slight shift down as our pew fell about 1/2 an inch. Nick and I both thought it was hilarious and we felt a little self-conscious that we had made the pew break. I hope this is usually some very heavy baptist's seat and that he'd already put quite a strain on the pew. :)

A really funny misunderstanding...on our way home from our delicious anniversary meal, Nick and I were having a good talk about what we had learned about each other in the 8 years we've been married. It was really fun and sweet to reflect on, and not something we ever do. I won't share any of it, except this...I told Nick that it took me several years to learn that "his sighs don't mean anything" (he sighs alot and it always seems like they mean something negative). However, Nick heard, "his SIZE don't mean anything" to which he replied, "thanks alot!!" I realized that he had misunderstood and quickly explained myself. It was a funny moment and a good story to share.