A weekend away--more than a weekend away :)

Why does blogger upload backwards??? OH MY! Anyway, on Friday my incredible husband turned 30! Crazy! I can not believe he is 30 (or on the back nine as his dear sweet high school students told him--yes they went there)! What does my husband ask for on a regular basis?? Time with his wife--with no kids in toe! So, I surprised him by picking him up at school and taking him to State College (our second home and the spot where we actually went to school and lived as a young married couple)! This is a family picture and yes I said, no kids! However, as stated above blogger decided to upload backwards--wahhh! So, this is the end of the trip and I will explain more backwards as we go.....
Let's see, working backwards! This is at the end of Saturday and why does my sweet faced girl have a band aid on her face?? Well this was after.......
She received her first 3 stitches in Beaver Stadium in the Stadium EMS area because......
She fell off this very bleacher seat into the one in front of her and gashed her chin open at the Blue/White game! It was so deep that stitches were necessary and our girl (who will attend Penn State via force from her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) got to have stitches at Penn State--woo hoo! My dad was so proud :)
And this is where (the historic Nittany Lion Inn) mommy and daddy arrived to on Friday evening with NO kids so why were their pics of them in State College and why did Ri get stitches there?? Well, my parents brought them up for the annual Blue/White weekend/game on Saturday afternoon to meet us and spend the day together! BUT, before they arrived mommy and daddy stayed here, enjoyed a FAB seafood buffet, and a night on the town like college students with my brother and his roomy! It was so incredible to be in that town for a night away because its the spot where we spent so much time just as the two of us!

This weekend did no happen without reservation! I was TERRIFIED, no better yet MORTIFIED, no better yet SICK TO MY STOMACH to leave my children! I hate doing it and really struggle to do so! The control that was lost with Cicely's pregnancy and death has caused me to be a little nuerotic in protecting Ri and Luke! Its hard for me to not be with them to make sure they are "OK"! It is a constant battle for me, one that God and I talk about all the time and one that I know only He can help me with! I have to relinquish those worries and control to Him! I am working on it and getting better with it each day! The kids did great and it helped to have them with my parents who I love dearly and can feel OK calling and checking in on whenever I want!

My husband is my best friend, he is awesome and he deserves time, time from me without my attention being divided by children and for that reason I drove through my tears to get him at work to take him away! I was sick in the stomach all morning but I did it and I loved time with my soul mate! God had him picked for me so long ago and knew that He would love me more and more despite the pain, heartache, and trouble we BOTH have from Cicely's life! If there is one thing--and I think there can and will be many--that I can say I am grateful for in Cicley's short life and death--it is that Josh and I became so close (and I felt like we were already as close as we could get) but so close that it can't be explained to others! Josh's mom often says, "you guys had to grow up fast". Its true, we were innocent, young, married folks one day and young, married, full of experience and life pain the next! But in that, we learned to totally rely on God and each other and I don't have to say anything to him in certain times, moments, issues, etc. and he knows why I am hurting or frustrated or sad! We have also learned how to live for today--we know how precious life can be as we quickly saw our sweet girl's lost! I listen to others talk about their fights and issues with their spouses--and don't get me wrong folks--we have issues but its rare that we have fights or major problems because its just not worth it! I love him too much and I believe he would say the same back! We need each other each day, we need each other to live through the pain and heartache, we need each other to turn towards God in it all, we were given each other and I am so very grateful for my Josh!!! I love him and am thankful for time with him to laugh, love, enjoy!