5 Little Monkeys: 9 Busy Days Away From Home

Singing for the RHMA closing day.

They really were a very busy nine days. We went to Paw Paw, Il in order to candidate at a small church we will be possibly ministering in with our mission (RHMA) We were at this church for two Sundays. However, the week in between happened to be the RHMA missions conference week which was held just 2 hrs. away from Pap Paw in Morton, IL. Including travel time, we were all away from home for nine days. The kiddos were all troopers. Claire and Matthew especially did well. Micah had a hard time eating the whole trip (different food than he is used to), but he generally did well except coming down with a cold right at the end. Actually, he loved being in nursery during our conference times. He would walk right in like he owned the place each and every time. Haha! That gives you a little hint to his personality. Claire and Matthew were in with the other RHMA missionary kids and had a wonderful time with their own little sessions and outings. Besides Bible lessons and group times they also went to a bounce house one afternoon and bowling the other. I was told that Claire got the highest score of her bowling group and she was the youngest one! That's my goal achiever for you. The above picture is of them singing their songs they learned during the week. Claire was pretty confident, but Matthew just really didn't think it was very fun. He has the pouty face down really well, don't you think?

Besides being in our own beds and getting on our routine again, we are so very excited to be eating the way we normally eat. Now, I'm not at all ungrateful for the conference food. There were so many churches and volunteers that did a great job feeding all of us. However, it gets hard on our systems when we are used to mostly whole grains, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and little sugar in our house. All of us felt a little yucky by the end of the week. Last night when we got back, we had some baby carrots, a whole grain spaghetti dinner with steamed brocolli; then this morning our breakfast was a fresh fruit salad. We are already feeling more normal. My husband said that our upset stomachs at the end of last week must mean that we need to put more fat, starch, white flour, and sweets into our diets. Haha! Nice try, Babe.

Here are a few random pictures of our week.

The day before we left, I took the kids to the park and then did lots of packing while they read and played together. They were so good the whole day! They love the swings at the park around the corner.

Our kiddos love swimming pools. Anytime we have to stay in a hotel, they are a must for us! Matthew and Micah do great with the floating helps and Claire is like a fish in the water with or without a floating help.