Updates, etc

Okay, all of my pregnant AND pregnant-to-be friends! Look who is now carrying maternity!
www.anntaylorloft.com
Tara sent this to me yesterday and I had to share! And for anyone else like me who didn't know that Nordstrom had maternity on the internet only, they DO! Not that I will be doing all of my shopping for clothes at these places. The favorites remain Target, Old Navy and Motherhood/Mimi. But for that special occasion it's nice to have some OPTIONS!

We have started swimming lessons this week! Hayley's class is first, then we have a 30 minute break, then Jack's class with mommy! They are both doing great, although Jack prefers the group singing/movement more than the "unstructured playtime." He has been a STINKER! Lots of screaming and fussing until we start going around in a circle as a group and singing songs and suddenly he's laughing and having fun. Too funny. I'm worn out and it's only the third day! (out of 8) I can already tell they are going to be so helpful, especially for Hayley.

Tra and I got to go out of town last Thursday-Sunday by OURSELVES! It was such a great weekend. We went to this place outside of Amarillo called The Hideaway Experience. We heard about it at a marriage conference we attended eariler this year. We went out to meet with the owners to find out more about the place and to have a couple of days of rest/relaxation/GREAT FOOD! Two other couples from our church also went out to meet the owners b/c they are going to be counselors up there this month for a marriage intensive program. Tra wants to provide this as an option for employees where he works to be able to go and work on their marriages. From the moment we arrived it felt like we were with family all weekend! We had such a great time getting to know everyone and gaining LOTS of wisdom/insight on our spiritual lives, our marriage, and our parenting. We were supposed to go out on Thursday but there was some miscommunication so we ended up getting to go to a hotel here Thursday night anyway and having Thursday and most of Friday to ourselves. It was such a wonderful time to be together and to have a break from our jobs. Our kids stayed with my mom here the first night and with his parents the rest of the time. They were happy to see us, but Sunday night Hayley asked me if I could go get back on the airplane. What a blessing for them to get such great time with grandparents! It's always hard to leave, but every time we do I'm SOOOO glad! For all of us!