14 down, 5 to go

That's right. It has been two full weeks since Sam left on his business trip, and there are still 5 full days until he gets home. We've both decided that two weeks is the absolute maximum any trip apart should last.

The first 6 days, we spent at home. The kids were actually really REALLY good. Brinley just laid down and went to sleep for naps and bedtime. Levi napped on occasion. (He's not into daily naps anymore. Bummer!) On rare occasions (like once), they napped at the same time, which was AWESOME! The worst part was missing Sam like crazy and feeling so lonely. Even though I had family around, without my other half I'm just lonely. It really was such a blessing that the kids were so good because then I got to miss Sam just because I missed him, not because I needed him to help keep me from going crazy.

The kids had doctor's appointments and both had to get shots. :-( This is the first time Levi has gotten a shot since he started talking in full sentences. Instead of just crying, he was crying and saying "Owie! Owie!" It was very heartbreaking. They are both super healthy, except that Levi seems to be having allergic reactions. We think it might be tree nuts, but he has had a couple that we can't trace back to anything. The doctor prescribed us an EpiPen, so I'll be carrying that around from now on. I don't think we'll have to use it, as Bendryl seems to work just fine. Levi is in the 50th percentile for height and weight. Brinley is still very small, in the 15th percentile, I think.

Day 7, we headed up to my sister Amber's house in the Seattle area. She has four kids (ages 15-3). Levi and Brinley have loved playing with all the toys and their cousins. I have loved having people around. Unfortunately, the kids haven't sleep as well here, but most nights they still do okay. We've only had one or two bad nights. We've been here since then. Tomorrow we leave and head down to Seaside, OR to spend some time at the beach with Sam's parents and 3 of his siblings (Joe, Lauren, and Arina).

I have been so blessed and strengthened by my Heavenly Father. Sam used to go on business trips for 2 or 3 days, and I'd be a wreck. Of course, the kids actually sleep sometimes now. But still, the Lord has really blessed and upheld me these past two weeks. About two days ago, though, I started getting pretty worn down. Didn't help that the night before had been one of those bad nights. What is getting to me, really, is the constant attention my kids (read: mostly Levi) demand. Whenever I try to talk to Amber, Levi will start talking to me too, louder and louder. Sometimes he'll stand right in front of my face. Other times he'll say, "Don't look at Amber. Look at me." It is frustrating and funny at the same time. After quite a bit of this, I finally grabbed him, shook him playfully, and said "You are driving me nuts!" A minute later, he was playing with a Thomas track, and the yield sign kept coming off. He finally grabbed it and said, "Mom, this thing is driving me nuts!" I had to laugh.

The Lord must have known I was losing it and really needed a break. Yesterday, I put the kids down for a nap at the same time. Hooray! I was a free woman. And for a long time, too. Brinley slept for 3 hours and Levi slept for 4 1/2. Holy cow, huh?!?!? It was absolutely awesome. And VERY needed.

All-in-all, we are doing 1000% better than I had expected. We've been able to talk to Sam via webcam usually twice a day (unless our computers are being retarded). The kids love seeing Daddy, and Brinley smothers the computer screen in kisses. We miss Sam like crazy! And we feel bad that he is alone halfway across the world. Well, kinda alone. He does have coworkers there to keep him some company, but that's not the same as having family or friends. We are all very much looking forward to the 30th when we will all be together again.