5 for Friday.... on a Monday morning

I am a few days behind- but for a REALLY good reason. We just got back from 4 delightfully restful, relaxing days at the beach with my family. Four days of no laundry and no cooking. Seriously, I did so very little. Literally, the most stressful part of the whole long weekend was a intense game of hearts. (We are a competitive group!)

1. I caught up on ALL my scrapbooking for the boys and even started Ruby Kate's. This is crazy impressive. I typically stay at least a season behind so I took full advantage of the extra room and time I had this weekend. It was so nice to be able to spread everything out and work little by little all weekend. At home, I pull it all out and work for an hour while McCann naps. Then I have to put it all back up because we don't have much unused space in our house. I am so thankful to be caught up (for the moment.)

2. My aunt took me shopping for my birthday. It's not until March, but I may be slightly busy that week. Baby girl is due the week of my birthday. I wonder if I am going to be 31 or 32 when she is born. It was so nice to be spoiled.

3. Our boys slept LATE. (They did not get up at 7am) They are all great sleepers as a norm, but Manning and McCann are typically early risers. I don't know if they were just overly tired from playing hard everyday. Or if our sleeping arrangements influenced their sleeping habits. All 5 3/4 of us slept in the same room. We had two double beds in our room and forgot the bed rails. So Kevin slept with one and I slept with the other to avoid them rolling off the bed. (McCann was in the pack-and-play) The last morning we were there I woke up at 8:45am to a room full of SLEEPING boys. This is unheard of but I thank God for those wonderful hours of extra rest.

4. The day we went shopping, I offered to take both the older boys with me. Only Myers was game. It was such a special day. I rarely get to spend time with them one on one- but I love it! It was so nice to be able to focus on him! Kevin and I are committing to doing this more often. Taking time out to give each one of them our undivided attention. They need this and so do we.

5. I was sad to leave this place and the leisurely life we embraced this weekend. Then, as usual, I saw truth in the voice of my babies. When we got home, Manning said, "Momma, I love the beach. But I love being at our house even more."