A Breather

I’m in Michigan at Dad’s house. It’s quiet. The sun didn’t come up until after 7:30 and I slept until 6:30 (which was 7:30 in Nashville and according to my body clock) Owen woke me up of course. He was asleep downstairs in his pack-n-play and woke up in strange place so his cry was a little louder than usual. He has always adjusted pretty well to Grandpa’s house and last night was no different. He played until he was exhausted, then went right to sleep and stayed asleep for a good 9 hours.

We arrived yesterday around 5:00. Dad was gone to church for a meeting and then Wednesday night service but we were welcomed by my sister Kathy and her girls immediately. They played with Owen while we unpacked the car. My niece Kayla had a Christmas program at school so they soon left us to sit still and relax for a while. It was good to put our feet up and just watch a little television to unwind from a day on the road.

We left Nashville at 7:00 yesterday morning and made good time as we traveled north through Kentucky and Indiana. We stopped at a deli in Indianapolis to meet our friends Mark and Keri and their beautiful daughter Emily. We spent about an hour and a half eating and catching up with them. their little girl is 8 months old and has the most beautiful blue eyes. I’m sorry to say that we forgot to get pictures. Owen was pretty fussy because of being in the car all morning and then getting out of the car only to go into a restaurant where he was continuously being told “no”, “shhh”, and “stop”. He did okay…we didn’t have to take him out and spank him or anything, he was just too wired to sit still at a restaurant. We continued on from Indy with only one more stop and got to Michigan safe and sound.

The days prior to leaving had been somewhat crazy. Can you be somewhat crazy? Anyway…you’ll see what I mean. The fun began Sunday night when our friends Eric and Tisra called to say that they were in labor. We had put Owen to bed and my niece and nephew, Hope and Landis, who were spending the night with us were also asleep in our guest room. My sister Becky had an early morning appointment and it just worked best for them to spend the night with us. About 10:30 Tisra called and said that they were going ahead to the hospital to labor under supervision. This was not her choice but being the good patient that she is, she followed the on call doctors advice and obediently went to the hospital. Kris got dressed and went to their house to sleep so that they wouldn’t have to wake their boys up and move them to our house until morning.

The following morning, Monday, Kris’ crew didn’t wake up until around 7:45. He got them dressed and brought them to our house to join my crew who were already fed and ready to have some fun. Once everyone had breakfast and the rules were established the fun began. The two oldest boys, Landis and Grant, played with hot wheels in the dining room while the two younger kids, Hope and Dean played with blocks and balls in the living room. Owen, the youngest of the group was fascinated and somewhat overwhelmed by the whole thing but played well enough until nap time which he took full advantage of and slept for 3 full hours. During that time I took the four visitors to the couch and read the Velveteen Rabbit to them. They were amazingly quiet and still and for the most part listened with interest to the story.

Soon we got word that Tisra had given birth to baby number three, a girl named Lael and the boys were summoned to greet little sister. Of course we had to wait until Owen’s nap was over and Hope and Landis had gone home. Before they left though, my friend Melissa and her daughter Jayna stopped in and shared some lunch and a bit of the frivolity that was taking place. I had called her that morning to tell her that it was Kids Day at the Kelso house and she may as well bring Jayna over to play too, besides that gave me a better kid/adult ratio. They weren’t able to get there before time for Hope and Landis to go home and Melissa had a Christmas party to prepare for as well so that was short lived. Soon we had the three remaining boys ready to go to the hospital. I packed them into the van (Eric and Tisra’s van) and drove downtown with my little gang. They were very good little guys and once we got to the hospital room they were so excited to see their mom and dad. Too soon we had to head back to the house. The boys were so sweet and never cried or even whined…they just gave me these sad looks and Grant said…I miss my mommy. I told him it wouldn’t be long and he could see her again and that tomorrow was going to be an extra fun day because they could go to see their friends Jake and Luke.

Tuesday was such a relief. The all day rain from Monday had blown away and the wind appeared to be pushing all dark clouds to the East and pulling clear skies in from the West. The sun was shining and the boys were all excitement. Today they could play outside. We got ready and drove to their neighborhood, specifically to Jake and Luke’s house where their mom, Christy, was waiting for them. Owen and I got back into my car and left the van in it’s rightful driveway, and drove away.

I then went on to perform a skit at a Ladies luncheon at the Grace Nazarene Church near Opryland. Owen and I stopped at Sonic to get our lunch and then to Wal-Mart to get a few things and then back home. It was quiet at home but far from peaceful…too much to do. I got the kitchen cleaned up several loads of laundry done and Owen got a nap while I picked up toys and made last minute notes with phone numbers and plans for our trip to Michigan. Kris had a meeting with the board of Brent Gambrell and Images Creative Group and I had a Scrooge rehearsal. We were all home again by 10:30, Owen was asleep and Kris and I were soon to follow. Our exit the next morning wasn’t as perfect as we had hoped but we were up and gone in good time and the drive North was a pleasant one.

Now…I’m going to take it easy.