California is far away

Tuesday afternoon Eric left for his third trip in about 2 months. He had his two week field trip to the Northern Appalachians in September, then an extended weekend field trip in October to Kentucky (where I stayed at my sister Tamara's in Cincinnati most of the time), and now he's in California for a workshop with Atomic Force Microscopes (gee, that sounds like fun, huh?). This time around I've just been home alone with the girls. My first thoughts were that it was going to be really tough. But I think about all the dental and medical wives in our ward who stay home alone with their kids weeks at a time, all the time! Thinking about that since Eric's been gone has helped me. It's good for me to realize that I can do it on my own, even when I start to get really uptight when both kids are crying at the same time. (But that happens everyday anyway!) The girls have really done great, though, and thanks to some great friends, I've had lots to do and have been out of the house most of the time. It's been good for me to be stuck with my kids. :) I get my breaks at naptime and at night when they've finally gone to bed (even though I'm not getting much sleep), but I'm loving them more and more as each day passes. What would I do without my family? Here are some recent pics that make me smile and realize how blessed I am to have the family I do.