Our trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana

Disclaimer: this may be a long post. I want to record some of the details from our trip. Partly because I want my kids to have the memories recorded, and partly just because it's fun for me to write about. So bear with me. :)


The kids and I flew to Indiana last Saturday to visit my friend Danielle, and her girls, Ariana & Ivy. We met them when we were all living in South Bend. As many of you know, our 2&1/2 years in Indiana was largely a lonely time for me. But a year into our stay there, God provided Danielle--a true friend and sister in Christ. We met through the mom's group at our church in Granger, IN. We were both pregnant, and ended up having our babies (Nathan & Ivy) one day apart. :)

...So the kids and I flew standby through Wade's flight benefits, of course. Thankful to have that perk, but OHHHH can it be stressful. See Naomi's post to see what I mean. Then couple that with the fact that somebody somewhere screwed up & Nathan got taken off the list as an eligible family member--so they wouldn't let us list him for the flight. At all. We almost couldn't go & I almost had a nervous breakdown over it. Not really. OK, kind of. But literally, by the grace and favor of God we encountered some nice NW employees who pretty much tossed the rules aside for us and we made it!)

We spent 4 days together and some of the fun included: water balloon fights, playing dress up, hot fudge Sundaes at McDonalds, a trip to the (free) splash pad, (we really need some of those at the parks here) a visit to Chuck E. Cheese (thanks to Danielle's hubby, Manuel, who took the older ones there while the mommies and 2 little ones went out...intending to check out an old fashioned soda shop but ended up at Cebollas Mexican restaurant.) One day we tried to attend a program on animals at the library but found it full when we got there. Instead we checked out the Little House on the Prairie pilot movie and spent an afternoon snuggling on the couch. The girls were enthralled.

Let's see...one day we hired a babysitter and Danielle (& I) got a much needed break. We visited the Peony Tea House for a beautiful lunch & tea. (My first time at a tea room.) Though I may not decorate my own home with florals and lace, it was such a treat to be in the presence of such lovely and feminine surroundings. We each chose the chocolate decaf iced tea. I also requested sugar and cream for my iced tea. The owner thought this a bit odd, but soon tried it herself and decided she's going to make it a regular recommendation!

A couple photos from the Splash Pad:





During moments when we weren't tending to little ones, we even managed to get a bit of reading in...various excerpts from The Ministry of Motherhood, Elisabeth Elliot's Keep a Quiet Heart, and some fun stuff from Mrs. Dunwoody's Book of Excellent Housekeeping. (I don't think I have the title right...help me out Danielle.)

After the kiddos were in bed, we kept our tradition of watching as many episodes of Gilmore Girls as possible. And of course, we had to get Culver's (Heath concrete mixers are my weakness) during the show--just like old times.

Each of my 3 managed to injure themselves at least once on the trip:
Emily: twisted her ankle while jumping off a mattress. She was down & out for a day
Abby: climbed atop the freestanding porch swing, fell, and scraped her arm up good on the way down
Nathan: (He has two) dropped a toy cast iron pot lid on his face during a diaper change & bruised up his eye just a little. And at the park he climbed to the top of the climbing wall & fell on the way down. Face first. Scraped up his nose. (He looks cute, actually.) I also caught him trying to eat the wooden "pills" from the toy doctor kit. Close call.

Danielle, thanks again for your hospitality. I'm so glad we came. I loved seeing your home, observing how your girls have grown, and just getting extended time to hang out, talk, and pray together.

...I had been praying that we could really be a blessing and an encouragement to Danielle and her girlies, but I think they blessed us more! What a great trip, and a great start to summer vacation. :)