Family

It is absolute heaven when a little boy falls asleep in your arms. Especially when he spent the preceding five minutes yelling and screaming because his Daddy had the nerve, nay the audacity to take his older brother out for breafast and not him! He doesn't grudge the Boy for going, he just wishes he could have gone too!

Boy2 absolutely LOVES his Dad. There are times when only Mommy will do, but he is far more inclined to go to Dad than his brother was. Of course now the problems arise because the Boy is becoming more attached to Dad too, as he gets older. Frequently the Boy will tell Dad the he wants to go for a walk, but not with Mom or his little brother. They usually take Boy2 as well, though.

Anyway, I've been watching the forecasts for here and southern AB this week. It's gotten a little chilly here with quite a bit of rain coming over the next few days (figures, I'm going to have a full house for most of them). But I've been looking at the AB weather because we decided on Monday that, since there really doesn't look like a visit out will be emminent in the next month or so and it's been at least nine, if not ten months since we were in sunny AB, that we'd do a zip trip. That means leaving here after kids leave Friday (so, by the time food is in tummies and the van is loaded it'll probably be six). Getting in to my parents late night, spend the day, go out to visit Hubby's Mom, spend Sunday, leave Monday back for S'toon.

We both are wishing there would be time for visits with good friends and family of the heart, but it's sadly not possible right now. But, I glanced at the weather expected for Firday, Saturday in the Lethbridge area. Holy Cow, do we ever know when to pick our trips! Up to 30 cm of Snow?!! Really not your ideal driving conditions.

We also have family coming out for Hubby's grad. His Dad is coming out for a visit from Manitoba, and we haven't seen him since July. I told the Boy about this visit a couple of weeks ago, including the number of sleeps, to help with the passing of time. He is so excited to be seeing family! All of the little girls I look after have family in the area. Grandmas and Grandpas sometimes pick them up, and all the kids are excited whenever they do. But then the Boy asks where his are. Oh, boy. We just tell him that they live far away, but we'll see them soon.

I wouldn't trade the way we've done things for the world. Living farther away from the family unit has developed independence and has taught us to lean on each other and our faith. Plus, the infrequent visits make them all the more special. However, when my three year old hears someone talking about her cousins and starts asking where his cousins are, my heart just breaks.