This was my first year to spend all of spring break with the kids. I wanted it to be fun for them, so we had at least one fun activity each day.
Monday: Zoo (Ava's first time to go)
Tuesday: Build-A-Bear (After Joey's chemo)
Wednesday: With Grandma and Kennedie - Museum of World Treasures and Shopping
Thursday: Color Me Mine
Friday: Movie Day at Grandma's
We've recently discovered that Katherine has a talent for long-distance running. I have no idea where she get it because I certainly don't run and neither does Jon. She has an abundance of energy and it benefits her sometimes. She ran her first race by herself - a 4-mile fundraiser for LLS - the St. Patrick's Day Run at the Dave Hammer Memorial. Joey and I were at the half-way mark at the water stop. Joey held up a sign and waved to everyone as they went by. Their grandpa did a race walk the whole way. Katherine did a great job. Her time was 37.25 and she placed first in her age group, granted there were only 7 in her group. She was 179 out of a total 437. We were really proud of her.
I put Ava down for a nap in her bouncy seat and she wasn't happy about it. After several minutes, I noticed she wasn't crying anymore, so I peaked in her room to see if she was asleep. What I found was precious. Joey didn't want her to cry, so he had gone in and was reading to her. He didn't see me, so I was able to get some pictures without him even knowing it. Too cute.
Everyone had so much fun bowling last year for Mom's birthday that she decided to do it again this year. I had 2 horrible games (as usual) Ava slept through the whole thing, and Katherine really got the hang of it right at the end. I think everybody had fun again.
Today I (Angie) visited work and let them know that I've decided not to come back to work after my leave (which was supposed to end March 13). I've worked there for 13 years now, and I've been really feeling ready for a change, especially after everything we went through with Joey. I've never gotten to be home with my kids for any length of time, and I want to have that experience.
Financially, this is very significant for us. We're leaving it up to God to determine how long I'm able to go without working. It may be for only a few months, we just don't know. I'd like to find some things to do here and there to bring in some income but not have to have work at a steady, full-time job for a while. I'm an accountant, so I'm used to relying on the answers from a spreadsheet. In this case, the spreadsheet says I'll need to go back to work sooner than I want, but we'll see what God has planned.
So far, it's been very different to be home. I'm very task-focused, so I have a long list of things to do each day. I don't get them all done, but it keeps me more focused and making sure that I don't spend my entire day cuddling with Ava (although I do a lot of that, too).
