Saying good bye

Today Joni left. We said good bye last night and made a point not to talk about how much we were going to miss her or she was going to miss the boys. Saying good bye to my Mom, my Mother-in-law, and Joni, are so very difficult every time they leave. I have to not let myself think about where we may be next year and how hard it will be to possibly see them even less then I do now. One day at a time everyone. Right? God will have us where we should be. Trust.

But ... back to Joni's departure. I woke up at 6am and the sheets on her bed were stripped and her room was empty. It is sad to me. I loved having her here. I love how much she loves my boys. She is, truly, an energizer bunny, and has an endless supply of energy. I am really going to miss her. Doesn't everyone need more people to help love their children?

I am not sure how we would have gotten through these last two weeks without her. JB only has two more days of this difficult rotation left -- thank goodness. Last week he worked 95 hours. This week will be less but still more than any normal person should have to work. Having Joni's company and encouragement has been fantastic.

Yesterday we decided to take the boys outside for an hour despite the cold temperatures. I was trying to put a coat on Eljiah and he was writhing and screaming and sobbing and twisting and turning. In the midst of that, Scrubs decided, from the kitchen, that he should cry about the fact that we looked like we were leaving without him (we weren't) with all his might. And then Isaac decided he didn't want Joni to change his clothes anymore and he would instead like to climb on Mommy's back. I thought I might cry. What should I do first? But Joni just picked up Elijah and took over the wiggling little cutie pie while I changed Isaac and she encouraged me to block Scrubs out completely.

Break down diverted praise the Lord.

In honor of Joni, here are some pics that she took that I hadn't previously included on the blog. I love you Jonimoose!