Top Five

ONE WEEK till Tom takes off for San Antonio....for a month!  I have a whole new appreciation for military wives/moms who send their guys off to Iraq or Afghanistan for MONTHS at a time!  And just because it doesn't get said enough, THANK YOU to all the troops for your service to our country! 

I was looking at the calendar and figured out that Tom is gone for parts of 5 weeks....so here it is, my list of 5 things that I'll miss the most in those 5 weeks.  I could come up with a lot more, but I needed to stop at 5 or I was going to have myself in tears! 

1.  Laying in bed after a long day and talking about how cute are kiddos are, all the funny things Makenzie said during the day, all the naughty things Micah did, and just how blessed we are.

2.  Sleeping in  (redefined sleeping in....you know like 7:30 am) on Saturday mornings while Tom gets up with the kids (at 6 am). 

3.  Having a helper, someone to share everyday life with....talking on the phone once a week just isn't going to be the same!  I love that Tom helps out so much - and for the next month I have to cook AND clean up dinner AND keep the kids entertained while I do the cooking and cleaning up! 

4.   Having someone to rant to after a hectic day at work....someone who listens and never reacts, never gets worked up when I'm going 100 mph in circles about nothing!  There isn't anything that can take the place of a hug from my man or his shoulder to cry on when I'm in a tizzy. 

5.  My trash man.....I can't tell you how much I hate trash duty, and in over 6 years of marriage I can probably count on one hand (maybe 2 hands) the number of times I've taken out the trash and I HATE thinking about having to take out the trash myself for the next 30 days! 

And because I don't want you to think its all gloom and doom around here while Tom's gone, here are 5 things I'm really looking forward to in the next 5 weeks: 

1.)  4th of July in Dubuque - Tom's grandparents live in Dubuque and we've gone there every July 4th for the last several years.  His grandpa is 92 and they just moved to assisted living (If I'm 1/2 as sharp as his grandpa at 92, I'll consider myself amazing!!)  I think it will be a little hard to not spend the time at their house -- the house they built when Tom's mom was young and have lived in all their lives, but I'm SO excited to see them!!  Hopefully they're still up for a trip to Eagle Point Park. :) 

2.) Go Fish concert -  We LOVE Go Fish!!  We went to one with Makenzie shortly after Micah was born and I found out they are coming to Kearney in July....so we got tickets and my parents, the kids and I are going to Go Fish!  (Hope Grandma and Grandpa know what they're getting themselves in to!!)

3.)  A week away --of course this would be better if I could call it a FAMILY vacation, but I'm still looking forward to it!  Several days of no work and lots of fun with my kids!  We're headed to Lincoln/Omaha to see friends, my grandparents, go to the zoo and hopefully hit up a children's museum! 

4.)  Makenzie picking up the phone and saying, "Oh hello dad" just like she's 3 going on 16  - MELTS my heart to see her smile when she hears her daddy's voice on the other end of the phone!

5.)  July 26th - party at the Nelsen's....MY HUBBY GETS HOME!!  :)