2 more sleeps....

I knew a little girl named Addison (who is not so little anymore), and she used to count the days to whatever she was waiting for by "sleeps". "Three more sleeps!" "Two more sleeps!"..... well, we are now at two more sleeps until we leave for Mexico. Although, it may very well end up being one more sleep...since I don't know if I'll be able to sleep one wink on Friday night just out of sheer excitement!!!

I have been living at work since Tuesday, because my employers went to New York again. It has been an interesting week since F started kindergarten and has not really been around since he is in school from 8-2:45 every day. I've had a lot of fun with S&E though. Today we had a playdate, and then went to my house so that Ethan and I could pack for our trip. Ethan has been staying here overnight as well, which is always appreciated...I don't think I'd sleep nearly as well without him here. There's just something reassuring about an armed person sleeping next to you, even when the alarm is on. It's a pretty gigantic house (6,000 square feet) and the two older kids are further away than I'd like, but I don't want to be too far away from S, so I just rely on baby monitors and the alarm system.

Anyway, we are mostly packed and I will finish up the rest of the packing tomorrow afternoon when my part-time nanny comes to relieve me for a few hours... I will be completing the packing and getting a pedicure.

Ethan and I always get generous checks from family members at our anniversary, which is really unnecessary...but also appreciated at the same time! Usually we stash it in savings for a later date, but this time we decided to use it for something fun.... snorkeling gear! Ethan loves to snorkel, and we will be off the second largest barrier reef in the world. Last year in Jamaica we did go snorkeling, but it was not very much fun because the masks did not fit correctly and water leaked, etc. So today we were fitted for masks and bought dry snorkels (they automatically close and seal off the tube if water gets in). We're so excited to use them in Mexico! We'll be sending a photo of us in Mexico with our snorkel gear on, goofy smiles, and a cheesy thumbs up pose with our thank you notes. I'm sure I'll also post said picture on here at some point as well.

I seriously cannot wait for this vacation to start on Saturday....this time with my husband is something that I look forward to with great anticipation every year. It is so important to me. It really doesn't matter WHERE we go... I would be happy staying home with him for a week, but I love going out of the country because it cuts off all the other outside distractions that would still be around if we were in the U.S. (internet, email, cell phones, etc.) I'm also so excited about gym time. Sure, I love to read and lounge around, but I also LOVE being on vacation with Ethan because we can work out every day together! The resort we are staying at this year has a state of the art gym, so we'll be hitting the gym every morning before we hit the beach. I won't lose a pound....with all the food and sugary drinks that we will be indulging in, but I bet I can maintain it, and hopefully get myself into the habit of working out daily again since I definitely slacked off on that this summer. Lastly, this vacation kicks off the last semester of Ethan's undergraduate degree...which is the starting point for an entirely different life for us both in some ways.... so it's just exciting to finally be here!

No, you may NOT try to kill my husband, thank you very much.

This afternoon, Ethan came home from work and informed me that at 5 AM this morning he had to apprehend a suspect who was walking down the street with a wine bottle in his hand. The perp took off running, and Ethan was lightly jogging behind him ordering him to stop while thinking it was absolutely ridiculous that the guy was full out running. He was hoping he could just jog behind him until the perp wore himself out but then the guy decided he was going to fight. He wheeled around and tried to grab Ethan's weapon, which is EXTREMELY rare, and has never actually happened to Ethan before. The angle that the weapon is holstered makes it pretty impossible to grab, but it's frightening to think that this guy even wanted to take the weapon to begin with. There's no question about what he would have done with it. Ethan was able to keep him far away enough (my husband is nearly 6'5", so his long arms came in quite handily this morning) but then the guy whacked him in the side of the head with the bottle he was holding. I'm just so glad that Ethan withstood that blow, and that the wine bottle came out of the guy's hand and shattered on the ground. Ethan sprayed the perp in the face with the OC (pepper spray) since he was able to free a hand. He had been concerned about the wine bottle and both of his hands had been busy holding the perp away from his weapon up to the point the wine bottle shattered. Needless to say, it ended well and fortunately other than a few scabs on his knee and a tender temple from the bottle being whacked into his head, Ethan is just fine. It makes me so angry to think about the fact that this guy wanted to knock my husband out and shoot him and then leave him for dead. Of course, in typical Ethan fashion, he just shrugged it off as "no big deal" and said he felt sorry for the suspect because he cut himself on bits of glass from the shattered wine bottle when Ethan forced him to the ground to put cuffs on him. My reaction? "Good, he deserved to bleed for what he tried to do to you." Ethan's response, "He only hates what I stand for, he doesn't hate me." Only my husband would have sympathy and forgiveness for someone who just tried to find a means to kill him. Really. I need to pray for this guy and his injuries, not get mad at him...I'm working on it. This is why Ethan is the police officer and I am not.

This is not the first, and will not be the last, of the many incidents that occur in world of policing that we live in. I don't live my life in fear at all, but I'm still struggling a little bit with the aspect of the perp trying to get his firearm this morning.The thought of my husband being taken from me by violence makes me feel sick inside. This is where I just have to let go and accept that I'm not in control of my life, but God is, and He will help me get through whatever comes my way. I don't have to love what comes my way....I just have to trust. Easier said than done, as we all know for some reason or another.

One more week until Mexico.....

Updates on my life....

It's been a while since I've posted, but I have been pretty busy! After I returned home from the beach I was home for 2 nights and then headed to Bremo Farms in Virginia for a week (for work). Most of the people who read this will have already seen our beach trip photos on Facebook, so I'm not going to bother posting any on here.

Work continues to go well! I was given a raise, bonus, and the Amazon Kindle (which I absolutely LOVE!) as a gift from my employers for my 1 year service date. I also now have weekends off, which is a welcome change. One of my part-time nannies was only able to work on weekends this semester due to her school schedule, so I just scheduled her to cover weekends only. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this because it's weird to not work on weekends after doing so for SO long...however, it didn't take me very long to get used to it! I think I'll keep her on the weekend schedule forever. Right now I'm still working about 55-60 hours per week, and I am hoping to eventually bring that down to 45-50 hours per week by January 2011. We'll see what happens. It really depends on my part-time nannies and their availability. I'm just at the point in my life where I need to slow down a little bit and do things for myself...I know I've been saying that for the last five years but at least I'm actually doing something about it now! :) I can honestly say that I don't see myself returning to work on weekends on a regular basis, especially given that if Ethan changes jobs he will have weekends off too...and we're going to want to spend our weekends together, to say the least! I just have to decide by September if I will continue to babysit for the family I have been sitting for every Saturday night for the past year. Haven't really determined this yet...I've got time.

My weekends.....

This past weekend I went to Dawn's bachelorette party. It was...interesting, and on the crazy side. I survived without a hangover, so I'm going to chalk that one up as a win!

I am headed to Dawn & Kevin's wedding here in Atlanta this weekend. They're getting married at 3 PM so we're not sure if Ethan will make it to the ceremony. The reception is at Maggiano's and Ethan will definitely make it to that. I'm excited for them both as they make this big leap into married life.

The weekend after, I am headed up to Ohio to see my parents at Lakeside and to celebrate my dad's birthday! VERY excited about this, since (A) I love Lakeside and (B) I LOVE my parents. It will be a lot of fun to spend the weekend with them. Ethan is busy with school and work so he isn't able to go up there with me...next year though, hopefully!

Three weeks and three days until Mexico....I don't think I can adequately express how excited I am for this. I CANNOT WAIT. I am so happy to have an entire week with Ethan where neither of us have any distractions with work, etc. It's going to be heavenly. I keep reading the new reviews for our resort on TripAdvisor.com and the excitement just keeps escalating! Ethan is starting to get psyched too, but I'm not sure if it's because of our trip or because he's done with his summer semester the day before we leave...hmmm...I'm thinking it's probably a combination of both! Haha.

My best friend...

A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down. ~Arnold Glasow

I'm sitting here at my kitchen island writing this post as I wait until the clock hits 7. I'm leaving here at 7 PM and going to the airport to pick up my best friend, Erica. I'm pretty sure she gets emails on her iPhone informing her that I've posted a new blog, so I won't reveal our destination just yet. I started plotting this in March, and with the help of her husband was able to keep it hush-hush until last week. She doesn't know where we are going yet. We're heading away for a much needed girl's weekend. The last time we were able to take a trip together was when we had a very spur of the moment trip to NYC to be with our friends Irene and Phillip. Before we were married, we used to go on trips together, and then Erica married her husband Doug...but the trips didn't stop. We still went to the beach together. In fact, on one of our beach trips was the trip that I met MY husband on.

We have been through so much together in the time that we've known each other (since age 6). We've survived nasty fights with each other (when we were younger), broken hearts, complicated relationships, etc. Erica has been, and will always be, there for me - no matter what. I can call her at 3 AM. I can trust her to tell me what she really thinks. She is also one of the strongest Christians I know, but she is amazing in that she does not judge others. I'm very black and white and sometimes jump to judgement. I have done things in my life that were stupid and completely against how Jesus wants us to live. Erica loved me anyway. She always told me she disapproved and pointed me in the right direction at every opportunity she had, but with a gentle and loving spirit: not one of nagging and condemnation. Even to this day, she is the first one to suggest praying over situations, or sharing Scripture with me that relates to whatever I am going through at the moment. This girl hits her knees the second anyone she loves begins to struggle. She has been an incredible example to me (and I'm sure to the many others she comes into contact with) through her own walk with Christ and constantly challenges me in that area. I'm a better person because of her in my life.

I can go weeks without talking to her, and we just pick up right where we left off. We're better about not letting weeks go by thanks to all the modern technology of iChat and text messaging. I have no doubt that when I am ninety years old I will look over to the rocking chair next to me and she'll be sitting right there next to me. That's just the kind of friendship we have. She knows that the same goes for me. We really love each other, and I am so thankful that the Lord gave me such a wonderful friend in Erica. I can't wait to spend the next four days with her just catching up and being girls.

And I'll end this post with a song by Amy Grant that we adopted as "our" song back when we were teenagers. The lyrics pretty much sum up how we feel about each other. And no...it's not "Friends".


I Will Be Your Friend

When every moment gets too hard
The end of the road can feel so far
No matter how much time we're apart
I'm always near you
I'll be the shelter in your rain
Help you to find your smile again
I'll make you laugh at a broken heart
Wherever you are

[Chorus:]
'Cause I'm never gonna walk away
If the walls come down someday
All alone and you feel afraid
I'll be there when you call my name
You can always depend on me
I believe until forever ends
I will be your friend

So many people come and go
But nothing can change and you I know
You'll never be just a face in the crowd
And time will show
Through the seasons and the years
I will always hold you dear
Never you fear

[Chorus]

I'll be around when every candle burns down low
And I want you and I want you to know

Seriously, I could not make this stuff up.....

So, we all know that my job is definitely not the typical governess/household management position. It seems my job description has now been expanded further...to include posting bail when necessary.

Last night my employers went out for dinner and when I heard the door open, only the mom came in. She explained that she had left her wallet by accident and that dad was heading back to the place to retrieve it because it had a lot of cash in it (my paycheck). We talked for a little bit and then I headed out to go home... I was tired, it was 11:45 PM and I needed to get to bed because I had to be back the next morning at 10 to work until 5.

I literally pull into my parking spot when my phone starts buzzing with text messages. Frantic text messages. The first one: "OMG OMG, B has been arrested, OMG, help me Lauren!"

I sighed and thought to myself, "Seriously?" All I wanted was my bed at this point and to snuggle with my husband. I went into the house and roused Ethan and we drove to the location where B was. We were hoping to get the Range Rover before it was impounded, but no dice. The officer informed Ethan that B had rolled through a stop sign, and when he checked his license (as is routine) it came up as suspended. Apparently someone forgot to pay a traffic ticket. In all fairness, B should not have been arrested for this and the officer was probably being a bit overzealous. However, the law is the law, and each officer is free to interpret it however he/she sees fit as long as they can give a credible explanation for their actions in the incident report. We got there as the Rover was being jacked up onto the tow truck and were informed we could have the car...if we ponied up $125 in cash right there on the spot. Unfortunately, B was pulled over on his way to get the wallet so nobody had cash. We watched the tow truck tow away the Rover and the squad car pull away with my boss in the back.

Okay. Plan B. Mom obviously isn't in any state to go and post bail, and Ethan and I were worried she would be overly emotional and get herself locked up at the jail. (He's seen it happen!) Since I am a calm and rational person no matter what, I found myself making the arrangements to spring the jailbird free. A neighbor went to get the wallet and I met him at his house and headed for the jail with hundreds of dollars in cash, praying that this wasn't an FTA (failure to appear) charge. If it had been, my boss would have been taken to a different jail and we wouldn't have been able to get him out until Monday sometime. When I arrived at the jail it was almost 1 AM, and they hadn't even processed him yet. The kind lady there did inform me how much his bail would be though, which is an interesting (and somewhat ridiculous) tale. There were two fees. One for the actual bond, which was $1097, and then a $13 administrative fee. Each fee had to be paid separately.

With exact change.

Alrighty then. I had stacks of twenties, a ten, a five, and a couple of one dollar bills.

"Can you just keep the change?" "Absolutely not, ma'am."

Where am I going to find a place to get change at 1:30 in the morning?

::deep breath::

Fortunately, I was able to dig around and find enough quarters and pennies and a person willing to make some change right there in the room and scraped together the exact amounts for each of the two fees. They still didn't have his folder ready since he was still in the middle of being processed. So I went into the waiting room to sit and wait. I am informed that it can take as long as three hours.

2:30 AM.

Finally get called back in to fill out the release paperwork and post the bond and then get sent back out to the waiting area which is...shall we just say... filled with very interesting looking people from all walks of life. All of us were there for the same reason.

3:15 AM.

I get bored and go out to my car to text Ethan (who was working an extra job) and my boss to let him know that I had finished all of the paperwork and it was just a matter of time before he was let go. Would you believe that people that are arrested are allowed to keep their cell phones with them and actually use them? However, people going inside to post bond aren't allowed to take cell phones in and must leave them in their vehicles? Yeah, I thought that was quite strange too...but whatever. I'm a rule follower.

3:30 AM

I go back inside and sit and wait, and am starting to feel seriously fatigued at this point. I am also starting to feel quite disgusting because the place is hot and not exactly the picture of cleanliness. I also decide that if B is not released by the time the clock hits 4 AM I am going home because I cannot possibly stay awake much longer and am starting to feel sick.

3:45 AM

A sheepish looking B comes out, we get in the car, I take him home, after informing him I would not be coming to work at all that day, and then drive home myself. After a super long and hot shower with lots of scrubbing, I fall asleep at 5 AM. In the morning. Yeah. The last time I stayed awake that long had to have been in my New York City boyfriend days. I finally awakened around 2:30 PM. Whew. Always an adventure in this job!

40 years....

Ethan and I are headed to Charlotte this afternoon for the weekend. The main reason for the visit is because we're hosting a small party for his parents, Mike & Toni. (I don't refer to them as mom and dad... just Mike & Toni). Anyway, several months ago they called and said they wanted to have the whole family together for dinner to commemorate their 40th anniversary. I was aghast and immediately hijacked the conversation and asked if they would please let us plan and host the event. They agreed, so everything was planned and is now being set into motion this weekend. I won't post a lot here about this because I don't want to ruin any of the surprises we have for them... but you can bet I will be posting after this weekend with a recap!

Ethan finished his Maymester class with an A+....highest grade in the class. The class? "Negotiation". He's tackling Federal Income Tax this summer... and then in the fall, just two classes until he graduates in December! It's been a long ride, but it will all be worth it in the end.

Work continues to go well.... here are a couple of pictures of my sweet babies. I did not take the first photo, my part-time nanny, Emily, did. She is a student at The Portfolio Studio here in Atlanta and used the kids as models for one of her projects. Super talented and so sweet.

Just another fun day at work....

Today marks one year that I've been at my job full-time. I worked for them part-time for a couple of years beforehand. Anyway, this is a typical day with them...full of fun activities and juggling. It's not "easy" but the rewards of being a part of their lives cannot even begin to be measured. I'm so blessed. Seriously.