No More Shift Work For The J-Man!!

SO much has happened in the last week or so! I'm going to split it up between two posts, so that you don't have to read a novel!! Our trip went wonderful. The kids did fairly well in the car, and even all slept at the same time for 2 1/2 hours in the car the last day! Our first stop was Gatlinburg, where Dawn and Corey met my parents for the first time. They did very well, because we had been preparing them with lots of pictures. That Saturday my parents took all the kids back to Nashville so Jeremy and I could have some much needed (and might I say, deserved) alone time! Jeremy and I headed to Nashville on Monday, and the whole family had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe at Opry Mills. We had a great time! The next day we went out and saw my parents new house that they are building, and Wednesday we took family pictures and had a nice family meal at my brother's house. My highlight? I probably couldn't even begin to pick one, but I was thrilled to get to see my nephew, Lanning, for the first time! Thursday we headed to Indiana (followed by my brother and his family, and my sister) to visit the Thomas side of the family. We were able to see my grandmother up and talking and in good spirits. What a blessing!! She is doing better. Thank you for all the prayers! We visited some more on Friday with my grandma, and then spent the late afternoon at the Markle pool, where I swam as a child. It was heartwarming to see our children and Andrew's children swimming and playing where I remember Andrew and I swimming and playing as children. Andrew, Andrea, and I got some good sibling play time at the pool. In fact, Andrea pushed me off a floating dock into the pool (which is more like a man made pond). When I went to retaliate, the lifeguard blew the whistle at me! No fair! Jeremy and Andrew had a great time on the water slide, and diving off the diving board. We made some really good memories that afternoon. That night was spent doing the old Thomas family tradition: playing cards! The Knutson Klan left Indiana Saturday morning, and after thirteen hours, finally pulled into our driveway. We were tired but happy, filled up with all the good memories we made on this trip. The best part of the whole trip was that Jeremy found out that he got the new position at work!!! No more shift work, no more working nights!! God has truly given us an answer to prayer! Well, VBS has been absolutely crazy, and keeping us as busy as ever. We had 106 kids last night though, so it has been well worth all the hard work. My cousin Jennifer and her family are coming in for a week visit tomorrow night, and we are looking forward to that! Tomorrow, I will post about our crazy court experience yesterday. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with these!