See you on Friday...

Last week was interesting in the King household. Not at all my best to date (and hopefully not my worst).

On Monday, we were informed that Ryan was put on a special assignment team that will require him to work in Houston 5 days a week. FOR A YEAR.

Yeah. That.

He was offered this position in January because it is part of the UPS career development plan and after discussing, we turned it down. This may mean that he wouldn't get any more promotions in the company, but we were okay with that. We are happy and we value our time as a family. My job has lots of crazy hours, I volunteer at Radley's school and church and with him being gone 4-5 nights/week, that would make a big impact on all of those things.

Well, UPS was not okay with him saying no and we were told that it wasn't an option. And the kicker? He was starting on WEDNESDAY. Two days later.

Y'all.

Let's discuss crazy. Because crazy is a wife that just got done running a school festival that weekend, exhausted, behind on work and then being told her husband would be gone 5 days a week. For a year.

(Have I mentioned my tendency to over-react?)

There may be a mirror broken somewhere.

(And I just realized that I now have 7 years bad luck.)

(Awesome).

So many emotions. Poor Cindy endured all of Monday via text. I think I went through all stages of grief in one afternoon. I also may have given a piece of my mind to someone higher in UPS - that went well. I yelled too much at Ryan, because, well, obviously. I called work and told them I had some things to deal with and would be in on Wednesday.

We discussed. We prayed. We told the kids. We called in the village. We prayed some more.

My discussion with that person must have made a tiny impact, because Ryan got to have the rest of the week off and spend with us, which was wonderful.

Monday was my rage/cry/pity party day.
Tuesday was my let's make a plan/beast mode day.
Wednesday was get dressed and go back to work.
And today - today it begins. Today I am ok. Today I know that this is the plan - even if it isn't MY plan. So today, we make it work.

As the week progressed, I got more information about what this all means, so here's the inside scoop on UPS, y'all. The company is going through a giant project to revamp their routes - make them all more efficient so customers (you and me) get their packages quicker. He will be travelling to centers throughout SE Texas - farthest being 90 miles away - and riding the "trace" with drivers. Then he will issue a report/recommendation to make those traces (or routes) better. He will be at each center for 6 weeks and rotate to a new location. Some days he may be done early enough that he can drive home, but more than likely, he will be gone Monday morning - early Friday afternoon.

In so many ways, I am glad that this was a band aid effect - let's rip this sucker off and get it over with! The next 6-8 weeks is my crazy time at work, but we will get through it. Then we get a "break" in our schedules with summer before getting crazy again. Then comes peak season, and each team member gets sent back to their home center to assist with that crazy, so he will be home for most of November and December. (Which let's all agree, it's like he lives somewhere else then anyway!)  And one of his rotations is the Bryan center - so he'll be home for 12 weeks out of the year.

So I have 40 weeks.

Y'all, I've grown 3 babies already, what's one more, right? And when this one is done, I won't have to change any diapers or have sore boobs. Win!

Some days are going to suck, but that's true no matter what. There are lots of single parents that do this every day all day. Military families are separated by much more than Hwy 290. We got this.

God's answered prayers pop up in the craziest ways. I have prayed for the ability to say "no" to more things. This is the answer to that. I have prayed for my marriage to continue to grow and strengthen. This is the answer to that. I have prayed for the ability to be guilt-free about finding time for myself. This is the answer to that. I have prayed for myself to relinquish control. This is the answer to that. I have prayed for the courage to depend on Him. This is the answer to that.

And while I clearly don't love all these answers - I am thankful for them.

And I am thankful for the answered prayers that I haven't even thought to pray.

I am thankful for my family and friends. My village.

In the seven days since this news was given, so many prayers have been lifted for us. And we have felt them. And I thank you.

Ryan, I am proud of you. I am thankful for you. I appreciate all the bath times, late night water refills, extra minutes of sleep and endless cover sharing that you have given me. I will miss you. 5 nights a week, I will miss you. But don't worry about us, we got this. Be safe. Work hard. And come home.

See you on Friday.

A modern day Santa...

Santa Claus is coming to town

Or so the story goes

A jolly old elf with a bowl full of jelly

Who flies with the tweak of his nose

Boots of black and a suit of red

He sees you awake or asleep

He comes inside on Christmas Day

Without so much as a peep

But if you ask me, they have it wrong

Santa wears brown, not red

He hustles all day all around town

Not stopping 'til his head hits the bed

A 40-hour week would be a gift

Since he's pulling a double a day

From north to south and all around town

Driving a truck instead of a sleigh

From morning to night, the truck that he drives

Is filled up with Amazon prime

He thinks to himself and shakes his head, 

"For the love, quit shopping online!"

He works through his lunch and into the night

Stopping for nary a break

He's trying his best to get done on time

So his kid's Christmas program he'll be able to make

The most wonderful time of year, they say

Is when Christmas comes to call

But for this Santa Claus wonder must wait

Until he delivers it all

Dresses and toys and bikes and dolls

Magic inside of a box

Delivering joy to all girls and boy

With the simplest double knock

And quick as the man dressed all in red

He disappears without even a glance

Back in his sleigh, that big brown square

Miss a drop off? Not even a chance. 

So this Christmas season, when Santa comes knocking

And he's running a little behind

Take a deep breath and simply remember

That this season we need to be kind

He's doing his best, he's giving his all

He won't stop until he is done

And naughty or nice, good or bad

He's committed to everyone

Oh yes, this modern day Santa, 

That's dressed all in brown, committed to delivering joy

Grants Christmas wishes with each knock of the door

To every girl and boy

As the weather gets colder and you find yourself

Sitting next to the ones you hold dear

All snuggled up tight, next to a fire

Grinning from ear to ear

Send Good Tidings to him, this new Santa Claus

It's all I ask of of you

And on Christmas morning while you celebrate

Think of what brown did for you!

**I realize that some drivers are female... but I had to be gender specific. Forgive me.**

Super Saturday...

In the UPS world, this past Saturday was "super" - meaning it was the busiest Saturday of the year. They were running "full routes" instead of their typical Saturday condensed routes - this meant that Daddy was back off to work again. Boo. 

We really hate that he misses out on so much during the season, and since honesty is a favorite policy of mine, I hate that I only get to pee alone about 1 in 10 times for the month of December. We had no real plans other than laundry, house prep & clean, and the like - so I declared it a definite pj day.

By 9am they were all on the couch with popcorn and M&Ms liking the view of our amazing gift from MaMaw!!!! (THANK YOU!) [Side story - Ryan and I "talked" about moving our old TV into our room {meaning he mentioned it} and one day I came home to it hanging on our wall. His plan was to get a new one for our living room - my plan was not to spend money when we didn't need it. I won. So we've been "without a TV" for more than 6 months. The kids, Radley especially, were excited to have one back. And even I enjoyed being able to "work" and watch.]

Radley got invited on a play date with a classmate that lives in our neighborhood, so away he went for a few hours while me and the girls got to work baking some cookies.

They took turns measuring, stirring, and pouring - I only wish I was a better baker for them! :)

The cookies came out nice and golden (and thin) and tasty! Which was perfect because they were being delivered to a very special place...

Fire Station 5!

Just a quick trip to say thanks for all you do!

My plan was to just let them drop off the cookies, but we always get "suckered" into a tour! Radley got to drive the truck...

and the girls took the back seat.

Emmy asked me to set up the church's tag tree in our house and since it's Christmas and I honestly LOVE having lots of trees - I obliged. (We used to have 2 trees, but the old one wore out.) 

We also added some sparkle to the buffet.

(Ignore the Amazon package)

We ended the day with some Ninfas because it is a strict policy that I need to eat out too much during the holidays.

Someone loved the guacamole - the chips? Notsomuch... she just used them as a spoon. 

And we went to bed with full tummys and happy hearts...it was a SUPER Saturday indeed!

Bucket lists...

We started our Saturday by crossing off another item from Radley's summer bucket list. Every weekend there is a small farmer's market in Bryan so we hit it up to see what we could find. 

We arrived a little late in terms of farmer's markets so most of the veggies had been picked over. We did find some Japanese eggplant that became some delicious eggplant parmesan for our Sunday dinner and jelly.

Lots and lots of jelly. He settled on muscadine grape. 

We walked around, bought a cup of lemonade and were on our way to our second stop of the day.

The Bryan UPS was hosting a benefit for one of the drivers that was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Larry has worked for the company for 20+ years. He packs two lunches every day - one for himself and one for a homeless man that is on his route. He and his wife have adopted several children with disabilities. He is a Christian. He is a wonderful example of the meaning of a strong work ethic. He is a hard worker - always willing to help out. 

And as we entered the VFW and arrived to a full room of people wanting to help, I thought about my bucket list. Sometimes we aren't given the chance to really think about what we want to do in life. Sometimes it is handed to you. And in those cases, are any of us really prepared to face what comes next?

As people oooed and ahhed over the kids (even when they make such gorgeous faces as this)...

and as I listened to a couple of drivers pull me aside to tell me what an amazing man I married - how is the kind of boss they always wanted - how he understands where they come from - how he pushes them to be better not just at their jobs, but in life...

and as I watched a kid be happy in the moment of picking the winning number for a dozen cupcakes...

I thought about the items on my bucket list that I have already been able to cross off. And - I don't know if there is really anything left to add. Sure, I want to go to Europe, I'd love to sky dive, maybe get a tattoo, learn a new language, and maybe even see the Aggies win a national championship. 

But, if those things never happen, I'd be ok. I think God places these reminders in front of us so that we can pause and give Him the thanks that he more than deserves. So that we can reflect on what we have been given and strive to live our lives in such a way that when we are in need, a community of people rally together in support of one. 

What's on your bucket list today?