We are going to be very sad to leave tomorrow! We arrived in Calgary on Friday evening to a throng of squealing children! All three of our children and both of my sister's children we giddy with delight and enthusiasm. I love how much our children have grown to love each other and I know that when we leave tomorrow we will all be very sad.
Another great bonus of this trip is that the dad's and mom's traded off days. On the Saturday Jeral and Chris got to go out and enjoy just chilling together, while Jocelyn and I watched the children. We managed to get all five kids out of the house for a bit of an adventure at the McDonalds Play Place. Jaris even went up in the equipment until he tried to stand up and smashed his head. At that point he screamed so loudly that another mom ran, ripped her shoes off and went inside the equipment. However when she got to Jaris before I could the screaming got louder and she turned to me and said I think I scared him. Yep I am pretty sure you did, and that is okay!
Sunday my sister and I got to leave the men with the children, and we went out for a lovely lunch, some shopping, and a movie. It was so nice to get to just hang and do sister things together, and surprisingly we even like similar movies! While we were shopping we looked at each other, then smiled because we both realized that all of our shopping was for our children and not for us.
Jeral and Chris took the kids sledding Sunday night and they had a blast. In all honestly we were not sure how Jaris would do, yet he loved it and had some much fun. So I think we have found another amazing activity for him to enjoy! When they got home with the kids Chris had said that he expected Jaris to be the weakest link, yet he was the strongest one out there. I know the comment was meant to be encouraging, and I am choosing to sit in the reality that my son loves sledding and blew everyone else away with his skills in this area. Yet I also find it it hard to hear that my son was expected to be the weakest link. Maybe it was just the way things were said, and that is what bothers me. I know that when children have disabilities others often expect less of them, and I will admit that I am guilty of this myself. While I am Jaris mother and I know what he is capable of better than anyone else, I also know he is capable of being encouraged gently to go beyond what he is already doing. I also know that the best time to encourage him to go beyond his limits is when he is in a relaxed and anxiety free place.
I also loved watching the children play together. They had so much fun. All four of the oldest were interacting and playing dress up. At one point Tyson and Jaris came down stairs asking for help to find the second pirate hat so they could be pirates together. We also had a first happen - Jaris and Tyson were playing just the two of them and Kenzie and Mady were playing just the two of them.
Now we are home and while we are thankful to be home, we are sad that we had to leave. Coming home means doing lots of laundry and tidying up the house. The children are already telling me how much they miss their cousins and that they can't wait to see them and luckily we get to see them in 3.5 weeks. So until then we will get the house ready for the big Pauls' Christmas in a few weeks, and I will keep setting up for Christmas!
