Des Moines

I'm back. I loved being "single" for a few days and loved coming home to my fam. Top row: Helen, my refugee friend and her boys; me holding the 4-week-old Snodgrass twins (6 lbs now); Second row: the whole Drost family, the Snodgrasses, in one day they have as many people in their family as we do; Bottom: Kindle Hope Drost, 4 months old, the newest Drost and the first girl baby!

I highly recommend hanging out for several days with another family. I was inspired in the never ending discipline journey for myself and my kids, I was comforted (this sounds a little pathetic) seeing other kids misbehave too, I was thankful for my family, though I do love you my friends. Visiting another family teaches you; it made me wish for the idea of that book It Takes A Village (to raise a child). I miss the intimacy of my friends in Des Moines and how they could make up for our weaknesses as parents. I miss the Sunday morning gatherings and the way the families serve each other. God hasn't given us that kind of intimacy since we left, but we keep praying.

I cried out to God for my new city of Ignored. Since I've left Des Moines, it appears to be prospering. The streets from the airport to downtown and all along the interstate that runs through the center of the city are lush with landscaping, flowers, and trees (even as the flood waters receded). Several of the formerly run down areas of town have been transformed into trendy restaurants and boutiques and there were people shopping in them! No empty strip malls, a low unemployment rate, good schools, a normal number of houses for sale and they haven't lost much value in the last year. I know Des Moines is a white collar town with the insurance industry at its helm--an industry that will always be "needed." But it has an inner city, a large foreign refugee population and gangs. Yet it is thriving. I long for Ignored to get turned around, to be able to say to all those people who abandoned it...see what some love from a few Christians did to turn this place around. Mostly I want the kids here to be hopeful. This part of Michigan is so low on hope.

Lastly, airports boggle my brain. So many people going so many different places. I like to people watch at O'Hare. It's like a city in glass tunnels. I wish I had had my laptop with me to write about all I saw. Part of my boggled brain though comes from the technology. People with ipods, laptop stations, cell phones, electronic books, text messaging, and most people trying not to speak to the person next to them. I try to greet everyone I sit by especially when I don't have kids to keep track of, but they don't always appreciate my intrusion! How sad.

Airports with little ones

This past weekend I took both girls with me and went to Austin, TX for Grandma's celebration of life party. This is my favorite picture of the weekend, my cousin Paul, Mattie the dog and K. I am glad I went but I am also glad to raising children with my hubby (man did I miss him!)

I've read several "Guides to traveling with small children" articles in parents' magazines, but they only talk about what to pack to keep the tots occupied. That's the easy part.

What I needed to pack was a giant dose of patience, lots of extra time, and a willingness to stop and look around. I had all these things this weekend, but not enough. I guess I did have plenty of extra time. Here's my addendum to traveling with pre-schoolers, especially little girls who are easily scared.
1) Plan on moving slowly through the airport. K liked to jump over the stripes at the Austin airport, we couldn't get just walk. She couldn't just jump either. Walk walk walk, stop, jump, stop and regain balance, walk , walk, walk. And the moving sidewalks in Detroit, especially in the hallway with all the colored lights are not to increase speed but to stand still and marvel at the wonders of the colored lights, the music, and the fact that the sidewalk is moving.
2) Unless you live in a big city, be prepared to jolt to a stop at all thresholds. The step from the floor to escalator, from the top of the escalator to the floor, from the floor to the elevator where the crack is, from the ramp to the plane where the crack is and you can see the ground. All of these scary, potentially dangerous spots require at least hestitation and at most tears and screaming.
3) Stop at every water fountain, anywhere you can see a tram, and under the echo ceiling in the Houston airport. Let your children yell and hear the echo while all the other travelers hurry by shaking their heads at how loud you are letting your children be, never realizing they just passed under the best echoing spot ever.
4) Be prepared in the bigger airports for all the stores and food smells that will entice your children and make them think they are suddenly incomplete. Don't pass such areas without eating first, unless you plan to spend MORE money.
5) Going to the bathroom takes a long time. There are automatic toilets, automatic soap dispensers, automatic faucets, and little people can never work any of these automatic things correctly. But they want to. And your job is to help them. Anyway, don't enter the bathroom two minutes before boarding time if you can avoid it.

We did have fun this weekend on our travels, but traveling alone with two smallish children was exhausting, especially when there were so many legs to our trip (2 hour drive, 2 flights, 20 minute drive, parking lot shuttles, etc.) The girls did pick up a ton of new words and experiences and we had fun, but now I am exhausted and need some of that alone time after being with them for 24/7 since Friday. Overall, I am glad the girls got to experience a funeral and see so many relatives.