A few weeks before I went to Florida, I had been on the phone with Rebecca. She had called me and it wasn't our usual conversation. I could tell she was overloaded. So after we talked for a while, she had to go and said she'd call me back. So as soon as I hung up with her, I had the thought that I should go to Florida and help her. I had sent Justin a text to call me when he could since he was at work and the thought just would not leave my mind. BUT, I kept thinking about how it had just been my birthday and we had spent more than usual for it and I didn't see how I could afford a trip to Florida without finding an amazing deal like I had the first time I visited ($120 round trip). I looked online and the cheapest I could find was $450 round trip. Justin called and I told him about mine and Rebecca's conversation and how I felt like I should go visit her to help. I would have thought that Justin would have shot it down and told me we couldn't afford it, but he didn't. He just said we could go over finances that night and see if we could get me down there. The rest of the day it just kept nagging at me and I could not let it go. I needed to go down there. That night when I had gotten home I got in the tub to soak in baking soda (chicken pox scabs were still bothering me then), kids were taking a nap, then Justin got home. He asked me how serious I was about going and I said if we could afford it I really wanted to go, but if we couldn't then I'd let it go. Then he told me how he had asked his dad about where to look for good deals and he told Justin that they had a bunch of sky miles that would get me a round trip to Florida. So he said we could trade. If I would watch their kids while they go away for their anniversary at the end of the year, I could have the miles to get me to Florida and back. Tears flowed. What a blessing! I felt like I owed them so much and I was in awe with their generosity....so grateful for them! I immediately called Rebecca (after I got out of the bath and dressed) and told her I was coming down to help her. We booked the trip for the end of February.
When I got there, I was nervous. I had been nervous to travel by myself and nervous about how Rebecca's kids would react to me being there. I hadn't been around her kids for years and I didn't even know Porter. I had visited right after he was born last time so he didn't even know me. I was worried that her kids (especially Ella and Porter since they would be the ones that didn't really know or remember me) would be reluctant around me and not want me there and I was worried it would be a long week. When I was standing on the curb waiting for them to pull up, I was surprised by the exact opposite reaction to me! They were excited for me to be there and Ella ended up being my little buddy that week. We would take turns waking each other up each morning...but because of the time change, she started getting a little annoyed that after a few days I had yet to wake her up. She had woken me up every morning. So one morning I set my alarm to make sure I was awake before her. So I really only woke her up one day. I absolutely LOVED being with her kids that week and gaining a relationship with them. Hannah loved playing board games and she had my style...we played a lot of Clue. Preston's cool - extremely helpful kid. He didn't really know what to say to me, but I remember being the same way when I his age with adults...I think I still am sometimes! But I had to laugh. The first night Rebecca had to run somewhere so I was outside with her kids. Porter wasn't talking great yet, but could talk and say words...not sentences though. He was growling under his breath and said very sternly "Go Home!" "You want me to go home?" "Uh huh." "Oh, sorry buddy, I can't go home. I'm here all week!" Still makes me laugh when I think about it. He liked me for my chocolate, though...Hey, I'll take what I can get. He's so cute and reminded me a lot of Parker!
So what did we do??? Yard work! I can't even begin to say how much I love yard work, but I loved it then. Okay, maybe I didn't love it, but the service and results I loved. We kicked butt! She had a dump truck load of mulch dropped off in her driveway and that HUGE pile was there for less than 24 hours! She had a ton of area that took mulch. It lined her entire house, the flower beds/bushes area in the front yard and the huge playground and trampoline area in the back yard. The reason I'm not a fan of yard work is because of the creatures I'm scared to come across while working. Spiders (and I remembered from last time I was there the huge banana spiders the size of your hand) and snakes....but I only saw normal spiders this trip so I was relieved and no snakes. I was so sore! I laugh that at the beginning I was giving Ella and Porter wheelbarrow rides...that was short lived! By the end, I didn't know if I could lift another shovel load of mulch again and push another wheelbarrow full into the back yard again...Endurance had a whole new level and meaning to me after that. When we finished that afternoon, I was proud...VERY proud that we had done that. Rebecca left to go pick up her kids...I didn't go because I was so dirty and tired. When they pulled up to the house they said, "Wow, Natalie did all of that?" Ha ha, Rebecca didn't get much credit even though she worked equally hard!
Did we play at all??? Yes! Friday night we had pizza and movie night and we listened over the phone my nephew, Jared, opening his mission call. Saturday we had a girls night. Rebecca and I went to dinner and a movie and saw "The Vow" because I had read the book on the flight there. Monday morning we went to Orlando. We visited her friend there and Rebecca showed me some of the sights. We stayed at a hotel that night and played.
That week went so fast! I didn't take many pictures because we stayed busy. But before I left, Mya made me promise I would take pictures of all of the animals I would see. So these are for you sweetie:
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