"We are always too busy for our children; we never give them the time or interest they deserve. We lavish gifts upon them; but the most precious gift, our personal association, which means so much to them-we give grudgingly."
Mark Twain

I have to say that, though I think this quote is true much of the time for us, the last two days have been filled with wonderful moments of "personal association" time. Finally two days where we weren't out in town all day for something and we could just hang out at home together. Sure, there was school work to do, but when it doesn't have to be done in a rush and can be savored a little more, the atmosphere is much more positive. Yesterday we were able to spend a few free hours outside doing some last minute sledding (before the snow is all gone :) and some gardening (in the mud with rocks as seeds), filling in mud ruts in our driveway, and concocting stews and spells out of sticks and muddy water (and all sorts of wonderful imaginary ingredients). We even had a snack on the porch and read some books in our lawn chairs! Today Mikaela came and walked with me on the Tri-leisure center track and than colored and did her math while I worked out. She even accomplished 16 equations in 6 minutes when there was a booster juice on the line! The kids jumped on the trampoline with John for about 45 minutes after supper and than the kids and I played games until bedtime. It has been quite an enjoyable two days. Even John's big conrete pour went good today. 80 something meters of concrete is apparently a lot, though I can't say I know much about it, but all is well on that front.
I can't believe our ultrasound is next week! It seems like we have been waiting forever for it and it is just around the corner. We will finally get to see those little features and fingers and toes for the first time. I think John is going to come from work and I am going to take Mikaela and Jacob so they can see their new sibling as well. I wondered if it was a good idea to take the kids in case there is something wrong with the baby, but if there is, they will have to deal with the consequences along with us and it may be better for them to know right away. I find it mostly doesn't pay to keep kids in the dark about things, at least in a general sense. So, something great to look forward to next week!