Coming back

A while back for memorial day weekend our family visited Arizona. We went as a surprise for our nephew who graduated from high school. It was such a wonderful weekend and I am so happy we went. Jonathan loves his cousins and we almost don't even get to see him when there are cousins around. I was curious how Claire would react to her closest aged cousin, and it was competition at first sight. I am hoping they will be friends when they get older. Sadly, I am lacking in pictures.
Anyways, apparently there is a curse on us, that whenever we visit our families we come back sick. This time was no exception, although only Jonathan got  miserably sick.

 I am happy we are all better.
Being slightly sick and watching lots of movies has it reward in that I was able to finish Claire's rag quilt!

It actually turned out better then I thought (I wasn't 'in love' with the fabric originally)
Also, this month, I came up with a realization that has really up lifted and change my opinion on life. While on a walk with Jacob we realized that whenever I was asked "what do you do?" the response "I'm a stay at home mom." usually leads to "do you do something else/what did you used to do/what will you do as a job in the future?" which I guess is all fine and great for relating to working women/mom's but it really wares on stay at home mothers of really  young kids who really can't do much else right now in that it starts seeming like the question is "when are you going to get back to having 'a life' and achieving your goals or something note worthy?"
So my revelation was this: STOP! Stop always focusing on what I was/ what I might do when the kids are in school and start putting social and lifetime value in now. Instead of answering the question "what do you do?" with "I'm a stay at home mom." take it as an opportunity to help shift the social emphasis on  success in work place to the handwork and lifetime achievement in raising toddlers, by answering with "Our (or my) main goal in life is to raise intelligent, creative, and well-balanced and loved children, that is what I am doing." or "I am focusing on raising the best children I can right now it is the most extensive (creative/interesting/consuming) thing I've ever done." that shifts questions away from what you'll do someday or what your not doing and has helped me realized what an important and interesting job I am doing right now. At least, I need to be reminded that staying at home with your little kids is a great work and noteworthy every chance I can get and this helps me not be caught in the getting down on myself for not being a award winning/ fast promoted whatever.
Also a big impact in my life is finding out my sister had a new tumor and had to go into surgery again and this just a week after I left AZ. It is hard, not only because I am worried for her, but because once again I don't get to help her. It is hard to have someone who has given you almost as much as a mother, in a position that they need help and you are too far away to do anything.