JB headed back to work today after 23 days off.
Yes, you read that correctly. Twenty-three days off.
His plant was shut down for three weeks. 😛
And as I was getting ready to get into the shower this morning it occured to me that it really was like a vacation.
There was no sunbathing… no restaurants… no roller coasters… or tour guides. But it really was a vacation from our routine.

During this “vacation:”
~I worked 52 more hours than I normally would have.
~Daddy conducted three full days, and numerous partial days of school.
~I had surgery.
~Daddy framed the basement.

What we didn’t do…
Daddy went 23 days with out a conference call, meeting or product deadline.
Mommy had two Mondays at work –> which is laundry day.
Mommy had a Thursday at work –> which is mopping day.
The kids had 5 days off school. [Yes, we made the do school even on New Year’s Eve! – school is so much easier to conduct with two adults around, so let’s keep moving in the curriculum and take time off when the weather is nice!]

By far the most amazing part of Daddy’s time off was him being able to get the basement framed.

It was just after we moved in that we got quotes to finish the basement. While they were reasonable, they were just simply out of our budget. We realized if we wanted it done, we’d have to do it ourselves. Sounds good. Um. WHEN? WHEN does JB have TIME for such a huge project? I remember standing in frustration one day in our family room, just overcome with tension wondering when we would ever have money for any projects or when we’d ever have time for the projects we need. And as tears of frustration came, I managed to ask God and He blessed me with a song in my head, “Strength will rise when we wait upon the LORD, wait upon the LORD, we will wait upon the LORD.” It dawned on me that what I see as a frustration is only a problem because I want things on my time. Maybe God’s plan *could* be that we don’t do these projects until the boys are old enough to help and learn and grow with Dad. That settled me for then and since then, I really haven’t expected much in way of getting the basement project done.

So – here we were with 23 days off for Daddy. Now – many of them were consumed with Christmas and holiday activities, Mommy-work days, and other activities. But JB got 3 full days and a few partial days to work on it. AND HE GOT THE FRAMING DONE! While the boys were not much of a part of it, JB’S DAD WAS! JB’s Dad got to come over and they worked on it together. Home projects is something they both like and are both good at. And the two of them barely get to see one another. So that was great.

What was also a major blessing was a $400 gift card to Home Depot that allowed us to buy all the wood, and a tool we needed. That came from American Express. Hey, God can do anything!

And so here is the basement! It is an area about 600 sq. ft.

Since I took this pictures, the floor has been painted, too.