three weeks

The past three weeks have been a whirlwind of traveling, emotions and people.  So much so, that I feel completely drained. 

Josh's Grandmother passed away and we decided that it was important for our family to attend her funeral and help in whatever way we could.  So we packed all night and left the following day for our 16 hour drive to Minnesota where we slept for a few hours and left very early the next morning to catch a plane to Pittsburg, PA.  The kids traveled so well which made everything much easier on all of us.  Grandmother's funeral was lovely and heartfelt.  We were all in tears, remembering her life and her walk with Christ.  She was such a wonderful example of someone who lived her life to the fullest, and who loved God and her family so very deeply. 

We got to visit Bethlehem, the town Grandmother grew up in and where Cheryl's father, Grandpop, is buried.  What a beautiful old town.  If you ever go there, you must walk through the colonial area and just drink in the beauty.  I took so many pictures but there was no way my amateur skills could have captured any of it properly. 

Then we were flying back to Minnesota, and driving back home.  We got home at 2am and left 6:30am the following day to head to the Daher family reunion/ 60th Anniversary party for my grandparents.  The reunion was held just outside of Glacier National Park at my Aunt and Uncle's cabin.  Even though we left a day early, it was a blast!  Seeing family that we never get to see was refreshing and the weather was beautiful.  It was so fun to see the little kids running around with each other, shrieking with joy from being let loose outside. 

Then we headed to BC.  My sisters got to meet Jude for the first time and everyone loved on him and Bee.  Bee loved the backyard and bugged everyone to push her on the swings, almost to the point of being annoying.  Ok, she was quite annoying!  A highlight for me, which sounds silly, was playing a game of Monopoly with my nephew and foster sister.  Or, I should say, losing to my nephew and foster sister in a game of Monopoly.     

We had such a good time, we didn't leave quite early enough and missed our good friends Rich and Becca's wedding ceremony.  Not living in the Seattle area for the past two years, we had forgotten just how bad traffic could be!  If we had left just an hour earlier we would have been golden!  Three hours just wasn't enough time to drive from the border to Renton, WA.  We did make the reception though, and it was just wonderful!  Becca was so beautiful and it was such a fun reception!  Bee danced her little heart out and made friends with Rich's nephew.  We left the reception with smiles on our faces and two wiped out kids.

We began our final trek home the next day, and boy were we ready!  All the emotions from our time in Pennsylvania, to the bittersweet feelings of leaving the west coast, to the fatigues of being on the road for the past three weeks, came bubbling to the surface.  We got home just after midnight and after a slight hiccup in getting Jude back to sleep, we all crashed.  Hard. 

The last three days have been even harder.  Getting used to the daily ebb and flow of life again has not been as smooth as I would have liked, but that's to be expected.  I feel like I've been a zombie, just going through the motions, barely surviving.  Bee and Jude go from playing as hard as they can to crashing just as hard.  The waves of their moods come and go so quickly it's hard to keep up.  Basically they've been acting like moody teenagers. Luckily for me, I babysat a friend's son today and he helped to keep Bee entertained and happy all day. 

 It's during times like this that I am so very grateful for Josh.  We make a good team. 

The biggest realization I've come to from the past three weeks, is just how important my family is to me.  I love my husband and kids and couldn't imagine my life without them.  I appreciate the life Josh and I have made for our kids and ourselves so much more.

I know that this has been longer than anything I've written in a long time, if ever.  If you've made it this far, thank you for bearing with me.  I'm nearing the cliff's edge of rambling, maybe even fallen off already so I'm calling it quits.    

Good night folks!  Thanks for sticking with me!