A Beginning, an End, But No Middle. . . Yet

My Mom came to visit last week. We had not seen here in a year! That was way too long! Hopefully that won't happen again!

We had a great time. Here are the pictures of the beginning and end of her stay. The middle will come, soon.

At the airport waiting for Gramma Dee Dee's plane to arrive:
Yes, Cai is walking. . . finally!

Her plane has landed and now the boys are eagerly looking for her!

Cai was only 6 weeks old when we last saw Gramma.

Ryan carrying her luggage and a little extra weight!

And now the leap to the end.

Just after we dropped Dee Dee off at the airport, I took the boys to the Botanical Gardens. We rode the tram around the garden.

And then we walked up the hill to watch for her plane to take off.

The boys waved their last goodbye and then we headed to soccer practice.

Mom, we had such a great visit. We love you! Thank you for taking the time to come, we are so thankful you did. We had lots of fun. We are so blessed by your love and care for us!

Something is missing!

Where, Oh Where has that Nalgene bottle gone? My kitchen counter is so bare and lonely without it!

- -Just another evidence of the sad reality that Katie and Sean have left us! I was so tempted to name this entry, “Another one bites the dust!” Yes, for those of you who have not heard, out beloved Aunt Katie and Uncle Sean have moved . . . To TEXAS!! So, our house was host to yet another going away party, that makes too many - too many loved ones to have said goodbye to!

You may wonder what is up with the Nalgene bottle reference. Well, it is a little joke I have with Katie. She taught an art class at our house last school year and practically every week she would leave her water bottle. Well, once art class ended, we discovered that it was not only art class that made her forget to take her bottle home, no, it must have been that her nalgene bottle was meant for my counter top. There were points where teasingly I would ask her to please leave it when she went home. Well, even with my “reverse psychology” she would still leave it!

Katie and Sean, we love you and miss you so much! We’ll miss your Sunday morning drop ins before church, your presence at the dining room table, your smiling faces and of course your nalgene bottle! (There are more things we'll miss of course, but already I am feeling sad. So, I'll keep it brief).

Here is a photo of Katie and Sean with all their cousins and nephews. We had a goodbye breakfast with the Hughes families and all the kiddos were going to try and “stop” Katie and Sean’s car from leaving!

Silly faces!