It is always sweet to look back upon years of relationships with people from various times & places. Over the course of a couple months we were able to spend time with some very special people.
Graeme & Anita are the couple that Rob lived with when he was in Australia, he proposed to me in their home, they have prayed for us & love us. The feeling is mutual. They usually make it over to the US once every 2-3 years & we are always excited for their arrival! This visit was a quick one & they stayed with Bob & Jeannine which I am positive was much more restful than sleeping here ; ) The four of them spent an entire day & evening with us & we had a wonderful time. It took about 3 seconds for the girls to remember how much they loved their Aussie "grandparents" & they quickly convinced them for a cuddle on the couch. They got their blankets & were cozy in no time at all! The girls were in charge of picking a movie & chose The Rescuers Down Under....perfectly appropriate.
We took a walk down to the creek & I will say five adults on four kids is so easy!
I had to include a picture of the boys with Grammy & Papa.
We cooked a delicious Tex-Mex meal & ate with Rob when he got home from work that afternoon followed by a quick photoshoot on the front lawn.
They always come bearing gifts that we love including little Uggies for the kiddos, Aussie stuffed animals & various other items. This time was no different! One special gift this time was for Arlo. Anita came across a large piece of cowboy fabric that is just darling & will fit right into the corral for the buckaroos. I hope to make a quilt or blanket or some swaddling clothes....that might be the easiest ; ) Speaking of those stuffed animals, our collection includes a koala, kangaroo, wombat, emu & a kookaburra. I love them all but this morning around 5:45am, two little guys hopped in my bed & I was too tired to take them back. I told them if they made any noise they would be headed back to their beds. They took my advice & were quiet but little did I know, the kookaburra had hitched a ride & was soon making his presence known. Taken from the San Diego Zoo website page about kookaburras..."The call sounds like a variety of trills, chortles, belly laughs, and hoots. It starts and ends with a low chuckle and has a shrieking "laugh" in the middle." Isn't that exactly what you want to hear when you are attempting to sleep after having already been awakened twice in the past 5 hours? I was soooooo irritated & actually threw that kookaburra across the room setting off one more "shrieking laugh." Anson was deeply offended & went to retrieve him right away. He is hidden tonight : ) We love all their gifts, even the kookaburra ; ) The countdown is on until they buy another set of plane tickets!
The next family that we were able to catch up with are the Ziels. Words cannot describe how special this family is to us. We knew them for all but 3 months of our time in Orlando & spent oodles of time together. They moved from Orlando to Colorado in early June & planned their route to stay at the Nest partway through the drive. The girls just about died when we told them who would be sleeping over! Anna & Clara were just 4 & 2 when we met them & Alex was about a month away from being born. What a crazy time for our lives to intersect! Cathy was my go-to mama for questions or a shoulder to cry on, a major encouragement to me & wife to a husband that was a good friend to Rob. We were sooooo sad to say farewell when we left Orlando & had not seen them in a year until their van pulled up! Happy Day for all involved!
One extra sweet thing regarding this family. A few months ago I was talking to the girls about how you can call families by their last name such as "the Valentines" & I mentioned that this family is called "the Ziels." Eloise looked completely shocked & said "Their last name isn't Valentine? But they are our family so we should all have the same name!" She was actually a little aggravated by this point in the conversation. What a wonderful thing to remember though for a little one that moved just before her third birthday! They did feel like our family & as I shared with the girls, they are our family in Christ that we will someday spend an eternity with. A quick visit was so refreshing & made me miss them even more than I did before. Colorado is definitely on the list for a family trip!
Last but certainly not least is my friend of nearly 25 years & my maid of honor who now lives within 15 minutes of our home! Lisa & her husband Euan welcomed a precious baby boy named Liam in April. I had a doctors appointment the morning that we expected she would be in labor & planned to swing by for a quick visit. I texted to ask which room she was in & received a picture of a beautiful baby boy with a message that said "Can't wait for you to meet Liam!" I about fell out of my chair & could hardly wait to leave my appointment. I raced up to Mother-Baby & walked into a moment that will forever be special to me. I got to meet Liam when he was only a couple hours old which is something I never imagined would happen after all the years we have spent living in different cities. My heart felt so full snuggling this baby boy & watching a friend I have known since I was eight enjoying her first few hours of motherhood. Euan took the picture below & I love that you can see my mini baby bump. We didn't even know it was Arlo yet, Liam's buddy come October!
You would think it would have been easy to catch the gorgeous mommy of "yittle Yiam" but apparently she was good at avoiding the lens ; )
We look back over years of forming friendships, the addition of children, moves, tears, celebrations & everything in between. We look back & are thankful, we look forward knowing that God's story isn't over yet & we are thankful still.
