We're back! It's been a fun few weeks, but I'm exhausted. On the 19th we set out for NY to see H1's family. We arrived around 2:30am, in the midst of a snow storm. By the end of that day, there was a foot of snow on the ground. We stayed with H1's dad (Pop-pop) through Christmas day. Most of the time was spent chatting, visiting around with other relatives, Christmas shopping, and reading books. It was really relaxing, and a great visit. On Christmas day, his brother's family came to visit, Brad, Rachel, and their 3 boys whose initials together are DNA. DNA got a Wii for Christmas, and spent most of Christmas day playing it, along with Brad, H1, and Nils, a German exchange student living with Pop-pop.
The day after Christmas, we headed to visit Mercy (H1's sister), taking a detour to Rochester on our way to see some of the guys from camp. We met at a restaurant and chatted for a few hours. It was so good to see them, and I hope we'll be able to go back to camp this summer. After that, we continued on to Westfield and spent the night with Patrick, Krista, and Mercy. Mercy, H1, and I stayed up until 3am, laughing over silly videos online and then turning to more serious discussions about jobs and the body of Christ.
On the 27th we left for my parent's house and stayed there until the 30th. It was the best visit we've had with them. My folks are very taken with H3, of course, and enjoyed spending time with their granddaughter. Mom looked a lot better than she had in a while. She was up and walking around quite a bit, and even took a trip with us up to the lake for a walk along the beach. On the way out of town, we stopped by my dad's dealership and got a tour. The shop is a lot nicer than ones he's worked at in the past, so that's a good note.
The trip home was a really long one. We had to make a number of stops to take care of munchkin. I was grateful that the roads were clear though, and there was a relatively low amount of traffic considering the time of year. New Year's Eve was spent celebrating H1's birthday. I made pancakes in the morning and he opened his presents. Then the three of us went to Suffolk and Newport News for the afternoon, stopping at Applebees for lunch, and then headed back home for some Pumpkin Turtle Pie that I'd made earlier. H1 isn't a big fan of birthday cake, so pie is usually the order of the day. We watched the ball drop that night and I called my dad shortly afterward to wish him a happy birthday as well.
Since then, we've spent time cleaning the house and time with friends, trying to enjoy every last moment before H1 goes back to work on Monday. His teaching job is a huge blessing in that he gets a lot of time off. I appreciate it, and I know he loves getting to spend so much time with his daughter. Most families are not as blessed!
We look forward to all that this year holds, good and bad. Our God is always full of surprises and I love to watch His plans unfold.
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