Thursday & Friday

This summer, instead of taking one major vacation (like our cruise last summer), we decided to break it up into several mini-vacations. Our first one was this weekend at the lake and we just returned from our second long weekend away.

I actually took more than a weekend and began my getaway last Thursday with a trip to Richmond, Virginia to see my dad's side of the family. It was momentous for LOTS of reasons: 1) It was my first time to visit that side of the family by myself. 2) Other than our wedding (which hardly counts), it was the first time I had seen this family in five years. I don't know about you, but I have changed a lot in the last five years! 3) It was the only time I had ever spent one-on-one with any of these family members.

So, I was a bit nervous, to say the least.
What if they don't like me?
What if we don't have anything to talk about?
What if I say stupid things and look like an idiot?
What if,
what if,
what if...

Fortunately, I found that there was nothing to be nervous about! I had a marvelous time visiting with my grandma, Aunt Annie, Uncle Phil, cousin Claire and her adorable baby Cooper! My grandma generously invited me to stay with her and I so enjoyed the quality time we shared.

We visited her adorable new shop and her gorgeous new house (that she is in the process of remodeling and redecorating), played with her precious dog and the most perfect baby boy, sipped our afternoon tea and chatted the day away. I was really sad to leave on Friday evening, but David and I are already planning when we can go back!

cousin Claire and baby Cooper

Gertie

We knew he was something special...

meanwhile, back on the ranch...

Activities of late have included...

Green Giants swim meet!

Riverbend Run

and another weekend at the lake!

the video is shaky, but hillarious... J&P decided to "double belly board"... note the laughter!

worth every minute

I don't even know where to begin...

Tuesday night I witnessed one of the most amazing experiences of my life! Shelby, Autumn and I ventured to Atlanta to be with the Rowe family when they picked up their brand new (adopted) son, Joshua from South Korea.

Before we got to Calhoun, David checked the flight info and informed us that he was delayed. Instead of getting to Atlanta at 9:45, he was scheduled to get in at 11:03. Then 11:40. Then 12:42. Since we had so much time to kill, we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner in Atlanta, and then met the Rowes at their hotel. The whole experience was totally surreal, and I cannot even imagine what it was like for them... We made it to the airport, and got settled in by the arrival area. Several of their family members were there too, and we were all just giddy with excitement - and making our best attempt to ward off sleepiness.

Michelle & Scott hoped to get gate passes, so they could meet Joshua immediately, but they didn't know if it would be possible. We prayed that the person who was at the ticket counter would be the one who would have compassion on them, and they came back with 4 passes! It was so awesome that Caleb and Emalee Grace were able to be there too- those kids were SO wired and excited for their new brother!

They left to go to the gate, and we all stood by (well, we were actually sitting at the very front of the arrivals area so we could be as close as possible)- cameras aimed at the top of the escalators. As each group of travelers would come up, we would anxiously scan the crowd just waiting for a glimpse of the Rowes. While we were fixed on this one spot that we expected them to come from, they surprised us by showing up in a different place! They left baggage claim as a family of four and came back as a family of five! You can bet the tears were FLOWING. All of us were just grinning ear to ear with awestruck wonder... oh my goodness... I just get goosebumps thinking about it!

Everyone just loved on Joshua, and he was comfortable immediately! It was the most amazing thing to watch. He was totally at home with Michelle and Scott. He is such a happy baby, and we had fun with him right away! It took an unfortunately long time to catch the shuttle back to the hotel, but everyone was entertained by this sweet baby.

I have to say, Michelle and Scott were the model of grace. Holy.moly. There were so many times throughout the night that I thought "I would be freaking out right about now", and they were cool as cucumbers.

I can.not.wait. to watch this family grow and change as Joshua does the same. There is no doubt that he is as much a part of their family already as either of the other kids

You can read more about how the Lord brought them to this place in their family here.

I cannot help but think about our relationship to the Lord when I reflect on this experience. Scripture tells us over and over again to care for the orphans and the fatherless, but I keep thinking about how we are just the same way. We come into this world so lost until we allow Jesus to enter our hearts and rescue us. Just as Michelle and Scott literally chose Joshua to be a part of their family, we have been chosen by God to be a part of his family! How insane that we (I) do not live a life that reflects our (my) gratitude!

PS- I took pictures on Michelle's camera all night, so I will post them when she puts them on facebook! Shelby took a ton too, and I cannot wait to see every single one!

PPS- We got home at 5:30am. Work at 9 was a little bit difficult :). I did modify my day to include a nap and a short work schedule, and really... it was worth every minute.

PPPS- I had such a fabulous time with Shelby and Autumn! This wasn't your typical girls' night away, but we shared an experience like nothing else! Love those girls!

won't you stay

David has been rationing his vacation days for this year, and he took his second day off (in 6 months!) for a mini staycation this weekend. We wanted to be able to actually spend the night at the lake house- something we always wish we could do when the sun starts to set and life calms down on the lake- so we did! We spent Thursday and Friday nights, and we headed back out there Sunday after church.

memories from this weekend will include:

David making his grandma's shredded beef and potatoes for the gang, and enjoying it lakeside

lots of fishing

catching a 40 pound fish-that-looked-like-a-log (David + Patty)

swimming practice (some late at night)

helping Hayden not drown ... and work on her strokes

collecting our deviant dog from the neighbor's house multiple times

heartfelt conversations about life

first ski run of the year (behind the jet ski... resulting in immense soreness)

date night with Kevin & Lynn (first time ever!)

reading this book (eh... it was fine)

sleeping in the latest we can remember (8:30! even the dog!)

spending 1.5 hours making pancakes and bacon

World Cup soccer

sunburns and suntans

drinking approx an entire case of G2

Kate's first tube ride

Kate crying through her first tube ride

figuring out that instead of riding the tube Kate would rather swim, twirl and pretend to lay her head on the surface of the water (and try to drink it... ew) - adorable and SO fun

a failed attempt to slalom

... lost sunglasses due to the former

30+ people shindig to honor all 4 Mosier kids (Lynn, Sam, Karen and Joe) in town, Cissy in town and Uncle Dave in town

having an entire family of non-relatives treat us like their own

BCFF

Last night, I had a long overdo dinner date with my dear friend, Batch. She is actually Laura Lonergan now, but she will always be Batch to me! She and her husband Tim live in Atlanta, and we decided it was just silly that we didn't see each other more often. We rectified that by meeting halfway (only about 1+ hr each) for dinner at ol' faithful... Cracker Barrel, of course.

After 3.5 hours of catching up, laughing out loud and pouring our hearts out, we left totally filled.

This girl is the best, and I can't even believe the way our friendship has grown and changed over the past 5 years.

One of the most encouraging things about time with Batch is that we are so similar. We handle situations similarly, we plan for the future similarly, we sin and struggle just as similarly. Fortunately, God gives us so much grace when we are together to be totally vulnerable about what is going on in our hearts, and we always leave stronger and encouraged. We left with a challenge to study scripture and seek understanding about the Lord's desires for us, and I am anxious to see how the Lord uses our commitment to learn together.

A walk down memory lane (really, just over our 2 summers at camp, there are many more pictures together from the most recent 3 years) (and these are only the pictures that are appropriate for sharing on the internet... B, you know what I'm thinking about)... 

Bourke & Batch 

Looking at these is so much fun.

a) I love Batch.

b) I love camp.

c) They are almost all completely rediculous, and we have had so much fun.

and now, Laura Lonergan & Emily Geyer currently-

cell phone picture... my camera is being repaired, so I'm stuck with just the ol' camera phone for a while

We haven't changed at all, but we have changed so much.

Love you, Laura Jean! Best Camp Friends Forever!

I don't even have much of a tan yet, but check out this watch line!

best uncle award

David wins the best uncle award in Brianna's book, hands down...

and in my book, he's just the best.

she's 5!

After our trip to Columbus and my trip to Austin, we packed back up and made our way (through thunderstorms galore) to Ohio!

I was stressed about all of the to-and-fro, but it turned out to be the best trip! The occasion was Brianna's 5th birthday (which is nuts!), but we squeezed so much fun into just a few days!

Saturday morning began with breakfast at the Rhodenbaugh house with several Rhodenbaugh family members AND Hannah! So, so fun. David's life in Oxford revolved around these people and I love spending time with them.

When we left breakfast we headed straight to Bananas for Brianna's birthday party! It was so fun to celebrate with her and watch her excitement on this special day.

After the party we enjoyed lunch (at Skyline- David's favorite) with the other Geyers! It was great to see Michael, Lynn and the adorable and so grown-up Matthias!

brothers

niece and nephew

We did some after-lunch shopping and dinnertime arrived before Brianna barely had a chance to break into her new presents (she did have time to paint our nails sparkly and put on lots of tattoos)! David's grandparents came over to the Johnson's to grill out, and we all visited the night away.

Sunday morning meant church at Cobblestone and then a fun lunch date uptown with Sara, Raef, Daniel (Sara's brother) and baby Abe (Sara's nephew)!

I definitely stole this picture off of Facebook, but I had to include this precious baby! He is too stinkin' cute!

Once again, so much fun to be together and to catch up with old (and new!) friends! We love this couple and really love watching their new lives come together as they prepare for marriage in December!

Since Sunday was Brianna's actual birthday, we let her decide what she wanted to do.

Birthday girl - with french braids - on her birthday outing of choice... shopping at IKEA!!

she may or may not have been influenced by her Aunt Emily...

After shopping, she chose the restaurant for dinner (based on who would sing happy birthday to her). Uncle David gave Bri a new nickname... Deidra. And she wanted them to sing "Happy birthday, Diedra." It still cracks me up when I think about that. Bri started calling David "LuLu".

After dinner Sunday, we all just about crashed... we vegged out for a while and made an early dash for bed (David in Brianna's princess bed so she could sleep with Aunt Emily :)... he ended up on the couch). David and I drove home early Monday morning so we could beat the Memorial Day traffic, which turned out to be a really good decision! We spent the afternoon at the lake with all of the Bryants, and we established our first annual tradition (Hayden's idea) of eating at Rib and Loin for Memorial Day- all together, of course :).

So now, we are home. We have few plans for the next three weeks, and we are going to enjoy it!