Family Ties

After a whirl-wind 10 days away, logging 50 hours and 3800 miles of drive time we are home. It was an awesome visitation (rather than vacation) -we saw family; sisters, brothers, moms and dads, cousins, aunts and uncles, as well as most of KY, TN a good portion of OH and several states between here and there. Ohio will always be "home" to me, and I wasn't the only one shedding a few tears at heading west on Monday. We dropped Miss. R at college after all of the 50th parties and both notsolittles lodged formal and very vocal complaints about leaving her so far behind.

My in-laws celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and it was a wonderful couple of days. Over 100 friends and family turned out for the main celebration; Viking Man gave a very beautiful tribute to them both, their marriage and their life's work, followed by a standing ovation and a great slide show by Nuncle Eil. It was a great week-end of celebration.

3 generations of brothers. Uncle Bruce, Feche Boy, G-pa Bob, Viking Man and Eil with Cub in the front. Men and men to be that I love and am so thankful for.

My beautiful older sister Susie-Q, on her birthday, with our gorgeous girlies.
KB and Miss R, at the college's missions banquet. Gypsies and Indians.

Dr's Dad and Corinne at their lovely home in TN. TN is a wide state and we traversed it almost in it's entirety on Tuesday. It was worth it to see Dad and Corinne and to get a sense of their home and life in the Appalachia's.

And, of course, I have no good picture of Aunt Laura, Misses Savannah and Danielle, who feed us, lodged us, played hard, laughed deeply, gifted us with food and toys and books and puzzles, and shared good times with us all week long!! Eil didn't succeed at making the week not too fun and both Cub and Flower begged to go back to Aunt Laura's to go play with the girlies, or to swim or canoe just "one more time." You 4 rock!!

Along with family, we met a lot of new friends, were treated to southern hospitality in more than one home, met Miss.R's professors and friends, got a tour of Boyce and feel better having seen Miss.R's home away from home.

Today is my Godly, gifted and gorgeous sons 15th birthday and we are going to the county fair to celebrate. He is a specific answer to prayer and I am constantly amazed at how God not only answers our prayers but often does so above and beyond what we can ask or imagine. Feche-Boy is living testimony to God's personal concern for the things that matter to me and is a daily blessing in so many ways. He rocks. We are blessed.

Writing this I feel so emotional about family, legacy, ties, history, people. My husband and I were both blessed with parents that stayed the course and stayed married, despite the storms of life. We have beautiful talented siblings, nieces and nephews that surprise us with who they are, children that are a JOY. We are so wealthy in so many ways. My heart is filled with gratitude for the life that we have, for the family that we belong to. Thank-you, Jesus.