We got out of the house last Friday late, not unusual for us, haha :). Partly because we were told that there would be another house showing the next day, and so we ended up doing our best to get it show-ready before we left. There actually ended up being two showings Saturday! That was really neat, we have never got two showings in one day before...
We got to Mommy's parents in the late afternoon, and had a great time catching up :).Aunt Tessa and Aunt Amber slept over at Grandpa and Grandma's, as well, that first night, and on into the next day. I'm sure Grandma was grateful for their help when we left all the little ones Bethi and down with her the next day ;). I know Andrew and Bethani enjoyed going with Aunt Amber to feed the ducks :).
The memorial service for Uncle Jerry was beautiful. Uncle Jerry, or Jericho, as I used to call him (and nobody will let me forget it, it stuck throughout the family ;).) will definitely be missed, but we know that he is waiting for us with the Lord. I think he became such a big part of our lives over the past two years, even though we lived about two hours away. I am thankful for that time with him :). There were some very thought provoking things shared, and it was very special to be able to be there to remember him that way, although it had it's share of tears.
After the service we went "home' (we always call Grandpa and Grandma's home while we're up there :).) to have lunch and pick up the little ones. We then headed for Aunt Donna's for the afternoon. Cousin Melissa had brought bubbles and balls, and ended up passing out popsicles, as well, the little ones were thrilled, although Andrew's favorite part was the tire swing, haha :). He loved that thing! Tori says that Parker also tried to teach him how to play checkers, I hear that was quite the cute and humorous story ;). Peter was adorable, he is usually quite the stinker when others want to hold him, he nestles into Mommy or I and won't even look at anybody else if they so much as touch him, heehee, but he actually went up to several people and asked to be picked up, it was amazing! There were several family members and friends who dropped by over the course of the day. I was told a dozen times that Tori was just about as tall as me (ya, she's catching up fast...), and asked almost as many times when I was going to drive (nope, no desire, haha!) ;). Just add that to trivia about me... I'm short, don't like the thought of driving, and don't care if that is known ;). We also went over to Aunt Donna's Sunday afternoon. Aunt Donna gave Bethi one of the elephants from Uncle Jerry's elephant collection. Bethi and Uncle Jerry shared a love for all things elephants, and Bethi told Mommy that she'll never look at an elephant without thinking of Uncle Jerry from now on. Aunt Donna heard that and knew Bethi would be blessed by one of his elephant figurines, a very special, thoughtful, gift :)! It was raining that second day, but it wasn't bad and the porch is covered, so we ended up out there a lot both days, I love a porch-full of loved ones, babies, and rocking chairs :)... bubbles don't hurt either, heehee... the bubbles where a big hit ;). We didn't take pictures, we either forgot our camera or didn't take the time to find it most of the time we were at both family's houses. I wish I had thought more about it while we were there, it may be awhile before we make it back after we get to VA, we're not sure how long it will take to settle down there. I am thankful for this time we had with both sides of the family though :)!
Monday morning we stayed at Grandpa and Grandma's, and Aunt Tessa was also there. I was beading some hairpins and got to listen in on quite the game of "Memory", haha! Aunt Tessa then asked me to show her how I was making the pins, but we didn't make it very far, haha :P. She blessed us with some beads she had, thanks Aunt Tessa :)!
That afternoon Grandpa took us geocaching. It had rained off and on all morning, we were afraid we wouldn't be able to make it, and with it being our last visit before we move, that was a sad thought! But the sun finally showed up, and we had a great time :)! We found three caches... it's always an adventure :). The first one was at a beautiful covered bridge, the last one in SC :). Grandma has told us about it for two years now, I wish I had brought my camera, it was as pretty as she said it was :). That cache was more difficult, Aunt Tessa finally found it :).
Aunt Amber was able to join us for supper, and when we left to head home we swung by our Aunts' new home. It is adorable, and very cozy :). The only bad part is they can't bring their cats, Grandma is stuck with those, heehee ;). Grandma says Penny (one of the cats) is awful... she did throw some fits while we were there, but on the whole she is really lovable. She is rather a cat after Abbi's own heart ;)... I won't mention what hour it was when we got home... I will say that Grandma, who is a very early riser, wasn't too far from from waking up when we finally got to sleep after baths and unpacking, haha... I feel bad for the rest of the family, I ended up crashing right before supper last night and being of absolutely no help to all the other sleepy family members, haha. I think I rather made things more difficult when I did wake up and try to help, heehee ;).
This trip was such a blessing :). It will most likely be the last one we take until we leave for VA here in a couple weeks... such a neat thought that we are actually going :). Although I am a person who hates change when it comes, I always see that the change was always for the better afterwards (which makes the next change just as difficult... haha!), so I am really excited to see what the Lord has in store for us :)!!! I am just so thankful that Daddy has finally found a house that the owners will rent to us even with seven children in our family, in fact, they were looking for someone who was a fellow believer, how special is that :)? I can't wait to see what it looks like, haha! It sounds like it is really large, and wonderful in many ways, and I am sure that we will see that these past few months have been worth the wait and lessons learned, and I am so thankful that this time is ending and we will be together again! O my soul, forget not HIS benefits :)...
