On the road again...

well, on the train anyway. Tomorrow begins a very long journey for us as we return home from a wonderful vacation. We are all excited about our trip! I think that we will see 4 new states...bringing the kid's total to 41 states!:)

Families are such a special blessing, and I have enjoyed my visit with everyone here so much.

My Nanny came from Texas...great-grandkids are a great incentive to make the long journey. The only sad part is that we missed Pa. We were glad to hear that she arrived home safely this evening...even if it was much later than anticipated.

My brother and his family came from central Oregon, and it was so fun to see my nieces and watch our kiddos play together. We enjoyed our card games and just time to visit together.

My sister made the long trek from the city...at least an hour drive!:) I miss my sister A LOT...it is hard to even write about it without crying. We got to spend most of one whole day together (definitely not long enough). No one else can make me laugh like she can.

Time with my mom and dad is always enjoyable. The many canasta games were only sort of fun because mom and I lost most of them. That is unusual for sure!:) We enjoyed visiting their church and meeting many of the people that are important in their lives, singing together at church (it had been a LONG time since we had done that!), and just hanging out at their house watching it snow....or watching Troy, Ian and Nate shovel snow...or watching it rain.

Ian and Chloe enjoyed 2 days with Gramma and Grandad and Nanny while Troy and I had time together at the coast. It was very relaxing and good time to reconnect.

We are blessed indeed.

"And sometimes we laugh together, sometimes we cry, sometimes we share together heart aches and sighs. Sometimes we dream together of how it will be when we all get to heaven...God's family." - I'll have to give the name of the author in a later update, but this is the chorus of a song that my family has sung together for years, and it sums up our time quite nicely.

For now, over and out. Please pray God's blessing on our upcoming travels.