As I click my heels together and chant "there's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home" to my wondrous surprise I opened my eyes to see that I was indeed home! Unlike Dorothy who realized it had all been a dream, my last 15 months have been reality. A wonderful reality filled with hard times and good times but with great memories. I have made some great friends while living in England, but this blog is to be about good ole Illinois...
Sophie was a dream on the trip. She sat beside me while Brittney & Kevin sat half a plane away. Sophie napped at times, played with her DS, listened to music, watched a little tv - but all in all, she stayed occupied and in a good mood. Kevin & Brittney did some school work and napped - boring!
After two plane rides within 18 hours, Whitney met us at the Peoria airport. The girls ran to her, squealing in delight. We needed two cars to get all of the luggage to our farm so it was a good thing she was there. Driving to the farm felt like a dream. Nothing much has changed, which some would say is a good thing.
Friday morning we woke up early. Truth be told we had not had enough sleep, but I think we were all a little too excited to sleep anymore. We were ready to look around the farm, plan our day, and get to it. We have air mattresses in the bedrooms, lawn furniture for a kitchen table, but hey, we are home! I have loved watching the girls run around the yard, hike around the lake, play on their playset, play hide-and-go-seek in the house, write with side walk chalk ~ basically, just having fun. We sat for awhile down by the lake and both girls asked if they could go swimming. Keep in mind, the lake freezes during the winter & the temperature hasn't been warm for too long here... obviously, I said no :-)
About mid-morning we girls decided to visit Willow Hill. We knew they would be busy getting ready for Easter, but we were anxious to make our first contact. We were able to catch up with Pam, Kari, Gina, and Pastor Ken. It was awesome. The girls wanted to see the youth room, but I told them we would wait til Sunday. We visited for about 30 minutes but needed to let them get back to the preparations for Easter. So we headed back home (that sounds so good to say...).
Our first visitors were from the youth group - Greg, Amanda, and David - and were waiting for us when we returned from the church. It was so good to see them. We sat around catching up, talking about their future plans, and discussing possible "dates" during the next few weeks. It is amazing to see how they have grown up over the last 15 months.
Soon after, Nana K and Jim arrived in their motor home. The girls were ecstatic. They ran out of the house to greet them with a big hug & kiss. We spent the remainder of Friday catching up with Nana & Jim, visiting with Whitney & Micah, and a second trip to Walmart. Nana prepared our favorite dish - Swiss Steak; it was as good as we remember.
Saturday morning started with the listing of the remodel project. After a little breakfast Jim, Kevin, and Brittney started ripping carpet out of the upstairs. Within a few hours the floors were down to the sub-floor. After a quick snack, Kevin & Jim were busting up the bathroom. Our garage is full of the former carpet and bathroom cabinets. Then it was time for the first of many trips to Lowes. We bought tile for the bathroom, paint for the bedrooms, and who knows what else. Kevin & Jim were like kids in a toy store. Before Saturday would end we would have a new sub-floor for the upstairs bathroom and our "list" for the next day.
Sunday will include services at Willow Hill (enjoying seeing everyone), Easter lunch, Easter egg hunts, and lots of memories... I'll write more soon, but for now remember THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!
4 comments:
Hello! Give Whit a HUGE hug from us! I am glad you get to be at "home"!:) Have a wonderful time!
Will you be coming back? Just kidding, I know you will. I am glad you are having such a wonderful time!
Hi Cathy! It's so good to hear from you. Several years have gone by, but we've thought of you and yours often. God has and is doing some wonderful and interesting things in your life!! An update from this end: Kiera is almost 27 yrs.old,a public school teacher, married to a Student Minister and lives in Lake Charles,La. She had our first grandson this past Sept.; his name is Isaiah. He's awesome! Kimberly is 24 yrs.old and graduated with a degree in Communication and Advertising. She lives in Ft. Walton and works in Destin at a Communications Company. She's not married yet; she's our "career" daughter and doing very well. Tamara is 21 yrs.old and lives at home. She is in her third yr. at the University here, and she plans on teaching, also.Pat will celebrate his 20th Anniversary at Hillcrest in April; can you believe it?! Our church is exciting and amazing! God has blessed all of us tremendously, and He has remained faithful as promised. I'll write more later and you do the same. Take care, Karen P.S. Your girls are beautiful;we're partial to girls, you know!
Hey cathy! Your blog has inspired me to create my own, so now you can keep up with the kids here through my blog.
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