Family and Friends

It was such a joy to spend time with my family in Wisconsin, then to get to have my mom here for almost a week. My dad drove in on Wednesday, June 30, while Mom and I had the kids at the park in the morning with some friends. Since we weren't expecting him until dinnertime, it was a fun surprise to get to spend most of the day with him!

The next day for lunch I took him to an Indian restaurant that Ted has been raving about, as it's one the military folks frequent. Dad and I agreed it was worth the hype! YUM!! It was such a blessing to be able to spend one-on-one time with my dad. That doesn't happen nearly often enough! I am so blessed to have godly parents and cherish the times I get to talk to them (especially when we're not interrupted by kid crises, LOL).

Mom and Dad left Friday after breakfast to get back home, since Dad had to work over the weekend. It was a quick visit for Dad, but it's nice that we're "close" enough that we can do those shorter visits! Las Vegas is much farther away from Wisconsin than Ohio!

On the 4th of July we hung out with neighborhood friends. The kids were in the pool pretty much all day, so we didn't see them until we dragged them away to eat with us since the hosts were getting ready to eat as a family also. It was a hot, humid day, but got bearable as the sun went down. Lucan did quite well, though we did put him to bed and kept tabs on the monitor from the neighbors' driveway. We knew he wouldn't last for the 10 p.m. show at the park that is right behind our neighborhood.

We got to see quite the show just from what the folks around the 'hood put together! It nearly rivaled the official show, though I have to say that was one great show, even if it WAS a lot shorter than I would have liked. Still, it was the first time in YEARS that we were able to see real fireworks up close and enjoy the sounds to go with them--in Las Vegas we were always too far away! Besides, we didn't have any traffic jams to deal with...we just picked up our stuff and went home, another bonus!

The camera batteries are charging, so I'll try to post our 4th of July pictures later.

Today we're expecting our friends John & Megan and their three kids sometime after lunch. They'll stay with us tonight and tomorrow night and go to church with us on Sunday. I am SOOO excited to see them--we haven't been together in person since before they started having kids! Megan was my college roomie, and she and John are in full-time ministry with The Sharing Org (please check out the link and donate to this outreach if you can!). Ted and I have been looking forward to their visit this month ever since they had to cancel the originally planned trip in May for our mini-reunion due to sickness. It will be fun to see the kids interact and catch up in person and not just on Facebook!