Annabelle and I began our Stateside journey August 10th. Barrett’s dad picked us up in Denver that afternoon and graciously dropped us back off at said airport at 4am the next day to catch our flight to Vermont. Annabelle and I spent three glorious days breathing in the New England air with our friends the Matteucci’s. What fun to tour Ben and Jerry’s, eat Ben and Jerry’s, cruise on Lake Champlain, go to LL Bean, see friends from Louisville, catch up with the fam while eating gourmet sandwiches at a cider farm, walk Church Street in Burlington, and relax on the couch to watch which log cabin would be chosen this time. I’m so thankful to have such hospital and loving friends who make visits so easy.
Then I rented a car (which didn’t have “drive on the other side of the street” insurance) and headed to RI. My phone synched to the car! It was amazing! Well, everything except having to stop to ask directions because my phone didn’t have service…. anywhere on the drive. But we made it to my brother’s just in time for family dinner at 8pm! OK, so they waited for me. Then began another couple of days of whirlwind fun from Dunkin’ Donuts, bouncy house turned water slide, Providence water fire beauty, Chick Fil-et, going on a water slide on the only ski slope in RI, and watching the DVD of the Red Sox winning the 2013 world series! I do love this family! Lexi gave up her room and bed for me and AC, Gray became Annabelle’s dear friend, and I always love chatting with Chris and Leah. The conversation is easy and the ministry is real. Thanks for loving your lil’ sis!
Then another car rented…with no key…what?!?! And off to VA…all good until NY decided to close one lane on the George Washington bridge allowing us to make 5 miles in 1 hour. Nice. Yet we made it to Dulles to meet up with Barrett who just flew in and hop into my parents’ car (who met us there) to head to their abode at the gate of the Shenandoah Valley. It was a week of cousin joy for Annabelle who was blessed by my brother Jonathan’s six loving kids. They enveloped both her and my cousin’s little boy with a twinkle in their eyes and laughter on their lips. They hunted for worms, went fishing, played with Barrett for hours, got dirty, went swimming, ate together, and wrestled till they laughed or cried. It was a magical week for her. Chris and his family and Aunt Alma also travelled down to VA for the weekend which made for the first time since our wedding that our whole family was together! Oh man, the stories, sarcasm, and laughs were endless!
I got to catch up with my entire family, walk into a Walmart, go to another Chick Fil-et, experience Charming Charlie’s for the first time, get Starbucks, and see my friends from the church that sent me to Thailand. What a joy! Thanks mom and dad for housing us, feeding the whole crew with Amy, for the jelly beans, for taking us to DC for a day we won’t soon forget. Going up the Washington Monument, to going to the Holocaust museum, to then seeing the WWII memorial, to ending at a Nationals Baseball game. So many emotions and thoughts in one day. It was amazing.
Then the three of us headed to Boulder to finish up our Stateside tour. This also proved to be a time of fantastic memories. We visited the horse camp that Barrett went to every summer for 6 years in Gold Hill, a town that has not seen much change in the past 100 years. I met the owner of the camp that single handedly kept the camp from the fires of CO with a bulldozer. Amazing! We road horses, road pristine 52-year-old bikes to the Pearl Street farmers market, saw street performers, went to a mall, had a date, followed Boulder Creek, met old friends, and bought shoes from stores that had our size! Annabelle had her first Chucky Cheese experience and Barrett’s parents were introduced to trivia night at Old Chicago…they may be hooked! We met up with a cousin and also met with the folks at our adoption agency that are helping us complete our family! What a joy that was! Thank you both for your hospitality, stories, and adventures!
America is beautiful! From Vermont, to Rhode Island, to Virginia, to Boulder! They are vastly different beauties but they took my breath away nonetheless. Our God has created such a variety of creation! I breathed it in as I walked on lush grass, saw mountains covered in evergreens, fished in a creek, ran along another Creek, walked in the frigid Atlantic Ocean, saw horses and cows grazing, gazed at the Providence River glowing in firelight, and saw the sun rising over purple flatirons. Oh how I want to treasure these moments and be thankful for the Lord’s creativity.
I also realized that as we get older, we appreciate our families and friends so much more. We are grateful that the Lord has put you all in our lives. We are who we are because of you…I’ll let you decide if that’s good or not! =0) Thanks for all of you who made the journey to see us. We wish we had more time to catch up with all of our friends and family, we truly do. This was definitely a trip to remember, in many ways. Perhaps I will be able to share more later…is that a good enough tease?