Normal?

I wanted a picture of the guys, the Webb guys and Christian.

I was trying to take a picture of them just sitting there watching the game. Then they noticed me.

I told them just to act normal.

"Normal?" they asked. "Okay!" I soon realized what a mistake I had made. 

You see, their normal is not the normal I was talking about.

And yet...

there is something to be said for capturing these moments which so clearly show the strong family connection. I'm not entirely sure what that something ought to be...

But I don't think I would trade them for anything at all (the pictures or the guys).

Playing With Purpose

One of the best features of the place that we stayed this year with my mom and dad is the Putt-Putt course. It is laid out around the playground equipment, and is a full 18 holes. 

It was free, and all we had to do was head to the main office and pick up putters and balls. 

I am not kidding when I say that my kids spent hours playing Putt-Putt on this trip. 

The weather was perfect for it...not so cold that you didn't want to be outside, no rain.

We didn't keep score most of the time.

They just putted

and putted

and putted to their hearts' content.

"Putted" is a strange word. Let's see the principle parts of the very "putt": to putt, putt/putts, putted, putting, putted. Or is it to putt, putt/putts, putt, putting, putt? I could google it, I guess. These are the things that occupy my brain on a daily basis.

The kids weren't thinking about grammar on vacation. (Although, I'm sure Michaela should have been, at least a little.) (Oops.)

Christian? He did do a little work while we were gone, because he missed some days of school. But on the course? He was thinking of sand traps. And holes-in-one.

I think they each got several holes-in-one.

Especially Eliana. (Sometimes it took her eight tries, but then she would finally cry out,"Hole-in-one!") 

We had a great time on our fun Williamsburg excursions, but it was nice to be able to get them outside, without any agenda, just to play, too.

Isn't that what they do best? (Besides make messes...)

Eliana once told me,"Playing IS working, Mommy!" 

They are masters of play.

And Michaela was stylish, too. 

Playing in style, playing with purpose...and most of the time without fighting...now that was a good time!

Jan and Vicki

This picture brings tears to my eyes. But it also makes me smile crazy big!

Two friends.
Almost forty years.

A lot can happen in forty years, and it pretty much has. It's not my story to tell here, but I am honored to have been a part of some of it. What I did want to tell you is that Jan is doing well. I wrote about Jan at the beginning of the year. She was on a waiting list. She needed a liver. One became available just in time. Since then, she has been busy: in rehab, back in surgery, recovering from the second surgery, on dialysis, being a mom and grandma, and other things that are more fun than the first four on this list. 

She has a new lease on life, and I'm here to tell you that she is pretty sassy these days too. In a beautiful, take-each-day-on-fully kind of way, though.

Doesn't she look great?! 

It was so good to see her on our trip back to Virginia this fall. Thank you for praying for her earlier this year, and any other time you may have thought to do so. As you can see, she's up for anything, and doing VERY well! 

Leaving

The last day with Mom and Dad is always tough. We have had such a great time, laughed hard, eaten too much, and made some new wonderful memories.
Even on special family vacations things don't always go according to our plans. But hopefully the joyful moments will overwhelm the less happy ones, and the funny moments will come to mind and cheer the heart more frequently than the stinky moments bring us down.
I had more picture stories to share than I had nights to write them! As we get settled back into our daily routine, I will tell a few more Williamsburg tales.
Right now, I am flying somewhere over the U.S. between North Carolina and Texas. Eliana is asleep on my lap, Mike is sitting elsewhere with the big kids, and we're headed home. I'm thankful that we were able to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa, and truly cherish that time with them. I'm thankful that the kids love them so much, even though so many miles separate us. And I'm thankful that they made it home safely after dropping us off at the airport a couple of hours away from their house.
We'll be home soon too. I realize with a grateful heart that I am blessed to have so many places to get home to.

Yorktown Encampment