Family and Friends

This past week has been a busy one, full of visits from loved ones. Last Wednesday, my friend Karen came to visit us. As Anne of Greene Gables would say, we're "kindred spirits" and even though it had been a long time since we'd seen each other, it didn't feel like we'd been separated for long. Karen has raised six of her own children (one is now in Heaven), so she can relate well to my situation. She zeroed in on what my greatest need will be after the baby comes--she offered to bring meals to us. The kids were more than pleased to oblige Karen's request for what to make.

Last Friday, my parents came down for the afternoon. Dad and I went to Lowe's for a few things, including wasp spray. We've had a horrible problem with wasps around here. When Matt sprayed them later that night, he got stung right on the forehead. His forehead swelled over the weekend, despite having taken Benedryl. He went to work yesterday with his left eye half swollen shut (poor guy). Anyway, we had a good time with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa Tom won quite a popularity contest with Joel by pushing him on the scooter in the basement. However, Grandpa quickly lost his new found status when he told Joel it was time to go upstairs and eat dinner--oh, what tears.

Saturday we went to Matt's parents' for a family dinner. Matt's Aunt Joan was visiting from California. It was nice to see her again and introduce her to our two youngest. She'll have to wait to meet Jude. My father-in-law, Matt's Grandma and myself had an interesting discussion about the family history. A relative of theirs had just initiated contact with them after many years. She found them by reading this blog. This world is small.

The weekend ended with several more visitors. Our old neighbor, Paul, came to visit after church on Sunday. We had a nice chat and he got a quick tour of the house. I've noticed how it only takes the men a very short time to get a lay of the land around here. Paul then headed home in his "reserved for Sundays only mint condition Cadillac."

Then Matt's parents and Aunt Joan stopped by before taking Aunt Joan to the airport for her return flight home. The girls gave Aunt Joan and extended tour of the house. Women are much more interested in the details. Hugs and kisses and goodbyes all around and then we started to prepare for the BBQ we were to host that night.

We had our small group (two other couples and their kids) over that evening for dinner. Sarah and I are both due within a week of each other. She and her husband Luke are having a little girl, their first. Between our move and the impending birth of two little ones, we will take a few months break from our Bible study before we start again in the Fall. We decided we wanted to get together one last time before the babies come. It was a nice evening. The kids had a ball playing together and the adults had a fine time of fellowship.

This week will be spent squeezing in the county fair, shoe shopping and haircuts before Jude's arrival. Life is about to change big time around here, but we can't wait to meet the new little blessing the Lord is bringing to our family.