Full Heart

Hey hey hello! We just returned from a 2 week visit with our family in Tennessee. There are only a few reasons I will get on an airplane and new babies are at the top of the list.

That's Rosie, my little brother and sister in law's new baby girl. She's pretty much the most perfect baby ever to be born in a living room. Jenni had her at home on a Monday night. We flew in early on Tuesday and went straight to their house to smooch on our littlest family member. She's tiny and sweet. I love her.

Our visit was different from past trips because we split our time between my older brother's house, JD's parents, and my mom's house. It was great, although a bit of an emotional roller coaster when it was time to leave one house to go to the next. It felt like we had to say goodbye just when we got settled, but then the excitement of being welcomed somewhere new snuffed out the sadness. It was fun! And sad. Like I said, emotional roller coaster!

2 weeks was the perfect length of time to be away. We were busy every day visiting family, old friends, and former employers. JD mentioned after one long day visiting 3 different homes that this wasn't his idea of a relaxing vacation. I told him we can relax at home, we came to see everyone and if we don't triple up some days, we'd never get to everybody!

It was his first time back to Tennessee since we moved 2.5 years ago. He enjoyed seeing our old stomping ground, but we both agreed it no longer felt like home. As much as we hate being so far away from our loved ones, we really love Southern California and were excited to get back.

I'm thankful to have the time with our family the last 2 weeks. My kids loved playing with their older cousins and mothering their younger ones. We didn't get to see everyone as much as we hoped to, but that happens when you have a huge family and lots of friends. Plans are being made for lots of visitors coming our way this year. Until then, I have a heart full of memories and love to carry me until we see them all again.