April 24, 2016

Time with Family

April 24, 2016

When one of our sons moved out of the town where we live, to a town about 70 miles away, many people said, "You are lucky that they will be so close.  You will still see them all the time."  Wrong.  They have very active lives.  We have obligations that keep us in our corner of the world most of the time.  Yes, we can see them more easily than we can see the ones that are a 1/2 day drive away, the ones a day's drive, or the ones a 2 day drive away.  But it is still not as often as we would like.  The oldest of the children is a high school senior and although the children are home schooled, there are still many senior activities taking his time.

It had been 3 or 4 weeks since we had seen the family from up the valley and we were delighted when they said they could come for the day on Sunday.  They arrived in time for Sunday School at our church and the two older boys helped at church as they had been doing before they moved.  They were glad to see their friends and we were so glad to have them for a few hours.

After church we picked up some chicken for lunch and went to our house, ate lunch, and visited for a few hours.  Mom joined us for lunch and a visit.  Two of the children stayed to spend the night.  They had a great evening playing, sewing, watching the birds, and spending a little time in the yard.  We had leftover chicken for supper and enjoyed our time with the children.  Ron helped the grandson who stayed work on a model airplane and the granddaughter who stayed helped me clean some doll house furniture we had found in the playhouse before it was torn down.

They played with Legos, the General Store doll house, and the other toys.  Bedtime is always a challenge since they are just not here long enough to play with all the things they want to enjoy.  Our grandson slept on one couch in the living room and his Grandpa slept on the other.  Our granddaughter slept on the couch in the sewing room while I slept in the recliner.  They always want us nearby.

It was a good day with lots of laughs and lots of chatting about college for the oldest, ballet recital with the girls, their new puppies with all of the children, and the new friends they are making in the various activities.  We miss them, but believe they are where they belong.  They are loving their new surroundings.