Whatever Takes Us Away

It's been a while since my last post, I will attempt to update.

Been busy. Been sick. Been working. With the kids ending their school year Tina and I have been running around here and there, getting things done with the kids (four of them we have) in preparation for the next school year. Everyone got passing grades and will move forward in their schooling. First, Second & Third grades will be attended by the oldest three next school year. Moving right along.

We traveled back to Chicago over this past weekend for some much needed time with friends we hadn't seen in nearly 3.5 years. It was a wonderful trip (despite traffic) and we plan on doing it again sooner rather than later next time. We spent quality time with several friends, Friday evening with our favorite Polish family in our old neighborhood, great to see everyone! Saturday was Jen & Keith's wedding, beautiful wedding. That's how a wedding should be, everyone said and did what needed to be said and it didn't take three hours! I talked to Keith shortly after it was over and he said it felt like ten seconds. It wasn't that short, but it went by quickly. I know they will do well with each other for years. Saturday evening was a bit of a disappointment and a pleasant surprise. We had planned on visiting some other friends, expecting to see plenty of other faces at their house only to find they no longer lived at the house (sadly we drove away). So we kept driving.

Tina called some other friends, got an address and rough directions and away we went! We had no idea they had already had their third child (born this past week as a matter of fact, welcome Abigail)! We talked, remembered old times, shared stories, plans for the future, etc. Before we knew it we had to get going, it was getting pretty late, we'd see them at church in the morning. We didn't know what to expect upon arrive at our old church, who would be there, who may have left, but we went with an open mind. Many of the familiar faces we had left behind three years ago were still there, but there were some that no longer called Cornerstone their home. Some greeted us with shouts, some pushed people out of the way, some greeted us with a great smile and a warm hug or handshake, all were greeted with love!

We left church refreshed by Pastor Calvin's words of encouragement and headed towards a newly planned lunch arrangement with the Hutchcrofts. The kids played intently as our good friends showed us around the house, pointing out what had been changed, updated, added on to. It was good to hang out with them for a couple hours, relax a bit and enjoy the time. Dinner with the Markwicks!

Our gracious hosts for the weekend were Jack & Janet. They nearly insisted that we stay with them, we took them up on the offer. We had a wonderful dinner with them, sat around the back deck and talked for a while before our next visit.

Movie night for the kids? Yep, backyard movies on a big screen. Projector, sound system, movie, what more do you need to entertain children under 10? While the kids were enthralled with movies, the adults could do some more catching up, sharing and story telling. Time well spent with good friends, times we'll remember, times we'll probably share again in the future.