One of the best things that has happened to me since living abroad is discovering a deeper appreciation for "going home". This is a gift, no doubt, and something I believe you can only truly gain if you spend many, many days away. This time around, it was 8 months since I had been home...and nothing beats that big sigh of relief when you walk through those familiar doors and into the embrace of your mother and your childhood home. THAT is a feeling I never want to forget, a swell of appreciation in my heart I never want to lose sight of.
boy, was it good to be home!
Beautiful plumerias growing outside our front door//and my very pregnant sissy!
D and the boys with their "funny face!"
Cam loves to do yoga since my bro Russ (his dad) does it all the time.
PITA 360...I've been dying to try this place and it knocked my socks off!!! The hummus, the vinegar veggies, the pita bread....OMG OMG. And I had to get me a cup of HONEYMEE ice cream! YUMMMM
No trip home would be complete without some good mehicannnn tacossssss!
Coffee+Journal+Jesus....can't start my day without 'em!
I love how my dad still has the same morning routine. Walk the dog, read the sports paper, eat his breakfast...some things never change!
My mom is awesome and created "Thrilling Thursdays" for the kids, where every Thursday during summer they get to do something fun! I was in charge of monitoring the painting frenzy outside. Mom ordered paint, bird houses, elephant piggy banks, dot paint pens, etc all for this event! These are some lucky kids!
Hunty and Len, the two oldest :) love them
Len was SO into painting...she's totally going to be an artist when she grows up. She stayed focused the entire time and meticulously painted each side of the birdhouse a specific color. She was singing Lion King songs to herself whilst painting and she was cracking me up!! Also, a true sign of an artist is that she did not care ONE BIT if paint got on her hands, her face, her legs...nope...she just stayed so focused on the painting itself! impressive.
Kacie and A.Julie brought us all chick-fil-a YAYAYAYAYYA!!!!!!!!
I LOVED THIS...when I was walking downstairs with Eden after her nap she stopped and looked at the wall and said, "LOOK! ISSAAA RAINBOW!" and she was totally right! Shining through the front door was this tiny rainbow...and she lifted up her shirt trying to catch it.
LOVE THIS GIRL!!!!
ahhhh....KOMAE CHICKEN!!! If you know my family, you know this is my mom's signature dish passed down through generations! It is THE BEST chicken in the world and if you've had it, you know what i'm talking about. As my last meal at home, it couldn't have been more perfect.
and that, my friends, wraps up yet another trip back home. The main message that the Lord spoke over me this whole trip was, "I HAVE PERFECT TIMING"...the timing of this trip, of seeing all my college friends in Chicago, of spending time at home with family...it was all so incredibly well timed by the grace of God! And of course, things ended with a BANG when I boarded my plane at 2pm and my NIECE TAYAH WAS BORN AT 4pm!!!! That will be a moment I never forget...buying wifi on the plane so I could facetime my sister at the hospital to meet baby girl #3...WOW!!! The timing was so funny, so crazy...and I just cried on the plane because my sister had a healthy baby girl and I was so happy!!! God is so good. Sometimes things are unexpected, or the timing doesn't always make sense right away...but theres an indescribable peace that fills you when you know you're in the will of God and fully dwelling in His perfect timing :) amen!