I Haven't Run A Marathon But...

I have spent the last week with a just turned four-year-old and an almost two-year-old while they navigated the time change from Asia to America which, is pretty much the same thing as running a marathon. Or two. I have about a million pictures on my phone and a million special moments marked in my heart and I want to dump them all here but I guess I won't. 

Well I am going to dump a few because what good is a blog if not to overload anyone who might still be reading blogs with a bunch of family photos? 

Also maybe more than a few. 

Y'all know I have to go all the way back to Day 1 here because I don't know any other way. The 'kids' (yes they are full grown adults who've been raising children of their own while living out of the country for two years but your kids are your kids no matter their age) and an-y-way... the 'kids' bid farewell to the Land of Morning Calm and landed in crazy town USA (that would be the Atlanta Airport) last Sunday night. 

Their flight was on time, but then there was that pesky three hour wait in a completely ridunculous passport control queue with two toddlers who'd just spent fourteen hours on a plane, and I am here to tell you these 'kids' are absolute rock stars.  

Small rant...what is the point of travelers masking on an airplane when you're going to stand them shoulder to shoulder in a s-l-o-w moving three hour queue with a bajillion people upon arrival? 

On the other side of the gate we grandparents were waiting waiting waiting not so patiently to welcome them home. Yes of course all four grandparents made the two hour trek to the airport. We have not had an in person hug in almost two years, plus we needed two vehicles to haul their umpteen bags and assorted baby gear back to the lake.

Finally there were hugs and tears and then a too long car ride to South Carolina but we made it with everyone's remarkably good moods in tact. Their pup (you know him now as our pup) plus Daughter2 were there waiting when we opened the front door and I cannot explain to you how wonderful it feels to have everyone on the very same terra firma. 

Sleep. It's all relative when you're upside down on time and these little men were such troopers. There were some middle of the night calls for momma but by about day four everyone was pretty much in the sleep groove. And nobody was cranky. They jumped right in to lake life, both figuratively and literally...

...and we have had the best time doing all the things, many many things, with the cutest tiny humans on the planet. There was fishing with Pawpaw-

Celebrating a special someone's 4th birthday with all  his favorite people-

Boating-

In case you're wondering they like to go fast!!...or as the mancub says, 'When are we going to kick it into gear?

There were bubbles-

These bubble guns my neighbor recommended (Amazon link here) were a huge hit and so much better than the tiny little wand in a bottle we grew up with-

My popcorn popper was a hit too-

This little guy had his very first taste of Chick-fil-A-

Summertime in South Carolina definitely calls for popsicles dripping down your chin-

There was bird feeding-

And bird watching-

Homemade waffles with Nana-

Pool fun-

Auntie hijinks-

This aunt is the absolute best at doing whatever needs doing to keep our proverbial train on the track. Don't know how we'd manage without her. For real. 

Also, sisters reunited might be my favorite thing about the whole happy-exhausting-glorious week we've had together. 

God bless America and the service men and women still far from home, still far from their siblings and their children's grandparents and extra hands to help with busy toddlers. Far from their momma's home cooking and in-person time with their people. The sacrifices are both large and small and we are so grateful for each and every one. 

Welcome home! 

Four

This week's Hodgepodge questions are one post down.

Dear Mancub, 

Today you are four. 

You're there and I'm here and that's okay. God has a plan for each one of us and you there and me here is part of His plan for both of our lives. 

You are a world traveler. 

You've spent one half of your life living on the other side of the world, seeing new and interesting sights, hearing a language not your own, eating foods most toddlers wouldn't dare touch with a ten foot chopstick, and sharing your life with us via the miracle of technology. You are far far away from extended family and that's okay. 

Your momma and daddy have done a most excellent job of forming deep and lasting bonds with friends who have acted as family in absentia these past two years. Friends who will always hold a special place in the hearts and minds of your parents. Friends who will send you Christmas cards as the years roll by and who will go out of their way to visit you in person no matter where you roam.

You ask a lot of questions. 

I read recently the average four year old asks as many as 200 questions each day, but that's okay. This statistic only confirms what I've known since you uttered your very first word, and that is you're extraordinary.

One of the things I look forward to most about having you here is listening to all your many questions. When you hear a new word, even in passing, you must know what it means. You don't settle for a simple answer either, and you drill down to the nth detail until you understand it completely. You are growing your brain and keeping ours young and sharp too. 

You still love books.

I cannot overstate how happy this makes me. Nana has piles of books for us to share snuggled up on the couch, sitting on the porch, or riding in the car. Anywhere really. 

You love big. 

You and your little brother are developing such a sweet relationship as you've grown into the role of older brother and we love having a front row seat to your shenanigans.

You've learned to share your favorite people's time and attention, to understand the miracle of family love and the way our human hearts can expand and make room for more and more of it. 

You should know I stole all these pictures from your momma, and that's okay. Once upon a time she was my three-year-old turning four and I see so much of her in you. 

She also loves books and words and her people most of all, and we are so lucky to call her ours. 

To call you hers. 

To be on the receiving end of so much joy and magic. 

Happy birthday mancub. You are so very precious and your Nana loves you deep and wide. 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

The Hurrier I Go

psa...there will not be a hodgepodge this week... I need a breather. 

The Hodgepodge will be back next week, July 28th. thanks! 

"The hurrier I go the behinder I get...."  Name that author. Besides me I mean-ha! Does anyone else feel as if July is whizzing by like a fast moving train? 

I'm not sad about it because we are trying not to count the days til our daughter and her family arrive stateside, except we are for sure counting the days. My daughter has post it squares on the side of her frig and when we Facetime with them,  the mancub likes to pull one down and tell me how many more days til we're on the same landmass. 

He does not actually say 'landmass' but that is what we're all waiting for. 

Also if I say landmass he will say, 'What's landmass' and I will explain it's a large area of land, a continent even, and then he will  say 'What's a continent?' and I'll explain there are seven and we live on North America and they live in Asia and he'll ask 'why do you live in North America?' and I'll tell him soon we'll all be together and that's the important thing to know. Whew! 

photo credit: Sincerely-Shannon

We are so ready for in person hugs and kisses and baby boys on Nana's lap and little men fishing off the dock with their Pawpaw and books read by their favorite aunt and all of us in the very same house at the very same time. Honestly I try to stay busy because if I think too hard and too much about it all I might burst. 

Company helps and thankfully we've had a steady stream of visitors to enjoy and share with, this place we now call home. We lived in Maryland for nine years and had wonderful friends and neighbors there. While we've seen these friends here and there through the years none had been to the lake house until this summer. Set number three arrives tonite and we can't wait.  

We have had the best time catching up with everyone, remembering the sweetness (and occasional saltiness) of raising tiny humans together, and now hearing about how all these once upon a time littles are full fledged adults nearly the age we parents were when we first met as young moms. Say what? 

Time is funny, isn't it?

And it's Lewis Carroll for anyone wondering about the quote up top.  

Besides our Maryland peeps we also had some college friends visit last weekend or I guess since it's Sunday it would be two weekends ago now, but as I said we've been busy and our calendar is so full I am on a day to day basis in terms of what's happening. 

Did I tell you my daughter and her family are moving to one of our favorite states in the US of A? She wrote a post about the transition and it's wonderful and moving and tender and if you've moved a lot or if you've ever had to leave a place behind that marked you deeply and for all time then you'll enjoy her words. The link is here-Preparing For The Next Goodbye

They will be about a six hour drive from us and while many of you are thinking wow-that's not all that close, we are jumping for joy because this is the closest they will have lived to us since they married almost seven years ago. 

And so we wait. And we enjoy the meantime. We feel so much gratitude for friends who knew us when... for neighbors we could call when we needed a cup of sugar, a helping hand, an adult conversation...

For sunlight that sparkles and a warm summer day...

For daughters who get married and move many states away, but who still come home to sip coffee on the porch...

For fire in the sky...

...and a God who cares about all the details of our lives.

Monday Dusting

Happy Summer everyone! It's official! It definitely feels like summer here and we are back to busy. So much so that I didn't post a single entry on my blog last week. I plan to make up for that today though, with an extra long post. 

As opposed to my normal long posts I mean. 

So let's talk about last week and life in general. Remember the adorable newlyweds? 

They were finally able to take their honeymoon trip and spent last week celebrating married life in a beautiful tropical locale. Only four different Covid tests were needed to get there and back but one does what one must when the sea is calling. I think Daughter2 plans to blog about their getaway on her own blog, which you'll find here (It's Elementary). 

While the kids were away we kept their sweet pup who is so sick and the dearest best dog we've ever known. Dogs y'all...

They fill up your heart but they wrench it real good too. 

Meanwhile on the other side of the world...daughter1 and her family also spent a week vacationing in a beautiful tropical locale. Jeju Island which is sometimes called the 'Hawaii of Korea'. 

If you follow Daughter1 on Facebook she's posted a bunch of pictures, and hopefully will share the fabulous vlogs she made on her own blog soon. (Sincerely Shannon)

We have their sweet pup too, but I think I've told you he's technically our dog now. Saturday morning we took him for his first official boat ride of the season and he was, as per usual, living his best life. 

Everyday is your best life when you're him. 

Always helping the Captain-

Retrieving til the cows come home. 

He would swim after this rubber duck all the ding dong day if we'd let him. 

The lake was quiet Saturday morning so hubs and I had breakfast and iced coffee while the little brown dog wore himself out. 

fyi-he never wears out. 

In other last week news, hubs and I celebrated an anniversary...37 years so whoohoo! Go us! A random number to be sure, but I say every year is a milestone and should be marked. We had a lovely dinner at a restaurant we enjoy and talked about how both of our girls were vacationing somewhere fabulous while we're at home with the dogs. Not mad about it at all though, because happily married children are a true gift. 

Early in the week hubs brother and sister-in-law drove over from their lake in Tennessee to our lake in South Carolina. We did some boating and some grilling and lots of porch sitting which was fun. The men went skeet shooting one day while we girls shopped and lunched and we look so forward to more family fun with them soon. 

I'm all over the map here so this post might feel like more than a week's worth of recap, but I promise it's really only a week. 

I had plans to make hubs his favorite breakfast on Father's Day but just before church the power went out and was out all morning. Blueberry waffles for lunch are okay too. It rained all day so we watched movies and then he opened gifts and facetimed with his girls and I capped things off with his favorite dinner- meatloaf. 

The skies cleared so we met up with neighbors for an evening kayak to a nearby island. 

Gray days can surprise you with their beautiful endings.