Family

I recently came across this little quote about family:

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck

I love my family. I even like them. They are truth tellers. They are beautiful, each person in their own way. The are always additions to my life and never subtractors. And I like spending time with them.

At the beginning of June, Cameron took some leave and we headed to Alabama to see my family for a little visit. Ahhh, it was glorious! We took a C-17 to Charleston, SC and then drove to Tuscaloosa the next day. It was a bit of a long trip, gotta love the speediness and reliability of a military flight, but hey, at least its free. We arrived and immediately I knew it was going to be a good trip. It had been a couple of years since my whole immediate family had been together, and we were all pretty excited to be there.

It was such a sweet time. I think that when I think about what family means, this trip will always stand out in my mind. As some of you might know, my mom has been diagnosed with gastro-intestinal tumorous cancer. Although she is weak and sick in her body, her mind, sense of humor and spirit is as strong as ever (and she's as beautiful as ever.) To be with one another, talking each other through uncharted territory has shown me how lucky we are...especially because we got to have those conversations by the pool. :) Our whole vacation was filled with swimming, laying by the pool, eating great food and just visiting with one another.

Malone was spoiled by the whole family. Who gave her that ice cream?

I'm such a good wife, I cook, clean, and even carry my husband when he's on vacation and tired.

Lydia, Joel, Cameron, Christelly and my dad went to the lake for a little kayak trip.

Lydia bought Malone a little tea set. Oh she loved playing with her aunties.

My mom even made it into the pool a couple of times. Apparently, Cameron is REALLY excited about this. Oh, and lets talk about how the pool water was 90 degrees. Magical!

Yeah, boooiii! Christelle and my little ghetto thug

All the pretty ladies of the family. My mom is ready for her margharita...and the pool boys feeding her grapes and fanning her with big leaves. Oh the life.


We also had some other members of our "family" come visit with us. We have known the Engelbrecht family since...I don't even know. They are also from South Africa and now the sons and their families live in Atlanta. Oh how we love them. They are truly a part of our family.

I heart family.

A change of scenery

We love the Pacific Northwest. We love the friends we've made here. We even (GASP) like the weather. But we do not love Cameron's schedule. Last year, he was gone over 2oo days. That means he was gone more than he was home. With the arrival of Judah, both Cameron and I started praying for something different for our family. Alas, an opportunity became available and I'm excited to say that we will be moving to Las Vegas sometime this fall/winter/spring (yeah, you like that Air Force timeline?) Cameron will have a new job that will allow him to sleep in our bed, at our house, even if its at strange hours. We are sooooo relieved and excited.

So we took a week at the beginning of August to go to Vegas, survey the area and maybe even find a house. Here's the discoveries of our trip in order of how they happened:

1) Flying with 2 kids and a mom AND A DAD, is great.

2) In-n-Out- Ahhhh, delicious animal-style cheeseburger and the best milkshake I've ever

tasted.

Here's Malone before:

Here's Malone after.

3. Judah was not impressed by the Strip or the beautiful houses we saw

4. It is hot! A pool is a must. Luckily for us, we found a neighborhood that we

love with a community pool nearby. Here we are at the pool at the hotel.

And glamorous Malone is ready for her new life by the pool. "Mom, where's my virgin margarita?!"

5. Vegas' housing market has crashed in an unbelievable way. But, we found a house. Its a long story, and for now we're just waiting.

6. Vegas has some of the best restaurants. To celebrate a successful trip, we went to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. Lovely. Delicious. Amazing. Favorite. Delectable. Wonderful.

7. Although being separated this much is difficult, it has also allowed for some beautiful growth in our family, in every way. But I can't lie, this trip highlighted for me how much I love spending time together. My family is so beautiful and they bring life to my soul.

So for now, we just wait. Wanna come visit Las Vegas?

OY! Its been a while...

Its been a while.

Lots has happened.

Cameron gone for the whole month of May.

A family trip to see my family in Alabama for most of June.

Cameron gone in July.

A little trip to Las Vegas the first couple of weeks in August.

A broken computer.

FINALLY, a new computer.

Little boy sitting up and now crawling!!!!

Little girl so big and so funny and SOOOO independent.

One lucky/happy/tired/reading/loving mama.

Ok, so here goes....are you ready for all the updates?