Our NC Visit

I've been counting down the days until our trip to North Carolina.  We've been gone for 2.5 years and I know things have changed, but I still couldn't wait to get back and visit everyone.

We flew out Christmas day (Sunday) after having a nice quiet Christmas morning at our house.  Kids opened their gifts (adults too) and then we packed up and headed to the airport.  We dropped Cooper off at Ms. Mary's house on Christmas Eve.  Our flight was non-stop and I sat with the girls and B sat with the boys.  The kids loved it and they were so good.  Jen picked us up when we arrived in NC because Keith was at home cooking for us.  When we got to their house, we ate a TON of food including fish and wings.  Boy I've missed K's cooking.  Everything was delicious.  All the kids opened gifts after dinner and we watched Arthur Saves Christmas together up stairs in K's man cave to end a great day.

I got stopped because of fudge in my backpack! Thanks Aunt Mo :)

Through security heading to our gate

From Ms. Mary, our dog-sitter

We made it....Raleigh, NC

I only have 1 picture of opening gifts for some reason

Monday:
K and I left early to work out.  K dropped me off at a CG location in Briar Creek and then he went to O2 to work out.  He picked me up at 5:30 and we came back home to sleeping spouses and kids :)  Once everyone was awake, K made a gigantic breakfast for us all that included real bacon, sausage, toast, eggs, and cheese-toast.  It was all so good and totally undid the workout I just completed.  We previously purchased groupons to an inflatable jump place so that's where we headed for the day.  The 6 kids loved it and I enjoyed watching them play together.  E gravitated more towards Bree Bree and I could see Lexi feeling torn because R, A, and W all wanted her to play with them.  There was an air hockey table as well as a basketball hoop so even things for adults to do.  The 4 adults talked a lot and we left when the kids were hungry.  The Daniel's came over for dinner and K fried up some food again.  Sara & Andrew have become really good friends with K & J and they actually have gone into business together with a catering company called Salt&PepperBBQ.  I love the name, so witty.  
That afternoon was so relaxed.  The kids played outside and in the girls room, while adults talked and we had a lot of laughs.  The Daniel's left and it was time for the dad's to go see a movie (maybe Rogue One).  Jen and I got the kids showered and ready for bed.  Actually Jen did all that because Debbie Lauria came over for a visit.  She was going to have to miss our open house, but wanted to see us, so she drove all the way to Briar Creek to see us.  It was so good to see her, and I'm very appreciative that she took the time to come see us while we were in town.  B missed her but she says one day she'll take a road trip and come visit us in TX.  After getting the kids in bed, Jen and I watched a movie until we went to bed. 

Playing superhero headbands that A got for Christmas

After a full day of activity, E passed out on the chair

D. Lauria drove to see us in Briar Creek.

Tuesday:
K had to go back to work this day so I went to the gym with Jen to take Body-Combat.  B stayed back at their house to finish up some editing and the kids went to childcare.  It was fun working out with Jen.  We went back to their house and changed, then drove to Wake Forest (we rented a car at some point) to go by our old house and look at WFMS.  Our house looks mostly the same except for the yard.  The people who live there put stepping stones all the way down the hill that leads to the front door.  It's still a cute little house and I'll have wonderful memories of our 8 years in that house.  The Caldwell's hosted a homecoming party for us that was a come and go thing that afternoon.  We invited friends from church and school/work to come see us.  It was a pretty steady stream of people, and no big rush, so we got to visit with people in a small concentrated time frame.  I tried to remember to take pictures of all the visitors, but I know I missed some.  We saw the Ducketts, the Conyers, The Fosses, O'Janpa's, Daniel's, and maybe 1 or 2 more that I can't remember.  We stayed with them until 10 pm just talking and the kids were playing.  J/N have moved out to Wake Forest, and their house is amazing.  The basement is finished and it's an entire kid playroom.  All the bedrooms are upstairs so the middle floor has the living space and kitchen plus an office.  Their backyard is huge with a lot of potential for a play-set, or even a baseball cage. Too bad they moved to WF after we moved away.  It's a lovely neighborhood also. They invited us to spend the night, but we decided it would be better to drive back to J/K's house since that's where all our stuff was.  We would see them again though.

Boys

Our sweet first home.

The Ducketts

The best mentor teacher ever!

The Daniel family (we need to cruise with this family one day)

The Foss family (they kept R when A was born unexpectedly)

The Caldwell Family (with us from day 1 in our small group)

Wednesday:
We went to sleep so late, that it was nice having a chill morning with not a lot to do.  B had to do a few edits for AJE so I took a walk around the neighborhood while the kids played together.  Our plan this day was to go visit the O'Janpa's for lunch and some quality time with their family.  We first dropped A off with J/N so they could have some godparent time with him and take him shopping for Christmas.  Originally A was going to spend the night, but changed his mind at the last minute.  We didn't push for it because things were out of place for him.  Kristen had sandwich stuff ready for us for lunch and we were very thankful.  Having a nice sandwich was a nice relief to all the heavy fried food and fast food we had been eating since flying to NC.  The house was similar to how I remember before leaving and our kids played great with their kids.  Since E was a baby (1 year old) when we moved away, she's doesn't really have memories of K/V or her god-sisters, so we felt it was very important for her to have some time with them.  I had a few calls from some of my teammates from school asking if they could come see us so I asked Kristen and of course she said yes.  I was thankful because I would have been sad if I'd have missed seeing them on our visit.  Chris B, Linda G, and the Klines came over.  Their visits were staggered so I got to spend intentional one-on-one time with each family.  I loved catching up with all of them and it made me miss my school and all my school friends so much.  I know a lot of teachers have walked the halls of Wake Forest Middle, but that school will hold a special place in my heart because that's where I started and made so many wonderful friends there.  Kristen and Vic ordered pizza from Miltons and our favorite, a calzone, especially for us.  I love the O'Janpas so much.  Our old 'small group' came over for dinner which included the Caldwells (minus Justin and they returned A to us), Gillams, Daniels, and Haynes.  I cried a lot when I left their house, but had a warm feeling inside after being surrounded by what had been my family for so many years.  It was renewing for my soul.  Our girls spent the night with the O'Janpas and we went back to J/K's house.  The adults played video games after the kids went to bed.  I think we stayed awake until 2 am.

L. George came to see us in Wakefield

I cried when I said goodbye to the Klines (M was my BFF for many years at WF)

Felt like old times at small group dinner meetings

Thursday:
One thing that Houston doesn't have that NC did have was Krispy Kreme donuts.  Shipley's owns the donut market in Houston, so on our list of "must do's" was eating KK donuts.  Thursday morning was that day because K took off work to spend the day with us.  We drove out to the KK in Wake Forest, and picked up our girls on the way.  We ate KK with the Gillams like we've done so many times before.  After the sugar coma, we went to Grandma Pat's apartment to visit her for a while.  We got to see Sheree and Aiden & AJ for a short while.  The girls were at the dentist so we missed Ahmaya and Alissa.  After visiting Grandma Pat, the girls and I went to the movies with Jen and her girls.  The boys stayed at the Gillams and played video games all afternoon.  Both parties had a great time doing different things.  We saw the movie Sing and it was really cute. After the movie was over, we all hung out for a while at the Gillam's and then returned the rental card.  For dinner, we all piled into Keith's pathfinder and went to eat at Crazy Fire Mongolian Grill.  It's a favorite of ours with the Gilliams and we ate there with them before we moved away in June of 2014 for Father's Day.  The evening was chill and we all sort of hung out, trying to put off the inevitable.  Our time was coming to a close.  The kids took showers and then went to bed, saying their good-byes and "I love yous" to each other.  The adults stayed awake for a LONG time talking and playing video games again.

The O'Janpa parents

The kids in age order

The O'Janpa family (funny to take a self timer with so many people)

Love Donuts!

Grandma Pat

She practically raised R, A, & W

Movie date with the girls to see Sing

The boys played video games all afternoon

Dinner at Crazy Fire Mongolian Grill

Special god-parent time with Aunt Jenn

Friday:
Our flight was EARLY so just K got up to take us.  We pretty much picked the sleeping kids up and let them stay in their jammies and we changed at the airport.  They were so tired, and so were we.  It was sad leaving, but we had an awesome time.  We had great family in NC and we miss them dearly, but as B and I reflected on our trip, we prayed.  We prayed for our friends still in NC and that their relationships would continue to grow closer as they have in the past 2 years.  We prayed for our lives in TX and that we would continue to see God's hand and purpose in our lives.  We can see now, after 2 years, why God called us to Texas and our new ministry here, but it's so sad to leave our family back in NC.

So sad to leave NC :(