BEYOND THE BORDERS

I know, I know, I hit an all-time record of not updating my blog, but when I got ready to do it 3 weeks ago, Google told me I was out of photo space and now had to pay for it.  I'm not techy so I had to wait until Glenn could help me figure out my best option ... which turned out to buy more space.  So, welcome back to my blog.

I'm going to pick up where I left off, which was in Indiana at a Mental Health in Missions conference.  The conference was great, but the best part was that my daughter-in-law and grand-daughter were also at the conference.  I got to do a little babysitting!

Isn't Jazmine just the cutest little thing?   She is a mix of the best of her mom and dad.  Those big brown eyes from her dad and her sweetness from her mom.  :-)

However, she also greatly resembles her aunt Kari with these swingin' hips!  I have a photo of Kari when she was in 2nd grade posing just like this.  (And she loves Fritos just like her aunt Kari;  in fact, she's got them in both hands!)

At the end of the conference, we had to say good-bye at the airport, but this time, it was pretty easy because we were going to see them again in a week!

Glenn and I flew to Atlanta, spent one night with my dad (lovingly called "Pop"), next door to his special friend, Emogene, before the four of us drove to South Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with my sister's family.

Karin and Eric live on Lake Murray in a beautiful showcase home that they designed and built.   It is large enough to have the whole Brown family over for Thanksgiving and July 4th, and everyone always has such a great time!

This year my aunt Billie came over from Montgomery to join us for Thanksgiving.  The last time I saw Aunt Bill is when she came to Budapest our first year here, 5 years ago.

While we were there, Eric spotted where a beaver literally chewed one of his trees down!  The tree was about 6 inches in diameter, and unfortunately, it is NOT the first one they've lost to beavers.   I've seen drawings of where beavers have cut trees down with their teeth but I never really believed that they chisel them down to points like this!  I was wrong.

We had perfect weather and Jazmine enjoyed playing on the steps outside for as long as someone would watch her.   The view out the back of the house is so breath-taking.

  

Eric took Chris and Jazmine on a tour of the yard in Corrie's golf cart.  I'm not sure who enjoyed it most, Chris or Jazmine???

Sitting around was one of the best things we did the whole time we were in the U.S..  It was definitely the only real rest we got during the month.  Too bad it happened on the front end of our trip!

The stools around the kitchen counter were always full too, of folks grazing and chatting.   Karin always has a frig full of soft drinks and serves the greatest meals.  Always a good supply of movies too!

My niece, Corrie, was great with Jazmine too, which was a big help when we were trying to get the Thanksgiving day meal together.    Corrie leaves in two weeks for a semester at sea.  No joke.  She will travel around the world for the next four months.  What an awesome experience!  I'll be praying for her day-by-day once I get her itinerary.  (Hint, Karin!)

Eric made the stuffing (the real deal), and I got to help him stuff the turkey.  Never done that before, myself!

Glenn took his turn at holding Jazmine while the rest of us ate our lunch.  She's a good eater.  (Both my grandkids are good eaters, which makes things really easy!)

One of the best pictures I got of her all weekend.  :-)

On Saturday, we headed back to Marietta so we could spend some time with Glenn's side of the family, specifically Sarah, Chad, and Katie while they were in town.  

Five days later, we headed to Alcoa, Tennessee to spend the weekend with Chris, Kate, and Jazmine.  Chris works Monday-Friday so that's the best time for us to visit with them.  

We helped them set up their tree and decorate their house.  It took 3 of us to do that, and 1 person to play with Jazmine.  

We swapped our gifts with them while we were there.   Who'd have thought little Jazmine would like soft packages?   She's showing off her Christmas outfit.

And now she's modeling her little tutu!  So cute!  Love that smile.  

Chris and Kate live 2 blocks from a huge park with miles and miles of walking paths.   We enjoyed a couple of walks in the park, including a picnic lunch one day.  

And this is a rare photo op of my son's family.  A great picture!  

The only thing that made saying good-bye a tad easier was knowing that we would see them again in 6 months, and knowing that our daughter's family would arrive soon to spend Christmas with us.  Still, it was tough to hug them good-bye and get on that plane.  

Jet lag is in full swing but I'll be ready for Kari, Jonathan, and Alec when they arrive on Friday!

Again, sorry to be so delinquent in updating my blog.  I'm back. :-)