I had a super special visit with my sister and her family in Oregon! I was only there one week but we packed a lot of fun times in. The journey over was long but went really smoothly – God was very gracious. Jessah didn’t sleep too much on the way over but she got some catnaps in that kept her going and even though she was awake a lot on the long-haul flight, she was generally happy. She kept waving and smiling at everyone and being very sweet. She and Hannah fell asleep during our long layover in San Fransisco we had a joyful meeting with my parents at the airport and then with Amy when we arrived at her house. Jessah did amazingly well at coping with the jet lag. She did come down with a tummy bug while we were there which was no fun for her, poor thing, but it was short-lived and thankfully Hannah and I stayed healthy. The day after we arrived, Hannah went to stay with her good friend Anne for a few days. They had a wonderful time! I was able to see some ladies from church one morning – brief but sweet time – and also go to our sending church on Sunday (a shorter than normal time as Jessah was sick) which was very special. Here are some photos of our visit. When you live so far away from from family sometimes it feels like your heart is in two places. I felt quite emotional leaving but so grateful for the memories made with people I love so much.
This is us, all excited, just before the plane took off from London! Hannah was a great help with Jessah (lots of people thought we were sisters and/or that Hannah was Jessah’s mum – yikes!)
My sister and brother in law, their kids and Jessah
Amy and me and Elly and Jessah – matching outfits from Aunt Carol!
Amy also got them matching sleepers. It was hilarious trying to pose them for a photo – they wanted to do everything but take a photo! This one was probably the best one.
Elly didn’t want to give up looking at her book – so we gave Jessah one too (we laughed so hard when we realised the title was something about Loving the Man in your Life!)
Hmmm . . .what shall we cook for dinner?
Jessah is really into waving at the moment. She is so happy and friendly with everyone!
It was so fun celebrating Elly’s second birthday! She is such a cheerful little girl with a lot of sweet energy!
What a sweetheart! A friend made this chalkboard for Elly’s party.
Mmmm – birthday cake!
The boys getting into the birthday theme with their bee stingers!
Jessah got to sit on a horse for the first time – she wasn’t too impressed!
It was so nice to see my Mom and Dad too. I got to do a picnic lunch with each of them individually.
Hannah had an amazing time with her friend Anne. And I enjoyed getting to chat with her mum for a bit too when she dropped Hannah back. Good friends are such a blessing.
Anne and Jessah
Anne and Hannah bizarrely came across this turtle near Anne’s house!
Hannah also got to spend some time with her friend Esther! Very special.
Fun at the park
It was a treat to get to spend concentrated time with my nieces and nephews.
Claire and Jessah
More park fun!
Hannah and Amy
Auntie memories . . . here Jessah is wearing the same outfit that Elly wore last summer when Jessah was still inside me!
All tuckered out on our journey home . . . we had an amazing trip!
Jessah was pretty wasted when we got home (so were Hannah and I!) but jet lag didn’t last long and it’s been great to be back all together as a family.
It was such a special trip – a gift from God. If you prayed for me, thank you so much. Now we are back into the swing of things with school and “normal” life. We would appreciate prayer for us as we continue to serve our family and church.
