The State of Maryland

So what began as a quick trip to MD to visit while Jeff headed on to NC has been a wonderful reuniting with family and friends.

We are into our third day and although we are busy, things are going very smoothly, especially with the two little ones.

We arrived late Friday evening/very early Saturday morning. We didn't exactly intend on leaving so late but it actually worked out much better that way because the boys slept most of the way. There was some fog along the way but I chose to shut my eyes and trust Jeff to get us through it intact. (I hate fog while driving at night. Or maybe I just hate that when there is fog at night, my husband just plows right through it. Eek!) Good choice for me because instead of getting a stomach full of knots, I was able to catch some zzz's.

On Saturday we played with Grandma (Grandpa has been in LA) and got settled in before heading out at night to visit our dear friends, the Phipp's. We went to their house for dinner, and as usual, Belle made us feel like Royalty with her spread. Who knew that 7 layer salad and rigatoni could be so fancy? Love that girl. We share the same affection for hospitality and all things pretty, monogrammed and matching so we became fast friends. :) She was actually one of my only friends here in MD. I often talk about "my 3 friends" when I reference living in MD and she is one of them. In fact, I believe she may have been the first!

Sunday was a full day spent greeting acquaintances at our old church, and then heading out to Queenstown to see our old neighbors. That was fun! We hung out with neighbors Vance and Gina, and the kids played together. I met Gina shortly after she found out she was pregnant with her second child, Emma. Three short months later, I was telling her that I was pregnant with my second child! Since our boys are only 3 weeks apart it was very easy for us to become friends and relate to life with a baby-turned-toddler while being pregnant. Gina was also wonderful in helping me to get out for a bit here and there by lending me her sweet new Honda minivan and taking Jak for a few hours here and there. I am still so thankful to her for her willingness to ease the burden of loneliness while we lived here. I really believe the second year spent here was so much better in part by having a friend in such close proximity. You can't get too much closer than 3 houses down!

It was neat to go over the bridge (without summer traffic!) and to see all the sailboats in the Bay. The scenery is so beautiful and though I always thought it was beautiful when we lived here, knowing that we are where we belong, I now was able to see the beauty and enjoy it rather than wishing ourselves to be somewhere else. I have a lot to process about this trip and we're only a few days in!

Today we met up with another couple that is very special to us, the Lumley's. We cared for Abigayle quite a bit last year and she and Jak got to be good toddler friends. ;) We affectionately call them each others' boyfriend and girlfriend. The now 7 of us met at The Breakfast Shoppe and enjoyed some mostly adult conversation while the little ones played with their food. Alysia became my 3rd friend here in MD and I'm happy to say that although I had few friendships here, the ones that I was blessed with are ones that I believe will follow me for many years.

The rest of the day was spent playing with Grandma and napping. Yes, napping! I actually got a 2 hour nap! Have I mentioned how wonderful it is to have live in help? JoAnn has been wonderful with the kiddos. It's great to have a constant set of hands that aren't yours! Don't get me wrong, Jeff does his share, but it is quite different with a woman, another mother. Quite wonderful!

The rest of our days here will be spent with Belle, Alysia, and Gina, and spending time with Aunt Jenn before she leaves for CA. Grandma and Grandpa get first dibs on everything, of course, but luckily for me they go to work so I'm able to see some people while they are busy. We'll also be getting Jak out to play. I think we're going to the zoo once Daddy gets back! If so, I'll be sure to post some good pics. I do hope to stop in and surprise my awesome friend and midwife, Evelyn, so that she can see Jak and now little John-boy. I suppose it's not going to be much of a surprise if she happens to read this. Oh well.

As you can see, I'm not much in the mood for story telling tonight, and this post is more of an update on our trip than anything, but I am pondering a lot and hope to post about it as I am able to process it more.

Until then, life is good. It's good to be back. It's good to know that we aren't staying. It's good to have healing. Life is good.