I've been out of the loop

Hello all! I returned just yesterday afternoon from a trip to GA to be with my family. I had such a great time! Great sleep? No, but a great time, yes! We have planned this trip since before Bethany was born and now I can't believe it is over. We had so many plans and things to do on this trip and I feel like I hardly ever stopped to take time to smell the roses, so to speak.

We left around 2pm one afternoon to make our trip. It was a nice trip except for maybe the last two hours where both Josiah and Bethany screamed and screamed. Bethany was miserable and was scrunched up in the back seat of the rental car. We stopped and decided to switch the places where both car seats were and this seemed to greatly help. Danny has such long legs that he had to put the car seat back a lot further on Bethany than we would have wanted. This seemed to calm both of the kids down and we soon arrived in Conyers, GA around 10:30pm or so. It was a long trip, but well worth it!

We met up with my little brother, his wife and their little girl who were also visiting at my parents for a week or so. The Wednesday after we arrived we decided to take the kids to the Yellow River Game Ranch where you can feed live animals. This was great! Deer came up to you out of nowhere, eating carrots and apples right out of your hands. There were also foxes, chickens, roosters, rabbits, bears, squirrels, pigs, goats, sheep and so many more animals. I am sure I am leaving some out, but you get the point! The kids had a blast. Josiah has a rooster's crow down to an art now, as the roosters followed us around making all sorts of noises. Josiah lost interest a lot sooner than his cousin did, and he just wanted to "Run, run, run!" all over the place.

That evening, Danny went to the Atlanta Tea Party with some of the local church family, while I gladly stayed at home and looked after the kids. Truth be told, you would not have found me dead on the streets of Atlanta in all of that mess!

The next day, I went to a huge kid's consignment sale with my sister in law and got a good bit of things, spending less than $20 - that is always a great feeling! We spent most of the rest of the day letting the kids nap and catching up ourselves, then we went to Shoal Creek PBC for their dinner and prayer meeting. It was nice to see friends and family and spend time with them in the Lord.

Friday my older brother, his wife and their three girls came up to my parents for a couple of days. The first order of business for us all was a trip to Stone Mountain State Park. It had been a long time since I went to Stone Mtn, and I had a great time! We took a picnic and had a great time eating, some walked down to the mill, and some threw the football around and had a few laughs. Mom and dad went back home for the afternoon to get some rest, while the rest of us split up for just a little while. Me, Danny, my younger brother and his family and the kiddos went and rode the train around the mountain. It was nice, but the seats were less than uncomfortable! We then went to the barnyard for the kids to play...it wasn't quite meant for their age, so we stayed for a minutes, then moved on. At that point we decided to ride the airlift to the top of the mountain. It had been forever since I was up there and it was nice to see again. I am so glad I didn't have to hike the mountain to get there! We met up with the rest of the family, then headed home for dinner with all of the family and togetherness...playing some Wii. Yes, as you guessed, it was a sight to behold!

Saturday we all had plans to head to the church for the Strevel Family Reunion. I looked forward to spending time together with family from near and far. We all gathered at the church and prepared to have a nice potluck dinner when we saw the commotion outside and noticed that one of the little cousins was hurt. Our 10 year old little cousin fell off of about a 10 foot platform and broke both of his arms and scraped his chin. He was rushed to the nearest ER while we prayed and waited for news on him. They returned a couple of hours later, indeed with 2 broken bones in one arm and 1 in another. He had temporary slings put on and would have to get casts on both arms a couple of days later. Poor guy! Since the accident, I heard he is well, although in pain, but he does have his casts on and is on the mend.

A lot more went on while I was in GA, I have only hit the highlights, but I must say that we had a great time and I can't wait to make it back...although I have no idea when! I miss my family and can't wait to hear about the new arrivals of my niece in May and my nephew in August.

I hope to catch up here around the house and to write more soon. I have a subject that I have so strongly on my mind that I am currently writing about and praying about and I hope to share it with you all really soon, so don't be a stranger to my blog!