Mission Trip

Oh blog, my long lost friend - we meet again! I'm sorry that I have ignored you for the past month and a half.  Life has been full...don't take it personal.

Shall I re-introduce myself?  Are there any readers still out there?  Hello? Anyone?

Hopefully I can get caught up on the ol' blog in the coming months.  I sure do love to blog, but lots of other things I love fill up my days and it's pushed down on the priority list.  I do what I can when I can - that's just the way it goes in this busy season.

I digress - let's move on...

In mid-April, John went with a group from our church on an international mission trip.  The traveled to southeast Asia (that's about all of the detail I can give).  John has been wanting to go on a trip like this for a while.  I'm so glad he was able to go - it was quite an experience in so many ways.  I admire the obedience and faith he had to do what he did.  

He was apart from us for about 12 days - this is the longest we've ever had to be apart (for which I'm grateful).  He left on a Saturday afternoon.  Parker and I stayed here at home for a couple of days and then my Dad (aka Grandpa) came and picked us up and we went to their house in Fredericksburg for the rest of the time.  When John returned back home, he took a day to rest and recover and then came to pick us up.  

This was a new experience for our family so it was an emotional good-bye and lots of prayers.

Once he left for the airport, Parker and I dried our tears and went to play outside for the rest of the evening. 

We went to church the next morning and spent the rest of the day working on things around the house and packing for our trip to the hill country. 

Parker also helped me do a little house cleaning.  I wanted it to be nice when John returned home and for when we all came back together. 

We left Daddy a "Welcome Home" balloon and a few goodies.
(I spy a little boy watching Daniel Tiger in the background)

Once we got to Dad's house, Parker quickly started playing with his favorite feline - Madeleine.  He loves their cat.

We had so much fun while we were there.  I couldn't possibly document all that we did, but know it was such an enjoyable time.  We had a good balance of outings and activities with relaxing, hanging out and playing at home.  I took a few things to work on and catch up on as well.  We sure missed John and it was hard with the time difference and limited communication, but being there helped pass the time and it was lots o' fun.   

We ate lots of yummy food, including one of our Fredericksburg favorites - Altdorfs. 

We went to HEB a few times for various groceries. 

 

We explored the areas around Granny and Grandpa's house.

And checked out the new pool they put in last fall. 

 

The morning after we got there, we all headed to San Antonio for some fun at Morgan's Wonderland.  It is such a neat amusement/family fun park.  It was created and designed to meet the needs of those kids with and without special needs.  It was awesome!  Parker had a blast and it was really sweet to see so many children having fun no matter what their limitations were.  Job well done! 

Like I said - Parker loved it...
*see Exhibit A - tuckered out boy below

My Dad and I did lots of back porch sittin' and chatting - good, good times.  On this particular day it was raining pretty good. 

We went to a living history farm with Dad/Grandpa and our niece Helana (age 4).

We did what all Texans do in Spring - take wildflower pictures.  They were just awesome this year. 

We swam and played by the pool.  Parker called the bubbler a "waterfall".  

We even got to spend a day with Mamaw (my Mom).  She kindly made the drive to meet us in Fredericksburg and we got to spend the day shopping and had lunch.  We made a stop for yummy iced coffee that afternoon.  It was a nice day and lots of fun to hang out together all day. 

We did lots of playing on Granny and Grandpa's "play ground".  This was a big hit with Parker. 

We went to the Fredericksburg town square (the Marktplatz) to play on the playground there and do some walking around. 

Grandpa also took us through the museum where he volunteers - The Nimitz Museum (National Museum of Pacific War).  Parker got a kick out of seeing everything.  He will definitely enjoy it more when he's older, but he had a good time and was interested in a lot of things. 

Parker also got to sit on Grandpa's riding lawn mower - one of his favorite activities.

And then the day finally came when Daddy was home and came to see us.  Reunited and it feels so good.  This was one happy boy!

We came back home on Saturday.  Parker took a nap to recover from his days packed full of fun and excitement. 

We were back to church on Sunday. We spent the rest of the day doing some unpacking, laundry and getting back to our normal routine.

I'm grateful John had the opportunity to go on this trip.  We missed him a ton, but very glad he was able to go. I'm also grateful that we were able to spend so much time at my Dad and Kristin's house and to get to see my Mom as well.  We had such a great time and made many memories.

Until we meet again...
Riley