We had planned as early as last summer for my sister Alison and her family to spend another Thanksgiving with us. And right up until a week beforehand that was the plan. Then my grandpa who has been in hospice for months longer than anyone thought he would be, finally took a turn and quietly passed away. It was decided that his funeral would be the Saturday after Thanksgiving which meant either Alison would not be coming to Michigan after all and would instead be going to Kentucky or they would do both. (Which I would not have wanted to do with all the extra driving that would involve!). They decided to do both! We are so thankful they were able to join us after all.
In the meantime, my brothers Jonathan and Nathan had planned on joining us for Thanksgiving too. They still came and brought my mom and Susannah with them so that Mom could take her own car to Kentucky. I can't imagine how miserable Susannah must have been making that long trip after having a c-section just a couple of weeks before, but we are so thankful that she did because we got to see her tiny sweet baby Rebecca. They had to leave for Kentucky the very next day, but we got a bit of time with the baby. The kids LOVED her--except for Kaya:
I think she really thought Rebecca was a doll so when she was moving and making noise, Kaya was a bit freaked out.
I think she really thought Rebecca was a doll so when she was moving and making noise, Kaya was a bit freaked out.
The kids were thrilled to have a few days with one of their all-time favorite uncles. (He is a huge kid magnet !)Alison and Mike arrived very early Wednesday morning and it was so great to see them again. We took the kids to Kids 'n' Stuff for the afternoon. I'm always thankful to have such a great place for our kids to explore that is only a couple of minutes away.
It was a fun afternoon except for when I left for a few minutes to mail some packages at the post office without kids. I was in a hurry to get back and I'm still not sure how it happened but I pulled into the spot just in front of another car but must have been a bit closer than I thought and ended up scraping her front bumper with the side of my car. I have never been chewed out so throroughly! You'd have thought I had totalled her car as upset as she was. In reality she had two small white streaks of paint on the corner of her bumper. That's it. I apologized profusley- but she was hearing none of it. She insisted on calling the police to the scene. In the meantime, I realized that in my flustered state I had locked my keys in the car with the car still running! I had to call Kalen at work and have him run (literally, on foot) to the post office to unlock the car for me. After the policeman arrived (and had to nearly kneel down to see the "damage" on the woman's bumper), he wrote up a report for the insurance company. Kalen arrived about this time too and after he saw the "damage" he was really not happy. Just as the policeman was finishing up, the woman's husband showed up. It was a ridiculous scene in which Kalen finally lost it with the lady and said "it's a bumper! BUMP-er! That's what they are for!" The officer was still there and I was worried that Kalen's scene would get him in trouble but I think the guy was actually biting his lip to keep from laughing. Anyway, we finally were cleared to leave and I took Kalen back to work and rejoined the family at the museum. I'm just thankful I didn't really wreck her car and I'm so thankful that my husband was so understanding of my carelessness.
On Thursday we had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. Kalen made a fabulous turkey again and Jonathan's candied yams were a big hit. I'm so thankful for such yummy food and for the wonderful blessing of family to enjoy it with. 
Thankfully, even Kaya had decided that Rebecca was pretty special and our next challenge became watching her every second to make sure that she didn't pick the baby up by herself! 
Two handsome boys, Bentley and Spencer even had time for a pre-funeral DS tutorial.
We all enjoyed some time at the old playground where we used to play as kids. I'm thankful for all the great childhood memories I have of that place and all the vacations we spent in Kentucky.
Since this is most likely the last time most of us will be in Kentucky, we decided to do another favorite childhood pastime and visit one of the many caves in the area. We headed for Diamond Caverns. I had called ahead and was told that if we arrived by 3:30 we would make it in to the last tour at 4:00. They don't take reservations or we would have made some. But when we arrived, we were told that it was sold out! We were so devastated and a tiny bit angry to have driven an hour up there for nothing. The lady at the counter called her boss to see if they could make an exception but she was told no. So we decided to stretch our legs a bit and look at the gift shop before heading home when the phone rang and the boss had called back to see if the tour guide would be willing to stay late and take us through. She said she was happy to and they opened up another tour for us! I'm incredibly thankful that she did that for us and stayed late just to accomodate us. And boy was it worth it. It was so beautiful and so incredible to think of the things that take place right underneath our feet. We live in such a wonderful world.
The kids loved getting "cave kisses" and they started counting how many times they got dripped on.
Taylor was in his element in this place!
I am so thankful for the miracle of this beautiful earth and for the time we were able to have to enjoy a piece of it.
We spent one more night in Kentucky and then drove home the next day. We encountered a lot of holiday traffic and some really heavy rain that slowed us considerably. We had our second traffic accident of the weekend when a girl rear-ended us on the slippery roads. Thankfully, no one was injured and we only had a small dent in our "bump"-er, so we were able to continue on our way without incident. I'm sure the girl that hit us was also thankful that we didn't get upset with her, unlike SOME people I know.
It was a fun afternoon except for when I left for a few minutes to mail some packages at the post office without kids. I was in a hurry to get back and I'm still not sure how it happened but I pulled into the spot just in front of another car but must have been a bit closer than I thought and ended up scraping her front bumper with the side of my car. I have never been chewed out so throroughly! You'd have thought I had totalled her car as upset as she was. In reality she had two small white streaks of paint on the corner of her bumper. That's it. I apologized profusley- but she was hearing none of it. She insisted on calling the police to the scene. In the meantime, I realized that in my flustered state I had locked my keys in the car with the car still running! I had to call Kalen at work and have him run (literally, on foot) to the post office to unlock the car for me. After the policeman arrived (and had to nearly kneel down to see the "damage" on the woman's bumper), he wrote up a report for the insurance company. Kalen arrived about this time too and after he saw the "damage" he was really not happy. Just as the policeman was finishing up, the woman's husband showed up. It was a ridiculous scene in which Kalen finally lost it with the lady and said "it's a bumper! BUMP-er! That's what they are for!" The officer was still there and I was worried that Kalen's scene would get him in trouble but I think the guy was actually biting his lip to keep from laughing. Anyway, we finally were cleared to leave and I took Kalen back to work and rejoined the family at the museum. I'm just thankful I didn't really wreck her car and I'm so thankful that my husband was so understanding of my carelessness. 
On Thursday we had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. Kalen made a fabulous turkey again and Jonathan's candied yams were a big hit. I'm so thankful for such yummy food and for the wonderful blessing of family to enjoy it with.We awoke early on Friday and made the long journey to Kentucky. In spite of the long drive we had a peaceful trip--Lynnsey and Isabel switched places for the trip and Taylor rode with Timothy so there was no fighting! We arrived in the middle of the viewing so Kalen and Mike dropped Alison and I off at the funeral home and then they took the kids to the house to avoid all the disruption that 8 energetic kids would have caused after being cooped up for over 9 hours in the car.
When we arrived at the house the kids were all fed and happy and ready to fight over their newest cousin Rebecca.
Thankfully, even Kaya had decided that Rebecca was pretty special and our next challenge became watching her every second to make sure that she didn't pick the baby up by herself! We had a fun night together, especially when Andrew, David and Samuel joined the crowd. I'm sure it must have been quite a sight to see 22 people crammed into that tiny 2 bedroom house. But we made it work and I am so thankful for that time that we had to spend all together as a family to visit and enjoy each other. We were only missing my dad and Melissa (and family).
The next morning began early since there were so many of us and only one bathroom but we managed to make it work and even made it to the funeral on time.
Two handsome boys, Bentley and Spencer even had time for a pre-funeral DS tutorial.The funeral was really nice. Grandaddy looked so at peace and I am thankful that his suffering and pain has finally ended. The pastor gave some really nice remarks and the only thing that made me sad was when it finally hit Spencer that Grandaddy was gone. He looked up at the casket and asked "Who's that?" I whispered that it was Grandaddy and that he had died and was now with Heavenly Father. He kind of gasped when it hit him and then spent the rest of the the service trying unsuccessfully not to cry. I mentioned before that when Spencer was two, Grandaddy and Grandma came to visit and Spencer and Grandaddy had an immediate connection. I've actually never seen anything like it. Then last summer at Grandma's funeral they saw each other again and Spencer went right to Grandaddy and sat on his lap. I don't know what is was, but I love that they hit if off like that and I'm grateful that Spencer will have at least those few memories of his great grandfather.
The funeral was very nice but the graveside service was absolutely amazing. Because of his service in the military, a couple of marines came and did a service at the grave with Taps and the flag folding and presentation to my mom. It was so moving. I'm thankful for my grandfather's service to our country and for all the men and women who are serving our country in the military currently, including my brother's and nephew. I'm also thankful for the priesthood and for the blessing that my brother Andrew gave to dedicate Grandaddy's final resting place.
After the funeral we were treated to an amazing feast at the Baptist church where my grandparents attended so faithfully for so many years. Wow! I cannot even begin to describe how wonderful it was and how thankful we all were for the time and energy that some of those church ladies sacrificed to feed people that they didn't even know. (And for the lady who took our picture afterward):
We all enjoyed some time at the old playground where we used to play as kids. I'm thankful for all the great childhood memories I have of that place and all the vacations we spent in Kentucky.
Since this is most likely the last time most of us will be in Kentucky, we decided to do another favorite childhood pastime and visit one of the many caves in the area. We headed for Diamond Caverns. I had called ahead and was told that if we arrived by 3:30 we would make it in to the last tour at 4:00. They don't take reservations or we would have made some. But when we arrived, we were told that it was sold out! We were so devastated and a tiny bit angry to have driven an hour up there for nothing. The lady at the counter called her boss to see if they could make an exception but she was told no. So we decided to stretch our legs a bit and look at the gift shop before heading home when the phone rang and the boss had called back to see if the tour guide would be willing to stay late and take us through. She said she was happy to and they opened up another tour for us! I'm incredibly thankful that she did that for us and stayed late just to accomodate us. And boy was it worth it. It was so beautiful and so incredible to think of the things that take place right underneath our feet. We live in such a wonderful world. 
The kids loved getting "cave kisses" and they started counting how many times they got dripped on. 
Taylor was in his element in this place!
I am so thankful for the miracle of this beautiful earth and for the time we were able to have to enjoy a piece of it.
We spent one more night in Kentucky and then drove home the next day. We encountered a lot of holiday traffic and some really heavy rain that slowed us considerably. We had our second traffic accident of the weekend when a girl rear-ended us on the slippery roads. Thankfully, no one was injured and we only had a small dent in our "bump"-er, so we were able to continue on our way without incident. I'm sure the girl that hit us was also thankful that we didn't get upset with her, unlike SOME people I know.
We were happy to return home and in the days since we have been busy getting ready for Christmas. The kids had a ball putting up our tree this year and it was fun to see them remembering the stories from each of our yearly ornaments.
I am so thankful for the coming Christmas season (and for the moments like these where my kids actually adore one another!)
I am so thankful for the coming Christmas season (and for the moments like these where my kids actually adore one another!) 
5 comments:
Isnt that terrible how some people completely blow up over absolutely nothing.
I do so wish I could have been there! It would have been nice to see everyone again. Even with the sadness is is nice when the family can be together.
Those moments are great arent they. I really love it when my kids love each other!
Wow...crazy! I didn't know you'd gotten in another accident on the way home. Yikes. I'm glad we left the night before and were able to avoid some of that holiday traffic. It gets so bad on the turnpike especially.
Good post! It was a fun time. The kids loved every minute of it and didn't mind the car time at all.
I've been trying to catch up on all your goings-on. It's been forever since I've done much blogging and I'm way behind. It made me want to talk to you. (And I'd already been thinking it was about time I should call for weeks. I just really have trouble remembering at a good time. I don't think you'd appreciate it much if I called at midnight...)
Jenn,
Midnight wouldn't be the greatest but I'd most likely still be up then! However, I am available most daytimes and evenings. What's the time difference between us now anyway? I'd love to talk to you too!
Well, that was awesome to read! I enjoyed it. It made me cry when you wrote about Spencer and the reaction to realizing who's funeral it was. That is very sweat and I am glad that he can also have those memories, memories are good to have!
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