House Progress: Living Room

We got Lindsey, Brian, and Carter off.

 

 It was an emotional goodbye, but everything went very smoothly on their trip and they are currently safely in Bangkok for a few days.

 

Mom got in the car with me after we said goodbye and we headed back to San Angelo.  We got back just in time to watch Sophie dance at her Spring Showcase.  On Friday Mom came to school to help me.  I was instructed to keep her busy and I took my job seriously!  Dad came to San Angelo Friday afternoon.  The plan was for them to go to JC's baseball game that night, but the game ended up being rained out so Dad got to see Sophie dance and Mom watched a 2nd time.

 

On Saturday we all got busy on the house.  Taylor has been working on the 2 largest rooms over the last few months.  The front living room leads into the den and we got it all finished!

 These are pictures of the house from the internet when it was for sale and the previous owners owned it.

 It had carpet, popcorn ceilings, and tile in the entry way.

 This is the view of it leading into the den.

 So for a few months it was our tile storage room.

 Then there was our crazy Spring Break work week.

 

This is my beautiful room now.  This is what you see when you walk into my home.

It leads into the den, which also has all finished floors, but currently no furniture.

 Obviously we still need to do the hallway!

We still have a few tools out, but here is the view of the front door when you're standing in front of the couch.

 

 

We had such a great weekend with Mom and Dad.  We got tons of rain, got to spend time together, and even got to Skype with Lindsey.

 

 

So thankful we still have one more day off tomorrow and then only 4 days of school!  Taylor is going to try to get the hallway finished and Sophie and I thought we'd attack the half bath tomorrow!

A Hard Goodbye

Tonight I'm tucked in bed upstairs in my parents' house.  Downstairs are stacks of crates and luggage, their weight labeled on Post It notes.  My sister and her family are moving to Laos tomorrow.  They are moving to a place I can't even picture.  I have no experience with this country, no connection.

Sitting in the middle of all of the packing tonight I thought to myself, "How did we get here?"  How is it that this integral part of my life for the last 36 years will fly to the other side of the world tomorrow?  How will she live in a house that I can only picture in my head and go through days and routines that I am not a part of?

Our relationship has ebbed and flowed over the years like most sisters' do.  There was a time when we were young when she was just an extension of me, although a much braver and more daring extension.  She always pushed further than I was willing to go - higher up in the tree, longer under the water, even pushing the limits with Mom and Dad further than I was comfortable with.  There were times I was sure I hated her, and times I thought I couldn't live without her.  And then she left for college and I would go sit in her empty room and cry. I didn't like being an only child.  As soon as I could I joined her at college.  That first year she shared her apartment and her friends and her car with me until I was bold enough to go out on my own. 

The first Christmas I was married and I didn't crawl in bed with her and read The Night Before Christmas I knew things wouldn't be the same anymore.  She put up with my new life and she loved my babies when they came.  She was there for all of their important moments and we enjoyed so many amazing trips together.  It wasn't until she fell in love a few years ago, though, that we could really share everything again.  I was the first person she called the day she found out I was going to be an aunt.

And now she's doing it again - pushing further than I was ever willing to go.  Sure, I've talked about the mission field, but she's actually going!  I don't know how we got here and I'm not sure what it's going to look like from here on out.  I don't know how to have a family gathering without her there.  I don't know how to celebrate my nephew's first birthday through Skype.  I don't know how to comfort my parents when they miss her, or her when she missed home, or my own children, or even myself.  This is totally new territory for us and I'm a little scared.  But this family I was born in to has a lot of love for one another and we'll figure it out as we go. 

I'm proud of my big sister.  This is not the life she pictured or planned, but she's embracing it.  I pray for the strength to say goodbye well.

Mother's Day Weekend

 We started out our Mother's Day celebration with a tea in John Curtis's room on Friday.

 Then Sophie and I drove to Weatherford to cuddle with this little man while the boys stayed behind for a baseball game.

 Then the boys came on Saturday for lots of swim time!

Saturday evening these lovely ladies hosted a going away party for Lindsey and Brian as they head overseas next week for a few years.

 On Mother's Day we went to church with Lindsey and Brian for Carter's dedication.

Then the whole family went out for a Mother's Day lunch, fully entertained by our little man.

 

 

It was such a sweet weekend with family and friends.  We are so blessed to be a part of this family.  Sophie and JC had to say goodbye for a while to the Brewers.  It was tough.  Sophie cried, which led me to cry, which led Mom to cry, which led JC to say, "Why is everyone crying?"  We are thankful to be part of a family that loves each other so deeply.