Here we are three weeks away from our departure date and I feel like this last month has been nothing but one good bye after another. We started off the month with two packed weeks in Columbia, MO with my family. My sister Margaret and her family came into town and we got to do lots of fun things together. We made it over to Lego Land here in KC, took the kids swimming at the ARC, celebrated Spencer's birthday, had lots of play time with Grandma and Grandpa Utterback, and even spent a day at the State Fair. It was a packed couple of weeks, and we are so happy the cousins had some extra time together. Just look at these cute kids!
One of the things I really wanted to do before leaving the country was visit with my Grandparents. I won't be able to make it to North Carolina to see my Grandfather Mitchell, but plan on calling him soon. My Grandmother Utterback, however, lives in Hannibal so we packed up and headed over for a day to visit with her. My Grandmother is 90 years old, and couple of years ago she moved from her farm home to a small assisted living apartment. We had five of her great grandchildren with us plus myself, my sister, her husband, and my parents. So all 10 of us went to visit Grandmother in her one bedroom apartment. She was probably overwhelmed by the whole lot of us, but over all she looked well, and seemed to enjoy seeing all the children. It was hard seeing her in a place that is not the house we all remember visiting as kids. I felt emotional about the visit, I was never extremely close to my Grandmother, but seeing the way my children are with their Grandparents on both sides makes me wish I had been. She's a beautiful woman who has really had an amazing life. I am happy that we went and I know she was happy to see her grand children and great grandchildren.
The following weekend my parents hosted a going away party for us with some of our close friends and family. At the party we drank, talked, and enjoyed great food while the kids ran crazy through the yard. Many of our close friends are people that Chase and I have known most of our lives. We have all grown up together and have been there for many of each other's big life moments. We cherish these people and know that we will miss them dearly over the next couple of years. Surprisingly, I wasn't too emotional at the party. I wasn't really upset until I had to leave their house a couple days later.The home my parent's live in is the house I grew up in and after living in KC for almost 7 years, I still call that house home. From the moment I walk in the door I start to relax. My parent's cook great food, they love being with the grand kids, and in the summer we spend the days on their deck relaxing in their small, but perfect pool! It was really hard for me to drive away from the house last week, especially after being showered with love from so many wonderful people.
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| Grandma Hartz with Spencer |
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| Spencer, Grandma, and Natalie |
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| Just love this sweet picture |
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| Me, My Sis Margaret, Kiowa, and Chase - the jump shot had to be done! |
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| Bildners = Love: our take on a slightly awkward family photo |
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| Handing off our dog, Dottie, to her new Foster Family, The Sadowskis |
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| We are dressed freakishly alike.... the boys have Cardinals and Royals polo's.... No wonder we are friends! |
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| Going to miss Liesl and the whole Stevens clan, Love this Lady |
Now, as I mentioned in post number one I haven't lived more than two hours from my family my entire life. Even when I went to Denver for a semester I lived with my sister. So, this move though temporary, is a big deal for me. I know we are truly lucky and fortunate to have this amazing opportunity to experience another country and culture but, the thought of being away from the people that truly love and support us through everything in our lives is difficult to handle. Thankfully, we live in the age of technology! With Facebook, Facetime, iMessage, and this Blog, I don't really have to say good bye to anyone. As Chase keeps reminding me this adventure is not
Good Bye it's a very simple
See You Later.
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| My Mom and Dad. Two AMAZING parents. Love them. |
