For Mark's homecoming, John and I had envisioned a huge party. One where the entire family would be home, and where we would invite friends and family from across the country. I even ordered invitations for the weekend. A couple of weeks before Mark got home, however, I felt like it wasn't the right thing to do, and good thing, because Mark only wanted to be with us.
In other words, after spending two years talking and talking and talking to people, he wanted a party where he didn't have to talk. He didn't have to be "on". Made perfect sense to me.
Thankfully, we have "family" close by. Family that is so near and dear to our children's hearts that there's no extra stress when they show up :-) You know who I am talking about. Yep: the Morans.
We got the house all ready before Mark and I left for his scholarship audition at Michigan, so when we came home, we were ready to party!
A bonus was the Peine family. They are living in Danville, Pennsylvania for the year while Steve completes a Mohs fellowship at Geisinger. They were also close friends in Germany with Steve serving as one of John's counselors in the bishopric in Bitburg ward, and Brandon being Ethan's best friend growing up. Ethan wasn't here to celebrate with us (which was sad) but it was good to see many of the Peines. Like us, they find it surreal to see our children all grown up and flying the coop. For some reason, we like to picture families how they were when we last saw them; definitely NOT the case with our families!
In the spirit of the Peines' parties back in Germany, we had a barbecue in the back yard, played Ultimate, and cooked s'mores over the fire. It was good to have everyone back together again. You better believe there were multiple games of Siedler played too. I mean, c'mon, what would time with the Morans be without Siedler? And thankfully, we're all good with our quirks: I sulk when I'm picked on and won't make eye contact with anyone, John loses his temper a bit when he's losing, Sarah stays underneath everyone's radar and ends up winning, and Jared cheats. Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it ;-)
Too, the Morans stayed the next day for Mark's homecoming talk at church. It was a beautiful, spiritual talk where John and I just sat back and felt thankful that our boys had chosen to serve missions. It's amazing to see the growth in their spirits.
More Sielder followed, thank goodness, and the Morans were willing to stay as late as possible. I have no earthly idea what the kids did while we played. That's the beauty of it all.
In other words, after spending two years talking and talking and talking to people, he wanted a party where he didn't have to talk. He didn't have to be "on". Made perfect sense to me.
Thankfully, we have "family" close by. Family that is so near and dear to our children's hearts that there's no extra stress when they show up :-) You know who I am talking about. Yep: the Morans.
We got the house all ready before Mark and I left for his scholarship audition at Michigan, so when we came home, we were ready to party!
A bonus was the Peine family. They are living in Danville, Pennsylvania for the year while Steve completes a Mohs fellowship at Geisinger. They were also close friends in Germany with Steve serving as one of John's counselors in the bishopric in Bitburg ward, and Brandon being Ethan's best friend growing up. Ethan wasn't here to celebrate with us (which was sad) but it was good to see many of the Peines. Like us, they find it surreal to see our children all grown up and flying the coop. For some reason, we like to picture families how they were when we last saw them; definitely NOT the case with our families!
In the spirit of the Peines' parties back in Germany, we had a barbecue in the back yard, played Ultimate, and cooked s'mores over the fire. It was good to have everyone back together again. You better believe there were multiple games of Siedler played too. I mean, c'mon, what would time with the Morans be without Siedler? And thankfully, we're all good with our quirks: I sulk when I'm picked on and won't make eye contact with anyone, John loses his temper a bit when he's losing, Sarah stays underneath everyone's radar and ends up winning, and Jared cheats. Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it ;-)
Too, the Morans stayed the next day for Mark's homecoming talk at church. It was a beautiful, spiritual talk where John and I just sat back and felt thankful that our boys had chosen to serve missions. It's amazing to see the growth in their spirits.
More Sielder followed, thank goodness, and the Morans were willing to stay as late as possible. I have no earthly idea what the kids did while we played. That's the beauty of it all.
Loved this weekend!!
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