And last but not least...Edna.
We ended our trip by spending a few days in Travis' home town of Edna.
In light of the fact that we weren't going to be back there for Christmas we really
wanted to try and get down there to see his family...especially his grandparents
and extended family who we knew we wouldn't see again during the holidays.
We spent a lot of time at "the farm" as Travis used to call it when he was growing up.
His "MawMaw and PawPaw's" place.
(Travis' dad's parents)
Our girls LOVE being out there.
There's so much for them to do that is out of the ordinary for them (and for us!)
Some examples:
Riding on and "driving" the mule.
Yes, she does know how to start it but isn't allowed to
drive it on her own!
My country man with his girls.
Pick satsumas (they're like clementines but better)
PawPaw's literally has hundreds of them.
The girls love them...they are really easy to peel.
They will easily eat multiple satsumas in one sitting!
Playing with (crawling on!) MawMaw!
Drinking Kool-Aid and Root Beer
(which PawPaw poured into their water bottles!)
Playing 42.
This is the family game. They all love and are great at it.
I have worked really hard for 7 yrs to learn it and can finally hold my own.
I got to be PawPaw's partner (quite an honor) in this hand...if I remember correctly,
we smoked em! (Travis is disputing this...)
Getting hugs and kisses from their great-grandma...
And great-grandpa!
And giving kisses!
My favorite quote from PawPaw this trip came when I was talking to him about the hearing aids and monthly check he just received from being in the military almost 70 years ago (where he was a gunner and lost a great deal of his hearing)...
He said this,
The Lord takes care of me. See, so it can rain or not rain. This grass can grow or not grow. It makes no difference to me. God's gonna always take care of me.
And then he turned to me and said,
And it's going to be the same for you. You don't ever have to worry. He'll always take care of you.
Travis also had the opportunity to go out and "interview" him and ask him (as he videoed him) all kinds of questions. Something he's been wanting to do for a long time. It was really special.
MawMaw and PawPaw love Jesus.
And their lives, their choices...
and influence they have had on generations that have followed them have more than affirmed that.
We also got really fun time with Mimi and Poppy!
Jackie always has so many fun toys and activities for the kids.
There's never a dull moment at Mimi's!
She brings the kids into whatever is going on...with great patience I might add!
Bathing Abby...with some help from Ene!
(their other great-grandmother)
Making gingerbread men.
Look at their cute Christmas aprons!
Shopping a little with Mimi!
Her style here I think is being influenced by her cousin Caroline
and our dear friend Alyssa!
A highlight to say the least for my kids
when we go to Mimi and Poppy's! We couldn't get there
fast enough.
Don't be fooled...she's eating fruit, not frozen yogurt!
Gotta wait for her bday for that!
Emmy, just hanging with GranBear
(their other great grandfather)
I feel like I kids are so blessed to have such a sweet relationship with their grandparents and even great-grandparents (even living so far away).
We love getting time with them!
So nine days after we left our home, we turned around and headed back home...17 hours.
It was a long trip, start to finish...
but we wouldn't have traded it for anything!
We felt so blessed to get to see so much family in such a short time.
And the driving...to say it was easy would be a stretch, but compared to how I thought
it might go, it really was a breeze. There was so much grace for us as we traveled!
So it's taken me almost as long to blog about it as it did for us to go there and back!
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