Family

Mom leaves tomorrow. Sadness. She's the last of the family that remains in Norlina.

It'll be the first time since Sawyer's been born that we'll be on our own. I'm completely aware that we're not actually on our own. We have new friends out here, but it's the first time either of us have lived this far from our families. It's rather scary. Luckily, we DO have new friends we can call on for help if we need it (not the late night rocking back to sleep though...).

Seriously though, thank God for Skype/Facetime. I keep envisioning how hard it was for my parents when they moved to IL. In North Carolina they were only 5 hours away from home. Complete doable for a short trip. Hamel, IL, is a wee bit further.  Yeesh. Plus, there weren't cell phones. Computers and emails weren't so reliable. It would be SO much harder. I grew up not really knowing my grandparents and wishing I were closer and could visit them often like my friends did instead of a measly two weeks during the summer. Thankfully Sawyer has access to Skype and Facetime. He'll not only be able to hear his grandparents (and aunts/uncles/various friends) voices (something I only got to do on the occasional Sunday), but he'll ALSO get to see them! It makes being far away a little easier.

This past week and a half we've had a constant stream of family coming through. All of our parents made the trek out from IL along with Bek, Dean's aunt, uncle, and baby cousin. We also had some visitors from up north. Three of my aunts and a cousin came down throughout the week, too. There were various other friends from Dad's first parish in North Carolina (including my Godfather and his wife). My Godmother also came down with her two daughters and her parents (her father was Dad's vicarage supervisor in New Jersey). It was an exciting, busy week. We also had numerous other new friends stop by with various dishes and offers of help (THANK YOU!).

Our families (especially both moms and Tim) really helped get this place up and running. Our house is officially UNPACKED. We are so very thankful.

Can you find a piece of home in Sawyer's crib?

Here's a picture of Sawyer with his cousin. He loves her. :)

 Hugs and Kisses from Norlina!