After Aunt Reagan's visit, we boarded a plane on July 18th to fly to visit Meredith's family in Phoenix, Arizona. We had such a wonderful, but way too fast visit! We were able to stay with Uncle Nick and Aunt Katie (who were fantastic hosts for our busy family).
(This is Luke and Ben with Uncle Jake and Uncle Nick, Meredith's two "little" brothers!)
(This is Luke playing with Grandma, Grandma's always have fun things to play with at their houses!)
(This is Luke and Ben with their Smith cousins, Meredith's sister Keala and her husband Shane's four children Shelby, Tess, Richard and Joleen)
(This is Ben, enthralled with Grandpa Kerger's big screen TV!)
This is the boys with their Aunt Gentry, Meredith's youngest sister. Gentry will be leaving to go to college at Bellhaven in Jackson, MS this August. She will study dance there. She gave the boys Bellhaven shirts, which they are wearing in this picture!)
(This is Uncle Josh, teaching Ben the difference between a fire truck and a police car! Very important in a family with both!)
This is Ben with his Aunt Katie, Mommy's sister in law that is married to Uncle Nick. We stayed at their house and had so much fun!)
(This is Luke getting tickled by Aunt Raleigh, another one of Mommy's younger sisters. There were so many people to hug and tickle the boys, they are still learning names, by love them all so much!)We were able to visit some old friends and the boys were able to meet lots of new Aunts and Uncles, and cousins! We also got to share in the fun of a baby shower to welcome baby Jack!
This is the quilt that Mommy made for baby Jack!(Uncle Josh and Aunt Kamie's son due in November!
(This is Luke and Ben with their new friend, London Kai. London's parents are James and Lisa Kai, friends of Meredith's from her University of Arizona days!)We flew home Tuesday, and Thursday night we drove to Virginia to visit with Jeff's family and celebrate our friend Lillie Todd's 104th birthday! (Yes, you read that correct, she is 104!!!)
Lillie was one of Meredith's first patients when she was in the Air Force. Lillie is a human treasure, we consider her our adopted Grandmother, and her family has always included us in their celebrations. What a joy it is to spend time with Lillie, to hear her stories, and to be loved by her!
We also had the joy of a beautiful reunion with the Shanor family. Brett and Devon Shanor were God's blessings to us when we travelled to Ethiopia to bring home Luke and Ben. They were also bringing home their son, Messay, who happened to be Luke's crib-mate in the foster care center! They live in Virginia Beach, which is not that far from Jeff's family.
We had such a blast meeting their other two children Olivia and Logan, and letting all five kids just have fun together. No, it did not seem like Luke and Messay recognized eachother, but we plan on continuing the relationship and giving our boys at least a piece of their background together!
We drove home Monday from Virginia. On Friday we had the joy of having some friends over for lunch. Jamie and Tara Dew, and their precious twins Nathan and Natalie came over to enjoy some grilling and fellowship. What a blessing their friendship is, not to mention the brotherhood of craziness (with two kids two and under) that is shared by both families!
That is all our news for now. Enjoy the updated pictures. We had such a blast, but we are ready to get back to our normal routine. Jeff starts his Fall semester in two weeks, it is hard to believe our summer is almost over!
Love,
Jeff, Mer, Luke and Ben
2 comments:
What fun it is to see the photos and remember all our fun moments while you were here with us!! Such a busy few weeks. Praying God will bless your routine and family life as you head into the fall semester and next few months. I love and miss you all.
Always, Mom...Gram
What a busy July you have had! I loved seeing all the pictures of your big families and the "Ethiopia reunion" too! How neat!
Thank you for being such wonderful hosts for us on Friday- We had such a ball! The food was delicious, the fellowship was sweet, and the kids had so much fun! We can't wait to have your family here next time! Thanks again!!!!
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