minnesota trip

so much for my bright idea about starting a blog. it seems these are only a good thing when they are actually updated... hmmm...
okay, so much has happened since i last wrote that i can't possibly update everything. so, here's a quick summary of our trip to minnesota for the 4th - we were away from june 30 - july 9 and we had a fabulous time with everyone, including my sister, kathy, and her family, who we stayed with during our drive there and back! we also celebrated our first anniversary while we were there. ed and i left the kids with his sister and we took off for a fun two-day "tour of the river cities along the st. croix". it was great to get away together and to celebrate. (to be honest, we were sorta celebrating the end of the "first year" because for us, it was pretty rough!)
we had at least a little time with everyone in the family this trip and so that was great. we spent most of our time with lucy & paul and their girls. that was wonderful, as usual. every time we ask the boys about their favorite part of the trip, the answer (for all four) is "being with cousins". i'm so sorry that they only get to see their family twice a year because they just relish every moment of it! and i'm so thankful for the family that ed comes from... what an incredible blessing! in addition to the people (certainly the best part), other highlights included the day at the race tracks (horses), the family reunion on the 4th, shari's play (and carly's on dvd), visiting the pig farm with jess and the day on the pontoon with grandma & grandpa. it was a great trip!!

we did so much on this trip and had so many great experiences, i can't even begin to write about them all right now. for me, this recent time with the abbotts was particularly great due to my interaction with the older nieces and nephews. i've come into the family so late... i've already missed so much of these kids' lives and i don't really know them. and that is so sad to me. on my side, the kids are really young, so ed has been around for most of their lives, but with the abbotts, i'm at a total disadvantage in regard to connecting with these college kids who will soon be out on their own - even with their own families! (i'm closer in age to shari & jess than i am to my husband... not unlike my own aunt janet. i would love to have the chance to be "friends" with my nieces the way janet is with us!) anyway, this last trip gave me special memories of my own with each of the older kids and i loved it!! God is so good to me - even when i don't seem to notice what is going on around me!

more later. :)