Sheetz!

This past summer on our way back from the zoo, I stopped and took the Smith kids to Sheetz and introduced them to the wonderful cream drinks there!  Well I got them hooked!  On the way back from volleyball practice (that ended up being cancelled), they begged me to stop there!  I also got them hooked on the wonderful food they have too (fried pickles, fried mac n cheese bites, sliders, and hot dogs).  It was so good to spend this time doing our regulars together!

Remembering Grandpa

While the entire time in Connecticut was hard, the wake and funeral were by far the hardest!  I am very grateful that Paul and I got up to speak as we shared our memories of Grandpa.  Oh how I sure do miss him!  But the silver-lining was that I got to see all of his friends as they came to remember and honor him! 

Meghan (my cousin who kept me very strong) and me

Jean and Gene (they met my grandparents at square-dancing class years ago)

Janice, Patti, and Dayl Chapman (they grew up across the street from the Radcliff's and had the best stories of my day, they are also faithful readers (Susan too!) of my blog ;)

Then someone from the church wanted to take pictures of us.  It was nice of her to do that for us.  Sorry it is so far away... I am apparently too lazy to crop this picture.  

The Jim Radcliff family with Grandma

We love you so much, Grandpa and miss you tons!  Things aren't the same without you!

SNOW!

On the day of Grandpa's wake, it snowed!!!  It was not much for Connecticut but it was plenty for us Southerners and we were excited to see it!!!  But we are definitely from the south... we were shocked to see people out wearing shorts and the roads were plowed as it was snowing!  In NC, things would have been shut down immediately!  Loved, loved, loved the snow!

Christmas Day!

Christmas day was the one day where we spent the entire day together!  It was a day where we didn't have to plan for the funeral and could remember grandpa throughout our day,  It was my favorite day of the week!  We had lots of laughter and smiles!  I am grateful for the day we spent together!

Grandma and me as she opened her stockings (oh how I love her)

Paul, waving Kai, and Aunt Jeanne

Sweet baby Josh and Paul

Megs and me (selfie!)

me with almost smiling Josh

Kai and dad looking at the Christmas tree

Present opening time!

The Boyer Family opening presents

Excited Gretchen

Love this shirt Aunt Alice got with our cabin's name on it

Monogram clutch I got Chrissy (she got me one and we didn't even know we got one for each other)

Paul's present to Aunt Jeanne :)

Meg showing off her cool present from Paris

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was bittersweet without Grandpa but we tried to enjoy our time as much as we could!  Everyone came over to Aunt Jeanne's house for dinner where we ate Chicken White Bean Chili made by Aunt Beth.  It was nice to spend time with my family!

Barbara and me

Tramell, Meghan, and Paul (these three are quite a trio)

Making sticker designs with Kurt, Gretchen and Kai

Gretchen and Aunt Alice

me and Mom

Uncle Charlie and me

Aunt Jeanne, Dad, me, and Grandma

The Frank Radcliff women (Kate, Meg, Aunt Beth, and Chrissy)

My Cousins (and close friends)!! (me, Meghan, Chrissy, and Kate)

You are very loved, Grandpa!

Tonight we got the phone call I have been dreading for quite some time.  And for some reason, I was not prepared for this phone call at all.  My grandpa, at the age of 92, passed away tonight.  He is very loved and we are left with memories to last us a lifetime!

Please pray for my grandma as she mourns the lost of her husband of 63 years.  She is one tough cookie but I cannot imagine what she is going through.  

You are very missed, Grandpa!

Babysitting Visits!

Today I visited two families I have been waiting to see for over 4 months!  It has been way too long but it felt so good to start off right where we left off!  Yes, the kids have gotten bigger, voices deeper, hair longer, but our bond is still the same!  I am so grateful I got to spend 3+ hours with both of them!

The Smiths

The chicks that I left this summer are now chickens!

Carrie, me, and Colin

Ainsley took a great selfie!

Musically blessed for sure!  Showing off their guitar playing talent!

Then Ainsley and I shared my favorite Smith tradition... decorating cookies!!!  I love doing this with them every year!

Maddie had a volleyball Christmas party so I didn't get to see her much but I look forward spending more time with all 3 of them as I babysit over the next 2 weeks!

The Mauzys

When I got to the Mauzys, they were decorating cookies too!  I learned this is quite a competitive thing!  Scott was making a striped candy cane from sprinkles alone!  He also decorated a tree with tinsel and ornaments... all from sprinkles!

Finished product... before baking!

I also got to meet the newest addition to their family... Josie!  She is the sweetest puppy and lots of fun!

My boys and our finished product!

Heather and Josie joined us too!

Homecoming at the airport!

I finally made it in NC and off the plane before midnight.  Much to my suprise I had a fanfare waiting for me.  As I am walking out, I hear screaming and see pink and green balloons!  I knew right there this was not going to be simple!  Though tired, I was very encouraged!  I look up and I see two of my closest friends from WLE!!  I also see my family and Zoe (my dog).  It was so good to see them all there!!  I felt very loved and even more blessed! 

Back in the States!!!!

I have made it to the good ole' USA!!!  While I am not quite home yet (in DC and leave for RDU in an hour and a half), it is so good to be back in the states!  At first, it was weird.  I had heard when you come back to the states, everyone talking in a language you can understand is a bit overwhelming.  And that is exactly how I felt.  In the customs line, I could understand what everyone was saying which was so weird for me!  I am used to lots of noise but not anything that I could understand.  So I am getting used to that.  For the most part, my flights have been uneventful.  The flight from Tunis left an hour late so I almost missed my connecting flight in Germany but I made it!  I am super tired as I have been up for over 20 hours but so happy to almost be home!

Once I made it through customs and checked in my bags, I walked outside for a bit because I had tons of time and wanted some fresh air.  As I was walking around and observing things, it hit me that I really love living abroad and seeing the world outside of the states.  Now this does not mean I am not excited to be home... I am beyond the moon to be back in the states!!  But I just feel my heart also belongs to places around the world.  I am beyond blessed to see the world around me but to also have such a supportive system here!  My friends have been counting down and have been so encouraging over these past 4 months!  I am so excited to see and spend time with my friends and family!

I was hoping to have a more meaningful post but I think my brain is fried!  I am happy to be back visiting in the states and my family/friends mean the world to me!!

Christmas Cookies

Two of my friends love to bake so the three of us got together to bake Christmas cookies today!  Because we are teachers and cannot help ourselves but to plan ahead, we all picked our own recipe and made the dough ahead of time.  Then once we got to Angie's house, we put them on cookie pans, baked them, and decorated them.  It was such a fun time to spend with Angie and Cheryl!  They are such dear friends to me because I feel like I can be myself with them, no matter what!  

Angie making her gingerbread cookies

Cheryl making her Russian Tea Cake cookies

Icing my lemon ricotta cheese cookies

Recognize my apron, Chrissy? ;)

Cheryl, me, and Angie!