California

I really haven't blogged about our trip to California yet. We drove out there in one day (yes, one day, in one shot. We left Denver at 5 am and got to my parents' house at 2:30 am. Wouldn't have taken so long except that when you're crossing the Rocky Mountains in a snowstorm, you can't really see. And we got a FLAT TIRE in Nevada. Yeah. I know. I felt like we were in a modern version of that "Oregon Trail" computer game.)

Don't believe me about the storm? Check out these (which weren't even the worst of it):

Oh, you don't see the road or the lanes? That's because there ARE no lanes, because they're covered in snow.

Anyway, one of the fun things we did was have lunch with some sweet, sweet friends. What a blast to get to visit with Todd and Jill and Mike and Katie! The kids (we have 12 kids between all of us!) ran around and played while we chatted and caught up. Todd and Jill brought home their son Daniel from Ethiopia about five months after we moved, so we were SO anxious to meet him. What a sweetie! He's also from the same orphanage/agency as our sons, so that is a neat connection too. Mike and Katie have a son from Ethiopia as well.

Handsome men from Ethiopia: Biniam, Eli, Yosef and Daniel

All my kids seemed to pick up with their friends right where they'd left off. It was as if we'd never left. Priceless.

Other highlights of the trip were dinner with Mike and Kristen (and getting to meet their new baby, and playing cards, and playing "The Office" trivia game, and saying "that's what she said"), a fun girls' night with Jeannett, Joy, Lara and Becky, and New Year's Eve with Troy and Becky and Darin and Lara. (We didn't get back to my parents' till four a.m. This always seems to happen with Darin and Lara!) We also got to see several friends at lunch after church one Sunday, including Ryan and (pregnant!) Sandy. Why oh why did I not take more pictures?!

New Year's Eve. What a blessing to be with dear friends at the end of a very emotionally difficult day. We had so much fun!

One of my favorite days was the day we spent out at my friend Rebekah's house. We've been BFF's since THIRD GRADE and our kids just love each other. It's awesome. It was SO good to catch up on life and just be together. I felt really sad when we drove away. Maybe someday they can be convinced to move to Colorado. :)

On New Year's Day, my aunt and uncle and cousins came over with my cousins' kids. It was so neat to see all the kids together!

God has been so good to us during this transition, but we greatly miss our dear friends and family in California. It was a blessing to spend time with each one of you!!!

I'll share some more about our time there soon!