After we got back from Outer Banks, we spent the rest of the month hosting visitors! Hailey and Marty came to visit with the twins, but only for a day so we went to the beach and went out to dinner... with 4 adults and 4 kids age two and under. (chaos... but we're glad they came!)
Then a few days later my parents came to stay with us! I felt bad having to put them on an air mattress in our living room but they were good sports. We also got to see some more of Michelle and her family, and Peter and his family because they came down for Brooke and Nick's wedding open house here in Agoura that weekend. (They didn't stay with us though... our place isn't that big.) We all went swimming at the Turleys' house, Mom got to go to Trader Joe's (hallelujah!), the open house was beautiful and delicious (Diddy Riese cookies and Thrifty ice cream), and we got to take all the kids to the Santa Barbara Zoo with Grandma! She even paid for them to feed the giraffes. Grandmas are the best.
My mom also needed to buy a new suitcase while she was here and this is the one Will picked out:
We got to see a lot of the Keysor side of the family (my mom's) because Grandma and Grandpa were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. They had a nice party at their house and they finished the night cutting the cake (designed after their wedding cake) and we all ate Aunt Kari's cookies (of course). Some of my aunts and uncles also shared speeches and stories (some that Grandma denied... I still don't know what the truth is) and my aunt Stacy and uncle Dave also put together a slideshow of pictures of my grandparents, my mom and her siblings, the grandchildren, and all the great grandchildren. After 60 years they have a great posterity (in size and quality) and it was really special to see pictures from their life.
I was glad we got to spend a little extra time with my parents that week. After 10 days we took them to the airport to go back to Africa.
It reminded me of the last time Taylor took them to LAX one year before. It was really hard for me to have them leave Agoura and move to Africa. I felt sorry for myself a lot because we had finally moved close to them and then they had to leave. And I was having a baby. And a million other selfish reasons to want them to stay. There were a lot of low points during the year that I cried about it, especially after Emma was born (hormones and sleep deprivation just added to the problem) but in retrospect it's a lot easier to see the blessings that I received in that year. Taylor and I moved into a bigger place before Emma was born. We had (and still have) a ward full of people who genuinely wanted to help. I learned how to ask for help (which is really hard sometimes!) and was always able to find it. Men from church helped us pack the truck, women from church helped me pack and unpack boxes, clean the house, and made us dinner when Emma was born. I missed my parents but looking back I was never left to fend for myself. I always had help available. And on top of it all we're able to Skype with my parents and visit them in Utah every October and April! I know that the Lord needs my parents where they are more than I thought I needed them here. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows what is best for all of his children--me, my parents, and the people they serve. It's amazing what one year can teach you and the perspective it can give.
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