Trip to CA...vol.1

Thursday- Wow! LAX welcomed us with no car seats. Neither of my children's seats made it. One I could understand...but both?!?! After an hour of explaining to the guy I didn't want loaner seats because of not knowing the history he told me a shipment came in and he had 2 with the tags still attached to the strap. Not my preference of seats (because I'm crazy and look up safety ratings) but I at least knew they were accident free. Several days later our seats were found. Good thing I packed all the wedding attire in my carry-on. The wedding was the day after we flew in...that would have sucked.

Friday- Bub and Liz (or Beth for the reader whose sister is best friends with her....lol) got Married! It started off amazing! As we were boarding we ran into my Nana and Uncle. My Father (who hasn't talked to his parents since about 1987) greeted my Nana with a kiss on the cheek and "Hi Mom". I saw Nana smile, put her head down and tear. I choked up. Since my Brother told me he was going to marry this girl, even before he proposed to her, I have been praying for that day. I had my Women's (Bible study) group praying. I had our Life Group (couple Bible study) praying. As the time drew near I prayed for no conflict on that special day and put it all in His hands. Look what happened! Even thought words may not have been exchanged throughout the evening, it's still progress! Now I pray that my Father and Nana will rebuild that Mother-Son relationship they once had. I expect it to be a slow process taking baby steps but any progress is a blessing.

Saturday- My Nana, Uncle and cousins met my Father, Linda, Kalee, Bear and I at Tom's Farm's. A place I remember going to as a small child. It was amazing! All thought my Father didn't greet Nana they did have conversation about an ill family member. Again, progress. Nana opened and invitation for him to go see her. Nothing could fill the lost 22 years but closing the link can help fill the void and reestablish a bond that once existed between the two. It's touching for my brother and I. We never thought we would see these days coming. Something I have never stopped praying for.

Sunday- The kids and I attended one of my old churches I fellowshiped at as a teenager. It was so nice to see the group of people who helped guide me to a firm spiritual foundation. I feel like I go through stages of building on my foundation, and building, and building more, then breaking it down and rebuilding. It seems to be a constant cycle. But I realized that day how I have grown spiritually. I can't pin point how, why or which direction but I know I have grown and changed. A surprisingly settling feeling. After Church my friend Renee (the one that no one at the wedding would know about because we were too old for them) invited us over for lunch. Can I say yum-o? She made salad not from a bag, bread that wasn't the frozen Texas Toast, some fancy tomato basil cheese stuff and a delicious pasta dish that she gave me the recipe for ages ago and I have only messed it up once because I couldn't find all the ingredients. Oh and if that wasn't enough to make me realize I'm not cooking for her if she ever comes my direction, dessert was home made whipped cream (ok, of coarse I can do that...it involves sugar) that my kids thought the world of to top our berry salad. AND...you wouldn't guess who showed up.....Renee's friend whose Mom told me her daughter knew me at the wedding. Yeah, what a small world. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting but wished I didn't give my children that red vine licorice in Church...they were acting like crazy monkeys. Next time Renee's going to invite me but tell me to leave my monsters at home.

By Sunday evening I was pooped...but still had a week ahead of me. More to come another time...