A Full Nest

The Nest is once again Empty. We had a wonderful week with our kids and their families. They arrived right after Christmas so no sooner did we end our Christmas Day celebration as empty-nesters than we started to run through the final preparations involved when one is expecting 7 extra people. The day after they arrived, we had 3 more guests as Larry's mother, brother and sister-in-law came for a 2 day visit.
It was also one of those times when nothing worked out the way I had planned. There was a lot of shuffling of meal plans as the turkey was still frozen when it arrived here from Iowa and the in-laws came earlier in the week than I thought they would. We had plans to go to a park but it poured. We also thought the kids would enjoy a day at the Children's Museum in Pittsburgh, but the only day it would have worked for us, was the day the NHL Winter Classic hockey game was held downtown. I have learned the most important part of planning is remaining flexible and going with the flow, so none of those things slowed us down. I was just amused at how useless scheduling can be!

The best part of the visit with the kids was the littlest kids themselves. Seeing Samantha again and getting to know her as an infant, but no longer a newborn was the best. But those 3 year old boys....! What a hoot. Warren and Nicholas picked right up where they left off last Christmas. They remember each other even though they only see each other once a year. They have the best time playing. They might be full of giggles, but the adults get lots of laughs.

Some of my favorite images are:
2 little boys, trucks and tractors in hand, standing in the laundry room looking UP--at the laundry chute. The image was clear. As soon as they left the room I put a pile of laundry under the chute in case a tractor suddenly made the ride down! Unfortunately for them Paberry had closed the bedroom door so they never found the other end.

2 little boys playing hide and seek with Dave. They were hysterical! The best was when they ran into the laundry room and lay down on the floor, heads together against the washer, light on, door open, feet sticking into the hallway, HIDING (and giggling).

And perhaps the most heartwarming memory of all is of us all around the table saying grace and hearing two little voices clear as a bell saying "God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food." In fact we learned we'd better be ready because when someone said the word GRACE, they were off and the rest of us just had to catch up.  Which pretty much sums up life with a 3 year old.

It's quiet now, but what fun it was!