800 miles, 1 Wedding, 1 Funeral

Wow, the past week has been busy. Filled with emotional ups and downs. Traveling and tears.

Last Sunday, the 11th, we received word that Nate's uncle Lester had lost his 2 1/2 year fight with leukemia. He was a quiet, godly man who was a wonderful role model to Nate. He always showed our boys lots of love, and introduced Kohen, and myself to the world of farming, combines, and tractors.

Lester with Annalise and Isaiah, Easter 2008.

We headed to Rochester on Wednesday afternoon for the visitation. So began a whirlwind weekend. Nate was a casketbearer in the funeral on Thursday, and was also scheduled to be an usher in his cousin's wedding on Saturday. My school was canceled on Thursday because of the awful, cold weather. I only had to take one personal day for Friday. Friday we were busy shopping, and visiting. That evening Nate and I attended the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Then on Saturday it was more visiting to family and friends and a beautiful wedding that evening. Congratulations Anthony and Marisa! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I'll have to wait for family to share some photos. Throw in some late night conversations with cousins, and you have a very full weekend. We rolled in to our driveway at 7pm last night, and still haven't fully recovered.

A big thank you to our friends the Flowers. They were generous enough to share their parents and neighbors with us for babysitters so we could attend the family events. They are also responsible for fostering Kohen's love of donkeys and mules. Clayton, the donkey is no longer of this world, but seven mules remain at the Flowers' residence. We headed out for a visit on Saturday, along with a large bag of carrots for Kohen's big eared friends.

Three of the standard size mules.

Terry and Joyce own four standard size mules, and then there are these three mammoths. I love these girls with their gentle temperament. They love our carrots. Kohen loves to feed them, and was lucky enough to have Terry take Charlotte out for him to pet, brush, and sit on. Isaiah even spent a minute perched atop her. However, he was more interested in checking out her long eyelashes and fuzzy ears.

My big boy looks mighty small up there!

One last note...Welcome to the Blog world Chelsi! My cousin, Chelsi has now begun her own blog so she can share her experiences as she, her husband Greg, and baby daughter Lilian make a move to Saudi Arabia. It will be a great way to stay in touch with her experiences.