Well, I keep thinking that I need to update my blog...and I just don't know what to say...there is so much I have to say but what do people want to hear...well let me see what I can come up with.
The family reunion was awesome! I had a great time with my family. It was a wonderful time although I think it was too short. Our theme was LEGACY. We went back to Ohio which is where my dad grew up and where his parents died. We went to two of his childhood homes. The first one, my dad's sister had contacted the owners and they said we could go inside. They let all 30 of us trounce through their house and reminisce. The owners had really done a fabulous job of renovating but preserving the house. The original wood floors were in..some of the original windows and such. It was lovely! Then we went to another house. This house we hadn't contacted the owners...now let me back up. Many of us had red shirts on. We had red shirts made for the reunion for all of us to wear the the Reds game we were going to later. So as all of these red shirted people invaded this little community I decided I should go tell the owners (if they were home) why we were standing in front of their house taking pictures. So I go up to the door and a gentleman answers and I said, "I just wanted to let you know why we are taking pictures of your house. You see my family used to own this house"....the man at this point interrupts and says "You mean the Millers?" I almost fainted. It turns out that these owners are the people that bought it from my grandmother 40+ years ago. How cool is that. We chatted with the owner for quite awhile and had a lovely time. Then we went to a Reds game. It was the Reds versus the Indians and although the Reds lost, the last 3 innings were so fantastic, it was a great day!
We had many devotions about legacy. We talked about family tree and genealogies. I specifically poked and prodded my aunt and uncle and my mom about stories and such for me to write down. What I have found as I research genealogies I realize that the mundane stories that are our day to day lives, get lost even 2 generations out so it needs to be recorded now for future generations. I did alot of thinking over the time we were there and I feel that I have probably done at very poor job at passing on the legacy that was passed to me. We sat one night and sang hymns and songs that we grew up with and my girls don't know most of them. We talked one night about the fact that one legacy that was strong in our family was that there was always unconditional love. I can attest to that...no matter what I did in my life, no matter what came up, although I knew mom and dad would be upset, I never questioned their love. I can only hope that I have passed that on to my family.
What was the most significant thing of the weekend??? Well there was so much but I was overwhelmed with the power of my grandparents story. They were not raised Christian and both became Christians later in life and then before they had children they prayed for their children to go into some form of ministry. They had 3 children: 1 girl-missionary, 1 boy-pastor and missionary, 1 boy- pastor. And let me say...lifetime service also. That is AMAZING to me! God is AMAZING! I felt very ineffective and a bit embarrassed by what I think may be the lack of legacy that I have passed down.
Tiana then flew with my mom and her cousin to Colorado and is spending several weeks there. So Tabitha and I drove home. I had hoped that I would have some time to do some family tree research but my time was limited but I pushed hard to have a couple hours to check out some cemeteries and I found the grave of some long lost relatives. It was such a rush (I am sure that that is weird to some of you). I also got some great contacts for other cemeteries but didn't have time to do the looking while I was there. I have since found that Tabitha and I were standing in one of the cemeteries where my grandparents graves are..but I didn't know it...bummer. But that is ok..I know where they are now...so I may make another trip down there for some pics. I was very proud of Tabitha for being gracious and helping me do all the searching of these graves. I think she might have enjoyed it a little also.
We got back and the next day Tabitha flew to Edmonton to spend a month with her mom. So I am alone for a couple weeks. When I tell people that, most people say, oh you'll be lonely. Um, no, not so much. I am decompressing from a very stressful and emotional year. Last Saturday was the first Saturday that I didn't HAVE to go anywhere for a very long time. It was wonderful. I rearranged the kitchen a bit and have started planning a couple projects. I am only alone for about 2 1/2 weeks and I threw in a colonoscopy in there too so no, I am not lonely most of the time. I am peacefully content. Tiana comes back next week and Tabitha will be back in August.
Wil finally deployed on the 10th. He is heading to Libya on the HMCS Vancouver. They are going to replace the HMCS Charlottetown. I don't know how long he will be over there...my guess is about 6 months. It takes a month to get there so I can't see it being much less than that. I don't hear much from him, so I don't have much more to say. I pray for him regularly and I miss him terribly. I know he is glad that they are finally at sea...it was very stressful to not have a plan and try to plan for every possibility. Now he has a specific mission to plan for and that will be a bit easier. I still have no idea when he will be back so he'll be back when he is back. I know I am on my own for the next little bit at least.
What is on the horizon? Not much. The girls and I will have all of August to finish up summer and then school starts after Labor Day. (I can't believe I have two 10th graders). Tiana will stay at St Johns and Tabitha will stay at SFDCI. I am thinking about making a trip to Michigan this fall but I am not sure about that. No other plans for 2011 at this point. Well, I think it is time to paint something too...lol.
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