Family Staycation

(Click for more Staycation photos.)

We spent this last weekend with Ryan’s family to spend every last minute possible with his sister, Tanya, and her husband, Tim, and their two boys (Sterling and Thorin) before their departure to Kurdistan on Sunday afternoon. So our “stay-cation” took place at our house and began Friday evening with fine dining at Chart House (without the kids) and ended with a three car caravan to the airport to drop the Mewmaws off and say our heart-wrenching goodbyes at the security gate. We came to the conclusion that the airport is a highly emotional place. The upstairs (departures) is full of sad, goodbye tears and the downstairs (arrivals) is full of happy, so-good-to-see-you tears. Unfortunately, we were upstairs. Unlike my MK (missionary kid) husband, I haven’t had to deal with too many goodbyes that hurt so much. And I swear once kiddos enter the picture, it’s a whole new ballgame of emotions! The next time we will see the Mewmaws again will be June of 2010. It is so strange (and sad) to me that we will have to re-introduce our kids to one another. But I know it will be a sweet reunion and I can’t wait to see those two boys interact with our two girls, all as toddlers by then.

So our last few days with the Mewmaws (no, not the Newmans or the Newhaws) was full of good food, card games and Beersbie (minus the beer).

We had the last of our family pictures until next summer.

There was a wrestling injury, some R&R at our neighbor’s pool (they let our family have the pool all to ourselves!).

There was a lot of packing, minimal sleep, more packing, and we concluded our time at our house praying for Tim and Tanya and the boys. Oh yeah, and lots of tears and lots of hugging on Sunday. Okay, and some more tears for me the day after too. But memories were made and we were all blessed by the Grossman-Mewmaw Stay-cation 2009. It was a perfect way to say farewell.

We miss and love you T&T, Sterling and Thorin!!!