Final Stop

If you look closely at the "Team Spears" family Christmas photo here, you'll see that two of the lovely ladies are wearing their Talita Cumi scarves made especially for them by the newest granddaughter, Angie. This pretty well represents my time in the US over the past two weeks, sharing photos, gifts, and stories of my new daughter. I often found myself wondering what the visit would have been like without such news, I'm guessing a lot less interesting and a lot less glowing, as that's what I seem to do when I talk about her.

But I wasn't the only one glowing on the KY/IN stop of my whirlwind tour. Last Thursday, one of my favorite people in the world, Ashley Brown became Mrs. Giles. It was a beautiful couple of days of reuniting with old friends, and meeting new Texans, from the groom's side. It's been just a bit difficult to allow so many friends this past year+ while I've been away, meet and marry people I know nothing of, but to my huge relief, I was very approving of Mark, Ash's new hubby. It was such a treat to be included in their three days of festivities, and get to know who I'm releasing her to, just a little better.

The three days included the traditional rehearsal and wedding, plus their unique spin on how to spend a little extra face time with the out-of-towners; a New Year's Eve party, complete with all the reception leftoves, even wedding cake from the Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen!! To make room for a little extra red velvet with cream cheese icing, a few of us took one last charming walk of the year along the waterfront. I was not as excited about the unseasonably warm weather as everyone else since I was savoring every sweet minute of cold, but I totally appreciated Louisville's beautiful familiar skyline. How many places is it really possible to consider "home"? MD, DC, CO, KY, IN and all my beloved friends and family in each; I'll miss you, but fortunately I doubt I'll have much time to dwell as I start a new chapter of my life tomorrow when I arrive in Santa Cruz and pick up Angelica. Your prayers would be lovely.

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country..." -Hebrews 11:8-9