Our visit to Madison...

Well, it has been like a tropical rain forest every moment since our arrival home from vacation! Honestly! Is there no end to the rain we're getting this year? Our garden is vibrant, but completely wild and overgrown, and the chicken yard is wallowing in muck. Kita and Ani got into a porcupine the night before we came home. Pastor Dale got the quills all out of Kita's nose, but Annabelle was covered and he could not get them all out without her biting him! Must have been a sight! So Gary is calling the vet today to get her in.

With that said this was the most stress-free vacation I have ever experienced. Not only did we have a great time, but the dietary changes I've made over the past year or so really showed their advantages. My stomach was calm the whole time, and my body pretty ache free. I also slept fairly good for the most part.

It was so great to see our wonderful little family there in Wisconsin! I saw my son in a whole new light, seeing him as a happy, loving husband and daddy, caring and providing for his growing family. Abbie was a terrific hostess, caring for our comfort, but in a nice, relaxed way. We joked about how her and I are really close in our "relaxed" homes...don't feel like everything has to be perfect! ;-) She fed us lots of healthy delicious meals, which was especially appreciated after all the cheap travel fair. She planned lots of fun experiences but without feeling like we were running all the time. We had lots of time just around home to enjoy our visit, and, play with Josie of course!

This little girl is just the sweetest child! After an initial gaze to figure us out she immediately decided we must be family so we were okay in her book. She smiled and embraced us with her little being. GrammaSusie had an especially good time doing a lot of playtime. Mommy is her main world though and it was wonderful to see this beautiful young woman blossomed into beautiful motherhood as well.

Josie has this hilarious little war-cry she does when she has been stimulated to the point where she just has to let it out...or she's simply frustrated! It is so cute!
Her eyes are just amazing. They are looking like they will be brown, but they have this brilliant blue ring around the outside of the iris, and then also blue in the center. Her hair is definitely looking brown, and maybe a bit curly like Daddy's. Even though Tim's hair was blond when he was little Abbie said hers was always brown. She's a beauty for sure. And most important, she has a beautiful spirit...so bright and engaging.

Madison has this great free zoo which we went to one day. Then another day we visited various stores where Tim and Abbie do their shopping; a huge Super Target, a Trader Joe's, and the Willy Street Co-op which I loved! It is an employee owned co-op established in the 70's and carries all manner of natural, organic products you can imagine...more Burt's Bees stuff than I ever knew existed. We also picked up their weekly CSA offering.

On our last day we visited my favorite place, the Arboretum. I love trees and tree identification. It was a gorgeous place and Gary and I agreed that if we lived there we would be at the Arboretum all the time. I would love to take Hunter there to wander around and identify all the interesting trees. They also had a beautiful wetlands that you can walk out over on a boardwalk, with an observation deck at the end where I snapped this great shot of Grampa and Josie.

It was sad to leave. But we had such a great visit that it was also very satisfying. As a mom I felt they were in good hands in Madison, that they have a good life there, and that they will prosper no matter what they do. Their home is perfect for the moment, the job seems to be going very well, and they are getting connected with a strong vital church. I pray all the best for them, even while missing them terribly.
(our attempt at a self-portrait during our last few minutes there. Josie was more interested in Aunt Sara's glasses!) I will share about the rest of our trip in another post.