We Are Family

“There you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because (He) has blessed you.” Deuteronomy 12:7

Over the weekend our family of seven managed to all gather in the same place. It took a LOT of logistics, two plane flights from Chicago, one flight from California and two cars driving over the pass, but we ALL met in Spokane, Washington for Whitworth University Parent’s Weekend! We hadn't all been together since last Christmas!

Here's a re-cap of our fun weekend:

It was hard for me to keep the secret from my two youngest that even their older sister would be flying up from California (a birthday gift from big brother), but the look on their faces and the hugs that followed made the surprise totally worth it.

 We began our time together with a meal.

                                          Source: http://wedonthaveone.com/the-elk/

My daughter used her creative talent to decorate her dorm room.

 Saturday we joined the huge crowd at Green Bluff and enjoyed  pumpkin donuts and hot apple cider.

My son who lives off campus introduced us to the SIX adorable kittens that his “house of boys” are taking care of for six weeks. It took a lot of control not to sneak this sweet baby kitty named Lord Stark home with me! (I wonder if the fact that pretty girls are often stopping by to cuddle with the kittens had any part in the decision to take this fostering project on? Brilliant...)

My girlies have missed each other.

I did have a couple "accidents" while at the Quality hotel. Learn from my mistakes and do not repeat...

1.      1. Do not undo your necklace over the sink. (Lost my Mike charm down the drain…)

                                                 Photo source: care2.com (Annie B Bond)

2   2.Make sure when setting your I-phone alarm for the next morning that it says A.M. (I was probably the only adult at Parent’s Weekend who overslept and missed the Professor’s class I was supposed to attend.)

p                                                               Photo source: ipod.about.com

I am tucking away three days of memories we made including going to church and taking Communion together as a family. As I contemplate all that my children are accomplishing, I know deep in my heart, we are blessed. 

On our beautiful drive home through the mountain pass I was reminded that just like me, God loves His children and desires to spend time with them too. 

Have you been making any special memories with your family this fall?

In His Grip, Jane