"Overview of Recent Trip to Pitt"

The other morning I woke up to the sound of a knock on the front of the door, "Finding Nemo" playing in the background, my husband hurrying to answer the door, and Donovan's excited jumping up and down... The knock on the door was by a man delivering the flowers my husband had purchased for me for Valentine's Day. It was nice to wake up to and Donovan's excited "Oh wow!" when he saw what was in the box was so cute. Thank you for the flowers, Josiah!

This past weekend in Pitt seemed to go by so quickly, but it was filled with many tears, much laughter, and great conversations. Friday, I got to spend time with one of my most favorite people, Christian Bedore, and in talking to her, I was reminded again of why she is, in fact, one of my favorites. I know you aren't probably supposed to have favorites, but I can't help it! She is one of the most guileless and real people I know. She is so refreshing to be around. I told her I was looking for some good worship music, so she told me she'd look around and see what she could come up with and Sunday afternoon she brought me an entire stack of cds of music she'd found that she thought I'd like. It was so sweet and meant a lot to me. I am super excited to delve into the music and let it wash over me.

Also on Friday was my family's "Welcome Home" party for Micah and Sarah. And, let me just tell you, when they walked in the door to Ryan and Rachel's house, the tears started flowing. I, unfortunately, was the culprit who started the tears as I am the one who answered the door to their knock, but they were tears of immense joy and relief. Micah immediately handed me the photo book he had put together of Donovan that included pictures of myself pregnant and then continued on with pictures of Donovan from when he was first born to family pictures of all of us when he was just a few months old. Micah, of course, did an INCREDIBLE job on the book and I know it will be something I treasure always. The rest of the evening was spent with an air of celebration as well as anticipation of future events that would include ALL of us.

Saturday I got the chance to go to Joplin with my sister Amy and hang out with just her, which had been quite some time since we'd had a chance like that. The time with her was awesome. Again with the tears and laughter and such. :) It amuses me just how alike we are and how vastly different we are too. Never a dull moment when the two of us get together! The walks down "Memory Lane" are treasured and ones that often bring us to tears from laughing so hard. It was great to have the time together before she ups and marries Ugo and is no longer the last "Unclaimed Treasure" of the Sterrett clan.

Sunday was the church-wide pizza party thing in honor of Micah and Sarah's return and it was fun. It was great to see them in the midst of everyone again. It was evident how much they have been missed by all. Sunday evening, I had the privelege of going out for coffee with my friend, David Gray, and it was great to just sit and talk with him. I love talking with people who are so easy to talk to, and he is definitely one of those people. And, the thing is, I know when he asks a question it isn't JUST for the sake of keeping up the conversation but because he REALLY cares about the answer. He's not one to do the whole "Hey, how are ya?" and then keep moving situation. If he asks, he ACTUALLY wants to know. Weird, right? Well, it shouldn't be... He's a good person to learn from. He has such a big and open heart and you can't help but feel honored to be around him.

Monday morning before we left, I was supposed to have coffee with Joy Noga, but Daniel ended up getting really sick and she was unable to make it. I did, however, invite my sister Sarah to go with Joy and I for coffee the day before and saw no reason to cancel with Sarah when Joy couldn't go with. So, Sarah and I went to Starbucks and ended up sitting there for almost 3 hours talking and laughing and crying and talking. Obviously, as she has been in South Korea for the past 2 years, such times with her have been non-existent, and the time was WONDERFUL. We were both very disappointed that Joy couldn't join us, but we managed to have a good time in spite of it. We are hoping and planning on a do-over with you, Joy, so plan on it next time I'm in town. :) So, after coffee came the time to go back to my sister's house, pack up, and head back home to Ellsworth. As much as I really do love Ellsworth and the people here, my heart always feels a little worse for wear as we leave Pittsburg. I think this time was even a little worse since we were now leaving Micah and Sarah behind as well. Ugh. Yeah... still a little achey... So, moving on...

Our drive home to Ellsworth was good. The sunset we were met with was STUNNING and literally looked like the sky was on fire. I caught several pictures of it with my new camera, and I am SUPER stoked with how they turned out. So, be sure to keep a look-out on Facebook for those pictures. Who knows, maybe I'll feel motivated to post a few on here as well... Eh, we'll see. The picture at the top of my blog is such a picture, but I don't know that I will put more than that one on here though...

As usual, it was great to see everyone and I am excited for our next trip to Pitt next month!

"Lazy Sunday Evenings"

Why is it that Sunday evenings always bring with them a sleepiness that cannot be ignored? Even if I am full of energy and ready to go and hang out with people, as soon as I settle into a couch, sleep begs to take over. Obviously, at this moment I am resisting it, but it continues to creep around... So, there is a solid chance that I will go get some Starbucks as soon as I am done with this to prepare myself for the evening. The cozier I get now, the harder it will be later to move... On a random side-note: My dad makes me laugh because it never fails that, as soon as lunch is over and everyone is settling in the living room for more conversation and hanging out, he quickly fades into oblivion and falls asleep in spite of the conversation and noise surrounding him. I have never seen ANYONE be able to sleep through as much as he does. I'm sure it isn't just Sunday evenings, but he can fall asleep anywhere at any time and sleep right through all sorts of chaos. The ability to do so must be nice...

Anyway... Today was Sarah and Micah's first Sunday back and this whole weekend of hanging out has just felt so RIGHT in that they have been a part again. We were able to have our whole "sister time" of trying on our bridesmaids dresses and the accessories to go with, and it was, of course, filled with much laughter and loud, excited talking. What we were DOING wasn't the point so much as doing it together and being together again. It was just a relief and it was really good. It was so fun to have all 5 of us girls trying to share a mirror again. There have been so many little things that I haven't even realized I have been missing that have happened that have made my heart sigh a little sigh of contentment and longing for more times as such. It is so great to be around Micah and again witness all of his antics in person. He was always pulling something "Micah" when we'd talk on Skype, but nothing tops hanging out with him in person. He is one of the best story-tellers I have ever heard and, by far, one of the most hilarious people I know. Again, it just felt so right. I feel so thankful for this weekend, and I am beyond excited knowing that future visits will include getting to see and hang out with Micah and Sarah. See you all in March!

"Exciting Weekend to Be Sure"

This weekend we are in Pitt to anxiously await the arrival of my excessively missed brother-in-law and sister who are returning after 2 years from South Korea. FINALLY. Micah and Sarah are two of THE most missed people I know. Even though I have enjoyed my visits to Pitt while they've been gone, their absence has not gone unnoticed by any means. It's been hard to have them be so far away. And it will be AMAZING having them home again. It will make me look forward to my visits to Pitt that much more knowing I will, in fact, get to see them during future visits.


This weekend will also be a long over-due reunion of all of us Sterrett sibs. It has been 3 years since we have all been together, as my brother joined the Navy a bit before Micah and Sarah moved to South Korea. Words seriously cannot express my excitement at the thought of ALL of us sibs being together again. Makes me start crying just thinking about it. My heart feels so full of joy... and relief. Relief that Michael made it home safely from Iraq and is now done with the military all together. Relief that Micah and Sarah are on their way home now too and plan to stick around a while.

On completely minor notes: This weekend is also exciting because I have a new camera that I will get to capture memories with and our dresses for Amy's Wedding came in and we all get to have a "sister" time of trying them on and getting to have that experience with Sarah this time around.

I have been anxiously awaiting this weekend for quite some time now and I have no doubt that it will exceed my expectations and anticipation. I miss my family!