After 5 months out west, we were able to go home for a nice visit. The month home just flew by with God just blessing us every step of the way. Reconnecting with friends, being in our own beds again, and having a big oven to cook in made for a very happy time. Sometimes it takes being away from everyday comforts to help you appreciate what you have. No matter where we travel, we have God, and each other, and that’s what matters most.
God blessed us over and over again throughout our trip. Our flight home included being stuck overnight at the airport in Charlotte, NC but God sent Dan Huey to our rescue! Dan and his wonderful family put us up in their home for the night. Plus fed us breakfast and drove us back to the airport ( a 30-minute drive) the next day. We had such fun fellowship with them. Jody is getting ready to homeschool two of her three children so she and I had lots to talk about. Dan and Greg enjoyed getting reconnected again, as did all the kids. They were such fun to be with. They visited us at the airport again on our return trip back to AZ. We so enjoyed their company. What a sweet and special family!
When we arrived home, God used David D. to come to our rescue, when David arranged for his friend to drive us home from the airport since our travel delay nixed our other ride home – (thanks again David!) We were blessed yet again when we walked through our front door to find that two dear friends had surprised us and cleaned our home for us. Rita, our dear neighbor, and Terri, the sweetest homeschool mom ever, had taken down all our sheet coverings, vacuumed and swept and dusted 5 months worth of dust, wiped down our counters and sinks and more. Rita, Terri and her girls came one Saturday and worked really hard. Rita then came before work that week and did a little each day. There were color coordinating balloons in every bedroom and fresh flowers in the kitchen. I was so blown away!  I never knew anyone would love us that much to go out of their way like that.

It was such a complete blessing after such a long and weary time of traveling. I am so grateful. Even now a month later, I am still in awe of what God did through them.
Our time home went by in a whirlwind of catching up with friends, appointments and getting our end of school year evaluations in. It seemed like every day was filled with something.  There were play dates, coffee dates and dinner dates. Kimberly was especially blessed to get together with Heidi many times. They never tired of each other! We managed to get to the beach twice. We just had to see the ocean again after so much time out West. Riding our boogie boards, body surfing and just plain swimming in the warm blue ocean as a family was wonderful! And yes, some us did get the dreaded sea lice but it was worth it. (I think) We were also able to squeeze in a 3 hour drive west one weekend to see Uncle Ray and his family. My parents had flown to down to their place for a wedding so I brought the kids out to see them. It was a happy reunion, visiting the grandparents and relatives, eating my aunt's cooking and relaxing in my uncle's beautiful clear blue pool. Lisa and her daughter Alyssa came and visited with us. Ray Jr and his wife Theresa came the next day to see us. It had been two years since we had last seen that side of the Seise family yet it seemed like just yesterday.

We had another special treat when Mom and Dad took the kids and I to see the "Prince Caspian" movie and then out to dinner before we needed to drive back home.  It was so good to be able to see them again. We miss them so much. Back home, since I did not go to the homeschool convention this year, God once again provided by allowing me to hook up with other more experienced homeschool moms. They so generously poured their experience into me on how to homeschool my high schooler this upcoming year on the road. I was so grateful. Greg had to fly back to AZ for work but came home that last week to help close up the house and do the hurricane prep. Poor Greg, it seems like we had all the fun while he workd so hard in the Arizona heat.

It was incredibly healing to reconnect with the Zayas, hanging out often with Mingo and Rita, seeing the kids play together hours on end all just served to soothe my heart and make me feel like I belonged. The kids had a blast making home movies together that just made us laugh and laugh. Kristin took the big plunge and had her hair cut off to donate it to Locks for Love, a non-profit organization, which provides real hair wigs, for children with cancer and other illnesses.
It was nice to listen to our kids play on our piano again and Jon on his guitar. Letting the younger ones have their Legos all spread out on the floor for days at a time and being in our own beds was just what we all needed to refresh our batteries before getting back on the road.  I have to confess though, after all the running around getting everything done, a part of me was longing to get back on the road again, and our simpler life. I needed a rest from our vacation at home!

Happy Beach Days!

Till we meet again!