Oh dear.

I was blogging in my head this morning, and suddenly (and quite painfully) realized how long it had been since I'd actually blogged. wow. I'm sorry. I hate that.

So this morning, even though there are dishes waiting on the countertop, the laundry needs folded and put away, my Bible hasn't been cracked open yet this morning, and bills need to be paid.... (along with another HUGE list of to-do's) I'm sitting down to blog. My bible study will be next. Me minus time with Him lately renders me pretty much useless.

Rolling back, I need to cover the past few weeks. We had Missions Convention at Trinity. That was pretty spectacular. I love Missions Convention because there is such an emphasis placed on reaching the rest of the world. Especially this year, our theme was Every Way and it was about spreading the Gospel in every way, whether you are a construction worker, a shift worker, a teacher, or even a photographer. I always enjoy getting to know the missionaries during the various meals we share throughout the weekend. This year did make me really miss my friend Autumn, who is serving in Thailand right now. We wrapped up Missions Convention on Sunday night and then Monday morning I hopped on my plane to Iowa. For some reason it was an insane amount of work to get out of town, just making sure everyone's needs were met before I was out of pocket for 5 days. I left stressed for sure, but felt all my stress melt off as we soared into the air and Houston shrunk in the distance. I so thoroughly enjoyed my flights (both ways), I love to fly and I'm not sure why. The almost two uninterrupted hours of reading probably really helps! But then, when we began to slow and descend from the sky, the fields of Iowa unfurled below and I was choking back tears of homesickness. It was so good to see the familiar.
I spent that evening in Omaha with my Dad, Mom and brother, Andrew. Wow, it was so fun. We hit a antique(?) store and then went for dinner in a beautiful little french cafe in Old Market. We actually ate outside (which was freezing to my Texas self and I wound up unpacking my trench coat half way through dinner) and I had the french onion soup, which was amazing and the first of my wonderful Iowa-food. After dinner Andrew had a class, so Mom and Dad and I wandered around Old Market and thoroughly enjoyed an absolutely beautiful autumn evening. The colors were so pretty and the air was so crisp. wow. We also stopped at Perspective Designs, the new home of the jewelry shop I had worked in just after high school. It was so good to see Matt, my old boss, and his son Chad. We had a lot of catching up to do. He also tweaked my head on my ring, which had been crooked for over a year now. I was excited!Eventually we headed towards Correctionville (my hometown) but Mom and I detoured for breadsticks and white sauce at Pizza Hut in Onawa. We stayed up way too late that night and then I accidentally slept in until 10 the next morning. We had breakfast with Dad and then Mom and I went to Sioux City to see FAME and visit Younkers. We were only there long enough for Taco John's, the movie, HyVee and a quick run through Younkers. Went home for dinner (Casey's Pizza) and a walk with Dad. We stayed up too late a second time, but I set my alarm for the morning.

Wednesday came and Dad and I made a quick run to Anthon to renew some plates for his vehicles. Then I loaded up the car and headed out to Fort Dodge to see Lori and Jay. The drive was so beautiful! My only regret is that I was so anxious to arrive I didn't stop to take any photos, and that is sad because I'm old and I'm sure my memory will dull shortly. It was breathtaking though. I was so excited to see Lori and Jay's house and their kids and their church, but most of all Lori, of course. We spent hours and hours talking, hanging out, even a little scrapbooking. I have not taken pictures of my pages yet, but I will eventually. We did do their family pictures that afternoon, which I have only just begun to edit and need to work on today. I had 2 other shoots scheduled in Iowa, but both wound up canceling due to the weather which changed drastically on Wed. night. We went to Lori and Jay's church and youth group on Wednesday and it was cool to see how they do things, pull a couple ideas for our youth group, meet their students, etc. Plus it was just really nice not to have any responsibilities! :) Thursday we hung out at Lori and Jay's, did a bit more scrapping, visited their scrapbook store and eventually hit Younkers for a HUGE sale. I picked up 6 shirts (all so cute) for a grand total, including tax, of $25. I told Lori that Younkers was just happy to see me again. They missed my business. We also found a couple of super cute shirts at Target for $2.48 each as well. Very fun.
We ended up at my mom's that night. Stayed up way too late (again) chatting with her. Enjoyed a fantastic breakfast with her in the morning and then we were off in our seperate directions. Lori towards home, Mom and I to Early and then eventually Omaha, with a Kohl's detour along the way.

Overall the weekend went way too fast. The best parts were the long conversations, the time outdoors and the FOOD, oh my, the food. My only regrets were not doing the shoots I had scheduled when I first got there, because the weather was incredible up until Thursday, and not taking more pictures throughout the week. My purse camera is broken and I really miss it! I did take quite a few on my cell, but that's not the same thing. I need to send in my baby Nikon because life is not the same without it.

It was good to board my plane and go home. I missed Rob and the kids so much. Rob had subscribed to me on Facebook, but that's not the same thing as him being with me. We talked a lot during the week, but I could tell the stress of being me was getting to him. I was so thankful for his arms around me when I got to baggage claim that night. And thankful that he took over my suitcase, which was barely squeezed shut after that Younkers sale! I missed my kiddos a ton too, and it was good to love on them.

So now we are back to our normal life, our normal pace. Which is exhausting. Today I have a reprieve, Tuesdays are generally a catch up day for me and I'm in dire need of it. I came home to 12 loads of laundry and an empty fridge, so we've been working on that. It was good to go, but it always makes coming home so sweet.

Random pics from my trip...

my hometown, Correctionville, Iowa.
the view from my parents home. Gotta love waking up to a cornfield. :)
sunset on the way home from Omaha Monday night.
My favorite grocery store in all the world. Man, I miss this store. Such good food!! and friendly service!
a sunset at my parents home on Tuesday night.
tromping around another HyVee in Ft Dodge.
The view from my plane window on the way home on Friday...

I think the big thing I realized on this trip is how grateful I am for my roots. I love my life now, I love all that God is doing, but I'm keenly aware of where I came from, and the influences He used to set me on the path of salvation and ultimately a great plan for my life. I will always love Iowa because it is essentially where my story began...