What a trip!

We've been home from Michigan for almost a week. What a wonderful trip! I never thought that driving so far with three kids (ages 4, 2, and 7 months) all squinched together in the backseat of our Equinox would have gone as smoothly as it did. One hour into the trip, Evelyn asked "are we almost there yet?". Oh, boy. I thought it would be a question we would hear at least 50 more times. But that was the only time she asked!

Praise God for providing safety... and also fun, patience, laughter, and hours that rolled by smoothly and quickly! Next time I would also like a swivel-seat in place of our current front passenger seat. That way I can go round and round in circles, facing the kids or the road ahead, without distorting my back or craning my neck beyond natural limitations!

Evelyn, John and Truman had such fun playing with their cousins (and with the grown-ups, too!).

John (in the orange) playing the electric piano with his cousin, Kyle.

Evelyn plays dress-up with her cousin Jessica.

Truman and his younger cousin, Graham, talk sports.

At the first part of our visit, my sweet sister, Faith, flew up to Michigan to join us. It was great fun having her with us. One of our favorite things was making snow sculptures (a rare art form that Brad's mom wonderfully excells at!) in the back yard. Turns out, Faith is quite talented as well!

Faith and Jenny, on Christmas Day

Can you imagine being a kid and having this kind of fun at your grandparents' house? Evelyn and John slid down the mattresses over and over for a good hour.

I like the picture above, even though it isn't necessarily good photography, because you can tell that Evie is just zooming down the "slide"!

And here, you see, someone had the idea to put plastic grocery bags on the kiddos to help reduce the friction, thereby allowing them to travel faster. They were like greased pigs!

Thanks so much, Grandma and Grandpa, for hosting us for such a long time. We had a great time, and were delighted to be with you for Christmas!