Northern Illinois

We have been in our hometown for nearly two weeks now. In that time...

-Hubs spoke four days in a row at church
-we attended two family reunions
-the kids have slept off the previous month of travel (I think?) (side note: I need blackout curtains at home...)
-we visited our favorite city, Chicago
-the temperature has gone from 95 and humid to barely 60 and rainy back to just under 80 and humid -I have possibly eaten my weight in cheese
-Hubs and I went on a date! WOOHOO!

 ...and so much more!

We head to Wisconsin (ahem, more cheese) on Friday just before lunchtime. Au revoir!

Central Illinois

We stayed for a couple of days with dear friends in Urbana-Champaign, home of my alma mater, the University of Illinois. Being on campus again was a little strange, as most things had not changed and yet clearly my life situation has. I walked across the Quad not alongside my roommate or my close friend from down the hall, but rather with my husband and four children. Seeing multiple tour groups and realizing how much closer in age they are to my oldest daughter than to me was humbling.

Our oldest is already talking about following in my footsteps by going to the U of I; she must really like the cornfields, as she has visited UCLA and so far is not impressed. I told her she would want to make sure she lives in Illinois a couple years with the grandparents first in order to get in-state tuition, so we will see.

Our friends have a new baby, which was fun. Since I've known the wife of this couple for 15 years, it was a lovely time of reminiscing about how we were as college girls as well as acknowledging that we are both very blessed to be married to the good, strong Christian men we have in our lives now. God has truly blessed both of us.

We saw so many friends in the area, including at a potluck dinner at a friend's home in Peoria. What a lovely but brief time.

Northwest Indiana

Sunday afternoon we made the drive from northern Ohio to northwest Indiana in time to meet with people Hubs knew during college, the people who, if we are all honest, most encouraged him to be a minister. It was there in Hammond that he gave his first sermon. That evening we stayed with good friends who encourage us in our parenting journey; they have a large family, are homeschoolers, and are ardent believers in the power of life-long learning and thinking. The conversation was great.

Northern Ohio

We stopped in northern Ohio last weekend to visit the church Hubs worked with before our move to LA. We stayed with a family there and enjoyed seeing all of our old friends again. It was too brief of a stop!

NE Ohio/N West Virginia/W Pennsylvania

We spent Wednesday morning driving from Columbus to northern West Virginia, where my mother's paternal aunt lives. She lives in my great-grandparents' house, a home I've visited a couple of times before in my life: once in 1996 on a family history trip with my grandparents and a couple of uncles and their families, and once in 2006 when my great-grandma passed away.

There had been much rain in the extended region since we arrived in Dayton, and I'm told there had been some even before that. My aunt's basement had already flooded by Wednesday morning. It let up enough for a few excursions, including a trip to Thompson Park, where the kids played in puddles and mud and we met a sweet cat who needed a home but wouldn't let us take him somewhere safe.

I visited my great-grandparents' graves as well as the local hot spot, the Homer Laughlin China factory, including my favorite part--the seconds warehouse. Due to our travels I was not able to take any of the beautiful (but heavy) dishes home with us.

During dinner the rain started up again, and we were concerned about possible tornado activity; however, upon seeing the weather radar we realized we were north of where the low pressure system met the high pressure system, and thankfully nothing progressed beyond some storming. By the time we finished our dinner, there was only rain falling.

The church where Hubs spoke Wednesday evening had lost their power during the storms, so that made for an interesting time. It's not an evening we'll soon forget. We left there and headed back to Ohio and stayed overnight just outside Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The next morning we were able to get a few shots of Brandywine Falls in full rushing mode.

Columbus

We have had a quick pit stop in Columbus mostly to decompress as a family. It has been a great respite so far. We have enjoyed all of the rain that has come to the area this week. Yes, it forced us to slow down, and it has meant not getting as much sunshine (which at least one of the kids has mentioned she has missed!), but it has been LOVELY to be in real rain again! We have also given our faces a much needed break from the near-constant sun exposure we get in LA. It has me more resolved to use sunscreen daily when we get home. Yesterday on our way here (well, a very roundabout way) from Dayton we stopped to see friends in Chillicothe. We had a lovely visit, and between the three families represented there were 12 children there. Our kids are loving all of the time with other kids they haven't seen in a long time, and our oldest two kids are amassing quite the list of pen pals. We also went exploring to find a road on which my maternal grandfather lived when he was a child, and I think we found the house where he lived. It was an exciting little side jaunt, and I'm glad we made the time to do that. Tomorrow we head to the eastern-most point of our trip in western Pennsylvania!

Dayton

We stayed for a week with dear friends in Dayton. Hubs had a stop in Cincy the Sunday after our Sunday in Russellville, so there was no point going too far away from the area. The week was interesting, amusing, and so much fun. There are all sorts of shenanigans eight children and four parents can get into! We had field trips, lots and lots of rain (in fact, I began to wonder if we had visited Seattle already...), late night conversations, lots of thrifting, happy smiles and giggles, friendships formed or strengthened among the children, and lots of great food, home cooked and otherwise. It was such a lovely week!