January brought me the supreme treat of getting to hit the road to spend some time with family and friends in North Carolina! It had been a long time since I'd seen most of my extended family and some dear friends that live close, so I set out with the goal of making a huge arc, from Atlanta to Asheville, Asheville to Hamptonville, Hamtponville to Garner and Raleigh, and from there to Charlotte and home again~
The trip was fantastic, emotional, and filling. It was so good for my heart to have TIME—time to drive through icy mountains that looked like they were hemmed in only by snowy clouds on the right, time to listen to music and pray as I drove, time to hold an almost-six month Peter-baby and to catch up with one of my favorite families and closest friends since college—even time for us to curl up on couches with dogs and to learn to knit~ During this first leg of the trip, I took walks, bundling in borrowed hats and extra layers, found some Asheville barbecue, and just generally soaked in the presence of some of the Biards and Freels. Take a peak..
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| My borrowed tuque, colors, and coats~ |
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| Jacob getting a ride from Nona! |
The next leg brought me to my Oma's house, where we were all planning to converge for her 94th Birthday! It was very nearly a surprise, but Oma is a clever woman, and sweetly, excitedly, silently waited for everyone that could to show up! I drove in the night before the party and got to spend some precious hours with just Oma, Tante Magie and Onkel Erlo, and then the next day the home swelled with almost twenty family members—kids, grandkids and greatgrandkids! It was the very best kind of ruckus that exists... bustling cooks, boisterous conversations, a beaming grandmother, and delighted second-cousins running about.
