I had the privilege, honor, esteem, blessing, etc. to visit my dear old[er] brother & sister-in-law in Managua, Nicaragua for a week earlier in August. The BEST news any person could imagine after sitting in a Florida airport for 11 hours of a layover and still being delayed and then landing at like 3:30am my body time and tackling them in a hug after not seeing them for almost 2 whole years was to hear (read, actually) that I'm gonna be an AUNTIE!! :) Alan pushed a sign in my face that said "Bienvenida" (to which I was like, oh gracias guys..) "..TIA Emily!" .. to which I said SHUT UP! NO WAY!! *squeal* ))hug(( love all around.
Basically, the underlying principle of the week was that I have an amazing family and I am truly grateful for how good of friends we are. This was the first time all 7 of us were together for this amount of time on a for-real vacation. I mean, in times past, I may have returned from Messiah for Christmas or summer and we'd have a good weekend, or a good afternoon, or a good evening together, but we'd always have cell phones, chores, friends to see, obligations to fulfill, etc. This chance to be together in Nica was removed from all that, and even if there were points of the week when our insides revolted and crippled us into useless pieces of sickness, we STILL benefited from the rest, the concern/care shown, the loving teasing, and the togetherness.
I'm so thankful for the laughter, the good conversations, the reflections, the devotions, and the times of prayer and blessing. I'm also thankful for the chance to be young adults together (as siblings) and have the whole adult-family experience thing at least once before Baby WILSON (j/k...that is not the name...nor do we know the gender...) or Baby Thyme or Baby Bartholomew comes and becomes the puddle of attention that s/he will inevitably dissolve into once we feast our eyes on her/him.
(I'm gonna love as my little sobrino/sobrina grows up and Alan & Beth just shake their heads and say, you are acting exactly like your Auntie Em right now!! HHAHAHAHAHAHA) :)
Nicaragua Pictures: #1; #2; & #3
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