Saying I had butterflies in my stomach and a smile on my face when we flew into LAX 2 weeks ago would be an understatement...the elation I felt from having survived the 4.5 hour, non-stop plane flight from Chicago with our 3 kids under the age 4 (2 of them on our laps) was the first of many miracles and gracious moments God would bless us with as we flew HOME to visit family and friends in Southern California...When we left for IL in August, we left as a family of 4 with one on the way. Arriving back in SoCal felt very much like we had finally come full circle, adding a missing piece to the puzzle of life we've been navigating through since we left last summer. Like I said, we left as a family of 4 and returned with our new baby girl and our boy with his new "ears." Our lifelong friends and family hadn't met our NEW family yet and we were practically jumping out of our skin to embrace and talk more deeply than Facebook or e-mail allowed us to over the past 9 months.
The community we HAVE felt over the miles with those dearest to us has been incredibly life-giving and an instrument of God's encouragement to us while in our new home but there is nothing like being in the presence of those you love.
The community we HAVE felt over the miles with those dearest to us has been incredibly life-giving and an instrument of God's encouragement to us while in our new home but there is nothing like being in the presence of those you love.
And so we came...the blessing of being present with those who are dear to us was worth far much more to us than the price of plane tickets and the adventure of flying with little ones. Here are some pictures of the moments and adventures we've had so far...
Time with Family...
We arrived on Tuesday and my grandparents and aunt came over on Wednesday to spend time with us before we took off for the weekend to visit friends from the town we had moved from. I was so thankful to have spent such wonderful moments with my family as they met Cora for the first time and talked with Cole. :) The kids swam and we enjoyed the beautiful SoCal sunshine in my parents backyard as we caught up on the past 9 months of being apart...it felt like we'd never left!
We arrived on Tuesday and my grandparents and aunt came over on Wednesday to spend time with us before we took off for the weekend to visit friends from the town we had moved from. I was so thankful to have spent such wonderful moments with my family as they met Cora for the first time and talked with Cole. :) The kids swam and we enjoyed the beautiful SoCal sunshine in my parents backyard as we caught up on the past 9 months of being apart...it felt like we'd never left!
Time with Friends...We had an amazing weekend spending time with our friends we moved away from 9 months ago. We stayed at a different house every night so we could have fun letting the kids play together and then have good talks after the kids went to sleep. Ryder LOVED staying at his friends houses, Anthony and Jacob and even got to have a sleepover in their rooms when we stayed at their houses!!! He loves them and I know the connection we all have will last our lifetime even though we live further apart.
Ryder and Jacob
Anthony and Ryder
On Saturday morning, the girls went to coffee and the guys had the kids...the following are two pictures of that morning when the Dads took the kids to a local book shop for what they thought was storytime....here's our good friend Derek and ChrisTiana's little girl Naomi having fun playing in the play room there!
When all the Moms walked up to the bookshop to meet up with our kids and husbands, we noticed the sign out in front of the bookshop said "Come join us for our Princess Tea Party!" So when we walked in, here's what we saw...I laughed so hard!!!! The boys had their own table, right next to the girls all dressed up in princess outfits!!!!
Saturday night, our friends the Clay's gathered a bunch of friends so we could catch up with many at the same time! They went above and beyond with yummy Mexican food (something we miss living in IL!)...different flavored sodas from BevMo...yummy chocolate cake (thanks Courtney and Carrie!)...fun swimming and even had babysitters there to watch the 10 kids under the age of 5 that ran around the whole time throughout their house, yard and pool! We will of course treasure the conversations we had with those we miss so much that came...thank you for making that night so special!
After back at my parents' house...my mother hosted wonderful times with friends more than once! How special it was to spend time with high school friends and our KIDS! Below is a picture of my friend Sarah, her son Finn...Candice, her daughter Mackenzie and Kegan on the way and Ry, Cora and I!
Knights Ryder and Mackenzie having a DUEL!
Every one of our friends we were able to see while down in SoCal was a very special time for us. We had quite the blessing of meeting up with friends far and near...meeting at parks, spending nights in their homes (all 5 of us!) or having them visit us at my parent's house...we truly treasure each of those moments and look forward to the next!!! Thank you especially to the Clay's for hosting a gathering of MANY friends and all their kids at their house one Saturday night, and to our friends at church who stayed after to eat lunch with us and catch up. We treasure those moments as a reminder of God's faithful blessing of community in our lives, even now as we live halfway across the country...it really was as if we had never left :)Disneyland...
We had a blast! My parents drove us all to Disneyland Tuesday morning and we had a great time together going on rides, reliving old memories of being there as children, and making new ones together! Highlights included Ryder going on Space Mountain with John and I, Big Thunder Mountain with my mom and John, and our whole family (even Cora) going on Nemo and Pirates together :) We had a wonderful day together even though the rides all closed for a half hour in the middle of the day because of an earthquake that we didn't even feel!
I will say, I wish some of the rides in "Fantasy Land" weren't quite so scary for little ones focusing on the bad guys of the stories! We still had fun but could've done without some of the "kids" rides...go figure! Ryder's official favorite ride was "It's a Small World"...good choice Ry :)Santa Barbara Zoo...
Thursday we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo...my favorite zoo as it overlooks the ocean! The giraffes have the best spot, (I think) since they...with their long necks...can see the beach from their home there :) It was a beautifully, peaceful day with not many people there as we cruised around twice. The elephants, giraffes and gorillas were great but the fighting penguins were my favorite! Ryder made some bird call and sent them all in a frenzy!
To all our friends in IL...this is what we call, CA sledding :) Cardboard on AstroTurf!
Santa Barbara Beach...The next day we went back to Santa Barbara for a day of playing at the sunny but windy and chilly beach! One of my favorite places in the world is on the shore of the beach where the land ends and the huge expanse of ocean begins. It is here I sense in a very real way, how BIG our God is. Our own issues seem to be put in the right perspective when placed before the GRANDNESS of a God who can create oceans of water and the creatures who call it home. Being at the water's edge reminds me of how beautiful it is to respond to His call to "Come," for it is in His presence that our identity is seen most clearly and all other distractions seem to fade. What a special time to have as a family...
This ends the post of "fun" visits we had when in Southern California...there are two other stops we made when down south that I am eager to share with you about but know those will take some time to write about, so I'll continue "PART 2" of our adventures later!We PRAISE GOD for such incredible family and friends to visit, have fun with, but most importantly...be in community with as we learn to love, serve and see each other throught he eyes of the One who loves us most. Thank you, Gramma and Gramps, for adding 5 to your house for the past 2 weeks! We love you more than we can say!!!
Thank you for this amazing post! I knew you guys would be having a blast but it is so fun to hear about it and see pictures! Your family of 5 is just too precious, I love to see it and can't wait til one day we too will see you in person! We love you guys! Team Murphy
Wow...it looks like you guys are having such a great time! I know what it feels like to be 'home' with the ones you love, so soak up every moment you can. When do you come back to IL? We're moving to missouri on june 20th; hopefully you'll be back before then.