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And besides the fact that I got “felt up” by airport security (Have any of y’all had that happen?! I’ve heard the jokes but I was not prepared for the, um, intensity and thoroughness. I could not stop laughing the whole time. I was totally inappropriate.) for the sippy cup in my carry-on, the whole experience was uneventful…even fun.

This little baby was marvelous. Thank you for your prayers. I feel sort of ridiculous now about how anxious I was.

It’s hard to describe how wonderful it felt to be. home. I stopped in for a visit with my friends in our old neighborhood. I love when familiarity rolls over you like it never skipped a breath.

On our way out of town, Bryan asked us to drop by his studio for him to try out some new lights he’d gotten for taking natural-looking photographs (It was way more technical than that, but that’s the gist of what I came away with). We looked a bit bedraggled after a hard day of playing, but I never miss an opportunity to be a part of a A Bryan Photo. He is so awesome. You can see a few of his shots of the girls here. Thank you Bryan! It was a blast and an honor, as always.

Then, we headed down to Dothan. All my sisters came home for the weekend, along with their husbands/boyfriend. This was the first time in a really, really long time, that we’ve all been under one roof… It felt bizarrely wonderful and normal. Although normal is not what comes to mind here:

Watson was leading everybody in a football workout in the front yard.

I smiled when I saw this rolling by the house. Not something I’ve seen a whole lot of in Seattle 🙂

Kendall tried to drop a subtle hint or two to the only remaining “boyfriend” in the group.

I’m not sure he took it quite the way she wanted him to 😉

Sometimes my camera gets hi-jinked. I’m not sure what Taylor was trying to capture here, but I know what it captured for me, “Oh my! Look, there are boys in the backyard with Dad!” It still feels surreal to see the men we all hoped would come one day, be real in this day.

I spent much of the time doing this:

On the phone with Jeremiah, the only one missing to make the joy complete, trying to describe all the houses I’d been seeing.

On Saturday, Dr. Maddox invited our whole big Clark family crew to come out to the farm for a horse drawn wagon ride through the woods.

And they weren’t just any horses. Meet Heidi and Maggie:

Two of the cutest Clydesdale horses you’ll ever meet.

 

They’re both rescue horses.

And my girls couldn’t resist a little time on their backs, despite the availability of a perfectly good wagon.

‘Ol girls had quite a heavy load to carry. This isn’t even everybody. A total of TEN adults and two chicken wings. Keke baby, we’re not in New York.

These guys were staying far away from us. Who could blame them? I wouldn’t have wanted to be strapped to our raucous party either.

Dapples and Popon “hemmed and hawwed” us together for a bit.

 

There was something magnificent about seeing these girls work their way through rough cut wooded trails. They seem like they should be clipping across pavement through a parade. Instead, it felt like we were using them in the way they were made to be used.

Until we wore them out, utterly and completely.

And hopped out and walked for a while to give them a much needed break.

Sashey met us after the ride, so we could meet Coco…

…her new friend who she’s trying to train to barrel race.

On their first ride, Coco apparently stopped to try and drink water off the top of the barrel. She’s come a long way!

We also celebrated my Dad’s 53rd birthday!!!

My Dad with his brother, Uncle Alan. Does anybody else see George W?

We had a huge crowd of extended family, and my Aunt Sheila prepared a Mexican fiesta to satisfy my Mexican-loving heart. Unfortunately, I blanked out on taking pictures. Thankfully, Caroline snapped a few for us.

Grandma and Grandpa made their famous homemade icecream.

I looked at a lot of really wonderful potential homes while we were in Dothan. I’m still excited about what God’s going to do…but He hasn’t done it yet. I thought He was gonna, but apparently he didn’t get my memo with the schedule 😉

This was my lap on the plane ride home. We’re all feeling pretty drained, but thankful for sweet family, friends, and home.

Last year, I loved a lot of people who had loved us throughout the years, in a bread and butter kind of way. The year before, you can see a little bit more of my manic-ness, through all the preparation here and execution here.

I still have on this V-day sweater today, as I did three years ago. It’s been part of my V-day uniform for the past five years.

And if you want me to go back farther–old school, we can sometime, over a cup of tea. I bet I could make you laugh pretty hard. Especially if I told stories with Jeremiah sitting beside me, reliving the embarrassment. It’s not that I like to embarrass him (which is what it sort of looks like from the outside), it’s an issue I have with big love statements…and wanting to make them. I have never had one of those scenes in the airport. You know the slow-motion-run into a kiss so big you don’t care who’s looking you just drop your bags and make out right there. But I feel like every Valentine’s day, I let myself get wound up into wanting to create one of those type moments. I can’t help myself. The first one, I attempted in an actual airport. It didn’t go so well. I actually posted it-comment form-on someone else’s blog recently. If you want to relive my embarrassment, you can, here (I’m the 9th comment down).

So this year, I determined to NOT cave to all the hype. We are flying out in the morning and I could use some Prozac to calm my frazzled nerves. The girls have never flown before, and I’m doing it by myself. Some of our flights have only two seats on each side of the plane…who would you leave by themselves? I’ll let you know how THAT goes.

Even with the anxiety, I just could not let the day go without a little V-day ghost action. Especially after Pace said, “Mom, why am I going to school? Valentine’s day is about doing things for people you love with your family.” That’s her Momma’s girl. I couldn’t disappoint that heritage I’ve been instilling all these years 🙂 So, I made a simple chocolate brownie cake:

 

Picked up a CD I thought my Valentine would like and wrote a note (that I hoped would make him blush ;)) in a big red card. Then, we headed to his office–where he’d forbidden us to come. Pace got nervous once we got inside (and I did too). Have you walked through a busy trauma center carrying a heart-shaped cake, and dressed in various shades of pink and red lately? It can be a little unnerving. Pace asked if she could stand outside the office while I took it in. I knelt down to my ghost-in-training and said, “Baby, Valentine’s Day is all about making a fool of yourself for the one you love. Be brave!” We did it, and he was sweet and thankful. You’ll have to forgive me though…I couldn’t add the whopping camera to the embarrassment. I did take a shot in the parking deck:

 

We got home to find that Daddy had sent us some surprises too:

 

That man knows me a little too well.

I may or may not be currently eating some of each type…How was I supposed to choose?! Evil gift!

Mrs. Konie and Papa had sent a whole big box of goodies that the girls tore into!!

 

Hopefully, tonight, I’ll be dancing off at least one of the aforementioned cupcakes 🙂 Jeremiah and I have a date, and it’s of a very different type. I’d tell you more, but it’s a surprise for somebody else who might check this. Hopefully, I’ll get some pictures to share later.

Happy V-day!!!

What? You may wonder. Or why is my child wallering on the concrete with her feet stretched up in the air? Just trying to take in every last drop of this that we can:

We have had three gorgeous days in a row. And not Jeremiah-kind-of-beautiful days, but REAL blue skies and sunshine.

I can hardly get myself out of a window, even when I’m inside.

I realized how hungry I was for sunlight and blue skies on Monday morning when I was describing an Alabama fall day in my book.