Honeymoon's Over

Well, it's official. Vacation is finished. Jeramie went back to work today for the first time in 10 days and Ethan and I began a whirlwind week of appointments and therapies.

I was also slapped with the harsh reality that my Uncle Randy, my mama's brother, will not make it through the next couple of days. He is in the hospital back home where he is joined by my mama and 9 of their brothers and sisters, and many of my cousins (including his son who is a little younger than me). Hospice is with him now and arrangements are being made for his funeral. Uncle Randy will be the first of 12 siblings to pass away, and he's the 2nd youngest. Death has not been kind to our family, and each time someone is unexpectedly taken away from us, it hurts a little more. I would really appreciate it if y'all would say some prayers for our family during this difficult time.

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On a happier note, we had a great time on our trip to the lake last week! We couldn't have asked for better weather, or for Ethan to do any better than he did. In fact, I think we were all a little surprised with how tolerant he was of being on the boat, being in the water, having his schedule changed-up, and just overall not being in his normal environment.

I would even go as far to say that he enjoyed the boat and the water! Once he found his sea legs, he was all over the place! He especially loved driving the boat, with PawPaw's help of course!

(Their hats read: "Captain" and "First Mate")

He got lots and lots of attention from his soon-to-be Auntie, too! Lori Ann is absolutely smitten with Ethan and we can't wait to officially welcome her into the family next summer. I especially enjoyed our late-night girl talks and getting to know her a little more. We love "Auntie LA"!

Probably one of my favorite moments of the whole trip was when Ethan fell asleep on me after a long day of being on the boat. As we rode back to our dock, I savored every second of him being still, snuggling with me.

I placed my hand over his chest and was overcome with gratitude for the beating heart that was inside there. This time last year I longed to take him to the lake and have that experience, but he was just too sick. It was so special being there with him this year, reveling in his health and vibrancy.

I mean, really. Just look at those precious, pink, pouty lips!

Jeramie and I were able to steal a few moments together, too. I absolutely love being out on the lake with him, especially when the sun is setting. That is probably my favorite time of day while we're there. There is nothing like cruising on the boat, feeling the breeze coming off of the water, and watching the sun set. It is completely relaxing and inspires such a sense of awe.

Of course we spent lots and lots of time in the water! Some days were a little cooler than others, but we welcomed the lower temperatures by the end of the week. I wasn't too fond of the fish nibbling on my toes in the shallow water, so I spent a lot of my time on the float in the deeper parts! Thankfully, Ethan enjoyed that just as much as I did.

I'm going to work on uploading the rest of our pictures (we only took about 600) to our Flickr site, so be sure to check back there later on. I'll also post some other cute videos we took to our YouTube account.

Thank you, Rick & Amy, for giving us the opportunity to spend such sweet time with the family and to create fun memories that will not be soon forgotten!