Home and 32 and counting (down)

The other night I was coming down the hill and caught a glimpse of our house.  Amber's shade was up and I could see her California State flag lit up by the twinkle lights she hung around it.  I smiled when I saw it.  The mission countdown is dwindling and just hovering over 30 days.  She got her itinerary to fly to Salt Lake this week!  So exciting!!  We started making skirts, and haven't had great success yet, but it is close.  Hopefully today there will be two finished and hanging in her closet.  And she got her booster Tdap so she is protected should she encounter a rusty nail or myriad other things that could give her tetanus, or be exposed to the rapidly returning Whooping Cough!  Immunize your kids for heaven's sake, and the rest of us, as well. (Stepping off soapbox now)

Its getting exciting, and scary and somedays I'm sure it can't get here fast enough.  So, so exciting!!!

But that is not what I sat down to blog about.

It's home that I want to wax poetic about.  When I came down the hill and saw the house with lit windows, I was glad to be heading there.  Not because I was eager to leave our RS Activity, where I had been.  It was a great evening where about 15 of us spent an hour and a half sewing comfort bags for elderly people.  I love getting together with my friends from church.  Laughing, sewing, eating, sharing - its all good.  So that wasn't why I was glad to see those windows iilluminated from inside.  It was knowing my family was inside that house, and although they don't come running to the door to greet me anymore (they are teenagers), I knew they wouldn't be sorry I was home, and thus in a roundabout way, I knew they were glad I was home.

I am not a homebody.  I love to travel.  In fact, John is in Utah right now to celebrate his mom's birthday, and I am very sad I couldn't go.  He gets to spend time with Alli and Ryan, his sisters and their families, and also he's done a little exploring of the art museum at BYU.  I would love to be there.

I love to go see our kids and their families, I love to go new places, I really hope the Australia trip comes to pass (Ashley says we just have to rip off the band-aid and go for it. :) I did fill out my passport application on-line and print it out.  John's is next.)  I have a list of places I would love to see - Italy, not only the picture from the puzzle, but maybe the area where my relatives come from; the French provincial countryside, and Paris of course; Arches and Zions National Parks - I have seen some incredible pictures; I'm told Mt. Ranier shouldn't be missed; and did I mention Australia??

I loved the historic sights, and pretzels, in Philly; could go back to New York in a heartbeat and see everything I missed the first time; and have fallen in love with downtown Seattle.  Portland is still one of my favorite places to go, as well as the Oregon Coast.

But at the end of it all, there is always home.  The place where our family story has taken place for the past 22+ years.  Three of our children were brought home as newborns to this house.  We have held two wedding celebrations, 6 baptism celebrations, 4 graduation parties, 22 Christmases, and I'm not sure how many Thanksgivings and hosted 3 General Authorities.  Again at the end of it all, there is home.

Home is where you hang your hat.
Home is where your story begins.
Home is where your heart is.
Home sweet home.

So no matter if I'm coming home from a trip or coming home from the grocery store, like Dorothy, I'm always glad to get back home, because there truly is no place like home.