Home Sweet Home

Christmas 2006. First Christmas in Pennsylvania.

The Shaester and I are currently in Pennsylvania with my family. We drove up yesterday after dropping Darin off at the airport so that he could head back out west to be with his family after the passing of his grandmother last week. Although this is a sad time for his family, we've talked a lot this past week about how wonderful it is to have a testimony of The Plan of Salvation. Death would be so heartbreaking and confusing without that knowledge. And although it is sad, we find peace and joy in the knowledge that this life is only a small part of the plan. Death is just one of the steps that we have to take to get to the next adventure that Heavenly Father has in store for us. 

After dropping Darin off at the airport yesterday we booked it up here to spend a few days with my family so that we wouldn't have to be alone down in Virginia. Even though I have never actually "lived" in this home--as in, I've never had a room or even a bed here and the longest I've been here were the two months after my mission--there is something refreshing and comforting about coming home. The house may be different but the people are the same. Heck, the taco salad we ate last night is the same, as is the Quilted Northern toilet paper I grew up with, the toys that Shae is playing with are the toys my baby siblings played with...the feelings are the same. 

As I get older, I seem to crave those feelings more. I crave the security and love that I feel at home. As a wife and now mother there are moments when I have to make big decisions and I think, wait, I'm not supposed to decide this, this is something my mom has to do, she knows what she's doing. Have you ever had one of those moments?

When I'm with my family I feel protected. I feel like I'm given permission to step back and be the kid again rather than the adult (to a certain extent at least, Shae doesn't really grant me full permission). 

Home really isn't about the house you live in or the bed you sleep in. It's about the people that make you feel safe. The people that love and respect you for who you are. The people that share your happiest successes and your saddest disappointments with you.

Home is family.

(My thoughts and prayers are with Darin and his family this weekend. Although I miss him ridiculously, I really am glad that he is able to be with his family at this time).