We rented the house several months ago, so this is a weekend we've been looking forward to for quite a while. It is an absolutely beautiful place, with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms (those multiple bathrooms came in really handy with five teenage girls)! Here's the front of the house ...
And the back ...
View from the middle deck (there were three!) ...
We enjoyed the infinity pool ...
And did some tubing on the lake ...
We spent time hanging out in the luxurious living room ...
And ate lots of good food, including these awesome cookies my sister-in-law had made for her folks ...
We also spent time going through old photo albums, which contained long-forgotten pictures like this one ...
Looking through old photos like that is a tough thing for me. Every photo of our happy family of four is a bit of a punch in the gut. I love to see them ... but I also hate to see them. Who would have thought back when this picture was taken that the smiling girl on the left would one day wear a real wig to cover a head scarred by the ravages of cancer? I've gotten "used to" the pictures we have of Hannah, the ones I see all the time ... but an emotional blow comes along with seeing each less familiar picture. I did find a special treasure -- a picture of me with both of my girls. There are not many of these, as I always bow out when pictures are being taken .... something I regret now that I can no longer take pictures with both of them. Here it is ...
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Our last evening in the house was spent with the entire crew gathered in the living room, where we listened to my in-laws reminisce about how they met, their first date, their wedding day, the early days of their marriage, and the arrival of their children and grandchildren. They ended up by sharing dating and marriage advice for all of their granddaughters, and I was glad the affianced couple was there to hear the wisdom they'd gained over the last fifty years!
The evening culminated with the entire family circled up in a time of prayer. What a blessing to be a part of a family like this! My husband and I have both been blessed with wonderful Christian families, and we never take that for granted.
Hannah would have absolutely loved this weekend. There was nothing she would rather do than spend time with her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. I couldn't help but be sad she wasn't there to share the experience with us. She would have been laughing all weekend long. We included her memory as best we could ... we had family pictures taken and we included her picture in many of them ... but family gatherings never feel "right" without her there.
One of the things we discussed as we gathered on that final evening together was the fact that our family might never be all together like that again. And that is so true. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Let's be sure that we don't take our loved ones for granted.
This weekend was sort of like a glimpse into Heaven, where we will have all the time in the world (literally!) to spend with those we love who have died in Christ. But there will be a huge difference. Here it is from Revelation 21:4 -- "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." I can't wait.
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