29 and one half...

It has been a little over a week since my twin brothers visited our home.  You should have seen me prior to their arrival.  I was like a little child excitedly anticipating the first winter's snow.  

I had worked a long seven day stretch just to be able to get the two days off that they would be here.  The pain and tiredness of a long work week... was taken over by excitement and adrenaline.  It is amazing how good you feel when you have true happiness inside.

We kept emailing and calling them... they probably thought I was driving them crazy!

I had not seen my brothers for five years.  Five years ago... they spent a 24 hour period with us.  It was in December... and we were... at that time living on the Oregon coast.  The time that I had seen them before that... was four years prior... when our mother passed away.

When at last I finally called them... Chris had said they were in Bridgeport, Ohio.  My insides were jumping for joy!  They were about 20 minutes... or less... away from my house!  I was pacing and had my face plastered to the front window of our house looking for any different car that was driving up outside.

Before I could even barely get out onto the porch... one of my brothers came bounding out of the car and up the hill and stairs to our front porch.  I looked at him... big goofy looking sunglasses and a long-ish shaggy beard... his arms outstretched and a big smile on his face.  I remember thinking... "I don't know which one this is... but I'm hugging him!!!!"  ((It was Don!))

It felt as though the years and years melted away and it seemed as though I could have hugged him for the rest of my life and never let go.  But I had to... because Chris was waiting on the steps... and his hug... also melted my heart.  Chris brought with him his wife Katya.  She is from Russia... she and Chris live there now.  I kind of didn't even see her at first... patiently waiting to meet a family she had never seen before... in a country she was visiting for the first time.  When I finally gave in and let go of Chris... Katya... this beautiful young lady... so sweetly came up my steps with a big shy little smile on her face... and she got a hug too.

I may not have been able to linguistically communicate with her personally... but a hug... reaches beyond all language barriers.

At first... we kind of all funneled into my little house... absolutely excited energy filled the air.  

I missed my little family.  My little family... was finally "home".  I truly believe that home is where the heart is.  I can say that I live wherever the boys are... because they both have a piece of my heart.  My husband Rich... and my daughter Hannah... love them... I do believe... with almost the same intensity that I do.  ((only... my intensity is beyond comprehension... it is unconditional love))  Our family was truly blessed by their visit.

Don had commented that it was nice to see that "mom's things" are still around.  My home, made him feel like he was partly at home I believe.  Chris had commented once during his visit that we had too much "stuff"... and yes... he is absolutely right!  I have too much of my mom's stuff.... but having it around... lingers parts of her... and I need that in my life.  Hannah needs that also.  It is kind of a common ground that bound us all together from the start.  Who we are is not defined by what we have... it is defined by where we have been in life... what we have gone through... and by those who have left their footprints on our soul... and by how we share with others who we are.  It is all a circle.

I fixed a nice dinner.  "Family favorites"... so to speak.  I fixed my chicken enchiladas... my mother's chili rellanos casserole... and "THE CHEESECAKE".  The cheese cake was not only in honor of family good times... it was to honor Katya's birthday which was the day prior!

What do you do for only 29 & 1/2 hours?  The time seems like you may have to cram a lifetime in it... say as much as you can... and pray to God it will be enough until the next time we all get together again.  I can only hope they know how much I love them... their involvement in my life is essential... even if it is only an email now and again.  My little family.

Katya is an artist.  She fits in well in this family.  Before she came... Hannah and I talked about picking out one of my mother's sketches to give to her.  We were going to get one of them framed and give it to her.  I had a hard time picking... then kind of decided like maybe it was not the right thing to do.  I decided to let her look at them.  My Mama kept speaking to my heart.  She kept saying... "Give her that one... you'll know the one."  I got out the two sketch books that I had... and she glanced through them.  She and Chris would speak back and forth... in Russian.  I wish I could have heard what she thought of them all.  Before they came... Hannah had looked through the books and said... "Mom... you should give her "that one"..."  I told Hannah... "I know... that is the one I was thinking of too... but I don't know yet."

My heart skipped a beat as she stopped longer at "the one"... than she had all the others.  It was a sketch of an old homestead with little leaded glass windows that had old rickety shutters and a tattered brick chimney.  An amazing sketch... it had been "the one"... in my heart a voice said... "She stopped at "the one"."

Chris and Katya stayed the night at a new little motel just down the road from our house... and Don stayed with us. The next morning... before Chris and Katya came back to the house... I had told Don that I wanted to give her one of our mom's sketches.  I asked him to help me pick one out to give to her.  He basically said... "I was thinking you should give her that one..." then I told him the story I just described.  He gave me a hug and said... "that's the one then."  I felt a little better having his approval.  Not that I needed it... I knew it was meant to be.  I decided that I needed a copy of it first.  When she came in... I gave it to her.  I told Chris to tell her that I knew I should give it to her... and that she had lingered longer on that one than any other.  She had a big smile on her face.  I hope she liked it... and I hope she treasures it as much as we do!  I ended up getting two copies.  Don got one copy... and I got one also.  Katya... got the original... touched by our mother's hand.

We took them out for breakfast... then were trying to decide what else to do.  We were going to go and sit at a park and visit until they needed to leave... instead... we took them to Rich's mom's house.  Rich's mom and Nanny (his grandma) had popped in for a quick visit the day they arrived.  I had told the boys that her yard is more beautiful than any park.  They were pleased to get to see where Rich had been born and raised.  And... Nanny and Don hit it off so well... she actually cried with love for them!  I guess Nanny talked about their visit for days!

As soon as we got back from their house... they were off on the rest of their adventure.  You can read about their trip at

http://eirrann.blogspot.com/    (Chris' blog)

I will post some pictures later after we get them out of the camera and onto the computer!

I hope God blesses the boys for the rest of their lives.  And... I hope that where the green lights take them... is all good!

Until next time....