Summer Trip Home

We arrived back in Gent last week after a very busy, but great trip home. We were able to spend a good amount of time with friends and family, get some baby shopping done, go to our home church two times and even a small group gathering, celebrate birthdays and holidays, and eat lots and lots of mexican food (I will not comment about how many times)!

A couple of interesting things happened on this trip. First of all, I was much more culture shocked when we arrived home than any of our previous trips. When we got off the plane in the U.S., I was really surprised by what I was saw in terms of wardrobe. Not that I dress much different than I did in the U.S., but I'm used to seeing very different styles in Belgium and Europe than I see in the U.S. It's not bad, just different. I was also very taken aback by the pace of life. Even though I still get annoyed by it sometimes, I think I have come to appreciate a little bit slower pace that exists here. I was really thrown off, especially in the airport, when I tried to order something and was hurried along with all the other people. In some ways, I think that my current "normal" is much more centered around our life in Belgium making my old "normal" seem different to me. I suppose it's better to feel more integrated here in Belgium for the time being.

Another strange thing that happened was that my parents moved from their home of 21 years and really, the only place I have ever considered home.  I have so many memories there and could not have asked for a better place to grow up. Although they didn't have a choice in the matter, it was still difficult to drive by and not be able to go "home." I was happy to be able to see where my parents live now, but I will certainly miss my childhood home. I know I have posted pictures of the farm before, but here they are again.

I was, once again, so thankful for all our friends and family who traveled to see us and made time for us while we were there. Our schedule was crazy, but we were still able to spend time with many people because they made themselves available to see us when we had time. I cannot stress enough how good it feels to come home and still have great relationships and friendships.

Here are some pictures from our trip home.

Heading home

Holding hands during take off

My THREE babies on the place :)

Celebrating the 4th of July with our small group

This is how we celebrated last year...

SO happy to be with friends in person!

Getting ready for fireworks

Watching fireworks safely inside

Fun times with some of my siblings

Cookout

Cousins

The whole gang (my sisters, brothers-in-law, and nephews)

Sisters!

Not sure what to say about this...

All the grandkids (including cooper)

Heading downtown

Hula hoops in the park

One of our favorite parks

S'mores

Playing in the sprinkler

 Dinner with friends

Visiting our parents

Cooking with grandma

Swimming with grandpa

 We went on a train ride with Cole's family! The boys, of course, loved the train!

Waiting patiently for the train to arrive

Cole with his grandma

My parents with the boys

My parents and brother

Cole's entire family

The boys

My grandma and me

Although we did purchase a lot of baby things while we were home, we were also completely spoiled by our friends and family. People were so sweet to think of us and get us the cutest little girl clothes! I have yet to purchase really any clothing for this little girl…she is already very loved! I can't wait to get the rest of it with our mail shipment!

Here is just a small portion of the cuteness!

It took a few days to recover from the whirlwind trip, but we are so thankful we were able to go home and see so many people. Other than my usual post-U.S. trip blues, we are very happy and content to be back in Belgium.