Friday

Why I'm a Texan

I love Texas.

But not because everything is bigger here. (And if you could see our mosquitoes, fire ant hills or plastic surgery results you'd never doubt that fact).

I love Texas because I can say y'all, find an abundance of sweet tea and have a heat stroke in May.

But I'm a Texan for one reason: my family.

I don't talk about my parents often because I value their privacy.

I have to avoid mentioning them in the majority of my posts because they are such an integral part of my life. It is fuller because of them. My days are richer with my children growing up with their grandparents.

I spent the first 10 of my 14 married years living thousands of miles from them. Several years ago when we decided to leave full time ministry, we came home to Texas. We re-entered their lives, broken people. Our dreams were cloudy, our pockets were empty. Our hope, gone.

And it's the best decision we've ever made.

Nothing makes my heart smile more than seeing my toddler run into their arms, squealing their names. Nothing makes me laugh harder than watching my Dad wrestle and tease my son. Nothing makes a lump form in my throat quicker than watching my mom play dolls with my daughter.

I don't know if we will always live near them, but today, it is one of my greatest treasures.

I'm a Texan for one reason: family.

It's also the reason I might move to North Dakota. 

(Just keepin' it real).

Mom and Dad, thank you for enriching my life, for loving me, for creating a beautiful inheritance of faith and for letting my son beat you at Clue.


And thank you for changing your plans this weekend so you can watch our toddler while we celebrate our son's first Boy Scout badge.

I love you.


Food for the Soul:
Proverbs 13:22 "A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children."

P.S. Why do you live where you live?
I know not everyone has parents that they would choose to live near or that are still living, I am sorry. I pray God fills that place in your heart if He hasn't already. Home is where the heart is.

87 comments:

Lori Robertson said...

This post brought tears to my eyes. Your love for your parents is so deep. I love your blog!!!

Unknown said...

What a sweet tribute to your mom and dad. And when your parents live close, the kids can spend the night with them! :)

Anonymous said...

Caught your tweet and had to check it out! First, what a lovely post and tribute to your parents. I feel the same way about family. Second, I love the fact that you include a link to the world's biggest breast implants in said tribute :).

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this post about your parents. I love them already, too.
My mother died when I was 8 years old, and I was adopted by my uncle and his wife who had no children. They have been very kind to me, and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but there is no one who can replace my own mother. As a teenager, sometimes my friends would criticize or complain about their mother, and it used to hurt so deep to hear them talk that way. Many times I have told friends, "you will never appreciate your mother until you don't have her any more. It's best to love her while you can."
Well, enjoy every moment you have together. Blessings to you.

Upstatemamma said...

That is so nice. I wish I had that type of relationship with my family. Having grandparents is so wonderful. I loved mine and I wish my kids had that as well.

Maureen Hayes said...

What a lovely tribute to your folks! Thanks for sharing it with us. I live with my mom, and I treasure each day we have together, knowing I am blessed. It is nice to hear from someone else who understands that.

Congratulations on your son's first Boy Scout badge as well!

Thanks for taking over WFMW, I had just learned about it and was looking forward to participating and now I will be able to!

God bless you!

Anonymous said...

We lived in Houston for 18 years before moving to Little Rhodey. I still say "y'all" while learning to drop all the "r's" at the end of words and putting them in words where they don't belong. I miss the Texan attitude. Enjoy your family! If you ever come to RI I can direct you to the very, very few places to get good iced tea.

Amy @ Living Locurto said...

Awww. So sweet! You're lucky to have great parents. I'm a Texan just because I like it:-) No family here y'all!

Anonymous said...

I'm an Oklahoman that moved to Texas six months ago for one thing: PhD School. I'm hoping we get to move back home when my husband finishes his degree. I miss my family and my neice running into my arms and squealing my name.

Marni's Organized Mess said...

Awwwwww... YAY! Congrats to your DS.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love my parents so much...and I miss Texas so much! I'm a Texan by birth who followed hubs' job to AZ and longs to get back home someday. :)

Vintage Dutch Girl said...

Firstly - HEAVENS TO BETSY what a link! Is she insane? Can't wait to see what happens in 30 years to her um, frontal region.

Secondly, I am with you on family being such an integral part of your day to day life. We moved 'home' closer to family 8 months ago and I am THRILLED to pieces about it.

Henley on the Horn said...

We lived near my parents and family for 10 years. It was WONDERFUL. I can't believe we were there 10 years. Now the Lord had new plans for us. He has taken us away from that comfort zone, and we have no family here. But, in all things, He is sovereign. He is with us. He will do great things for our family here. I am telling you this so it will convince me of these things!!! I miss those every day snippets. Our children won't have grandparents on the sidelines to cheer them on or to babysit regularly. However, we will continue to make new memories with more concentrated times together!! You are blessed, Kristen. Take LOTS of pictures.

VisibleSoulPhotography said...

You 'bout made me cry...and want to holler out Ya'll!

My daughter thinks her PawPaw is her BFF. I didn't have any grandparents growing up, so I'm really happy to see how close they are.

On the other hand, my kid thinks she should spend EVERY day at their house...she has her own room there too! Brat. LOL

Kate said...

I live where I live because of family too. :)

Carebear said...

Awww... that is a beautifully touching post. This is my first visit to your blog and what a pleasure it was to read that tribute to your parents. If it wasn't ten o'clock p.m., I'd call my own mom and thank her for all she does for my children and I. I also live near my family, in the same small hick town I grew up in, even though I swore when I left, I was gone for good! But it's a great, safe place to raise my own children. And best of all we're just 2 miles from grandparents, aunts, cousins and friends. Thanks for reminding me to be thankful.

Michelle said...

Congrats to your son on his first Cub Scout patch! I have a new Cub Scout too. We are getting ready to move across the country and I know we will miss our family but we are newly married and I hope it will also strengthen our relationship and help us to grow closer as a couple.

Anonymous said...

Sadly, I moved here to get away from my family. My mentally ill and abusive mother and my dad who was too busy with his new family to call me. My siblings, they're ok I guess. Course it all looks different now, almost 20 years later. Posts like yours make me very sad because I would love to have that kind of family but it never will.

Wifeof1Momof4 said...

Interesting post Kristen as we are praying about moving closer to my husband's family for these very .. same .. reasons... my parents are deceased and we want my inlaws to be a part of our children's lives .. especially now ..

Great tribute!

oooo and I hope it is not too late for a S.W.A.K. post :)

Anonymous said...

Amen! I live thousands of miles (1/2 way around the world) away from my parents. We are in full time ministry. I pray we can return to Texas (my heart's home) someday.

Anonymous said...

Amen! I live thousands of miles (1/2 way around the world) away from my parents. We are in full time ministry. I pray we can return to Texas (my heart's home) someday.

Anonymous said...

We live where ever my husbands job takes us! So far I have been in 10 states, My 7 year old has been in 5 and my 4 year old has been in 4. Lets pray that this is it! We lived in Texas, Mississippi, and Lousiana, so even though we are really North now, We all still say ya'll ( even sometimes all ya'll).
Our FAmily is not close geographically, but we sure do enjoy the times when we get to see them. My daughters will never have the kind of relationship with myprents that I had with my grandparents, but the have some many ooprtunities that I have never even dreamed of. IT is amazing how God fills the grandparent need by moving us to a neighborhood of wonderful retired folks. And provides a church family that makes one feel as if they always were here.

Thanks Kristen.

Unknown said...

This a beautiful tribute to your mom and dad!

Heidi said...

That was a very hard post to read. We left Texas in pursuit of my husband's dream job. We love where we live, we have many friends, but it is nothing like family. To not have that relationship with our family is hard on each one of us, my daughter the most. She asks to move back to Texas often. I am on the opposite side of this situation than you are, but my feelings are the same as yours.

blessedby6 said...

It is so refreshing to hear you speak about your family. I feel the same way about mine. We live right next door to my parents. We don't see them all of the time and they don't babysit often. But we are blessed to raise our 6 children with grandparents in their daily lives.

Dawn said...

What a nice tribute to your parents! It made me cry this morning...

We absolutely love Texas and can't imagine living anywhere else. You know the saying "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could!"? It fits us. Our only regret is that we don't have family here. Since being married, we've never lived in the same state as my parents. However, we travel to each other's home as often as possible. (They're here now!) And, we're hoping now that they are both retired, they'll move here.

Despite the distance, my parents have an active and important role in my kiddo's lives, too. What a blessing that is!

Umm... the ND comment? Yep, that deserves a little more details, don't ya think???

Blessings!

Anonymous said...

I live in the Chicago area for the same reasons as you. After college, I lived away for 4 years (mostly for stupidity, but that is a whole other story.) I knew that when I settled, I wanted to be back in Chicago with my family.

I'm so grateful I did and so glad I met someone here who was worthy enough of me to marry-- ok, make that someone who would consider marrying me. We do live far from my husband's family and it is hard on him at times.

As you know, for the last few months we have been struggling with my daughter's kidney failure. I am SO glad I was here because we needed all of my family's help during this time.

Anonymous said...

Such a blessing to have wonderful grandparents for your kids! We have some of those that are coming to visit today! They are not as close as we'd like, but they are good to make the drive often! I'm a Texan, too and love it! Mostly because I can wear flip-flops in January!

Joanna J. said...

This brought a tear to my eye because I feel the same way about my parents! What a blessing they are. One of my sorrows, however, is that they live 10 hours away. We try to see them as much as possible, but I pray that one day we will live closer and our daughter will have the opportunity to strengthen her relationship with them and see just how blessed she is to have them for grandparents!

Bailey's Leaf said...

Hubs lived about an hour away. We live here because I lived around here, but that wasn't the original plan. Hubs worked for the National Park and was looking to do a season out at Glacier National Park. We would have been there for about 6 months, but the positions dried up and we stayed around here. Hubs was making a pretty good name for himself in his field, which is hard to find positions in, and we just remained here. I guess that we didn't question it since we were here.

Anne said...

I LOVE Texas too! I've thought I would like living somewhere else, but I came right back "home" after I got it out of my system. We recently moved because we felt in our hearts it was something we needed to do, but when our time there was done we RAN, not walked, back!!

We also live near my parents, and I feel the same way you do about them: I love the influence they have, the lessons they teach and the different kind of love they give my children: the kind that doesn't tire out after 2 hours of a Littlest Pet Shop Talent Show and will make 3 different kinds of corn, just so everyone is happy!

We owe them so much- and I make it a point to let them know every chance I get! We are so blessed!

Pamela said...

After my husband retired from the Air Force and was going to school for a second career (a funeral director), we had moved to FL to be where it was warm. When it came down to where my husband was to go for mortuary school, we ended back up in the midwest (thought that we would live in FL forever!). We did that for a couple of reasons. First the school that my husband went to in Ohio is one of the best. My more importantly, our daughter was getting married and had settled down in Indiana. Most of our family was there. We knew if we were going to have a part of being in the life of any grandchildren, we would need to stay close by. I have never regretted the decision for one moment. I even got to watch my granddaughter every day while my daughter taught school for the first two years of her life. What a blessing. We have a closeness that words can't describe. My grandson came along about 18 months after my granddaughter. I was only able to watch the two of them together for a couple of months before my son became seriously ill. Although I am not a part of their everyday life now, we have dinner together every Friday night and I usually see them once during the week.

Family is important. We have been through a lot during the past couple of years and I don't know what I would have done without my family.

Anonymous said...

What a sweet post!

<3 Texas!

Unknown said...

Thanks for your post about Texas and really, family! I was born in Abilene, grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins all still there (parents in Oklahoma). Family is so important...when I was diagnosed w/cancer last summer and then had a recurrence last month, my mom didn't hesitate one bit and flew here (Virginia) from Oklahoma. I often wish we were closer but do love Virginia...

Anonymous said...

That is so sweet!

We have lived away from my parents for 13 years, but when my daughter graduates next year we are hoping to move closer. I can't wait!

Lindsay @ Makely said...

I really wish my parents lived close by. We are in Texas (Hey, Y'all!), but they are in Tennessee. They make a point to visit every 6 weeks or so, but I know they wish they lived right next door to their very first grandchild.

We lived 6 hours from my grandparents when I grew up, and I didn't get to see them as often as I wish I would have. My cousins, who lived much closer, have a much better relationship with them than I do. It makes me jealous and I feel like I've missed a lot.

You are a lucky duck, for sure!

Mary @ Giving Up On Perfect said...

I'm thankful to live near my family, too. They drive me CRAZY often, but to see my parents love on my little girl every Thursday night at our weekly dinner is such a blessing.

The Pennington Point said...

We are Texans through and through. We'd live here with or without family. For us, living near family is not the obvious blessing that it is for you. I am sure it is a blessing in that God is constantly growing us through the difficulties of being near my parents. We actually moved five hours away to get away from them (still in Texas though...wouldn't leave Texas!). I am so glad that it's a joy to you! Lisa~

Julia @ Hooked on Houses said...

We moved to be near my family a year after our son was born. Having his grandparents nearby has been an amazing blessing over the years, so I could relate to everything you said!

What's this about North Dakota? Are your parents moving there?

Happy Mommy said...

Wow I have a lump in my throat! I love having my family here near me too! Your thoughts on your dad made me miss my grandpa so much! Thank you for sharing!

Happy Mommy said...

Wow I have a lump in my throat! I love having my family here near me too! Your thoughts on your dad made me miss my grandpa so much! Thank you for sharing!

Patti said...

It was so hard leaving family when dh job brought us from TEXAS to FL. We return to visit as often as possible and remind the kids regularly that they are Texans by birth even after 12 years in the sunshine state. We tell tales of frying eggs on the sidewalk and of 100 degree temps in Feb. when I was pregnant with my only non-summer pregnancy (I know it was all my fault so sorry for that heat spell in '96 y'all.)
Thanks for sharing!

Deidra said...

I can relate to so much of what you said. I have wonderful parents but haven't lived near them since I got married almost 23 years ago. We've moved a lot and are currently in the midwest (a strange and glorious place to this East Coast girl), courtesy of full-time ministry. I understand being broken and bruised and just plain broke and hopeless. So glad you've had these years at home to refuel. Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful life with us today! I've been blessed.

Stephanie said...

My parents moved from MN to SC. They left a daughter in MN and have one in FL...but I'm in SC. I don't know if that makes me their favorite or just the most needy.

My mother is a Texan and my husband was born in TX. So I am a Texan by blood and marraige, and even though we live in SC our hearts are deep in the heart of Texas.

Lovely post.

Hook'm Horns!!!

Susan said...

I am extremely fortunate because my parents moved her several years ago and now live five minutes from me. I absolutely love it and, like you, feel very blessed.

Shoebee said...

I live in Maryland because that is where my ex was from. After our divorce, I would have moved closer to family, but the kids need their dad, so I stay here. I have developed great friendships and an even better church family. So, I live in Maryland because of my kids.

berrypatch said...

I lovingly call our place "The Berry Commune." My hubby & I moved back to where he grew up about five years ago. We have one long driveway & at the top is our place, his grandfather (who lives in the farmhouse he was born in 83 years ago) & my hubby's parents. I love it. We have three boys who can literally run across the driveway to visit either their great-grandfather or grandparents pretty much whenever they want to.

RLR said...

We don't live as close to our parents (spread among 3 cities and 2 states) as I'd like. We moved when our oldest child was 3 months old due to my husband's job transfer - but as a result of the job I was able to stay home with our son (and now our daughter, too). So, it was kind of bittersweet. I still wish they all lived closer or could visit more often. Truth be told, I'd love it if my mom lived in the same town - and she just may move here when she retires in a few years.

Amber D. said...

I love the relationship I have had with my grand and great grand parents. That is why it makes it so special to me when I see the same things you mentioned with my son playing with all of his grand and greats! We were even blessed to have his great great grandpa live with us for 2 and a half years!

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

We made the decision to give up potential career options in other states in order to live near our families. Yes, it meant we didn't have the whole country open to us for opportunities. But, like you, it meant our kids grew up knowing their grandparents and I wouldn't change a thing. For the first time ever, after 22 years, we moved three hours away. The time was right but I am still hoping eventually some grandparents will move here and join US where we are this time! :-)

Lori said...

What a great post! You are very blessed to have such a great family!

Anonymous said...

You are so lucky to live near your parents and I'm happy to hear that you know it. I live thousands of miles from parents and in-laws and it makes me sad that my kids don't know them very well. SO...enjoy it...at least while it lasts.

IE Mommy Blogger said...

What a wonderful tribute to your family. I am an adopted Texan...meaning both my parents were born in Texas as were my two older sisters. But I am a true blooded, born and raised California girl. I have to say I love California....all my family is here but I just love the climate, I love the area. This is home and I really wouldn't want it anyway else. Only in CA can you drive to the mountains and the beach all in the same day. It can be snowing in one town and 20 miles down the road it is sunshine. I honor my Texas roots but I am a California girl through and through :)
Thanks for the memory

Penny said...

Oh, Kristen. I could write blogs and blogs about the subject of family. My parents are so wonderful, and the reason we live where we do is because they are close (well, 90 mins away close, but I wish they were closer!).

Anonymous said...

What a sweet post! In our house home is where the Navy the sends us... currently it is Maryland. It has been nice to move around and experience different places, but I am ready to settle soon. Don't know how close to family I am willing to move though ;).
Toni

Musings of a Homeschooling Mom said...

Such a sweet post! Home is definitely where the heart is! We still live in the same city where we grew up. My Mom and both of his parents and stepparents all live within about 10 minutes of us.

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

This is really sweet. I'm where I am (Indiana) because of family, too. They need us and we need them. It would be so hard to move away. I wish they all wanted to move to Colorado, tho! : )

Steph

Kasey said...

I didn't know you lived in Texas. Makes me like you even more. : )

Sandy said...

Precious tribute to your parents! How blessed you are to have them in your life. Thanks for sharing the vision of how family enriches and beautifies our lives.

Carolina Mama said...

Speaking my love language especially this week. :)

BlueCastle said...

My parents actually moved to be near us, and it's such a blessing. Family is so important and I love watching them with my kids.

North Dakota is a wonderful place to live, by the way. :) I lived there for awhile and I kind of miss it now.

Anonymous said...

After my divorce, I was a homeless single mother who had a half-finished degree and the self-worth of a garbage can. We moved into my parent's house and I finished my degree, restored my dreams and self-worth, then moved away, but still close.

We were considering moving away, when my father was diagnosed with ALS. Of course, our plans changed. I'm so glad they did. These past two years have been precious, as he builds memories with his new grandchildren and established the same legacy of love that my oldest recieved.

That's why I am a Cali girl.

Brooke said...

i chose to live here because i was born here...because i'm a 5th generation resident in a county that attracts people from all over. i have roots here.

i live here because i enjoy eating lunch with my mom on fridays.

i live here because i want to be able to leave work to care for my dad after his surgery, or go to church with my grandparents.

Jenny said...

I also live where I live because of family. I grew up here and my parents, sister, aunt and cousin all live within 5 minutes of me.

When I met my husband, he always wanted to move to Hawaii. I'm not sure if he was that serious or not, because I couldn't even think about moving away from my Memaw. Heck, I couldn't even move 40 minutes away, because it was too far.

Of course, there are days when I wished I had moved to Hawaii. LOL!

Kris said...

I loved your post. In the years that we have been married we have been blessed with the opportunity to live near both sets of parents at different times.

At the moment, we live near my in-laws. I am very lucky to have such wonderful in-laws.

By, the way . . . where in North Dakota? I am from that area and it is not very often you see it talked about. Thanks for such a great blog.

Jennifer @ Conversion Diary said...

Thanks for this beautiful post. We also live in Texas, and also for the same reason. Even though my husband would have many more career opportunities elsewhere, we decided that having my kids grow up around their grandparents is invaluable.

Great post!

Tammy said...

Such a sweet post and sounds like you have wonderful folks!

I live where I live, because I do love it here... my MIL lives about 15 minutes too close and my parents live about 2 hours too far away. :-)

Anonymous said...

We live in Arizona for the same reason. And, because if I wanted to live near my side of the family, we'd have to sell one of our children each month to pay for the cost of living (it wouldn't last long). There is something special about your kids having a relationship with their grandparents.

Alicia said...

What a beautiful tribute! We're Texans, but unfortunately there are no submarine bases in the DFW metroplex. Stupid Navy! We are blessed to make it "home" several times a year to see our families. And I long for the day we can live down the street from my parents. Until then, I thank God daily for His grace, for using us where we are and for the technology to talk to Mimi and Papaw daily.

ThriftyMommy said...

We live where we live because my husband is in full-time ministry. We're only about 5 hours from my parents, but in my opinion, that is too far. I long to call them on the phone and tell them to come over for a while or to ask them to watch my kids so I can have some alone time. My parents have a great relationship with my kids, which I am thankful for. It would be sweeter if we lived closer, but we're making due the best that we can. I also spoke to my dad this week about getting a webcam.

Anonymous said...

We live where we live so we could see my husband, my kid's dad. Where we lived before, he had to work all the time because his "company" was short so many employees. Five years ago we moved to a department in a city that wasn't so horribly understaffed. It was the best move we've ever, ever made. And my parents followed 2 years later :-)

Dawn @ simply transparent said...

we live smack dab in the middle of both our parents..it's just what happened and because of this it works that our kids know that are not lacking..makes it home for sure.

Born raised and started our family all in the same town..it's where are hearts belong..afterall they don't call it "Heart of the Hills" for nothing.. :)

D... said...

We had a lot of family in Memphis, yet we moved to Houston. My mom moved down here also. There was no way she'd live in city different than her grandchildren! I am immensely grateful that my children have her in their lives. But, I am sad that they don't have a grandfather close. We did make the best decision to move. Of that I'm sure.

Staci said...

I love this post and your blog! I was born and raised in Houston but recently moved to Canada for my husband's job. Having 3 kids and being very very close to my family has made the move very difficult. I hope to move back as soon as the job will allow. I miss Texas so much, not just my family but Texas. I am so proud to be a Texan!

Becky said...

What a wonderful tribute to your parents!

I LOVE living in Texas because of the people. I mean where else can you live that when you are in line at the grocery store you strike up a conversation with the person behind you and end up asking them over for a bar-b-que? Having never met them before? hahaha

Where else can you go to another country (Mexico), the beach and a full working ranch all in the same day?

Seriously I have never lived any where else and I'm not sure I could.

jenny said...

well as for me i'm a longhorn coby get it? i'm part texan &wisconsin and well texas is the place i realy love to be. after all thats where most of my family is for that most of my family history. infact at one time my 4th grate grand pa use to own the land where the city of houston now sits. yes i'm nut's abt. texas it a realy fun and grate place to be

Jodee said...

What a sweet post for your parents. We live one hour from my family and three hours from my hubby's family! It is so nice living in the same state!

Erica said...

Honey, I loved your post. I'm sorry, however, that what stays with me more is the picture of those ridiculously ginormous boobies engraved in my brain. That is just sad. And not in any way attractive. Yet it's stuck in my head, and I blame you. :)

Anonymous said...

Home is where the heart is. That's why I live in cold, damp Oregon instead of warm, sunny Florida where I was born and raised. My heart was here and the rest of my body was in Florida. I finished college first so I uprooted myself (and ouch! they were deep roots!) and moved across the country to be with the man who held my heart. 17 years and 4 kids later we are still here and it's still cold and damp. Granted Oregon is a beautiful state. All that dampness keeps things very green. I miss Florida sunshine though, and sweet tea on demand, and Chick-fil-a, and people who say y'all, and more than all of that my family. My mom only gets to see the kids a few times a year and it's getting harder for her to sit on an airplane for so many hours. My husband's parents and his grandmother live about 4 hours away and they are awesome. I am so glad that my kids are growing up with their Godly influence. I'm enjoying getting to know you via your blog. You've made me smile a lot this week as I've read through your past posts. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Home is where the heart is. That's why I live in cold, damp Oregon instead of warm, sunny Florida where I was born and raised. My heart was here and the rest of my body was in Florida. I finished college first so I uprooted myself (and ouch! they were deep roots!) and moved across the country to be with the man who held my heart. 17 years and 4 kids later we are still here and it's still cold and damp. Granted Oregon is a beautiful state. All that dampness keeps things very green. I miss Florida sunshine though, and sweet tea on demand, and Chick-fil-a, and people who say y'all, and more than all of that my family. My mom only gets to see the kids a few times a year and it's getting harder for her to sit on an airplane for so many hours. My husband's parents and his grandmother live about 4 hours away and they are awesome. I am so glad that my kids are growing up with their Godly influence. I'm enjoying getting to know you via your blog. You've made me smile a lot this week as I've read through your past posts. Thanks!

Misti of Studio M Designs said...

What a wonderful daughter you are to praise your parents openly and whole-heartedly. I applaud you! This is such a sweet post, my parents are in the same state but still pretty far away and I miss hanging out with them terribly. We are several hours away, too far to jump in the car to catch a basketball game or to come sit while we run to the doctors office. I am sure they are so happy to have you back home!
Blessings to you~
Misti

Lisa said...

Ah, K, that brought a tear to my eye. Nearly set of grandparents of ours is very involved, but when I'm older that's exactly the type of grandmother I want to be. Beautiful post.

Lynn said...

Family is such a blessing for us too. PA will always be "home" for me. We are hoping to move there in a few years. Not only are my parents there, but most of my extended family including a TON of cousins are still there.

Beautiful tribute.

Anna said...

I live in Colorado. It's not near my family, and it's not where I grew up, but it is Home.
My husband grew up here, and it's just an amazing place to live. In my city in particular, I have cornfields (beloved from my Illinois roots) AND mountains.

And the bonus is that we do live near my husband's parents. We don't always get along, but because we were away from our families for 6 years, we do appreciate them. Especially the kids. :)

Lisa said...

Oh you got me again with this posting. Tears in my eyes knowing how truly thankful you are. I love being around my grandchildren and consider it a blessing to have them. A blessing to be in their lives. A duty to love AND correct them. An honor to be their grandma and papa. I think grandparents play a very important role in those children's lives and I hope that I get to continue doing just that.
What a lovely tribute to your parents! I am sure they won't mind you talked about them this time!

Melissa R said...

We live where I grew up. 2,000 miles away from my in laws (ahhh!) and only 2 miles away from my mommy (my father died 4 years ago). And my brothers, and their families, and my grandparents (how lucky am I to have grandparents in my life!!!). And my cousins. Everyone. Just about. Everyone is here. I live where I live because my husband's company's main office is here, because the ocean is here (how people live without ocean is hard for me to understand!), but most of all because my family is here. My husband has been offered jobs elsewhere, but that can't compare with what we would be leaving behind. I don't want to ever just "visit" my mom. She is part of my, almost, daily life and I plan on keeping it that way.

Anonymous said...

Awwww, that's a really sweet post. I lived in Texas for about three months, when I was in BMT for the Air Force...I only got to do a bit of traveling around San Antonio, but what I saw I loved. The one thing I couldn't stand about Texas, though, was the fireants!!! Those puppies are vicious!