Life as We Know It

It's been a while...I know...let's skip this bit and say it was just yesterday.  A lot has happened in the last few months; I'm sure everyone can say that.  I'll not bore you with the horrendous details about the plane trip, but I just had a lovely trip back home to see my parents and family.  It really was a fantastic trip and it was great to finally meet baby Isaiah.  He's such a cutie and I didn't even mind waking up every two hours to his tiny infant screams, and I actually enjoyed him sleeping on my tummy at 5:30 a.m. after his poor mommy was exhausted.  Jodie is a beautiful mother and it was such a blessing to spend time with them even if I bawled worse than Isaiah when it was time to leave.
I also got to spend a bit of time with Aaron even though Mom and I had to suck up the tears and send him off to college.  I think his roomates thought we were a bit too attached, but they had forgotten all about me apparently because the next time they saw me I was mistaken for Aaron's girlfriend.  It had never occured to me that only girls check for other girls wedding rings.
This blog would get way too long if I went into detail about everyone I visited while I was in the states.  I think everyone that saw me could tell how happy I was to be back and see Mom and Dad and Papa and Mema.  Before I forget, I did get to spend some time in Nathan and Savannah's sweet new house, and just so everyone's clear, Nathan's completely immune to the side-effects of anesthesea.  Other than mild rage issues directed at the car he insisted I bulldoze over, our trip home from getting his wisdom teeth removed was ridiculously uneventful.  Also, I liked driving his truck.  It had been a while since I had driven a good ole American, Ford. 
Anyways, it's back to the land down under.  I had lots of people remind me that I had a blog and that I needed to keep up with it better.  Consider this my reinstatement, and forgive my tardiness. 
It's spring here in Australia and as I've heard from the lady next door in about fifty different signals the weeds are really bad this year.  I'm not sure if she got the memo that I'm not a professional at this gardening stuff, and she definitely missed the memo that I'm not super-woman and I've been gone for two months.  Needless to say, our yard is worse than the Amazon rain forest, and I'm REALLY REALLY embarassed.  Jamie and I got up early Saturday morning and we barely had our sleeves rolled up and our hands in the dirt for more than fifteen minutes when I started crying in dispair.  The man next door came out to dump something in his compost and asked me how I was doing.  I just stood there for about fifteen seconds fighting all the sarcastic things I wanted to say while I was standing in waist high weeds.  Let's just move on.  (I really hope the man next door doesn't read this what with it being on the world-wide-web and all.)
The dogs are happy I'm home, Jamie is extatic that I'm home, and the house is practically beaming now that I'm back home.  I think I'm not over the hill yet, but I think I'm well on my way to settling here in Jarrahdale.  Thanks to some encouraging words from my dad and the trip back to the states to check if my family was alright, I can now buckle down and call this home.  It is really, and I think a good dose of being a way for a tad bit too long was just the right medicine.  I didn't realize just how needed I was here, and while a part of me will always be permantly tied to the places and people in the U.S.A., it's nice to know I can make new ties here.  Yes, I miss everything.  Yes, I want to come back.  Yes, Jamie will have to give me a big box of tissues and then some chocolate every three weeks to cheer me up, but I'm happy.  Who knew happiness was a choice?
I'll leave the rest of what's on my mind for next time, but because I miss country music so much, I want to leave you with a song title that means a lot to me :).



"Stand"  by Rascall Flatts