For Christmas I finally finished turning my old blog into photo books for my kids. It was a labor of love and I’m very relieved to have recaptured all those words I wrote. My words only existed on the entropy susceptible internet, so it was possible that at some point they would disappear. Something I noticed as I re-read my old posts from a different life was that I mused a lot more. Lately I find myself content to explain and caption, but not really elaborate too much on my deeper thoughts and emotions. Oh I share a bit, but there’s always more. As I get older I don’t think I’m getting shyer, oh goodness no. If anything I think I’m just becoming more aware of what is actually worth sharing. My blog now is more about documenting the big “photo worthy” moments of our life and less about the mundane day to day stuff. Better or worse or just different…it’s where I’m at right now in this moment.
Well, this moment last week I was in Tualatin, Oregon enjoying a long over-due visit with my grandparents and aunt and uncle. When my mom passed away at first Grandma and Grandpa Ballard thought they would just stay put and me and my sister in law could help as needed. Heavenly Father had another option. What if they moved closer to Jim and Becky (my mom’s little brother and his wife)? Well, a few months ago Grandpa developed an infection deep in his hip replacement joint and it was bad. But Jim (a world renowned Orthopedic surgeon) was just the kid to be helping them through all of that. They were exactly where they needed to be.
I miss them. They’ve always been a presence, if not a full force of nature in my life since I was born. My kids are as close to them as most kids are to their grandparents, not great grandparents. They are slowing down but we squeezed in a scenic drive and some lovely outings with Jim and Becky. My two sisters who live in California were supposed to meet me there for the weekend, but the LA fires complicated that plan and only Baylie was able to come. McCall was missed and we soldiered on as best we could.

When my girls get older and up to their eyeballs in life, I’m hoping that we can make it so they can escape every now and then either by themselves or with their main men. I read “Gift from the Sea” over the weekend, and was reminded how beneficial it is to escape every now and then. I was really terrible at it when my babies were babies and I’m hoping my girls will be better than me at fighting for time for themselves.
Great food (I’m so glad Jim is a sushi guy…it’s been a while since I had sushi. He’s also an aspiring grill master: smoked filet mignon. Fuggetaboutit.), better company (it was so fun to just chat and catch up with everyone), and a chance to really slow down and think deeply about life, the universe, and everything.