Backing up

Life has largely consisted of this for six weeks:

Get up, go to work, come home, cook dinner, eat, play, work until I can't stay awake, and sleep for a few hours. Rinse, repeat.

Because of that routine, I've not even come close to keeping up with my blog. So forgive me as I back WAY up.

Let's see... April 14 is where I want to go. That day I took Noah with me and traveled to NE Ohio for my Aunt Shar's funeral. My family's relationship with my Aunt Shar was a bit complicated. What it boils down to is that my Grandma Dilley & my Grandpa took in Aunt Shar when she was in her late teens after a really horrible tragedy (to Aunt Shar, not to us). Since then, Shar was a bit like a sister to my mom, aunts & uncle, and a lot like an aunt to me and my siblings, particularly when we were young.

A recent stroke made recovering impossible for Shar, and she passed away mid-April. So I wanted the chance to go up and say my goodbyes to Shar, and I always welcome a chance to see my family.

As it turns out, a confusion about the funeral time had me missing the church wake (I know... it's so like me), but we were able to travel to the graveside ceremony. There is something so simple and sincere about a graveside service. Just a prayer, a Bible verse, and then goodbye.

Since I had just gotten there, however, I took up Mom, Dad & Uncle Jeff on an offer to have a cup of coffee at Jeff & Em's house before hitting the road again.

Noah certainly didn't know it was a somber occasion. He was a wild man at Uncle Jeff's house—running in and out of the front porch and trying to climb in McCamey's exersaucer. And let's not forget the Bumbo. He has such an affinity for those things... every time he sees one, he MUST sit in it, despite the fact that he outgrew it years ago.

Look at sweet McCamey! She's already seven months old...

Noah wanted to take a picture of Grandma & Papa.

Isn't that a great mom/daughter shot?

And here's that Bumbo... obviously not meant for toddlers!