Home is where your heart is. If this is true my heart is smashed all over the world because so are the people that I love. I was raised in Indiana and my husband was raised in Nebraska. After having three beautiful girls we are constantly working to combine our two worlds. I want my girls to love Nebraska just as much as they love Indiana. Every year we try to drive to Nebraska as much as we can. School schedules make that more difficult nowadays. However, as soon as school lets out we load the kids in the car and take the ten and half hour drive to see our Nebraska people. Well actually 11 hours with all the stops. My husband spent almost 20 years of his life in Lincoln, Nebraska. He has lived in that city for longer than he has lived anywhere else. I want my girls to know as much about their father as humanly possible. That includes where he grew up and all the people that were involved in his childhood.
We have a massive amount of Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins that reside in the Lincoln area. Going back is not just a visit, it is a homecoming. I love when we are able to get together and it seems like we are always able to pick up right where we left off. Catching up on kids, activities, trips, and everything else that is happening in our lives while we are apart is just one of the amazing things about a Nebraska visit. All our kids create a gang and cause as much havoc as possible. On our last trip the children actually all picked up sticks and created a tiny five person kid air band which included banjo and violin among the instrument list.
My husband only has one sibling. His sister still lives in Lincoln and recently bought a new house. She was so nice to let my kids break it in for her. I LOVE that Aunt Megan pours so much love into my children. She does everything that she can to spend as much time with my little girlies while we are there. Snuggling the toddler, shopping with the preteen, and coloring with the 5 year old are just a few things that make her so amazing. She even took on the chaos of baking a birthday cake for my father-in-law with all 3 little helpers. We should obviously submit her for sainthood.
My mother-in-law passed away about 4 years ago however Grampa Randy still lives in Nebraska. My girls love running all over his land and feeding the fish in his big pond. They love to admire all the pretty fountains that he has and so much amazing nature. My father-in-law takes so much time to bake chocolate chocolate chip cookies with my crazy girls. I also think that they have to taste every single one to make sure it is not poisonious. Graciously he puts on kidz bop and plays it at max volume for a huge dance party in his living room. Kidz bop is not in his normal music rotation but he is happy to play it because it makes my girls move with so much joy. This last trip we got to celebrate another rotation around the sun for this man who loves my little ladies. Happy Birthday Grampa Randy!
I love that so many people delight in my children. I love that we have family all over the country that love my girls. I love that all those people will take time to pour into my ladies. I have always said "The more people who love my kids. The better." There will never be a number cap on the amount of people who are able to love my girls. Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Nevada are just a few places that our amazing family resides. Some of them we have not seen in person for a long time but I know that we are still connected. I know when we get the chance to visit or they get the chance to visit here it will be like we were never apart. Family and friends imprint upon our lives and will forever be a part of our journey. Therefore I have to conclude that a day of traveling in a car with 3 small children is a small price to pay for the love that is shared when we get to Nebraska.
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