cheese balls

I was going to say it felt like a whirlwind but that's not true. The truth is it ACTUALLY WAS a whirlwind! Within a matter of weeks my sister and her husband, who have been youth pastors in Ponca City for several years, were contacted by a church in Texas, interviewed with them, accepted the youth pastor position at a new church and then sold their house and moved away! Whew! Like I said...whirlwind! Amid the chaos of their move we had to set aside some quality family time to hang out. There weren't many options before they had to be in Texas so we decided to have them come visit on a Sunday evening, spend the night and then I took the boys out of school on Monday so that we could simply spend time together.

On Sunday night, myself and several of Rae's closest friends surprised her with dinner out. She thought she was just going to dinner with me but then when we walked into the restaurant there were the comforting and familiar faces of life long friends! We talked for hours and had the best time! The next day we took it slow. The kids played at the house while everyone got dressed for the day. I can't help but tell a funny story on my nephew, Noah. He was in the living room playing with his mommy's phone pretending to take pictures of every one and every thing. He would walk up to me and say "Cheese Ucka!" and then walk up to Ashtyn and say "Cheese Ash!" He would even go up to random objects and say "Cheese TV!" and "Cheese books!" That was funny enough but then he walked to the coffee table, pointed the phone at the basket of decorative balls I have sitting out and said "Cheese Balls!" Ha! We all laughed hysterically! I don't know why it was so funny but it was hilarious to see Noah say "Cheese Balls!" over and over again and him not catch on that "cheese balls" are a real thing! He just wanted them to smile for the picture!

We really wanted to take the kids to the park (that was the original plan) but, of course, the weather got suddenly cold and we just couldn't endure it. So we took the kids to Chick-fil-A instead! Happy (and yummy) compromise!

After exhausting ourselves on waffle fries we went to Target. I pushed Noah around in a buggy while the big kids looked at toys. Noah wanted me to pick up every single item we came across! And he wasn't shy about telling me what he wanted either! If he saw something that piqued his interest and pointed it out and I didn't stop immediately to pick it up and hand it to him he would start bouncing and kicking and pointing and YELLING until I went back for it! Only an auntie could find that endearing! I only wish I could have bought him every toy that ended up in our buggy...

Before Casey and Rae had to head back to Ponca City we went to Orange Leaf for some frozen yogurt. I think it's safe to say they are enjoying themselves...and the frozen yogurt too, of course!

I can't even put into words how sad I am that my sister and her family have moved away. And that's what I do...put things into words! My parents and youngest sister already live in Connecticut and now Rae lives in another state too. No fun! Rae and I talked before they moved and vowed to each other that we will never become those aunts whose nieces and nephews "kind of" remember them...and we definitely ARE NOT going to let our kids become distant cousins who have vague memories of each other as small children but don't really know each other at all. We are determined but we know it will not be easy, though living in a world of FaceTime will make it much much easier. Obviously, we are so happy for Aunt Rae, Uncle Casey, Elia and Noah! We know they will do great in Texas but that won't stop us from praying continually for their return to Oklahoma! We love you Johnson family! We can't wait for our first visit to your new city!