Going Home

Well, this last weekend, we were able to go home for the first time since moving to San Angelo. For François, this was the first time he had been home since he left for basic training in February. We were in Plano for less than 48 hours, but we tried to cram in as much as we possibly could. We got in late Friday night and, despite our best attempts, Anaïs was wide awake when we rolled into town. She was just too excited to sleep! We stayed with François' parents in Parker, and Anaïs was wide awake at 6:40am to play with Grandma! After breakfast, we headed over to François' brother Andre's house to see his and his wife, Gretchen's new baby - Faye. Of course, Anaïs likes to sing to babies, and cousin Faye was no exception.

Anaïs was also very concerned about Faye's belly button. She was obsessed with Giselle's while it was healing. She is very sensitive to other people's pain. She is often most sweet to others when she thinks they are hurting. (She has also said she really wants to be a doctor so she can help people who have ow-ies.)

We then had lunch with good friends of ours, Sarah and Jason Rains and their daughter, Emma. Emma is about a year younger than Anaïs and she really enjoys playing with her! Then it was time for the girls to nap and Mom and Dad to get some errands done. After errands and naps were done, we were able to catch up with our good friends James and Kristin DelMul and their beautiful baby girl Ranae Joelle and our friends Heather and Thomas Hoyt. It was good just spending time with family and friends - laughing and catching up. That night, we had dinner with François' parents at our favorite Chinese restaurant and then went back home to try and get a little sleep (i.e. get to bed at 9pm - an hour later than our usual hit-the-sack time).

Sunday morning, we were honored to be able to attend Ranae DelMul's baby dedication. It was at James and Kristin's home church, Grace EFC in Lucas. They were so cute - and Ranae didn't cry at all! I know mommy was happy with that. =) It was great to see old friends as well. François wore his Class A's and he was very handsome (many women told me so!). After church, we were able to visit with Lindsay and Cody Jackson and our old friend from Chili's, Daryl Hamel. Daryl is in the Army as well, and he is leaving for his first tour in Iraq in a couple days. After lunch was over, we stopped one more place before heading out of town. We visited with Bryan and Tania Bannister and their precious little girl, Ava. It was great to see her - she is such a doll!

All in all, it was a fast - but wonderful - trip! François and I both were exhausted physically, but renewed emotionally from getting to visit with friends and family. We are looking forward to coming again!

In the pictures above (L to R): Cody and Lindsay Jackson and us; François with niece Faye; Thomas Hoyt, me, and Kristin DelMul; Pastor Joel Walters, Kristin, Ranae, and James DelMul at the baby dedication; Daddies Unite! James and Ranae, François and Giselle; Sarah, Anna, and me!