Anticipation

As I write this I am sitting in our office listening to Carter ask me for the 400th time (I promise you, I am not exagerating!) "When is Kyle coming?" Kyle is our 17 year old nephew who lives in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He is the son of Rusty's oldest brother, Brian. Brian also has three daughters and a wonderful wife, but Carter does not seem concerned as to when, or even if, they are coming. Also, on the road heading this way, are Rusty's parents. Again, Carter does not seem nearly as excited that Grandpa and Grandma are also on their way. He thinks Kyle hung the moon! I was sitting here thinking about how we all handle the anticipation of events differently. I, on the other hand, have been up since dawn, cleaning like a mad woman, hanging every picture that hasn't been hung yet. Abby has been busy "decorating" her bedroom for their arrival. By decorating, I mean finding every bit of scrap paper, empty paper towel roll and Pop-Tart box in the house, and then making a "city" for her Littlest Pet Shop toys. Those of you who know me well, know this is a huge pet-peeve of mine. I throw it in the trash, and Abby comes behind me and pulls it out. Her new nickname is "MacGyver". She is so creative, it's pretty amazing to watch the things she creates with what I call "trash"! Paige has been anxiously awaiting their arrival by finding everything she has wanted to show Brittany (Brian's middle daughter) in the last two months and laying it across her dresser. This includes printing off every funny email (Thanks Aunt Kelli!) that she has received since the move. She has grown up so much this summer. She has really turned into such a beauiful young lady. It scares the heck out of her dad! Middle school is just around the corner! Oh my!! Rusty is also very excited his family is coming. His office @ the church is pretty much complete and we have finally narrowed down a facility and a date for launch (Levine Center, 9/9/07) so he is excited to show the family around town. It has been hard being away from all of our family. I think I have had the hardest time. You don't realize how much you relied on them until they are a 12 hour drive away. I plan on enjoying every minute of this weekend. I'm sure with 7 kids in the house it will be crazy at times, but the laughter of 7 cousins playing together is just the medicine my homesick heart needs!