Year of the Visitor: Part 11, The Final Chapter

In keeping with my recent life tendencies, this post is overdue, but I'm getting it done nonetheless.

Six days ago we said goodbye to our last set of visitors (unless of course, we have some surprise visitors sometime in the next 16 days, which we are open to!) in Scotland: my parents and my 11 year old nephew Noah. We had an awesome time with them and got to do some sightseeing things we hadn't done yet.

It was pretty easy to say goodbye since we knew we'd see them in three weeks.

I hadn't spent that much non-stop time with my nephew in years and it was such a blast to see how he's grown and changed. He's developing quite the sense of humor and is very witty. He's also incredibly thoughtful and generous for a boy his age. He kept us laughing which made the entire trip (and especially the car rides to far-away sightseeing places) much more fun!

Pictures soon to come, for now it's back to packing.

Here it comes...

The end. It's scarily close. I still can't believe we'll be moving away from Dornoch in merely a month and four days. I feel like we were just preparing for goodbyes and taking care of all the details of moving to Scotland a couple of months ago, not the couple of years ago that it was.

We talk about the logistics of moving all the time: the stuff we need to get rid of, what needs to be packed, our schedule once we get home (which is already super busy for the first 2.5 months of being there. oh yeah, and then 1 month after that we'll have a baby, so that will be a bit busy as well. a great kind of busy though!), the growing to-do list, etc. But I don't think it's hit me that we're actually, seriously, really, physically, leaving. I take that back, it started to hit me tonight.

We just got home from being treated to an awesome dinner (at Luigi's, our favorite restaurant in Dornoch which we will miss immensely) with some wonderful friends. Two couples we have had the joy and privilege of meeting and getting to know over the past two years: Valerie & Alister and Fin & Margo. They have been such an encouragement to us, more so than I think they'll ever know or than I could accurately express. Their lives are incredible testaments to God's faithfulness, they reflect his love in such vivid ways.

They showered us with beautiful gifts, handmade gifts that are both very unique and will be great reminders of our time in Dornoch. I tried to express our gratitude for the gifts as well as for their friendship, but of course the words seemed to come out in a blubbering mess that didn't amount to anything close to what I was trying to say. And it was then that I realized a few things: 1. there were some tears looming precariously on the horizon, 2. the hope is that we will visit Dornoch and see all of our friends again, but who knows what the future holds, there will probably be people we might never ever see again in this lifetime, and 3. this whole leaving business is tough work.

All things that I've known previously, but the reality of situations usually hits us slowly; a fact which I am eternally grateful for since it dramatically decreases my rate of freaking out and being overwhelmed by various events.

We are different people than when we were two years ago. Different in a good way. We've had to experience things we never would've wanted to experience, and we've also experienced things we never dreamed we'd be able to experience. We feel like we've grown as a result of those things, which makes each one of them worthwhile.

I'm rambling, but at least it's an accurate reflection of what my brain is like at the moment: a jumbled mess.

Summary: I'm so grateful, for all the people who have graciously and lovingly welcomed us to into their lives. You will all forever hold a place in our hearts.

ps. Alister and Fin are incredibly talented artists. You should definitely see some of their work: Al is a graphic design artist, and Fin is a photographer.

a few pregnancy related items

*We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday! It was even more amazing than I expected.

*We're finding out the sex of the baby on July 1st. I'd like to say I could keep it a secret, but as I've learned in the past, I'm not very good at keeping my own secrets. (I am good at keeping other people's secrets, so fear not, if you've told me a secret, it's locked up safe in the vault.)

*I can't remember the last time I had a pimple. My face is loving pregnancy

*The bouts of nausea are almost completely gone.

*The exhaustion is lessening.

*My love of fruits and vegetables has grown exponentially in the last 16 weeks. I could eat them constantly. Here is a list of fruits and vegetables I ate today: banana on my cereal; a chicken sandwich with yellow pepper, cucumber, tomato, and avacado; broccoli; a salad with romaine, spinach, yellow pepper, tomatoes, cucumbers, and strawberries. And I'd love a kiwi right now.

*There's definitely a bit of a belly, but so far it just looks like a pudgy belly, not a pregnant belly.

*It's still kinda weird to look down and see that belly.

*Since I've realized how incredibly expensive baby things are, I'm becoming an even bigger fan of gently used items. Got anything you want to sell?

*I've decided to see a nurse-midwife instead of my Ob-Gyn when we get home and I'm really excited about it. If you had asked me two years ago to make this switch I would've said "absolutely not, no way, no how."

*I've heard now is the time some people start feeling their babies kick, so I'm paying very close attention. Nothing yet.

*Though it's a ways off, I'm stoked about the idea of going jogging with our baby. Well, I guess I already do go jogging with our baby.

*Sometimes I wonder if the baby hates it when I go jogging. Must be a bumpy ride for him

*If I didn't have such an awesome husband who makes me rest and stops me from doing too much, I'd be way more exhausted than I am.

*I'm experiencing a miracle, right inside my own body.

*OK, so that was more than just a few items, but oh well.