Week 6- Tennessee

I was so thankful to be bringing Brian back to Knoxville with us for our second week there! His Dad is aging a lot faster than any of us are ready for, so getting Brian home to spend more time with him was so special. 

It was a pretty chill week together, with a  few trips around town to our favorite book store and a new taco shop, a drive around UT and to find some sushi, and a few projects around the house for Brian to lend a hand, but overall just lots of family time- 

Check out the sunset one night when the kids- big and little- were outside playing laser tag in the yard-

Macy wanted to go see the house where Brian grew up, which they lovingly still refer to as "Rocky Top," which George built on the other side of town from where they live now. The property is beautiful-

And so is the house- 

Tate has needed to shave off his first mustache for a couple of months now, but we were delaying so that Brian could teach him how to shave when we get home... thank goodness that Brian came back to the US so that he didn't have to wait another month or two! 

He and Brian went to the store together to buy his own razor and shaving cream-

These two on these tiny bikes looked liked a circus act- 

More fun with Gracie-

And Tate still couldn't get enough of the new cat-And then just like that it was time for us to say good-bye to the McCulloughs and Brian. On Sunday 7/12 we flew back to California to wait out the rest of our evacuation, and Brian went back to DC for a week of work...I HATED saying good-bye to Brian and could feel the disconnect happen as soon as we walked away and I went back into single mom mode...

Macy's face here on the plane says it all- 

I was so very grateful to have had these last 6.5 weeks with our family and friends, getting another taste of America and being home- and being healthy and safe. As much as I wanted to go home with Brian, I was so happy that we had some downtime ahead of us back in California. And my heart was especially happy for Tate and Macy who just experienced something that most kids even over a normal summer never get the chance to have- a 6 week vacation with family and friends! 6 weeks! Lucky kids. Evacuation? Nah. Adventure!

We road tripped for over 2,000 miles, through 6 states, sleeping in 6 beds/couches, 2 hotels and an RV! Sure it was a risky time to be boarding a plane to go off traveling, but I had to take advantage of this bonus time back in the US to be with our family & friends, and just could not waste the days sitting around waiting to go back “home” to Jakarta.

So off we went to make lemonade out of lemons! We practiced good hygiene, masked up, kept our social circles small, and said lots of prayers as we made each day count, making tons of cherished new memories.

The very best part of this entire trip was when Brian called and said “I’ll be in DC tomorrow for work” and we got to spend the last 12 days with him as a family of 4!

Thank you to everyone in Tennessee, Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and West Virginia who made us feel absolutely welcomed and at home when we were with you. My heart is full of gratitude.

Still not sure about when we will get to go home... I’ve been doing this single mom, homeless, evacuee thing for 15 weeks so far now and I’m so ready for it to be over. But, there have been many unexpected blessings during this time, and this trip with the kids was for sure the biggest!