I'm back...

Well, I'm back from a very emotional trip to Georgia. It was nice to be there to share this time with Jan and with Jennifer. We visited Ryan's grave and the accident site and put flowers at both sites. So, so sad. When I visited the accident site I couldn't help wondering what Ryan was thinking in those seconds between the time he lost control of the truck and the time he died. I guess the comfort, if you want to call it that, is that Ryan didn't suffer. Everything happened really quickly. And I got to meet (and hold, of course) Ryan's son that he'll never have a chance to hold. Noah Ryan Donkersgoed is such a cutie. He was born 3 weeks early, so he's little. He weighed 6 lbs when he was born and came out of the hospital weighing 5 lbs, 12 oz. Even then he was just a few ounces bigger than Hope was when she was born...and a pound bigger than Hope was at her lowest weight (4 lbs 13 oz). As I held Noah I couldn't believe that Hope was ever that little. I think Jennifer is doing as well as can be expected, but I don't think it's really hit her yet. I don't think she realizes what she has ahead of her. Maybe that's OK. Maybe that's survival mode. Maybe none of us really realizes what lies ahead of us...and maybe that's for the best. There's one lesson I really came home with from this trip: don't take ANYONE in your life for granted. In a matter of seconds they could be taken away from you. So love them, even with their faults.

On a more pleasant note, I got an email from Dawn today. YEAH!!! She left River Falls a couple of weeks ago and I miss her terribly! She's due with Baby Spies a month from today (although she's going to have him on Sept 18...my 40th birthday). Dan is now officially a Navy chaplain and his job is going well. I was just so happy to hear from her and know that they traveled from New Port, RI, to Gulfport, MS, safely and they're doing well.

Saturday was Mark's 47th birthday. We had a good day despite the rain. We went to Red Wing to check on a car and then we headed to Wabasha (MN) to the National Eagle Center. Hope got her picture taken with a bald eagle named Angel. If you saw the picture you'd think that maybe Mark was having more fun than Hope was. At the end of the day we ended up eating supper at Mariachi Loco (the Mexican restaurant in River Falls which is DELICIOUS!!). When we pulled into the parking lot Hope's eyes got big, she clenched her fists and said, "I'm excited! I'm excited!!" hehehe She loves eating there and was so happy we were going to have supper there. LOL I ate a lot of Mexican food while I was pregnant with her, so even the salsa doesn't bother her.

Thanks for checking in on the Brue family!