Heaven might be in Pennsylvania

For what feels like the first time in nearly thirteen years of marriage, we finally managed to visit someone who lives in a town other than our parents, for an occasion other than a wedding.


Our weekend with the T'urdine branch of the family has been full of laughter and Legos, giggles and good food, comedy and plain old enjoying one another's company. It has also been full to bursting with trees.

Make no mistake, I love my new home state of Texas. I most of all love Texas in April, when wildflowers are in bloom and the gnarly winter limbs of the giant live oaks cover themselves with their leafy summer dress. Crape myrtles bloom all summer long, adding white, pink, and lavender dots to the sun-drenched landscape. But the hardy desert flora has a different kind of beauty from the lush and vibrant greenery found in the northern part of the country.

My soul has felt restored by the trees, the hills, the rivers of Ohio and Pennsylvania these last two weeks. I got to ride around this small PA town nestled on the side of a mountain, and I could not stop pointing and commenting on every bend in the road. Stone farmhouses, turreted townhouses, and trees, trees, trees everywhere I could look. I'm soaking it up before returning home this week.

This afternoon we packed a picnic and headed for the park. We enjoyed the kickball diamond, the batting cage, the playground, and the zipline. It was about as close to heaven as I have felt in a long time. I wish we could make it last longer, but staying up until insane hours three nights in a row is the limit of what I can physically handle.

We begin the return trek to Texas early in the morning. Hopefully the park, the legos, the bubbles, baseball and wii fit provided the kids enough workout to counteract our 11 hour drive to Tennessee.

Bristol, here we come.