America with George * a summary

For seventeen days I got to traipse around the United States all by myself. It was a special trip for so many reason... too many to count. I missed my immediate family, but it was a great to be "present" with other people that I love dearly. I tend to grow most in relationships... in conversations with people, learning from their stories, sharing meals, laughing together. I feel closest to God when I am fully engaged with others. Most of the time that happens in my home with my kids. This trip was quite a unique break from the norm. In addition to spending time with people I love... I also had a lot of time to write. I used this blog space to communicate with my kids while I was away (via George... Jude's stuffed dragon)

In summary... (click here if you want to read the whole series without clicking on all these links)
Traveled from Rotorua to Auckland to Los Angeles... arrived around noon
Dropped bags at the hotel and one of my sister's friends picked me up for a day of fun in LA
Next day met my sister (connecting through LAX) and we flew together to Columbus Ohio
Surprised my parents (my sister got it on video) and then went to dinner
Had an interment service and buried my amazing Grandmother... some history on her trailblazing independent spirit
Toured Marysville, Ohio (the town where my father grew up) and met the man who baptized me as an infant
Drove to Atwood Lake for my cousin Amy's wedding (my mom's side of the family)
Had a fun dinner with family and got a genealogy rundown from my Aunt Sue
Took a ten hour road trip... in the back seat of my parents car... with my sister. Awesome.
Relaxed at my parents house in Salem, South Carolina... a lot. Enjoyed their fabulous brand of hospitality
Met my cousins new daughter Stokes. A beautiful adopted addition into our family
Spent great time with my sister (who is also my best friend) and her daughter (who looks cute as a dragon)
Traveled from Greenville, South Carolina to Austin, Texas for a super duper quick visit (22 hours)
Spent a relaxing evening with in-law cousins Sabra and Jon and their three lovely, creative girls
Stayed the night and had breakfast with my old college roommate Sarah and her two boys
Spent some time with my sister in-law Lorri and met my brother-in-law's dog name Hess (Hebrew chesed - pronounced HESS -id)
Drove from Austin to Houston with a quick stop at Buc-ee's gas station (what in the world?! Only in Texas)
One night in The Woodlands with sister-in-law Joy and family. Lots of cousin fun in their new (opened the day I got there) pool
One night in Houston with brother-in-law Max, his lovely wife Gina and their water-baby Greer. Delicious meal from Gina.
Visit with Ben's amazing Grandmother (Great Granmama)... and some history on her uniquely adventurous life
Lunch with Aunt Ruth and Hannah in Friendswood... I knew met Ruth at Frontier Ranch when I was 17 (long before I knew Ben)
Visit with cousin-in law Mark and Shonda and their kidos. Shonda wrote a piece for my blog on international travel with kids
Drove from Friendswood to Galveston... the first place that Ben and I called home.
A great few days with my wonderfully faith-filled in-laws on Galveston's west end... a great way to wrap up the trip
Travel from Houston to Los Angeles to Auckland and home to Rotorua... three very relaxing flights without children
None of this would have been possible without my amazing husband... who sacrifices so much to keep me sane & growing.

America with George * Home again, home again, jiggity jig

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids,
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

Back at Houston Hobby Airport...

Two great things in one picture... Chipolte and Southwest Airlines.

 Next stop... Los Angeles Airport

Then Auckland airport...

 Then Rotorua... it is so beautiful here!

HOME SWEET HOME!!! I love these kids.

 

America with George * Galveston, Texas * Granmama and Grandaddy

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids,
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

Our last stop on the American tour was Granmama and Grandaddy's house. It was the perfect place to rest and regroup before the long trip back to New Zealand. When you are with Granmama and Grandaddy you can always count on having interesting conversations and learning something wonderful about God. I loved our mornings and evenings their the best... they were quiet and slow with lots of moments to think about the things that are most important in life.

Granmama and Grandaddy are faithful in their love for Jesus. They know that His promises are true because they have read and tested things in the Bible. They are always on the look out for opportunities to love God and serve others... and that is really cool.

Granmama and Grandaddy's house is filled with great books, curious conversation pieces and beautiful plants. Did you know that Granmama is a master gardener? I didn't know that there was such a thing until Granmama became one. She went to lots of classes and volunteered at gardens. Her garden is beautiful. 

One of my favorite things in Granmama and Grandaddy's house is the shell table. Great Granmama and Papa collected shells. They would find them all over different African beaches. When they came back to America, they had this table made and now it is at the beach house with Granmama and Grandaddy. No matter how many times you look at it, it always seems like you can always find a shell that you have never seen.

Lots and lots of animal sightings! At first I thought Bella was going to eat me. But once she realized how tough I am, she calmed down. Now we are friends. There were crabs in the trap and I found a toad. A few weeks ago when your cousins were visiting, they saw a rattlesnake... yikes! You would have been proud of your mom... one night after everyone went to bed she went out by herself and caught a redfish. It was a great visit.

America with George * Galveston, Texas * Our first home

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids,
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

After mom and dad got married they lived in Galveston, Texas. They liked it there for lots of reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is it's rich history. In Galveston there are a lot of people that care about restoration. Restoration is an important word... it means to return something to it's former condition. This town is filled with beautiful old places that have been made new again.

This is the house that mom and dad lived in when they first got married. It looks pretty big... but their part was very tiny. They shared with two other people and rented from a pair of generous doctors who let them take care of the lawn in return for a GREAT deal on rent. Mom and dad were really thankful to live in this house on Church Street the whole time they lived in Galveston. 

Dad was learning to be a doctor and mom was planning events and thanking people for the money they gave to the hospital.  When dad wasn't studying or going to school, he liked to go fishing. A lot of times they would walk to work. There were lots of nice things to look at on the way... pretty parks, beautiful old houses, cobblestone sidewalks and nice restaurants.

One of those nice restaurants was right across the street from mom and dads house. They could smell fresh bread every morning. The Sunflower Bakery is in a different building now... just down the street. We had lunch there and it was delicious! 

Mom's friend lives across the street from the "new" Sunflower Bakery. It drives her crazy when people come to eat lunch and park there cars in front of her driveway... mom can relate because whey they lived in front of the Sunflower they could never find a parking place near their house. Mom thought it would be super funny to take a picture of Granmama's car parked in front of Heidi's driveway ;)

Galveston is a pretty special place... next stop Granmama and Grandaddy's house on the West End of the Island.

America with George * Friendswood, Texas * cousins

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids,
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

After we visited with Hannah and Ruth we went by the house where Granmama lives and got to see MORE cousins. Uncle Mark is dad's cousin. Several months ago, Mark's wife Shonda wrote a really helpful (and funny) pieces about traveling with their kids. They live in Central Asia and have three cute kids (and they are about to get another sibling). Their youngest daughter Abigail spent a lot of time teaching me how to blow bubbles. When we were about ready to leave, Aunt Carole (Mark's mom) came home - she was on the other side of the world visiting Grandmama's 50th great grandchild who was born about a month ago. We were really glad to get to see them for a little visit.
 

America with George * Friendswood, Texas * Hannah and Aunt Ruth

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids,
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

After we visited with Granmama we stopped in to have lunch with Aunt Ruth and Hannah. Guess what... they were getting ready to go to Delaware to visit Stephen & Lindsey in your old house.

Mom met Aunt Ruth at Frontier Ranch when she was 17 (the same week she met Uncle Max). She was not mom's counselor, but almost immediately became one of her favorite people. She was lots of fun but also someone that you knew you could trust right away. You could tell that she really cared about people - especially younger people.

Aunt Ruth is always doing nice things for others. Today when we arrived she was making a bunch of delicious quiches to give away. Ruth is also really good at creating safe places for people to be together and enjoy each others company. She rents houses and invites people to be with her family. No one ever feels like they need to change who they are or act different when they are around Ruth. She is a pretty accepting person and that makes her really easy to be with. 

Hannah is the youngest of Granmama's 27 grandkids... but she is all grown up now. She is one of the most kind and gentle people I have ever met. When mom met Ruth for the first time, Hannah was very young (maybe 4 or 5)... even then she had a sweet spirit. I think she has probably thrown a tantrum (at least one time... because all kids do it) but I have a hard time imagining Hannah doing that sort of thing. She has the peace that passes my understanding. I am a dragon... I breath fire when I am mad.

One of the many nice things about being married to your dad is the great set of people that he came with.
Mom is thankful to be a part of this awesome family.

America with George * Greenville, South Carolina * Fourth of July

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids, 
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

We didn't make it to Greenville, South Carolina for the Forth of July... because mom really, really, really, wanted to be back in New Zealand celebrating the birth of her girl on the 5th. But if we had been in America - Greenville, South Carolina is where we'd want to be. For the past thirty odd years Aunt Ellen and a few other folks have been throwing one heck of a 4th of July party. Aunt Ellen is another person in our family that knows a lot about hospitality... the southern version of hospitality is the most delicious kind.

These are pictures from a few years ago when mom lost her mind and drove 12 hours, six months pregnant with three kids to surprise Grammy and Papa... she says it was worth it. Surprises are the best.

At Aunt Ellen's fourth of July party there is a fantastic firework show that our cousin Drew and his friends put on. They are not "professionals" but it is better than most of the firework shows I have seen. There are snow cones, balloons, and an gigantic pot luck meal that is set up on tables that spread across the whole yard. People come from all over to join the festivities. Sorry we missed the fun this year... we will see you in a few!
   

America wth George * Friendswood, Texas * Great Granmamma

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids,
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

Our next stop was a visit with a very special lady. Your only living Grandmother (your dad's mom's mom). Her name is Granmama. She was at the hospital with her sister Ann Annie. I think one time somebody got mixed up and couldn't say Aunt... so everyone always calls her Ann Annie. She is a very talented and prolific artist. A prolific artist is someone that creates lots and lots of beautiful things. Annie painted most of the days of her life. Do you remember the series of Alice in Wonderland pictures we had in our Delaware house... Ann Annie painted those.

So let me tell you a little bit about your Granmama. She has lived a pretty amazing life and has some crazy stories to tell... but she is pretty humble and doesn't ever brag about how cool and courageous she is. When Granmama was young she lived in Kentucky with her family. Her parents got divorced when she was 12. That was a hard thing for her. She was very sad and confused 

and didn't understand everything that was going on. When she was 17 she moved to Fort Worth, to live near her mother's friend and attend college at TCU (Texas Christian University).

On the first day of college everyone goes to something called "orientation". It is a little bit like your first day of kindergarten. The people in charge tell you where everything is and what the school rules are. Granmama walked into orientation and saw a very handsome young man in an sailor suit. It was Papa! He had just finished fighting in World War II and had come back from an island in the South Pacific. He was going to school on the GI Bill. The GI Bill was a social service that paid for soliders to go to school. Papa told Granmama the story about Jesus and Granmama really like it. Shortly after they met they eloped... that is when you get married and don't tell people or have a big ceremony. 

After they got married they had lots of kids. Four of those kids were born when Papa was in seminary. Seminary is a college that teaches people about God. Papa's brothers thought he would be a good doctor and they wanted to pay for him go to medical school. During medical school Papa and Granmama had another baby. After medical school Papa did a year of residency in Austin and Granmama got pregnant with her SIXTH baby.

In 1958 Granmama was 6 months pregnant with her 6th baby (Stephen's daddy, Uncle James) and the whole family got in a car and drove from Texas to New York. After that they got on a boat and traveled to Liverpool, England. Then they got on another boat and traveled through the Mediterranean and down the East coast of Africa and arrived at their new home in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania... by the time they got there, Granmama was about ready to have her baby. 

They lived in Dar Es Salaam for few years and then moved to another town in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, called Mbeya. Then in 1962 they moved to Jinja, Uganda. They lived there for almost ten years and then moved to Kenya. Everywhere they went they helped sick people and told them about how God loves them. As you can imagine there are lots and lots of cool stories that filled those years.

In 1976 Papa had a car accident and became a paraplegic. That means he couldn't move his legs and had to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It was sad news. But God is big and sometimes we don't understand why he does the things he does. Papa was in the hospital in Nairobi for four months and he wasn't getting better, so he got on a special hospital airplane and flew back to America. After he got well enough, Papa and Granmama moved to a house in Friendswood, Texas and named their road Narnia Way (the magical land where Aslan is from).

After Papa's accident he didn't practice medicine anymore, but he helped people in lots of other ways. One of the most important things he did was pray for people... he did a lot of praying. He prayed for his family a lot. This is a picture of your dad's charm at Granmama's house. All of the grandkids have one.

Papa and Granmama had 6 kids, 27 grandkids and right now they have 50 great grandkids (and there are more on the way). Those kids, grandkids and great grandkids have lived interesting lives all over the world. London, France, America, North Africa, Nigera, Central Asia, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Australia, Thailand... and even New Zealand (that's you). They are mothers, teachers, youth leaders, engineers, fathers, nurses, fashion designers, artists, students, community developers, gardeners, hospitality gurus, councilors, computer programers, doctors, event planners, writers, farmers, realtors, fundraisers, mediators, swimming lesson teachers, musicians, volunteers... to list a few. Grandmama prays for each of them by name.

She loves purple, picking blueberries, writing birthday cards, and knitting baby blankets for every one of her great grandchildren... and her children arise and call her blessed. This is a painting that your Aunt Joy did (remember how I said she was one of my favorite artists... pretty good isn't it)

America with George * Houston * cousins

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids,
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

When we arrived, Aunt Gina was in the kitchen preparing a delightfully delicious and nutritious meal. Greer loved me right off bat and was SO happy that we brought him stickers from New Zealand... because as it turns out, Greer LOVES stickers. Mom ate lots and lots and lots of big, fat,  fresh blueberries that Aunt Gina had just brought back from The Greer Farm. Aunt Gina's last name used to be Greer and that is how our cute little cousin got his name.

Uncle Max came home from a run (in my opinion it is too hot in Texas to do things like running). Did you know that mom knew Uncle Max a LONG time before she met dad? Uncle Max and mom went to Frontier Ranch together when mom was 17 years old and then they we worked there together before mom and dad got married. It is one of mom's favorite places on earth and maybe someday she will take you there.

Aunt Gina put the chicken in the oven and we hopped on some bikes and road to the neighborhood pool (do you remember what I told you about pools and Texas... people melt if they don't swim). Greer is a WATER BUG... even last year when he was a little bitty baby boy he could toddle off the diving board and go head first down the slide. He is really good at "torpedo launch".
 

When we got home we had a great meal. Roasted chicken, coconut beans and rice, homemade bread, baked plantains, fresh cucumbers, and an awesome brussel sprout slaw. Aunt Gina needs to start a blog because she has really important things to say and she really knows what she is talking about... she studied nutrition and teaches lots of people how to exercise and take care of their bodies.

You kids might think this is the coolest part of the whole trip. Aunt Gina and Uncle Max have a three legged dog from Africa named Rungu. Do you remember mom telling you about rungu sticks the other day? A rungu stick is a wooden club that Maasai people use in East Africa.  Sometimes guards carry rungu sticks for protection. When Aunt Gina and Uncle Max lived in Tanzania Rungu was their guard dog. I don't remember what happened to him... but one day his leg got hurt and they had to cut it off. He is REALLY good at walking with three.

Aunt Gina and Uncle Max have a beautifully decorated home that tells their story well. A week after they got married they packed up and moved to Tanzania. You kids actually have pretty significant African roots. For many years, lots and lots of people in your family (including you Max and Maggie) have traveled and lived in East Africa.

The next morning mom, Aunt Gina and Greer went for a walk on the Terry Hershy Hike and Bike Trail (Greer played with stickers). Mom grew up exercising in Texas... but now that she has been away for a while, she doesn't understand how she survived the heat. After our walk we got a bagel at Einstein Brothers and went to Athleata... it was fun.

America with George * The Woodlands * cousins

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids,
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

This is crazy... a few hours before we arrived at the cousins house their swimming pool got finished. We got to play together and take some silly underwater picture. Swimming pools in Texas, are a little bit like lemon trees in New Zealand... if you don't have one your neighbor probably does. It is HOT. HOT. HOT. I actually thought I was going to melt (and I breath fire for a living).
Good news Smith family - it is good luck if a dragon swims in your pool.

On Sunday morning we got to go to church together. It was really special. Mom cried a little bit... because she was happy. There are lots and lots of things that we have prayed about as a family - some of those things have turned out the way we hoped they would and others haven't. It was nice to reflect on all the ways God has listened and cared for us. One really BIG answer to prayer was Blake. Mom couldn't stop picking him up and kissing his little cheeks.

Do you remember when Blake was born? He was 24 weeks old... babies are supposed to be born when they are 40 weeks old. He weighed 1 pound and 5 ounces... that is very, very, very, small for a baby. He was in the hospital for four months. For a long time we thought that he might go to Heaven (the doctors did too)... but God wanted Blake to be a part of this family and we are so thankful he did (I think he wanted Blake to swim with a dragon).

I sure do love these kids... here are a few reasons why I think they are cool. Drew is very coordinated and athletic. He is great at skateboarding and soccer and when he was REALLY little he knew how to cast a fishing rod by himself (without getting it tangled). He is also very thoughtful and kind. Sarah is an awesome roller skater (check out the video) - she is super fast and when she skates it looks good - sort of like dancing. She is tough (roller derby?) but also very sweet... I think tough and sweet is a good combination for girls. Blake is learning so many things right now. He is curious and interested in sharing what he is learning. He is little guy with a big heart... and really good at snuggling.

At bedtime mom hid under the covers between Sarah and Drew. Aunt Joy got really scared when she came in to sing songs... it was funny. It would be great if we could play pranks on Aunt Joy more often. We are going to miss these guys!
P.S. Aunt Joy is a really great mom and one of my favorite artist... and Uncle Ryan is an all around great guy. We love you people.

America with George * Austin to Houston * travel

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids, 

please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

Another fun day of travel! The Fourth of July is right around the corner. I bought a few things for you kids... but as it turns out, airlines don't really like it when dragons pack explosive items in their luggage. I guess we will have to wait until Guy Fawkes Day.

It was nice to be on the road again...

We made a pit stop at Buc-ee's. I am not quite sure how I feel about Buc-ee's. It was kind of like a gas station theme park... fascinating and a little bit weird. I did get to try on a fighting Texas Aggie t-shirt... that was cool. We drove right by Aggieland - it would have been really fun to see where mom went to college - but we had to keep on keepin on.

America with George * Austin, Texas * A knight in shining armor

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids, 
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

You guys are not going to believe it! I met a real life knight in Austin, Texas... his name was Ford and he didn't chop my head off. He was actually really friendly. He had a book about a dragon and a knight that become friends and started a BBQ restaurant together.

Fords brother's name is Wright and he was named after The Wright brothers. Do you know who the Wright brother are? They were a pair of brothers who invented and built the first airplane. We exchanged flying tips.

More animal news... they have deer that just chill out on the lawn in their neighborhood. Awesome.

Like I said earlier, Ford is a friendly knight. Over breakfast I asked him to tell me the names of his friends and he said
"I can't... we would be here all night."

Mom lived with Ford and Wrights mom when they were in college at Texas A&M University. She is a pretty smart lady... who studied and became an aerospace engineer (a rocket scientist). One time mom sewed a parachute for her rocket.

She was also an awesome Young Life leader (in Navasota, Texas with mom), a fun prankster and really great friend... and now she is a super hero mom who likes Junie B. Jones.

America with George * Austin, Texas * cousins

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids, 
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

Hey guys! There are SO many people that we love in Austin, Texas and if we had more time, it would have been wonderful to pop around and see all of them. But since we are rushing to get back to you wild and crazy kids, we were only able to be in town for 22 hours. We didn't get to see our cousins Brook, Boone, Suzanna and Emily because they were out of town... but I did get to meet their cute dog.

We didn't get to see the Texas Rollergirls either... boo hoo hoo, maybe next time. But we did get to see some of our Boone cousins... hip hip hooray! They just got back from Laity Lodge Family Camp! Mom had fun reminiscing about our time there together a few years ago.

First things first... these guys have some really cool animals (and I know how much you like animals). They have CHICKENS... you LOVE chickens! They also have two gerbils and a dog named Pogin. Pogin is a super sweet dog - some kids think he looks a little bit scary... but I think he is cute.

One thing I really love about these kids is how clever and creative they are... they are also a little bit silly and really funny. It was fun to see all the projects and art they have been working on lately.

We had dinner, sat on the couch, talked, the kids read books and wrote funny stories, and we took "selfies" and had some silly fun before bed. It was really special to spend a normal evening at the Boone house... I wish we could do it more often.

America with George * Greenville to Houston to Austin * travel

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids, 
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

It has been a long day of travel and fun with friends... off to bed, more news tomorrow. Goodnight!