The Way We Love

Hello all! My parents were here for a glorious two weeks - thus this space has been so quiet as of late.  The to do lists were cast aside. Appointments rearranged. And experiences - oh experiences were happening! It was a wet two weeks! The rain kept coming and coming! But that didn't seem to stop amazing memories from being made. Liam decided that he would wait until his Grandma and Papa were here to start crawling. Not only did he start crawling during their visit, but he started sitting up and pulling up on furniture. He wanted them to be here for all of his first movements into mobility.

And oh how they enjoyed him! And oh how I enjoyed witnessing them bond with each other!

With the weather keeping us indoors as much as possible, it left so much time for playing with Liam - and creating. Mostly in the kitchen. Oh how we love to cook together and for each other. My dad cooked all of my childhood favorites - filipino dishes that remind me of home: adobo, bifsteak, sinigang.  My mom taught me how to cook new favorite dishes like posole and indian curried lentils! Mom had her birthday here and we were able to celebrate with our usual family dinner, dessert, and small gifts to open. Oh how I have missed celebrating in this way. Growing up - it was the togetherness that made birthdays so special. The special dinner, the homemade desert, a few presents to open... the hand made cards with long messages to be put away in their special place. I want so much to pass this tradition on to Liam. To share in the specialness of bringing family together to celebrate another year.

In the quiet of the house - I've been thinking about their visit and how I have been so grateful - and how I feel so loved even though they are miles away. While they were here, they took care of us so wonderfully. Through cooking and cleaning together, doing laundry together. Making toys for Liam. Teaching him things. Baking together. There are so many remnants of their visit to make us feel warm and loved. The fridge is stocked with not only groceries, but meals for the next few days. The freezer has freezer meals. And my cookie jar... oh it is full and ready to be enjoyed.

It was such a sweet and amazing visit. My heart swells at how loved I feel - I only hope that I have made them feel as loved in return.

Are you curious about the patchwork above? Well - my sister had requested placemats for her birthday present... and I was trying so hard to finish them so that mom and dad could take them back. Well - finish them I did... in the wee hours of their last evening - the last binding was hand stitched down. Dad had packed them away before I could even think about taking a picture. I made her promise to take one for me though. They turned out pretty cute and I would oh so much like to share it with you.

Happy Aloha Friday everybody!