Last Days in Illinois...

Well, at least for now...so we squeezed a few more fun things into our time here. Sweet Man may be here beyond Thanksgiving, so we might return. I kind of hope so...we've enjoyed our time here.

{RTS and SBR:: This is for y'all, if you ever come to Bloomington, Illinois with your sweet men.}

We discovered two Bloomington-Normal gems this week...and found out that we had missed some fun harvest activities. One frustration about this area is that there is no centralized community calendar, so I  found out about the events after the fact. Bummer.

There are plenty 'o pictures in this post...I could split them up in to 3 posts, but things are a bit crazy as we pack up and I'd forget anyway. Leaving Monday, stopping to hug our Indiana beloveds...then on home.

It's been a chilly, but beautiful week.

First gem is Miller Park Zoo. It's the perfect size...we stayed for 3+ hours, but you could see everything in less than two, if you don't dilly-dally like us. Our faves were the meerkats and the river otters...hours of amusement for us. There was a fun public park and playground surrounding the zoo, which we didn't have time to explore, this time.

{FYI : very affordable esp. with a coupon, but the family membership is reciprocal or discounted with 100+ zoos including Columbus Zoo and the Wilds.} Check out these cuties.

Friday night, we went bowling with Daddy. The kids love it...another thing I'll pin on their short stint in Thursday School. We can hardly pass a bowling alley without a whine. We played one game without bumpers and 2 with. Bean had 1 strike and Bug had 3. It was fun.

The other gem of the area is the Sugar Grove Nature Center. This past Monday, the kids and I wandered out here to do some letterboxing. We didn't end up finding the hidden treasure but we discovered this fantastic place {once again, the journey is the destination} and brought Sweet Man back on Saturday for a guided nature hike. Then we played! in the crazy-cool play area. Sweet Man has clear charge from me to recreate at this at our next home.

{FYI: Free and open to the public. About 20 minutes south of Bloomington. It has miles of grassy trails through pastureland and some woods. They have all kinds of programs and events going on and a nature center with several reptiles in aquariums, a nature library, and a bird-watching room. Support memberships are available.}

Winter hike

There's that moment I have before every excursion of any sort...usually as I'm just gaining consciousness in my warm bed...."I don't have to go. I could just stay here."

I'm glad I didn't allow that circling thought to land in this brain. So glad I reached out to the dark and the cold.

We hiked 7+ miles in the Hocking Hills...the annual Winter Hike. Five other friends from church went...none I knew very well Saturday morning...but I got to know each of them as we naturally rearranged our pairs as we walked. Love that. Sharing our stories on the path.

It was beautiful...the weather was warm enough to shed layers with the sun out but cool enough to keep the snow and ice.

There were just a whole lot of other people there enjoying it with us...we had to wait in line to start the trail...really.

Next year...I'll do the annual Winter Hike on a different day. Just kidding...it was fun.

Kids were safe and sound in the Valley. I hustled back to Sweet Man and met friends (who we don't see nearly often enough) for dinner...

great hiking + wonderful, wise friends + 2 free fajitas dinners @Abuelo's (you, too, can have freebies) = one fantastic day

Pinch me, please

What a wonderful life I have....

Oh, there have been a few bumps in the road...and an Open House at the house today...that throws me into a tizzy. But I need to remember to stop and be grateful.

In the past week, I have:

  * been present as a sweet friend gave birth at home to a beautiful baby girl (with an adorable name)
  * gone to an inspirational Recovery meeting...hearing what I needed to hear this week...still chewing on the message that God will never prosper the parts of me that are not real.. ie: not reflecting Him...may take me a while to digest that one...and what does prospering look like?
  * caught up with the other men in my life, Opa and Uncle Nack
  * had another late night coffee date with my late night amiga
  * played with some of our favorite people
  * hiked with some long and new-to-me friends in amazing November weather...while my babes were safe, sound, and happy at Grandma & Grandpa J's...also got to see my crazy, cool sister-in-law

  * snuggled and tickled a lot...funny how when I am a single parent, I wake in the morning with two small people in my bed
  * traveled back to my sweet man's arms to live in a lovely hotel (we'll be in Cincinnati with him for the foreseeable future)

God surely is giving me more than I could have ever imagined.