The Brown Beat

A few weeks ago I was just having a regular Thursday.  I suppose it wasn’t completely regular as I was getting exorbitant amounts of housecleaning done despite having three of the kidlets at home. But we had an inspection the next morning and so it had to be done.  (My feelings on inspections can be saved for another post that I will probably never bother writing.)  It was lunch time and Chris came home from a “meeting.”  This wasn’t unusual because he was in between terms and had no classes to teach.  A couple of minutes after Chris came in there was a knock on the door.  Chris said he couldn’t get it, despite my desperate plea for help as I was still in pajamas.  So, reluctantly, I headed for the door wondering who I was going to have to justify my disheveled appearance to and this was the glorious face that stared back at me . . .

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?  I think I actually started screaming that over and over.  I was in complete shock!  Chris, who has (and probably already had before this) secured his spot for husband-of-the-year, flew Julie in completely without me knowing it!  I was screaming and hugging Julie, and doubled over in complete disbelief.  Thankfully, I kept it together enough to not drop Aaron, but only just!  I now truly know the feeling of not being able to believe my eyes.  It took me a full few minutes to really process what was going on.  My sister, who I had probably just talked to a couple days before at her house, was standing in my living room!!!!  I’ve never been so surprised in my life.

The two weeks that followed were pretty magical.  J and I hadn’t seen each other for two years–might as well be a lifetime when you’re as tight as we are.  Go from being oceans apart to being under the same roof for two weeks and you’ve got a recipe for fabulous, my friends.  We talked, ate good food, saw some sights, talked, played with the kids, baked, put together and carried out a birthday (which will be another post), and fell asleep talking, more than once.  My sweet sister is one of my favorite people in the world, and it meant the world to me that she’d come all the way down here, all by her lonesome, to see us!  A special thanks, also, to my dear BIL Ryan for going without her for two whole weeks.

So, what did we get up to while she was here?  What we didn’t would be a shorter list but let’s see the photo reel, shall we?

Firstly, these two got to meet!  Suffice it to say that they got along swimmingly . . .

Thanks to J’s mad skills, the WHOLE family got a hair cut.

There were picnics, bird feedings, and visits with Aussie wildlife . . .

Did I mention Julie worked her little tail off while she was here?  She brought all the goods for some tie dye fun . . .

She made 70 of these little goodies for Myah to take to school for her birthday treats . . .

She babysat. She cleaned. She decorated for parties.  She made party favors.  She did hair-do after hair-do.  She prepared meals.  She fed kids. She helped with school drop-offs and pick-ups.  She helped with bedtime.  She showered the family with gifts. She was very popular and put up with LOTS of attention from her adoring fans . . .

We went up in the mountains, down to the city, in the country to a wildlife sanctuary, and out to the coast to see some beautiful views . . .

I could go on and on with pictures and commentary.  We took hundreds of photos and made piles of memories that we can cherish until we’re reunited again!  Having Julie here was nothing short of blessed and blissful and I will remember this sweet experience forever.  Thank you, Chris, for making it all happen and thank you, J,  for being willing to go through all the trouble of coming, getting time off, spending hours on end on a plane, etc, etc.  It’s no small thing in my book!  Until we see you again, our little clan down here will be missing you everyday!