Texas countdown

3,2,1....Everyone here is counting down to Friday, the day we go to Texas for the weekend to see J. Everyone has their own reasons.

All the kids are wild with excitement about camping in another state. They loved Wisconsin last summer, and can't wait to sleep in a tent and live on snack food again. Texas in the fall is warmer than Kansas. 60's definitely sounds better than 40's to everyone here.
The older boys are excited about the football game. A real high school game with J in it. What could be better? Everyone knows Texas has some of the best high school football in the country.

Our oldest understands his relationship to J. He's curious to know him better, and wonders how his life would have been different if I had made a different choice. He's curious to know what it's like to change from child to man as his transformation is bubbling to begin, so this visit at the brink of his adolescence means a lot to him.

My husband is just happy to have a 4 day weekend with his family.

I'm on emotional spin cycle. It is so wonderful to see my oldest son thrive in the family God chose for him, to know he's where he really belongs. It's exciting to see how he's stretched his wings, and is almost ready to fly off on his own. It's touching and warm and fuzzy he cared enough to find me almost two years ago. Yet there's some wistfulness, sadness, and pain mixed in there too. The whole experience is really beyond words. Seeing the light that shines within him is worth is all.