Home Sweet Home

Our eight days in the States were marked by some incredible memories over such a short amount of time. We landed in Fort Wayne on Friday evening and Justin’s parents took us straight to Casa Grande, our local Mexican restaurant that I have been craving, where we also met up with my parents for dinner. It was a sweet reunion and all of a sudden felt like we hadn’t been away for so long. It was hard to believe that it had been nine months since we were last in Upland.

We quickly began noticing differences around town and felt a bit more culture shock than we did last time we were home. It was strange to be able to understand peoples’ conversations all around us and to realize that everyone else could understand us which meant we needed to speak quieter sometimes.

My Aunt, cousin, and her daughter came to visit that first weekend, so after dinner we headed over to my Grandma’s house to see my Grandma, her husband, and my family. I’m not sure how we managed to stay awake and relatively alert for so long considering the fact that I only slept 2 hours on the way home and Justin only slept 5 hours. Saturday morning was spent with my family. My brother, Tim, and his wife, Lissel, were in town by lunch to spend 2 days with us from their current home in Nashville. We spent the afternoon chatting, playing games, and eating lots of delicious food. Justin’s parents joined us all for dinner.

My serving of mashed potatoes. I'm still learning how to share.

 

Sunday we went to church and were blessed to hear Justin’s Dad preach – it’s always refreshing to be there and have that privilege, and it was even more fun to see our family take up an entire row in the Sanctuary. That weekend was the first time my parents, brother/sister-in-law, and Justin and I have all 6 been together since Justin and I got married. We also got to see several families that we love dearly and touch base with them quickly. After church the 6 of us (my parents, Tim, Lissel, Justin, and I) drove down to Indy for the Colts’ game. Even though they lost we still had a blast!

Before the game

 

Awesome view, including that horseshoe

 

All of us except Lissel

 

GO COLTS!

 

With Tim and Lissel.  :)

 

From there Justin and I went to his sister’s house and spent the night with her family. We finally got to meet their new baby girl – Emma – and got to see their almost 2 year old son, Caleb. They have been teaching Caleb our names, so to be greeted right away by Caleb definitely brought a smile to our faces. Katie knows how to get to us, in a good way. ;)

Auntie Meggy with Caleb

 

Uncle Justin and Caleb

 

The next morning Justin’s Mom picked us up and drove us to Urbana where we saw all of Justin’s grandparents. His Grandpa isn’t in great health and they were unable to travel to Upland for the wedding, so we wanted to make sure we saw them. It’s always a blessing to be around his grandparents, and I so appreciate the way they have all welcomed me into the family and how they treat me as one of their own. From there we drove back to Indy and Justin had dinner with his best friend from college.

With the Miller Grandparents

Sounds busy, huh? We’re only 3 days into our trip so far!

Tuesday was much more relaxed as Justin and I just ran some errands and bought some things to bring back to Korea.

Sisters - Me, Katie, and Keren with Emmalyn and Caleb

 

Wednesday afternoon I was able to spend time with one of my dearest and oldest friends, Kate, and I got to meet her newest little one, Keira, who was just a week old! Justin’s brother flew home for the wedding that afternoon. We were able to squeeze in a quick tour of TU that evening to see some of the changes that took place over the summer, and we also got to watch a great volleyball match. Thursday we started setting up the gym at church for the wedding and Justin’s sister came up. I had lunch with another dear friend, Renee, and her son Simon, and Justin had Andrew’s bachelor party that night.

With Keira

Friday we finished setting up for the wedding and had a great time at the rehearsal dinner. A lot of Justin’s family was in town by that point and it was great to catch up with as many of them as we could. If you read our blog often, or really ever, you probably know about our friend Laura in Korea. Her younger sister is looking at playing volleyball at TU, and she had her first campus visit on Friday afternoon. I got to meet them briefly with my Dad – it’s so fun to make those connections and it was extra special to meet Laura’s family because she is so much like family to us in Korea.

At the rehearsal dinner, holding Emma

 

All of a sudden it was Saturday! Laura’s parents and sister came over for breakfast before they had to head home, and then Katie and I went off to our hair appointments for the wedding! The day flew by and it was an absolutely beautiful, God-honoring wedding. Justin stood as Andrew’s best man and I was honored to be one of Keren’s bridesmaids. We are beyond excited for Andrew and Keren and can’t wait to see how God uses them and works through them as a married couple.

Best man and Bridesmaid

 

Love these two!

 

Our trip home was wrapping up quicker than we were ready for. Saturday night came to fast and our goodbyes were difficult. We won’t see anyone in Justin’s family for at least 9 months. I am convinced that we are blessed with the most amazing families when you put our two families together. I know I’m biased, but honestly neither of us could have ever dreamt for anything more from our siblings, parents, grandparents, and extended families. We are truly blessed among men. With that blessing, though, goodbyes are harder. We rest assured in the fact that we are bound through Christ in a deeper way than just as family members. We are still all part of the same Body of Christ even though we are thousands of miles apart. I definitely shed many tears saying goodbye, but oddly enough that somehow brings me comfort.  It reminds us of that blessing and the bond we have through our faith.

Sunday morning we said our last goodbyes and went to the airport with my parents, and we began the 24 hour long journey of travelling back to Korea. I have to admit that I was not looking forward to going back. Home was almost too good. But we both know that God has called us to this place for this time in our lives. Being home was wonderful, but being where God wants us is far more important. We wouldn’t change our life in Korea for anything. We have grown beyond words – as individuals, as teachers, and as a couple.

Sorry for the short novel I just wrote. If you made it through, props to you. You can be praying for us as we deal with jet lag again, especially since we have jumped right back into work. Also pray that while we look forward to being with family again in the future, that we wouldn’t wish away any of our time in Korea. Pray that we remember and focus on what God is calling us to right now.

I leave you with a song that we sang at Andrew and Keren's wedding - it was a new song to us, but is now one that we love.