Many of you heard that I spent Thanksgiving this year with part (an increasingly large part) of Chris' family. I drove out to Arizona for the better part of a week to spend time with him on his own turf and meet his dad's side of the family. I'm not sure if I fell in love with Arizona because of Chris or if I fell in love with Chris because of Arizona. HAHa, no I'm pretty sure I would have fallen in love with Chris anywhere and Arizona will just have the priviledge of being that special place for us where we first used those special words.
I enjoyed meeting his dad's family. Apparently I talked to his dad enough to learn a few things even Chris didn't know about him, so I took that for a good sign ;) Chris' stepmom fixed a fabulous dinner with the help of their family nannies and nurse. His dad and stepmom have adopted 8 little girls over the past few years (between 3 and 10 yrs old) which require some extra help during the week to take care of them all. Liza (4 yrs old and older sister to the 3 yr old triplets) was the one I bonded with the most you could say. She begged to come live with me or asked if I could stay and live with her ;) I appreciated her making me feel welcome by latching herself onto me. She snuggled with me as Chris and I watched "I love Lucy" and "This Old House" re-runs and would randomly latch onto my leg or jump into my lap throughout the day for some typical 4 yr old conversation. I loved it. I also got to meet Chris' stepmom's mom, his two step brothers, Chris' nephew from his one brother, his other step-brother's wife, and some of her family. So, you can understand there was quite a table-full of us that day and yet somehow there were leftovers at the end of the evening. I missed not getting to meet Chris' mom and sister and not having his brother, Matt, with us but I'll look forward to when that time does come. The only one of his family I am certain does not like me is Chilly Willy, his African Grey Parrott, who apparently displayed aggressive behavior toward me probably due to jealousy (but I must emphasize she does that to everyone, she only trusts Chris).
This young man has officially swept me off my feet over the last 8 months...very carefully though...very, very carefully, which I appreciate so much. His respect and honor for me have become a new standard for myself. We prayerfully tackle the challenges of our long distance relationship as well as the joy and accountability we bring to each other in Christ. I am sincerely thankful for him this year.
Chris showed me all around the Tempe area where he grew up and we did a lot of hiking (at times rock climbing), walking, eating, window shopping, caffeine drinking, and movie renting when the rain got too intense. (He even drove me by where Gov. Sarah Palin stayed! Ah so exciting! hehe.)
This roadrunner joined us for breakfast the day Chris taught me how to change my oil
