A seriously overdue visit.

This is Rhonda. Just by looking at her can you guess who she might be related to?

Rhonda and I met in 1998, when she worked for a State Farm agent, who shares an office with my dad. Little did I know when we met, she would be a key player in my future to come.

Rhonda and Paul are brother and sister. Can't you tell?? When I first started dating Paul, I used to always tell him, "if I put a wig on you, you would look just like Rhonda!"
Rhonda and I both went to Southeast Christian church for a while, and she introduced me to her brother, my future husband and father of my children. Way to go Rhonda! ;) Paul and I got married in December of 2002, and Rhonda and her husband Edward were married in February of 2003. THEN, we both got pregnant within a month of each other, I promise we weren't calling each other saying "ready, get set, go!"

Pierce Matthew and Sarah Rose, are exactly 5 weeks apart in age.
Okay, you might want to sit down for this part. This little girl here, is Abigail Grace. She is 11 months younger than Sarah. Did you hear that? Oh yeah, Rhonda got preggo with Abigail when Sarah was 3 months old. I didn't follow suit on that one, she was on her own ;)
Then of course along came peanut.
So, Paul's parents got all their grandchildren bam, bam, bam!! While we lived in Indiana, Rhonda and Edward lived in Shelbyville, KY, we were about 40 minutes apart. We used to have frequent play dates, and these cousins were all growing up together. THEN, things changed. Rhonda's husband joined the military, to become a chaplain, and they moved away. First to Florida, and now to North Carolina. With those miles, and different challenges we have faced, we have not seen each other in 2 years!!! That's ridiculous!
Rhonda has been in Michigan staying with her parents, and on her way back to North Carolina, she came through Bowling Green, so we could FINALLY see each other!!

'Reunited, and it feels so good'
Although a short visit, still a good one! The kids were soooo happy to see each other, and play! The chaos and volume level around here, has been epic. I thought about sneaking some vodka a time or two, but I refrained.

Hope was in her element! She had GIRLS to play with!

Poor Pierce (and Paul) were seriously outnumbered, and they had to have their own play going on, so they could cope.
After much play, we took them along to watch Pierce do his I am a serious king fu warrior, tae kwon do.

Can you see Hope's earring's she has on? Rhonda treated the kids to some toys, and of course Hope had to pick our either makeup or jewelry. I don't know where she gets this, it's just beyond me.
Although he was outnumbered, he held his own okay. I did think I heard him weeping a time or two, but he came out unscathed.
Notice how tall Sarah is? She's 4'1!! Oh, and did I mention she's hilarious? She makes Hope look like a wallflower. That girl is a spitfire.
We took the kids swimming today, a little more fun before it was time to head out. :-)Pierce and Hope caught a butterfly....
Hope tried for the life of her, but to no avail.

While Abigail was just content playing.
One more treat for the kiddos. "We're going to Chick-fil-A!!"

Hope broke out in excitement. Notice the diva earring again.
Lunchtime fun, before they had to leave :(
So, what started out as a quick meeting in 1998, actually was the beginning of my future. I've missed these visits, and we simply cannot go another 2 years this time.