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We spent the holiday with K’s extended family in Washington State. It was blessed. Blessed with the presence of amazing people I love dearly. Blessed with delicious meals. Blessed with vibrant conversation, laughter, shopping, and an early Christmas gift exchange. Blessed with worshiping the Lord together through song and opening the Word.

How fortunate am I to have married into this family?! My in-laws’ home is filled with the Peace of God, making fellowship sweet and easy, even with eleven of us under one roof for five days, and a gathering of 36 extended family members for the Thanksgiving feast on Thursday!

E meets her great-grandmother!

E hanging with Mallory and Great-Uncle Alan

Keziah and E with Great-Grandma. In spite of taking a zillion shots and various adults jumping around and making faces, we could not get the girls to achieve cuteness simultaneously. (The beautiful matching dresses were a gift from Great-Uncle Brian and Great-Aunt Julie).

E and her new obsession, George. This pictures does a good job of capturing their respective feelings for each other.

Jen with E!

During our visit to the Ozarks, the extended Miller clan spent a day in Springfield, our hometown from ‘84-’94. Our church for much of that period, Grace Chapel, was located in a storefront that included the wall pictured above. Back then, Dad barred us from climbing the wall, despite the fact that most of our Sunday School classmates were not so limited.

Seventeen years later, the Miller brothers finally satisfied our urge to scale that wall.

Yup, that’s right folks. We’re vacationing in Branson, MO. Branson is the Christian Vegas of the mid-west complete with a “strip” and lots of shows. The shows, however, are family-friendly and may contain Gospel music referencing Jesus.

We’re here for the Leitch Family Reunion (K’s mom’s side of the family). The entire family is staying in a spacious, rustic home overlooking a lake. It’s beautiful. (See above view from our bedroom window) And the weather has been more than kind–cool yet sunlit.

K and I are enjoying catching up with his immediate and extended family. We’ve experienced so much joy finally placing E in the arms of K’s parents.

At some point this week, we’re driving over to Springfield, MO for a tour of the town where K grew up. I’ve heard so many stories, and now I’ll see a little bit of the stage where those tales played out.