Savoring a long awaited in person visit... and our third wedding (sorta) at T.W.!

It was Christmas of 2019 when the Benner family last gathered in Keezletown. And our family was all at various stages of a nasty bug such that our home wasn't a gathering spot even then. And then, well, Covid happened...So it was special to have Jason's parents arrive Sunday evening for a visit with us in our home. This trip is monumental for multiple reasons, as it came about in part to celebrate their upcoming 50th wedding anniversary. We were happy to be a stop along the way! We enjoyed a very low key day on Monday just being together. A few of the highlights include: lots of music time, a Rook competition, jumping rope, a spin around outside to see what's growing including savoring the first black raspberries, coffee & chatting, snoozing, eating, and just savoring being in the same physical space together.

It appears Kali got so tuckered out on our walk around outside that she needed to take a rest in the creeping thyme. :) 

Hopefully it will not be a year and a half until we visit together in person again! That said, Kali go literally around the world and back before our next time gathered. So even through less time will have lapsed, there will still be plenty to catch up on!!

The other thing that needs a spot in our scrapbook is that we had a very special small group gathering this week! In a former post I had mentioned attending the wedding of dear friends. As it turns out, their beautiful ceremony didn't check off the official legal marriage check box. And since our small group involves someone with the power to check that box, we had a lovely little ceremony on our lawn Tuesday! Other than our small group, the only additional attendees were some of our chickens! It was a gorgeous evening in which we also enjoyed our first meal all together (where we all ate the same thing and didn't bring food for our individual families). I got to brush off my "make a large pot of something" skills, and am glad to know I can still do it! Following our meal together and the ceremony, there was some fun on the basketball court to top off the evening!

We are all grateful for these times gathered with friends and family. Eating and playing together feels both familiar and strange, but also very welcome.