Mom and Dad got home last Thursday. They had a wonderful 5 week vacation and if not for the grandkids I think they would have turned around and started the trip over. It couldn’t have been better! They brought back lots of gorgeous fall pictures and fun stories. I think God gave my mom a very special Happy Birthday present too. While she was traveling she wanted to visit her Dad (Poppy’s) hometown. Poppy died three years ago of cancer and we miss him so much. Poppy was born in a small town on the Oklahoma/Arkansas border. Grammy remembered round about where he lived but not exactly. Mom found the general area and went into a small market to inquire. The man working the register told her that there was an elderly couple that lived close by who had been in the area a long time that might remember her father and granparents. So my usually shy mother, on a mission, knocked on the door of perfect strangers to ask them if they knew her dad and where his family had lived. As it turns out, this family LOVED my Poppy and knew his family well. In fact, mom remembered stories about this family that her father had told her. (Hard to forget a family who had 22 children who ate dinner on one side of the plate and turned the plate over for dessert). She sat on the front porch and listened to story after story and even heard about who in the family Poppy had dated before he left for the war. They took her to the coal mines where Poppy had worked and showed her around town. What a sweet gift that was for my mom. Tanner was missing Sweetie like crazy so he is spending the night with her tonight. Ty is taking his nap and I am getting so much needed “Doni” time. I am afraid it will be over FAR too quickly today. Doni needs A LOT of personal time today 🙂 !