Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Purple Iris



I've never been a huge fan of the purple Iris although it is the state flower of Tennessee. I have favored Tulips at my absolute favorite.

My mother-in-law has some beautiful Irises. Last night I was talking to my sister-in-law about how I should really get some and plant them on the side of our house. We have great flower beds already laid out, but they need some major tending to.

I told her it would be a reminder of Tennessee when they bloom.

Tennessee is the state that I love. I lived there all but 6 months of my first 30 years. It is home to me. And at times I miss it dearly.

It was easy to move to Indiana, because we specifically knew that God was calling us here. And it's pretty hard to say no to Him. :) But I do miss Tennessee.

How cheesy is this- at one point just hearing Rocky Top made me almost cry-
You know the part- Rocky Top you'll always be home sweet home to me. It's funny now, but seriously I almost cried over that song.

*Manny just sneezed- he is a double sneezer. I think it's adorable- neither Daniel or I sneeze twice, but he does....every time.*

Sometimes it's hard to live 8 hours away from family. For instance when we went to court for finalization I had pictured the court room full of family and friends, instead it was more like this:



Our lawyer, us, our caseworker that did the homestudy (w/ her eyes closed), and the judge.

It was very very special. We even got a pic w/ just us and the judge.



*Manny looks so small in this pic, but when I'm holding him I feel like he is such a big boy. So crazy!*

The sweet lady running errands for the judge- she probably has an official title, but I'm not sure what that is- came up to me afterward and told me that she loved watching mothers look at their babies...that I was just glowing. (MADE MY DAY!)

We didn't lose it in the courtroom, however we pretty much lost it on the way home. There were tears of joy shed as this day was finally here and all paperwork was finally official. I don't think I acknowledged the huge weight that was bearing down on us, but once it was final it was as if that boulder vanished and I realized the severity of it. The freedom, joy, and security that I felt were unexpected, but welcomed nonetheless.

It would have been nice to come home to purple Irises that day.

2 comments:

Susan Wyatt said...

Still, even 2 years later, at Christmas when I hear the song "There's no place like home for the holidays" the line that says "I met a man who lived in TN he was heading for PA with some homemade pumpkin pie, and from PA folks are traveling down to Dixies sunny shore..." I get tears in my eyes every time.

Anonymous said...

Manny takes after his granddaddy. I usually sneeze twice when I sneeze. Just aske Carolyn! Just in case I DON'T sneeze twice when I sneeze, I think I will from now on just to be able to say, "Manny is just like his grandaddy!" We are proud of y'all! Bring Manny soon!