The Joy of Family (the “Other” Side)

If my family monopolized the month of May, Seth’s took June. In-laws are notorious for being bashed for quirks and faults, but I am blessed to have a friendly relationship with mine. That is, we usually get along great for the one week out of four years that we spend together. 😉

The second week of June, after attending a homeschool conference in my home state of IL, our family took off on an almost seven-week tour of our supporting churches. We visited a supporting church in IN on Sunday and then stayed several days with Seth’s brother in Columbus, OH.

Awesome couple–brother-in-law and his wife–love these guys!

We could have stayed more. We enjoy friendship, fun (-ny) times, and excellent conversation whenever we get together. Their sixth child (fifth girl) and our fourth child (third boy) were born a month apart; those two, being the youngest, got to sleep with their parents, but the eight remaining cousins slept in one room together. That was a blast until Callie got sick to her stomach.

We celebrated my nephew’s 10th birthday, went to the Columbus Zoo (rivals Chicago’s for sure!), took over the neighborhood playground, played games, and got an education in organic foods and “non-GMO” and other terms I’d never heard of. (Have you ever eaten pancakes made from sprouted spelt flour? Not too bad.)

They even babysat our kids so we could go on a date. We went to a yuppie organic restaurant they recommended :), and then walked through beautiful Columbus gardens. Have I mentioned how beautiful America is?

A cool tree house in the Columbus gardens.

Almost the whole family–on a tiger, of course.

It was hard to leave. But two churches later, we were in PA visiting two supporting churches from Seth’s stompin’ grounds. We had a nice time visiting his parents. He pointed out landmarks to the boys. We walked paths of a nearby state park, played on the coolest playground I have ever seen, and …got to see his brother’s family again! They came out to visit us for the weekend in PA!

Seth’s mom babysat for the kids so we could have a date on our anniversary. We toured Pittsburgh gardens that time (Phipps conservatory). I had experienced some rough falls during some slipping and sliding we’d done in the river at the state park, so walking around the conservatory was a bit of a chore. 

Climbing logs in the river at a PA state park.

Saturday evening our families attended a free orchestral concert on the grounds of Fort Ligonier with our children. The small children sat fairly well (the pizza we ordered for dinner there helped), the rain stayed in the clouds, and the music was well-chosen and performed. I was thrilled at the opportunity, as I had hoped the children could see a live orchestra after learning about the orchestra in homeschooling this year!

We discovered the day we left PA to visit some other churches that Seth and Caleb as well as Seth’s brother and nephew all contracted symptoms of poison ivy allergy.

I’ve never seen poison ivy before. It’s terrible, especially when you’re traveling. I feel compassion for Caleb as he had just recovered from bronchitis (he, Callie, and Carson each had finished a course of antibiotics that week). Seth and Caleb are still recuperating from poison ivy, Caleb with the help of prednisolone (two weeks later now). Apparently it is contagious during the time that the blisters are weeping. Colin also came up with a few spots, but we are hopeful that we can keep it from spreading further on any of the kids.

Nephew Isaiah and Caleb–the two who got poison ivy together–not from the tiger, of course.

I guess when you think about it, it is a humorous memory to make with family. And it does describe, in one sense, the Meyers family–humorous and different. 🙂

Seth’s sister and husband live in IL near my family, so we still enjoy the benefits of fellowship with his side even when we are at our home base. I always feel that being with my husband’s family gives me so much more insight into his personality and history. I am thankful for God’s grace to Seth through his family–and now mine as well.

Colin and Havalah (next to him) were always together. They even slept at the same time when we could make them sit still!