Just a taste

Today Nikki, Sean and Derin headed back to Turkey after being here for a month. It was a whirlwind 48 hours trying to get her packed and ready with all the boys running around, but we did it! Then, off to JFK we went early this morning. It was difficult dropping her off and and a little piece of me left today... I was the girl openly crying in the airport again....but, thanks to my driving buddy Janet, I wasn't a total mess on the way back :) 

What a month we had! It was hectic, fun, crazy, wild, beautiful and just plain awesome. I am thankful to God for this time and for making it all work out for Nikki to be here. We missed Eko dearly and I am thankful for his willingness to be without them this long as I know its hard to be away from your kids. I am thankful Jon was such a good sport about the whole thing as he was outnumbered most nights when it came to topics of discussion and TV show choices! Hehe. 

The boys had an absolute blast and they are already talking about how much they miss Sean and even little Derin. I asked Jake how he felt and he said,"lonely." So sad and sweet at the same time. My sister and I had a lot of time to catch up and had some really heart felt chats that will stay with me and help me get through this next phase of their Turkish journey. I am so proud of both Eko and my sister for doing what is needed for their little family and putting family first. It is not always easy to do, but it is important. It wasn't always easy having five boys in this house, but I'm hoping my boys learned that you sacrifice for your family even when it's not the most convenient because the joys far outweigh the challenges. Thats what family is all about. What a happy holiday season it was! Love you guys!!