Goal #96 Complete: Last Call for Airplane Rides

More progress on my Project 101 in 1001 list. Read about my journey here.

 

Goal #96:  Take a trip to South Carolina to visit Stephanie, Daniel and Mia - COMPLETE (more or less)
 

Okay, so this is one of those goals that had to be "firmly set in Jell-o" because, well - airplane tickets are expensive, vacation time is scarce and I won't be allowed to board a plane in about two more months. So technically, there was no Daniel and there was no South Carolina, but the goal ended up being much more than I envisioned originally. 

(Stephi and I in each other's weddings)

Stephanie is my cousin on my mom's side and we have been extremely close ever since we were on the brink of puberty (we didn't care too much for each other prior to that.) For most of my life, she was the closest thing I had to a sister and the fact that I had not met her precious baby girl Mia was killing me, so on The List this goal went!

The original plan was to fly to South Carolina to see Stephanie and her (awesome) husband Daniel, meet Little Miss Mia, as well as see Stephanie's new(ish) house. However, because airfare to South Carolina continued to be outrageous (I've been watching the prices for over a year) and because somebody got pregnant with twins unexpectedly and wouldn't be able to attend the big Yoder reunion in July (because of the aforementioned "rules" about heavily pregnant women flying) Stephi and I decided to meet up for a visit in Ohio (where we are both originally from). This way, I could meet Mia, spend some time with Stephi and see some of the relatives I would miss out on this summer (most of whom I hadn't seen in two years). 

We had a blast! I will give you the short version because there was just too much fun had to blog about it all:

• I got to see my cousin Marla (Stephanie's sister) who I've up-until-recently had a bit of a trying relationship with. I was so blessed to be able to spend time with her now that we like each other so much. God is so good to restore relationships! 

• I was able to spend lots of time with Stephanie's immediate family (some of my favorite people in the whole world) - my Aunt Chris and Uncle Ron, my cousins Marla, Bethany and Josh, plus their spouses and kids. We had a hilariously, fun and loud time as only Yoders can. This included, but was not limited too - a picnic, a tornado warning, a dance party, tons of good food and one rather loud lunch at Bob Evans (Oh. Yum!)  

• Stephanie and Bethany threw me a surprise baby shower, which I was very surprised (and blessed) by. My Aunt Susie and my cousin Camy (who is due three days after me with her third) were able to to join us too, which was great. 
 

• I had a short visit with some of my closest, life-long friends and we had such a perfect time together

• I spent some precious moments with my sweet Grandma Yoder and asked for her advice on parenting (she has seven kids). She told me, "Accept them for who they are and love them to pieces!" The last time I saw Grandma, Devin and I were soon-to-be married so I asked her for marriage advice (she had been married to my Grandpa for 60+ years when he passed away.) She replied with a twinkle in her eye, "Don't wait you energy fighting, save it for more important things." Again I'll mention - they had seven kids... just sayin'.

• Stephanie had the privilege of feeling the babies kick for the first time! I felt a little bit close to awful that Devin wasn't the first one to feel them kick (he took the news very well). But being that Steph and I live so far apart and miss out on so many of each other's big life events, it was a very special moment for us to share. (I was one of the first people to feel Mia kick when Stephi was pregnant with her at my wedding.)

While this goal was not executed in the way I had originally planned, it ended up being such a huge blessing to me and I'm so glad it worked out how it did. I feel incredibly blessed to be loved by so many wonderful people, who while far away, can still be such a special part of my life.