Summer at home, very bittersweet...

If anyone is actually reading this blog you have noticed that we are just now posting updates from last summer.  There is a good reason.  The summer was one of great highs and one really big low, saying goodbye to Joe's mother as she was called home to heaven.  We had the great fortune of being able to make it home to spend some time with her before she passed, which was tricky because of the stupid IRS laws that limit your time in the country if you want to be tax exempt for foreign earned income.  The biggest reason we left home was to make enough tax-free money abroad to pay off our debts and save for parenthood and adoption, which are both costly.  In order to qualify for tax-exempt status we had to spend at least 330 days outside of the country over the first year and this meant we had a very limited amount of time to be home for the summer.  We bought our tickets in the spring, before Joe's mother became so ill, and were locked in to the date we had to leave the US, or it would have cost us over $25,000!

We received the news about Joe's mom taking a bad turn while in Bratislava.  We were actually told to come home ASAP because she wasn't expected to make it very long, so Joe got on the phone with American Airlines and did everything he could to change our flights and get us to Texas as soon as we could.  Originally our plan was to fly to Indiana to see Lindsay's family and pick up our car, before driving to Texas.  We were able to get our flights changed, at no cost, and flew directly from Europe to DFW.  We have very good friends who let us borrow their truck and we got to Joe's mother and sister's house late one night after roughly 20 hours of travel.  When we walked in we were told by a nurse that mom wouldn't make it through the night.  

Joe was so relieved to make it to her side and there he stood for what ended up becoming 27 days.  You see, Joe's parents were tough people from a tough time and they both hung around a lot longer than doctors, nurses, and hospice chaplains said they would!  We are both convinced that a big reason why is so that all of their many children and grandchildren could say goodbye and get a few last moments with them.  Throughout the 27 days we were there, Joe did have some wonderful moments with his mom.  She was very tired and weak and she slept most of the time but she would have moments of lucidity when her and Joe would have some blessed talks.  She didn't fully realize he was there that first night, but her reaction the next morning when she saw him in the room was a priceless moment that neither Lindsay nor he will ever forget!

Sadly, our time was up and we had to leave the country again before she passed, meaning we were not able to attend the funeral.  We will have our own time to say a final goodbye when we return to Texas this summer and visit Valera where she and Joe's dad are laid to rest.  Joe was able to help his sister make the funeral arrangements and we are very happy for our time with mom, Joe's sister Regina, and many other members of the family and close friends.  Mom's caregiver, Bunny, was a big help through it all, as well. 

Though most of our time in Texas this past summer was spent with Joe's mother, we were able to catch up with some friends in brief moments and for meals.  Additionally, Lindsay's parents came to Texas to spend time with us twice during the month!  This was a huge blessing to both of us and, though we were sad we did not see the rest of her family at this time, her parents were a big comfort to us.

Here are just a few pictures of our time in Texas.

One of the first of many days Joe was able to stand/sit by his mother's side.

This was taken during one of their wonderful talks they were able to have when she had the strength to do so.

It's always a blessing to spend time with Frank and Becky, especially in Texas!

This is our friend Alicia, who we met up with in Bratislava.  She was kind enough to invite us to share a luxury suite at a Rangers game while we were in Texas.  She is an amazing woman that Joe has known for over a decade and she is a missionary at the University of Oregon.

While at the game we tried to tackle the Beltre Buster, a colossal burger that we had to put on two plates.  We didn't finish it, even with the help of others in the suite!

Waiting to have dinner at Babe's Chicken Dinner House, one of the greatest eateries on the planet!

When Lindsay's parents visited we decided to take the to a Rangers game and we all enjoyed the warm weather and baseball!