Home again....For now....

     This morning GramCyn  is re-training Whiskey, the horse. He has begun overstepping the boundaries. She tears over on the quad like a bat outta hell, red hair streaming behind her as she chases Whiskey away from the fence line. Jacob meets her halfway, jumps on the back of the quad and they both race back and forth to deter him. She teaches Jacob to crack the bull whip to keep the horses from the fence line. It’s important and enduring learning, and it’s soul-nourishing for Jacob.

     In the meantime Aiden and Barney cuddle, watching the coming and goings. They seem absolutely content to watch the cumulus clouds pile up on the horizon.

A family of foxes have built a den beneath the tack room and they roll about, lazy in the mid summer sun. All is right with the world.

   We spent time tearing out the couch and dinette, painting the interior, building in shelves and putting in a new desk for Alan, as he is working nights and the couch wasn't really working for him.    

Alan's new desk...

Before....

Aiden learning to drive the Quad, our evening ride..

  

Tomorrow we leave the ranch and head out for the next phase of our adventure. We have had a month to process what being gone meant and what it means to be home again. We have loved seeing everyone. Obviously. And, perhaps most surprisingly, we have decided as a unit that we aren’t quite finished with our explorations. More than anything else, we achieved a sense of clarity upon coming back and trying to fit ourselves back into our previous shoes. All of us expressed, at some point of another, that our tastes have changed.  We know longer crave what we once wanted, it doesn’t work for us. At the same time, we are so happy to see that our friends and family continue to be joyful in their lives here, and happy to welcome us home again.

     Things at home have changed, we have changed, our friends have changed but our affection and joy with and for them have not. We heard over and over, “It’s like you never left, we just picked right back up where we left off.”     

    Our visit home clarified for us that Colorado really is where we intend to come back to. As Jacob says, seeing the Aspens is like a welcome home sign. We know this is where are hearts belong even when our feet wander. We are incredibly blessed to have a community here that loves us, supports us and welcomes us home with open arms, as well as stands tearfully in the drive waving goodbye until we see them again. It also clarified that as a family, we have goals still to fulfill and experiences to share before the kids get too much older. So we hit the road once more, new paint, new couch, no dinette. Slight modifications and a renewed sense of peace and purpose. Off to Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington, some of our favorite places to be. See you down the road friends!
(We are making a movie of our trip home, any pictures of our visit with you would be greatly appreciated!!!)

Year Two begins!