Last Wednesday my little sister Kelli came to visit. She is planning on staying with me while Meric is deployed. Then on Thursday Meric's parents came to visit. It was a full trailer but we made it work just fine.
On Friday we started the sight seeing with a visit to Lincoln's birthplace.
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| Meric and his dad |
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| On the steps of the Lincoln monument |
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| It's a Kelli size cabin! |
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| Notice the window by the chimney. | |
After that we headed to Danville. (Danville, KY, not Danville in the "tri-state area")
Meric's dad served his mission in the Kentucky/Tennessee area and Danville was one of his areas. As we reached Danville we asked Meric's dad if he knew where the house he lived in was located. Without hesitation he rattled off the address like he had lived there just yesterday. We went to the house, which was still standing, and Meric and his parent went to check it out. The house had been remodeled and the door that Meric's dad use to go home to as a missionary no longer existed but they got some pictures of where it use to be.
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| Standing right in front of where the door use to be |
Saturday Meric and his dad headed out early to do some work on his truck at Fort Knox. I know that doesn't sound like much of a vacation but I was glad Meric got to do some automotive work with his dad. It was some good father-son time.
After Fort Knox we all headed to Glendale for some antiquing and good food at the Whistle Stop.
Sunday started early for all of us with church. After church we got together with the campground owners and there kids to do some shooting. In Kentucky it is common to go shooting on your land out in the country. Since it is off season for the campground we just did the shooting there.
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| Meric and his mom |
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| Kelli's 1st shot |
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| Kelli waiting for her next turn |
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| Meric instructing his mom |
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| Which is bigger: Kelli or the gun? |
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| Say hello to my little friend |
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| Kelli and Meric cleaning the guns |
We all had a lot of fun shooting and even got Meric's mom to try it once. Once we were done shooting we all had an impromptu potluck and enjoyed talking and telling stories. Meric's mom really enjoyed listening to every one's accent and southern talk.
Monday we set out to try and find some Amish shops and people. Meric's parents really got a kick out of asking the locals for directions. They loved the accents and how open and friendly everyone was. We found a little shop ran by the Amish. Half of the store was a regular looking hardware store and the other half was a gift shop/grocery. Some of the things in there were homemade or locally canned.
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| Amish horse and buggy sign |
Later that night Meric received a blessing from his father. It was one of the things Meric really wanted before he "went off to the war". After the blessing there wasn't a dry eye in the house. It has been getting harder and harder for me to keep it together the closer we get to Meric's deployment.
Meric's family flew out on Tuesday. I was really glad they were able to come visit us. Our original plan had been for Meric and me to drive up to Washington but at the last minute we changed our mind. I was glad the Powell parents (as I like to call them) were able to have a good visit with Meric, see Kentucky and visit Meric's dad's mission.
Now I have just a few days to get ready for Meric's deployment.
