The past two days I took off work to spend time with my uncle from Germany who was here visiting us in Richmond for just a few days on his way up to DC…It just felt right choosing to drop everything to spend time with family that I rarely get to see on a day like yesterday..April 16…the anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech…and just a day after the tragedy in Boston occurred. My heart is so broken for the families who were affected by both of these tragedies and I am praying hard for everyone involved. My dad died when I was sixteen years old…so in my mind, mourning the loss of a loved one is the worse kind of tragedy. I’m so thankful for the hope I have in Christ that this life is not the end of the line, or else I dont know how I would’ve ever survived it. Getting to spend time with my uncle…my dad’s brother…these past two days was so good for my soul though! He reminds me so much of him! His sense of humor is the best (and is so similar to how my dad’s was) and there is never a dull moment when he’s around…he will do whatever it takes to make you laugh, even if it’s at his own expense. It was so fun getting to show him around Richmond and I loved taking him to my favorite local restaurant…we also went to Starbucks 3 times during his two day stay here…Too much? Maybe..but so good!

We also got to go to lunch with some of my dad’s old friends…here’s me in between my uncle and my dad’s old best friend, John! In the first picture I think John was trying to make some funny joke about hiding us in the picture…I feel like my dad was a mixture of the two of them…They are some of the funniest and nicest people I know! I love hearing old stories about my dad from them!

It’s always so sad when my visits with my German relatives come to an end…I already cant wait for the next time I will get to see them!

Speaking of family, this past weekend Ryan and I also got to visit his parents for a couple days…They hadn’t met Lexie yet, so it was so much fun getting to introduce her to their dog Chloe!! It was so fun and relaxing! My in-laws anniversary is on the same day as my birthday and as a gift for them we gave them a frame and I offered to take a new picture for it! So that’s how we ended up with all of the pictures below…I love the random pictures of Ryan trying to teach the puppies new tricks! We rounded out the weekend by stopping by my parents house for dinner on the way back to Richmond…To me, family is the most important thing and I’m so thankful for the time that I got to spend with them these past few days!

Can you guess who is actually taller?

I love that we get to be our own little family now too…

Practicing tricks with the pups!

And I just like these last two pictures because I think they’re funny…It looks like Lexie is burping kind of right??? haha!

Happy Wednesday!! I hope you are making time to spend with family! You never know when your last day will be so make the most of the days you’re given!