Home

"Home" is such a fluid concept. They say "Home is where the heart is." But what if your heart is in three different places? I guess you have three places to consider "home". That's how I felt this week.

First, I went home to Idaho.

I grew up in Idaho. My experiences there shaped who I have become. So many meaningful events happened there. And, more than anything else, my parents are there. They're the keepers of my heart in Idaho. It was so nice to go back. I had a few days to hang out at home, occupy the purple couches, shop with my mommy, eat riblets with my dad, and watch my suddenly grown-up, college-bound, mission-planning, 18-year-old baby brother play baseball. It was a splendid few days.

Me and Ma watching baseball

Go Rams.

While there my aunt and cousin threw me a baby shower. A little early, I know, but it was the last time I'd be in Idaho until Christmas, so we went for it. Surprisingly, quite a few people showed up and it was nice to see everyone. Thanks to everyone who came and were so generous to Lil'.

Me, Lil', and Mom

The partay begins.

A sampling of foods.

Me and high school friend, Renee, who is having #2, a little girl, about 4 weeks after me.

Cousin Maren, cousin Brit, and Brit's super-nice more-than-a-friend, Addie.

Partay hosts, Maren and Jan.

The generosity of all the guests.

It was good times had by all--or at least me. As usual, the days in Idaho flew by and me and my parents grabbed a Honda and headed South to meet up with the rest of the family and for me to be reunited with Chris.

So, I went home to Provo.

Provo holds my heart because its where I first went out on my own. I met Chris. We dated and spent our first 2 years there. We were college students working little jobs and "living on love". We have so many good memories in Provo.

We met up with the rest of the family in Salt Lake City, where we hit up Pier 49 and their gluten-free pizza and visited Temple Square.

Dad, Jason, and Kasee enjoying Pier 49.

At Temple Square.

We moved on to Provo and filled the days with games, picnics, shopping, ice cream, badminton, food, and family.

Guestures.

Enjoying the sunshine at the picnic. I'm not this fat, my cheeks are full of riblets. And Chris's are full of a $5 footlong.
Mom and Dad enjoying a $5 footlong of their own.

Oh, and did I mention that

I graduated from college?

Because I did.

Fortunately, graduation robes are maternity-friendly.

Getting artsy with the camera. Yes, this is artsy.

My ginormous, never-ending graduation.Faithful supporters waiting 2 hours for me to walk across the stage for 10 seconds.

The ones who made it all possible--in more ways than one.

My brother Michael, now officially a JD.
The whole family minus Brady, who was stranded in baseball land.
The one who put up with regular emotional break-downs.

Lil' came too. She found it hilarious to bounce off my bladder during the graduation ceremony.

After graduation the family dispersed.

We moved on to friend time.

It was wonderful to see everyone and catch up.

Matt, Caroline, and Brad.

Our friends Andy and Stephanie came with their month-old baby girl, Reagan.

She was delicious.

She made me so excited for Lil' to arrive.

And really, really nervous.

Chris seemed to do quite well. He'll be a good daddy.

Getting some tips from Andy.

And finally, we headed home to Knoxville.

Saturday I found myself exhausted. I thought, I can't wait to get home. And I realized that by "home" I meant Tennessee. And when our flight landed in Knoxville, I actually felt a significant amount of joy. While in Provo, it was so wonderful to see everyone and everything that has been such a big part of our lives, but I had the strongest impression that wasn't the place for us. When we decided to move to Knoxville, we got an undeniable confirmation of the spirit, and our return to Provo only made the rightness of our decision more pronounced. So, for whatever reason, Knoxville is now home (for the time being). Its where Lil will come into the world and experience her first year, so maybe that more than anything else makes this "where my heart is". So after 2 visits to home, we made it safely back home.

It was so nice being home.

And its good to be home.