I hate suitcases.

It feels redundant to say, “It’s been a busy week.” When has it not been a busy week? Does anyone have a week that isn’t busy anymore? Even my grandma has an insane schedule with trips to the “beauty shop,” lunch with friends, and activities with her joy group, which is basically a youth group for seasoned citizens. Wouldn’t it be great to have a week without a to-do list?

I always have a hard time getting caught up with laundry after we’ve been away. It takes me days to unpack suitcases. Brandon is usually done within an hour of arriving home. I drag out the process until it’s painful. My goal for yesterday was simply to get the suitcases out of the kitchen. I like to reach for the stars. I really need three, uninterrupted days to restore order. I’m also a dreamer.

If I had to do laundry, unpack, change sheets, clean bathrooms, clean floors, and dust without any distractions, I would implode. I had three photo shoots this week, and I’m eternally grateful for the escape!

Sunday morning, I met two families at the park in an effort to get Christmas card pictures taken while central Indiana still has fall leaves on the trees. It was a nice break from unpacking and storing all the shorts for winter.

This is my friend Emersyn, who is every bit as sweet as she looks. She's such a peaceful, calm little soul.

And this is the family of Penny Pickles Art fame. What a fun bunch! I'll have more to share of them next week.

Wednesday was such a great day, that my friend Dawn and I decided we would take the kids to the park after school. Then I remembered I owed Dawn a photo session. So, we dressed up her kids and headed back to the same park. I brought along Christmas card-worthy clothes for Alex and Meredith too. It quickly became apparent that a park and their friends weren’t going to make for two kids willing to sit in front of the camera, especially mine. We may try again today. Or, I may send out Snoopy Christmas cards from Hallmark.

As I’m sure I’ve mentioned, Joe and Annie used to live two doors down from us. Our kids are very close in age and have literally grown up together. I’m overjoyed that their family is growing by one person and they’re going to bring the baby home to their new house in our neighborhood. I can’t wait to have them back as neighbors!

Since the unpacking is nearly finished and the laundry is becoming more of a manageable beast, we’re leaving again tomorrow. We’re going on a tour of Southern Illinois. The first stop is to meet Baby Maria! I couldn’t be more excited. Check back Monday for a blog full of pictures. After that, it’s onto Olney to see Caroline, Reese, and my grandparents. I also might have to pick up a few treats for my squirrel loving friend, Annie. From Olney, we’ll drive an hour south to visit my other grandma. She’s making homemade vegetable soup and I can already taste it. I have my fingers crossed that she’s made extra for my freezer. That I don’t mind unpacking.

We’ll head home Sunday so Brandon can pack for the week ahead and I can spend the week ahead unpacking.