Our trip to Knoxville

The 3 Ashworth guys - Matt, David, and Stephen

I found Trey climing up and down the keyboard at David's parents house one day

Happy to be visiting his family in TN

I know that my blogging is behind - I will try to catch you up to speed with what has happened in June (just in time for the month to be over).

We were planning on going to Europe in September (more about that later in this post) - because I was taking 2 weeks of vacation in September for that trip, we didn't have a lot of time to make a trip to Knoxville. We are taking the rest of my vacation to go to PA to see my family in July. About every 3 weeks, I get a stretch of 8 days off, so we took a trip to TN on that stretch of time off in June. We flew into Nashville and Matt and Renee picked us up. We spent the night at their new home in Chattanooga. They adore Trey, and he feels the same way about them. They play with him and get down on the floor and laugh with him - it is so fun to see them with him. Renee and I went for a pedicure, and she didn't act at all inconvenienced to drive around and find my continual craving - blueberries. The next day, David's parents drove down to pick us up. Trey was very excited to see them too. It was nice to be back at their home for the remainder of our time there. David's other brother Stephen and his wife Catherine came for the weekend, so we were all together which is always a fun time.

Aunt Renee lovin' on Trey and Uncle Matt looking on - see that cute little rocker Trey is sitting on? His Gigi and Papa (David's parents) got that for their back porch - he loved it

Trey with Gigi and Papa We took this picture very impromptu - very last minute - David's parents, siblings, and wives

We always find a lot of encouragement and support from David's cousin Cindy and her husband Al. They have been some of our number one cheerleaders since before we were married. We always try to get together with them when we are in TN. Their kids love Trey.

Gracie Li, Trey, Harper, and Maggie

David's birthday was on June 15, but I decided to throw him an early surprise birthday party while we were in TN so we could celebrate with his family and some close friends. David's best friend Lee hosted the party at his home, so we arranged to have David believe we were having our old community group all get together for a little bit on Saturday night. We drove over to Lee and Jen's house, and he was surprised to see his family and friends all gathered for his birthday. We grilled out, and we had a really fun time together. At one point in the party, I found Trey heading independently down the wooden basement stairs. I went to get him but spilled my red punch on him in the process, so he ended up at most of the party in just a diaper while his outfit was washed. He didn't seem to mind though. He loved the balloons and even climbed on the table trying to capture them.

Surprise, David!

David and his best friend Lee

Matt and Renee left Sunday, and Stephen and Catherine left early Monday. David had been planning to go overnight to a friend's cabin with his friend Lee and then go whitewater kayaking the next day. He hasn't done that for a couple years and was very excited to go. My friend Jenn had planned to come up from Atlanta and visit us while David was gone. Parker and Trey love each other and have so much fun playing together. We went to the Westtown Mall and let the boys play in the indoor play area. They ran around and squealed as the played in the cars and slid down the slide. It is always good to catch up with Jenn too - and once again, we are pregnant together. I was 10 weeks behind her with Trey but this time I am about 6 weeks ahead of her. It is fun to have someone to share pregnancy with.

Buddies - Parker and Trey

So back to the Europe trip. David's parents took his 2 younger brothers back in 2001. David didn't get to go, and they had promised him that they would take him the next time they went. They decided earlier this year that they would go to Europe this fall. They offered to buy our plane tickets and Eurorail tickets if we wanted to go (which was very generous). We figured the trip would still cost us about $3,500. We have been saving every month toward a future house, and our tax return was about $3,500, so we decided we would use that money toward the Europe trip. But the only problem was we wouldn't have a plane seat for Trey (he can still fly for free because he is under 2) - we would have to hold him on our laps for the entire flight (ever tried to hold an active, almost 2 year old on your lap for 14 hours?). David's parents suggested that we leave Trey with someone, but we didn't want to leave him - we haven't even left him for overnight let alone to leave him for 2 1/2 weeks while we are overseas. I've been struggling with the whole trip idea because I really wanted to go - I REALLY wanted David to go. He felt bad that he missed out on the trip in 2001, and I didn't want him to miss out on this trip. But the more I thought about taking Trey (and holding him for the flight, not having a car seat for him, not having a crib for him in some places, etc.), the more nonappealing the trip sounded to me. Don't get me wrong - I think Trey travels really well. He adjusts well to new surroundings, but we would be travelling to 4 countries in 2 weeks with train rides in between each country lasting up to 8 hours. I talked to David about going to Europe without me - he was pretty adamantly against that. I totally appreciate that, but I also knew this trip meant a lot to him. I wanted him to have this time with his parents. Plus, if just David goes, they said they would pay for the entire trip (just like they did for his brothers). So, he reluctantly decided to go without me and Trey. I am still a little sad when I think about it - I was really excited about getting to experience all this with him, but I am also very happy he is getting to go. I just think that in life there are seasons. This is a season where Trey needs me - much more than I need to travel abroad. I will have time later to travel when the demands of having little ones aren't so pressing. But for now, he needs me, and I am happy to be home with him. I wouldn't trade this time in my life for anything. I don't feel deprived or like I'm giving up anything - I feel blessed to have this sweet little boy at my feet. I am really excited for this time for David too - I know he will miss us, but I pray this trip will be a wonderful time together for him and his parents.