Ode to Honey

Glorious summer vacation is here, but that means the ending of an era. That particular era in our household is the presence of Honey here at our house. When Honey offered to come stay here for a whole year and keep Avery Kate for us, we were so grateful and thankful. But I don't really think we could really know how much she would impact us throughout the year. I know that it was a great sacrifice for her to give up 5 days of her week to come and live with us. I know it probably wasn't easy to adjust to our schedules, our weird habits, sharing a room with Trissy, and watching a lot of Swamp People and Dora the Explorer. Characteristic of Honey, she never complained and always jumped right in to help with whatever we had going on throughout the year. Whether it was picking up the girls early from church, running endless errands to Wal-Mart, washing dishes, or doing laundry and ironing, she was an amazing source of giving and energy. Avery Kate was supremely spoiled by having her Honey here to rock her, take her on walks, and read and play with her. Trissy LOVED having Honey as her rommate and playmate. She always wanted Honey to pick her up from school in hopes that she could convince her to go get an ice cream cone (she always could :) Brian and I were able to accomplish a few other things than just survival this year because of Honey's presence. Many nights she even sat down with me and graded papers right alongside me! I must say I appreciate her expertise as a 2nd year teacher who sometimes struggles with efficient grading! Honey will now actually begin to enjoy her retirement, but we were always be thankful for her presence and gift of her time for this year. We can't sing her praises enough! When she and Papa drove away tonight, Trissy sadly whined, "I miss my Honey!"- a refrain that we will all probably echo in the coming weeks.