Home again, home again, jiggity-jig

I know it has been a while since I wrote. Thank you all for the wonderful birthday cards and comments! I had a GREAT birthday! Thanks to the Rogers especially for making my trip a real blast! The only thing that could have made the whole thing better was if Jason could have been here to share it with me! I can't wait for him to see where I grew up the first 15 years of my life.

When I was in the Chicago area I got to do some shopping, visit with friends, party, and enjoy the life I used to know. It was nice reminiscing about getting Subway every Sunday after church one summer and sitting at the lakefront eating and boat watching. What a great time we had.......

The museum was fun. I really enjoyed the bodyworlds exhibit, especially the one part off to the side where they had the babies and the 7 month pregnant woman. It was very tastefully and reverently done. No one after seeing the baby inside her womb could doubt there is a God. It was beautiful.

One of my favorite parts of the museum was the navy exhibit. Gen and I were like little kids as we tried to match the sound to the thing we thought it was. We had 2 minutes to hear 13 different sounds and figure out what they were. We tried it 3 times I think, before we got all of them correct in the allotted time. It was so much fun!

It was great to hang out with people who loved me and KNOW me. The Rogers have known me since I was who knows how old and it was nice to not have to explain anything, they just KNEW ME. It was a refreshing change. New friends are nice but sometimes you just need someone who knows you and loves you despite your idiosyncrasies. Someone who you can be completely comfortable with. Besides Jason and my family, I haven't had that since Jason left in August. I was sad to leave the Rogers, but I did miss my baby Benny. My neighbor Mindy was watching him for me. He was a good boy while I was away but still almost knocked me over when I went to pick him up, he was so excited to see me.

Benny is such a comfort and I'm so glad we have him. He is like Jason's personality in a dog's body. I love it! He cracks me up! He can be the cutest, happiest dog ready to play as soon as he wakes up but if he sees that I'm still tired he turns it down to low key and sleeps on his bed while I catch a few more winks. He knows when to be excited and playful and when to be snugly and quiet. I think that I would be miserable if I didn't have Benny right now.

I love to watch Jason and Benny together. They are so excited and they play and wear each other out then snuggle on the couch. It's really great. We only had Benny 4 months before Jason left and he was afraid Benny wouldn't recognize him but as soon as we got home after picking Jason up from the airport in late January, Benny came running up to Jason wagging his tail all excited. He knew his Daddy was home! I know that when Jason returns again later this year Ben will know him again.

Even though we don't have any kids yet, we still have a baby. Benny-boy! And boy is he cute!