Answered Prayers

Well, it's official.  After 7 years of living at least an 11-hour car ride away in 2 different states, my parents moved back to Tulsa, OK!!!!!!  Can you tell I am excited?!?  We are a super tight-knit family and being so far away was difficult.  We made it work with:

7 years of Skype dates
7 years of meet-you-half-way trips
7 years of tricky holiday scheduling
7 years of road trips
7 years of expensive airfare
7 years of phone calls
7 years of counting the weeks between visits
7 years of squeezing LOTS of activities in 2-day increments
7 years of wishing we could see each other more
7 years of dreaming that one day we'd be back together

And more specifically they have had:

2 years of  emailed pictures and videos of their only grandchild
2 years of Skype while she sleeps, eats, dances, and plays
2 years of worrying about us when we travel to see them
2 years of difficult goodbyes after short visits
2 years of longing for more time with her

Not only have our dreams come true, but GOD ANSWERED OUR PRAYERS.

I have wanted nothing more than my sweet girl to have the relationship with my parents that I do with my grandparents.  Don't get me wrong - they were making it happen from afar, but gosh life just got so much easier.  Now we can do things like:

Weeknight dinners
No-travel holidays
Grandparent/Haven dates
Win-win babysitting (Grandparent/Haven time - more Mommy/Daddy dates)
 Zoo, splash pad, park, shopping - you name it
Dance recitals (or just dance class for that matter!)
Future sporting events, school plays and performances
Regular, everyday might-be-boring-to-others interactions

And my brain can't help but go here... They will be close by from Day 1 of Haven's little sister(s)/brother(s) one day.  (Not yet I can assure you!).  All that comes with that almost overwhelms me.  The idea of being close by through pregnancy, no crazy 11-hour travel when it's time for baby, help with both baby and Haven from the start, just all of it.  Amazing.

Thank you Lord for answering our prayers and bringing my parents back to OK.  We are forever grateful and won't take one day for granted.  Blessed beyond belief!