On that midnight train to Georgia...

Oh, I wish how I could take a train to Georgia rather than drive alone with my 3 little ones! BUT, with my parents coming to town with my kids for Mallory's birthday, I had help on at least one leg of the Georgia journey to visit my parents for a few days. The kids and I decided to come to Gommy and Poppy's house while Patrick has a crazy work week. For those of you who don't know, crazy work weeks for Patrick means crazy weeks for me, too. So, we came to Elberton.

And oh, the kids are happy.

They've been going to bed late and waking up early, running hard outside, playing hide and seek, going on nature walks, eating pizza at Papa's Pizza To-Go, enjoying additional channels on digital cable that we don't get at home, playing with new toys, giggling and laughing A LOT. Evan has a difficult time settling down at new places so I've had to rock him to sleep at almost every naptime and bedtime (but really, that's OK). Ethan has been waking up before 6am ready to play. Gommy and Poppy are more worn out that normal (wonder why...). I did get to take a nap this morning because of my LONG night last night with my boys both peeing out of their diapers and needing clothes changes in the middle of the night. Going out of town has it's ups and downs. There are lots of ups. Lots and lots of them. But, the kids push additional limits whenever they are in a new environment. They've missed their Daddy. We've talked to Daddy a few times since we've been gone and his encouragement to "glorify God by obeying Mommy" has honestly helped them keep things in perspective.

We head home tomorrow. The 3.5 hour trek will probably take about 5 hours, but at least we'll eventually get home. There will be lots of whining and screaming and crying, but it's usually worth it. I miss my hubby. The kids miss their Daddy. But it's just SO fun coming to Gommy and Poppy's house.

Happy New Years - and a little catch-up

I can't believe it's been a week since I've blogged. SOOOOO much has happened in the last week, I don't know even where to begin. So, here's a *brief* list of our happenings:

- After we got back from Charlotte, we had 2 days to prepare for our Christmas at home. I wrapped a bunch of gifts and anxiously anticipated the reactions of the receivers. My favorite gift I received from my hubby was...well, everything. He gave me a shark steam clean mop (by request), an new feather pillow, an alarm clock that projects the time on the ceiling and a new bag to tote my ever-growing necessities. I gave Patrick 8 photo books including all of our photos from Jan '06 - Oct '08. We spent 2 hours looking through them all. It was many, many months well-spent. The kids received odds and ends from us, nothing major but everything well-thought and special.
- I removed the shower door in the Master Bath on Christmas eve. The seal wasn't completely sealed and caused lots of nasty-ness to fester. Well, after removing the door and TRYING to re-seal it, I realized that the shower door frame doesn't sit flush to the shower stall. Long story short...and a few tears later...we now have a pretty shower curtain (which we both rather prefer). Can anyone agree that shower doors are a pain to clean????
- We loaded up the car and headed to Elberton at 5:30am on Christmas Day. We were there until Sunday afternoon and had a great time together. Patrick went full force back into work on Monday while I went full force into unpacking, calling goodwill to pick up unwanted furniture, shopping for my new W&D (yeah!), cleaning, blah blah blah.
- Yesterday was a doosey. I honestly don't have the mental capacity and time to reiterate the events of the day, but in short, I miswired a 4-prong dryer outlet which fried the new dryer after it was plugged in. But, we didn't realized the dryer was fried until this morning after I purchased a voltage meter to make sure that the fuse didn't bust. Patrick and I spent 2.5 very stressful hours last night trying to figure out the mistake I made regarding the miswiring. Patrick was certain that I miswired the outlet, but we weren't sure if we busted the breaker or the dryer. It was tense. But Lowes, oh, Lowes, how wonderful thou art...I called them last night 5 minutes before they closed to tell them of our situation. They were here today at noon with a new dryer and it installed beutifully. No harm, no foul.

So, today...I sit here with my hubby and daughter while my son sleeps awaiting the dawn of 2009. I don't think Mal will make it, but it's nice to spend these last few hours of '08 with her. We had a great year and look forward to '09.

Here are some pics from my Christmas production earlier in the month...I know, I'm behind but I have to tell you that I haven't even transferred any pics I've taken in the last 10 days from my camera to my 'puter...there's been no time!

In Charlotte!

We arrived in Charlotte yesterday for our Christmas celebration with the Mosses. We pulled in around 2:30pm and then Patrick and I left for the Behold the Lamb concert around 5pm. We ate dinner and arrived at the concert 30 min early. We sat with friends from Johnson City who drove down and we also got to see some old friends, hug some necks and visit for a bit before the concert began. Andrew Peterson and company were AWESOME and I would really like to try to make attending one of his BTL concerts part of our Christmas tradition.

Today, we went up to Concord Mills where I finished my Christmas shopping. It had been months since I had walked into an Ann Taylor Loft and had to turn around shortly after I entered in order to keep my wallet closed. I love that store!

Anyway, we've been playing our daily activities by ear, so we don't have any other plans set in stone right now...not even when we're leaving! Anyway, I hope you all are doing well and are ready for Christmas next week!

We're back!

It's so good to be home! We had a GREAT time on our vacation, which I'll have to elaborate on later...when I have the time, which may not be until next year! :-) But, I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see my kids after 8 days of being away from them. I missed them so much, but it was a refreshing week with my husband and we were blessed with the time we had exclusively and individually. Though the suitcases are unpacked, I still have 2 more loads of laundry to do...4 are already complete.

Here are a few pictures. And I promise that more details will follow...

Getting Ready

There has been lots of list making and bag packing going on over hear. We begin our trek south tomorrow and I still have lots to do. The laundry machine has been working on overtime and I think I have more medication in our first aid kit than I know what to do with. Gommy and Poppy will be taking care of the kiddos while Patrick and I enjoy some much-anticipated R&R.

Mallory has been a big helper to me the last few days and I enjoyed painting her toes for the first time this evening. It's strange getting my toes ready for open-toed shoes when it's in the low 50's outside. Everybody is getting ready for fall while I'm getting ready for white sandy beaches!

Hoe-down

Back home!

We arrived home yesterday afternoon around 2pm. It was good to see Patrick and Mallory! And it was good to be out of that plane! I dealt with a little bit of vertigo last night that was not very comfortable, but I feel MUCH better today.

Here are some pictures from my trip. I almost didn't bring my camera, but I'm so glad that I did because nobody else was snapping pictures and there were many "kodak moments" that I'm so glad we didn't miss. Amongst the many pictures, you'll see my sister and I with my grandma's sister, June (who lives outside of Galveston, so keep them in your prayers!!!), some fun in the pool, the iguana that LIVES in the screen porch that the pool is in, family dinners, Ethan in the swing, Ethan playing, our family "hoe-down" with my uncle on the harmonica, and grandpa with the "grands". We had a great time despite that the occasion was for my grandma's funeral.



Mom is still down in FL helping grandpa clean out some of my grandma's things. One thing I asked for from my mom was one of grandma's pie plates. She used to make the best pies. I'd love to bake a pie in her plates and think of her while doing it. Mom is heading home tomorrow, which I'm sure will be difficult. It was a week ago today that she headed down there knowing this was the last time she would see her mom. Anyway, life goes on and God is faithful through all things.

Here are all the grands:


















(L-R)
Backrow- Kenzie, Melanie, Amanda, Grandpa, Aaron, Jeremy, Nathan
Lap kids - Ethan (great-grand), Elisha, Parker(great-grand), Peighton (great-grand)

Kenzie and Elisha are sisters (daughters of Mike).
Amanda and I are sisters (daughters of Dawn).
Aaron, Jeremy, and Nate are brothers (sons of David).
Ethan and Mallory (not pictured) are mine.
Peighton and Parker are Aaron's.
(my Aunt Donna does not have any kids.)

A day of ceremony

Today was my grandma's funeral. I can't really go into too much of my emotions now since I need to go to bed soon and get some rest to prepare for tomorrow's trip home. But, it was nice and I think my grandma would have really liked it; it was a traditional catholic mass without some of the pomp and ceremony that usually accompanies it, though still very "catholic". My sister and I did get to sing "In the Garden" during the mass and my mom wrote and read the eulogy, which was a beautiful summary of her full life. My grandpa was very sad and his lip was constantly quivering. We were all trying to be strong for him.

The day was very nice despite the reason why were were all gathered. But the only living family members not present were Patrick and Mallory. That was pretty cool. It was neat to have everyone together remembering times with grandma. We had a traditional family dinner (cold cuts, cheese, rolls, cold salads, devilled eggs, desserts) after the service. Grandpa stayed busy with all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren around. Though he sat on the couch the whole time, people constantly buzzed by him making sure he had enough to drink and eat. We even got a nice picture of all the "grands" with grandpa. I think that will be a nice memory.

We're leaving tomorrow around 9am (or earlier) to make it back to Sanford in time to catch our noon flight. We should be back home around 1:30ish. I can't wait to see my hubby and daughter!

We're Here!

I keep forgetting that my aunt and uncle have internet access, so I should be able to give updates during the week.

God put all of the plans for my travel down here in place with such ease and grace. My dad called me about 7:30 to tell my grandma died. I knew it was soon because she was given just merely hours on Saturday. After talking to my dad and figuring out Patrick's schedule, we thought the initial course of action was for me to drive the kids to my dad's house and then we would drive with my dad down to FL today. But, after thinking about that and talking to my mother in law, we figured it would be possible to take just Ethan, which would make the drive easier. Then, my dad suggested that why don't I just fly. You see, there is an airline that flies out of JC for real cheap down to Orlando/Sanford (north of Orlando International) and they only fly on Sun and Thurs. So, I quickly called them and asked if there was any availability. This was around 9:15am. They said there was, but they stop booking at 10. I called a friend of mine who flies with their son a lot and asked if I could borrow her travel carseat, which is a carseat and stroller built into one. She said of course and brought it to church. Patrick's mom was driving up Sun afternoon and Mallory would be cared for. All I had to do was make a rental car reservation, which went without a hitch. So, I had a flight and rental car for less than $400 which is GREAT for such a last minute flight. Since Patrick and I had to teach the preschoolers at church, I had 20 minutes to pack for me and Ethan before we had to be at church. AND so far, the only thing I've noticed I've forgotten is my brush! God is good.

Ethan was GREAT on the flight down here. I still can't get over how a 12 hour trip turns into a 1 hour and 15 minute flight. Crazy. Ethan barely slept at all yesterday, but was a trooper despite his weariness. The flight was full except for 2 seats, and one of those seats was next to me!!! Praise God! I had plenty of room to put his toys and what-nots to keep him entertained for the duration of the flight. I only checked the clock twice to see how much longer we had left. I think that was a good thing! Maneuvering through the airport with the carseat/stroller and my one carry on and purse was a BREEZE (thank you, thank you, thank you Abby!). The airport was only 60 miles from my family's house, but it took almost 2 hours to get here, between potty breaks, the grocery store, diaper changes, and feedings. AND I think we stop ed at EVERY traffic light on the way. Every time I hit a red light, I prayed for grace. :-)

Anyway, we arrived here about 7pm and Ethan was VERY glad to be released from the carseat. My mother was SOOO happy to see us both. My dad is supposed to arrive today, so Ethan and I were the first ones from her brood that she got to hug. When we arrived, there was a mass of family here which was pretty chaotic. I did get to hug my grandpa, though it was brief because of the craziness. He left shortly after I got there, which doesn't surprise me since he barley slept a wink in the last few days. Ethan was up for about an hour before I put him to bed. Actually, mom asked to put him to bed, which I think was a good balm for her. She hadn't seen E in over a month and just holding him and loving on him started a grief process for her that she hadn't been able to come to yet because of all the busy-ness of the hours after the death of a loved one. I got to talk to her for about an hour after E went to bed and it was so nice to hear her talk and learn more about grandma's final hours.

Ethan is taking a nap now and I'm in a quiet house, so I'm going to take this opportunity to spend a few minutes with God. Please pray that my grandpa will see Jesus through all of this. He doesn't feel worthy of God and wonders why Jesus would even give him a thought. Yes, he's not worthy, like all of us, and pray that he'll see God's grace as a free gift and the Jesus loves him, too. Pray that I will be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I know this is long, but this was a nice respite for me. Writing things down makes me infuse the memories into my brain. It feels weird being here without seeing grandma. Her funeral is on Wed. Again, all I can ask is for your prayers.

Plans in motion...

Grandma died at 12:15am today. I have a flight down to FL this afternoon. I'm taking Ethan. Patrick and his mom are taking care of Mallory. Please pray and I'll give you more details when I come home on Thurs.