tour of georgia

We are back settled at home from a very full week split between Atlanta, Sandersville, and Tifton. A tour of Georgia somewhat.

Last weekend was a busy couple of days filled with family in town, recital stuff, and heading to Atlanta. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to meet my new godson at a sip-n-see, so I packed up the kids and drove to Atlanta after going to early church and Sunday School.

Hannah went with me and got to play with big sister Catelin. Joseph went off with the boys to do boy things.

Isn't Jake precious?! He is Julie's fourth (yes, fourth!) child. Julie and I went to Georgia Tech together. {I've blogged about her before.} She was my big-sister in the sorority and we've been friends every since. Besides taking care of four adorable children, she also works part-time as a doctor and runs marathons. I'm not sure how she does it all but I'm proud of her and love her to death. She's a true friend and sister-in-Christ. So glad I got to see her and hold that sweet baby boy!!

We spent the night with another special family who I love to pieces. Auntie Jen and Uncle Daniel made room for us and I was so grateful for the time to catch up, it had been too long. Hannah was very excited to have a sleepover with Leah.

As little girls do, they stayed up way late, playing and talking.

On Monday morning we took the kids to the zoo. The weather was nice and, other than a little whining due to kids staying up too late, everyone had a fun time. Hannah was excited to see the pink flamingos but thought they were stinky…

The meerkats were one of their favorites. They are cute little things and seem to have fun.

We were disappointed the giraffes were not on exhibit but we did get to see the zebras. And we said hi to Willie B.

Joseph thought the gorillas were hilarious because you can see "their bottoms". I don't know…but he giggled a lot. I love how they just sit there, perched on the rocks like they are posing for pictures.

Hannah couldn't wait to see the monkeys and was thrilled when one "looked" at her.

The otters were another favorite. Like the meerkats, they seem to have a great time and are fun to watch in action:

I love the tiger-roar picture. The tiger didn't do anything impressive, but the kids were entertaining.

Before Jen and the girls had to leave, we took a ride together on the carousel. The three girls were excited and happy…

…Joseph not so much. He smiled briefly, but really just wanted me right beside him. The up and down, shaky movement was really not his deal.

Hannah and Joseph then ran around and had a blast at the new splash pad just as the sun came out from its hiding place behind the clouds.

We visited the twin pandas (and impersonated one sleeping) and checked in on the elephant(s) again.

Instead of going straight back to Sandersville, we went back into the city for lunch and shoe shopping (for me!) at Atlantic Station. My highlight was having chicken and waffles for the first time, something I've always wanted to try but a little hesitant to do. We went to Chick-a-Biddy and it was delicious! The highlight for the kids might have been the escalators at DSW. {Small town living here, remember?}

After a day at home, we drove down to be with Joe at the Methodist Church's annual conference in Tifton. We ate, swam, and played at the hotel. The kids and me, that is. Joe worked mostly.

{…Those times when the kids get ahold of your phone and take pictures of themselves. They were in the corner of my dressing room at TJ Maxx. Can't complain, they were occupying themselves quite well.}

It was a lot of time in the car, and late nights going to bed, but a fun week making fun memories.

mother's day and granddaddy's visit

Mother's Day was pretty low-key around here. I had bought a couple of things while out shopping on my own, so I made sure Joe knew that I didn't need (or expect) anything else. Except for the homemade stuff of course! The kids couldn't wait to share their surprises for me. I received preschool art from Joseph and sweet drawings from Hannah.

Joseph made a sweet trinket tray and hand towel:

Hannah made me a couple cards…

…as well as a cute little book she worked really hard on.

{I like to sit in my bed and think… I love to run and play outside. I asked her if she was running in that drawing. "No. I was standing still so you could take my picture." She knows me well.}

{I like to take baths. That's she and Joseph, and then Barbie on the right in the tub. I like to play outside in the water at home.}

She also drew a picture of "Mommy, Daddy and me…There wasn't room for Joseph."

Uh huh.

On Saturday my three sweeties gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. We also stopped at the nursery after lunch at the Dairy Lane with Granddaddy and Aunt Angie and bought a new pedestal for our bird bath. Happiness!

We went to Sunday School and worship and took pictures on the front lawn afterwards. 

Granddaddy and Hannah went exploring Sunday afternoon. They found a trail in the woods in our neighborhood that I knew nothing about. Hannah had such a great time. They were gone for a while and Momma got worried, so Joseph and I got in the car and went to find them.

She will be talking about this exploration for a long time I have a feeling.

The kids loved having Granddaddy here for a few days. I did, too. We played a lot and had so much fun.

Above, before dinner Monday night at Puebla's, the local Mexican place: Joseph, waiting for the clock tower to ring in the square downtown. {It never did. I don't know what is up but that sure was disappointing!!}

Below, Tuesday afternoon. Granddaddy wanted a picture of Hannah before dance. The cowgirl boots are a staple with the tutu.

Aunt Angie came back in town and we had dinner (at Waffle House!) before she took him back to Savannah.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day and am always thankful to God for blessing me with the two precious ones that made me Momma. I am also thankful to have an amazing Mom and wonderful mother-in-law but didn't get to celebrated with either of them this year. Love you Meme and Gran Gran!

My mom, brothers and sisters-in-law gave flowers in my honor to the Cathedral's special Mother's Day flower display in Savannah. The Cathedral of St. John is a special place to our family and where my mom is very involved. They let me know by sending me a picture of the bulletin. I so appreciate their thoughtfulness. Thanks y'all!!

And, while I'm giving thanks, I am so glad that my dad came to visit. It is so nice to catch up and see him with my children. He lives in Bellingham, Washington and that is too far away. Way too far. I'm not afraid to be honest so let me just say, I know you love the Pacific Northwest, but move back to the East Coast, Granddaddy!

meeting lachlan and a visit with granddaddy

Last Wednesday, my half-brother who lives on the West Coast (San Diego), his wife, and their precious 2-year old boy came through town. We hadn't gotten to meet Lachlan yet and were so excited to have the chance. They brought Granddaddy, also visiting from the West Coast (the Pacific North West, more specifically).

The kids had a great time riding around the backyard and showing Lachlan their toys.

I wish I would've gotten a picture of the whole group. We don't see Randy and Suzi very often and enjoyed catching up in the little time we had with them.

Granddaddy stayed with us for a couple of days and, even though Hannah got sick in the middle of it all (high fever), we had a wonderful visit…

…and wore Granddaddy out.

Friday morning, Hannah felt much better and wanted to send her teacher a picture of her show-and-tell item(s) of the week. For this week's letter, J, she picked jewelry.

What else would Hannah have chosen?

Her sweet little brother came outside and plopped down next to her for the picture. To not hurt his feelings, she posed for a picture with him before getting one solo.

We then piled into the car and headed to Savannah for the Rock-n-Roll 1/2 marathon.

To be continued…

gran gran and yard work

It's been a great week - starting and ending with birthday parties. We brought Gran Gran (my mother-in-law) back with us from Savannah last Saturday to spend a few days in the Ville. The Monkey had a swimming party that next afternoon. Her swimming has come a long way - I mean, like from not leaving the steps to swimming on her own - in just a couple weeks. She even got up the courage to jump off the diving board!

My good friend, Deana, was there in the deep end, encouraging her along. She should be charging for her swim lessons! So glad I took some videos so Daddy (and grandparents, aunts and uncles) could see:

 {From left: Maggie, Cole, Hannah, Jane, Kate, Kessler and Carrie}

Happy birthday to Katie! 

This week was super hot, with temps in the 90s by lunchtime. We took Gran Gran with us to the pool one day and the rest we played outside until the heat was unbearable, then we played inside. There was a lot of tractor riding, puzzles, and books. We ran some errands and went out to lunch. The kids got surprises at Walmart one day: Honey picked "Frozen" and Josey picked bubbles and "colors" for the bath. You can imagine how the rest of that day went… 

It's really a shame I didn't take more pictures. One thing I did capture was the kids helping their GG in the yard. To be clear, we do have a lawn service that keeps our yard cut and edged. And we do tell her that she doesn't need to do anything…but, she loves it, and she does it anyway. We happened to talk about this pesky holly bush that has come back from supposedly being taking out last summer (yeah right). She took it as her personal mission to pull that thing up - big roots and all. Well, the kids love to help and stand over her (undoubtedly asking questions the whole time) while she works. 

Notice that border of pine straw with hydrangeas and azaleas? Before I continue our week, let me back up to Memorial Day weekend, when Joe and I did something about the eyesore that is the back of our backyard. It was more than an eyesore. It was a haven for poison ivy and who knows what else behind all the trees in the back of the yard (ticks? snakes?!). We didn't like the kids going back there but the lack of a border made it difficult to establish boundaries. So we created one. Instead of waiting on the church to approve a landscaper to do it and for all that to happen, on Memorial Day weekend we threw the kids in the car and went out and bought some bushes to plant ourselves. Joseph carried plants in the jeep and Hannah carried water in the front-loader. Joe dug holes and I planted. It was a team effort.

Now we can say "Don't go past the bushes!"

Gran Gran cleaned up back there a bit and our yard has never looked so good. Truth be told, I'm just glad we have grass. It took a while to fill in this year - and a lot of water and weed killer! It has also been very dry. GG and I prayed all week for rain and Wednesday afternoon we finally got some for the first time in weeks, I think. I don't know how long it had been, but we were parched in our neck of the woods.

Thursday, Poppy came to take Gran Gran home. We checked out Hannah's new school and lunched at McDonald's before they went back to Savannah. Sadly, this is the one picture I have of GG and her Sandersville grandbabies.

Joe met us for lunch and I realized that my three were all in turquoise. As much as I love coordinating outfits, I did not plan this. Still, I had to take a photo of them. {I was in linen pants and a white tank, so no need to include me in the picture.}

Goodness… I can just stare at this photo and I'm so full of love and gratitude - for them and for the amazing God that gave them to me.