recap

since last week..........

Thursday~We went to playgroup then headed to Atlanta, even got there in time to eat Mom's cooking for dinner. I have to say, it smelled so good & homey when we walked in the door. Chris met us there later in the evening as he had something to do in Atlanta the next morning.

Friday~Chris left for his thing. Mom and the girls & I headed to Huntsville to visit with my grandparents. It should only have taken us about 4 hours, but we stopped at TJ Maxx for Mom to return something then stopped at the outlet mall (where I got 2 really cute & inexpensive baby gifts!) then stopped at Cracker Barrel. We did get to Huntsville in time to eat Bigmother's cooking for dinner~yum! We sat out on the covered back patio and the girls enjoyed playing in the yard, etc. Bath time and off to bed!

Saturday~Katie woke up at an awful hour so I promptly sent her into Grammer's (my mom's) room! Katie & I were sleeping in one room and Gracie & Grammer were sleeping in another. We all ended up rather early. Mom & Bigmother headed to some garage sales while the girls & I stayed home with Bigdaddy.

Bigdaddy has a "shop" in the backyard full of tools, etc. He was trying to fix a shelf that had fallen and he needed to use on the big power saws. I heard him tell Katie that it was going to be loud. She exited the shed but wasn't far enough away before he turned it on. OH MY! She was terrified! She ran to me crying & crying! I took her back and held her later when he turned it on again. She cried & cried again and was shaking. Poor thing. I remember liking to watch him use it and smell the sawdust as he made things. I guess she's just not old enough yet.

Grammer and the girls & I went to the EarlyWorks Children's Museum that morning/afternoon. It was really neat. Gracie & Katie both enjoyed dressing up and "riding" in the wagon. Since we've been reading & watching "Little House," Gracie said she was dressed up as Mary. The clothes & wagon certainly fit the time period. They had all sorts of learning activities, mostly history type.

The girls & Grammer took a little nap while I stole away to Starbucks and Barnes & Noble. *ah* relaxation! That night, my aunt & uncle came over for dinner. Katie loved "Unca Joe!" He just has such a way with kids. He's hilarious and really alot like a big kid himself! We went to their house for a little bit and looked at my aunt's "studio." She is so creative & makes all sorts of stuff and Joe had made her a little studio out of this shed that's in their backyard. It's so cute and totally belongs in Southern Living or Mary Engelbreit or something! We also gazed at their pool......their empty pool! Yes, their lining is leaking and the only person in the town who can fix it had a heart attack. What a great time to have that happen, huh????

Sunday~We went to church where we all got to sit together. It's not often I sit on a row completely filled with my family, so that was nice. They have a children's worship that Gracie went to after communion. I'm not sure how I would really feel about children's worship on a regular basis because I feel like Gracie is old enough to sit in church and sing & do things like read her Bible or write in her journal during the sermon, but she did go this Sunday. I didn't take Katie because she's kind of going through a "Mommy phase" and I didn't know if she'd stay. I ended up taking her out because she was calling for "Sissy! Sissy! Sissy!" and I went ahead and registered her for class. They have a large church and ask that you register them and give you a "pass" for picking them up which I like for safety reasons at such a large church. It's really ironic to go where such things are done because our church is small enough that Katie could pretty much walk to class by herself! She cried a little when I left her in class but a really nice lady in the hall got me a beeper so I'd feel better and not have to stand there peeking in the window! The 2 teachers in her class were so nice and I felt really comfortable with them being with her. Katie obviously got over her fear because when I picked her up, she just looked at me and went right on eating her goldfish! Gracie enjoyed her children's worship and enjoyed her class as well. That girl doesn't have too much separation anxiety....ha! She was made for going to class!

We ate lunch at my grandparent's house then Katie & I snoozed (Bigdaddy too!) Mom, Gracie & Bigmother went to the Botanical Gardens. They said it was HOT and there was ALOT to see. I think I'm glad I stayed home with Katie!

That night, my grandparents headed back to church while Grammer, the girls & I went to my aunt & uncle's house for their Life Group. They don't really have anything structured for the kids and Katie kept coming in there talking so I spent most of the time in the den with my girls & one other little boy who was there. We ate afterwards and watched the girls play. Katie loved their cat! She would find it under the dining room table and call to it, "kitty, kitty." I, on the other hand, was about to die! I have become sooooo allergic to cats! When were in Nashville, we stayed with friends who have 2 long hair cats......awful! This time in Huntsville, even though were only there about 30 minutes the first night & 3 1/2 hours the second night, my allergies were killing me! My brother has a cat and we spent 2 night with him and I wasn't bothered. I'm not sure if it's that his cat doesn't seem to be as long haired or that he spends a good bit of time outside.

Anyway, I really like my aunt & uncle and am glad I got to spend some time with them and that the girls got to as well. I'm also glad the girls & I got to spend time with my grandparents. Family is important and we're so scattered that I think it's important to keep in touch & visit when we can.

Monday~We packed up and headed back to Atlanta. Dad met us somewhere to get Mom so I wouldn't have to go all the way back to their house. It saved me some time. Then, we headed on to Aiken in rain, rain, rain. I saw a wreck that had just happened which spooked me because you just never know when it could happen to you. I saw at least 2 people on the side of I-20 ready to run across to the median to help and I saw someone with the doors open on a vehicle that had obviously rolled and it looked like they were trying to get people out. I called 911 and they already had officer en route. It was scary.

I stopped at Family Christian and picked up some dvds & cds they had on sale for around $5. Well, one was $8.97. I can hardly pass up Veggie Tale & Hermie dvds for $5! Plus, I had coupons that you can use on sale items! Let's just say that my nieces, Sara Jane and Ann Elise, are getting some dvds for Christmas.....along with Katie for Christmas and Gracie for her birthday next month! One I got for Gracie's birthday is called, "Gigi God's Little Princess." It looks really cute! I also got her a cd called "Scripture Memory Songs." It's a "Hermie" cd and we love Hermie in our house! Since Gracie struggles with fear sometimes, even over things that most of her friends aren't afraid of, I got her the one that showcases scriptures about being brave. It was a great sale and I got some great faith based products that I will love giving as gifts! (My favorite bargain was when the Veggie Tales dvd was on sale for $5 and they let me use my coupon that was "buy one, get one 50% off," so I got one of the dvds for $2.50!!!!!!! I love a good bargain!)

We met Chris for dinner because he had a meeting at 7 and we didn't get into town until 6. We were all happy to see each other. Chris said it was too quiet without the girls. I know he missed us and we missed him. I am used to having him around and I think he's used to having us around, too!

We took pictures this weekend with my mom & uncle's camera so hopefully I will one day get them to email them to me and I can post them.

Tuesday~Gracie said she didn't feel good. I figured she was just tired. Well, she threw up 3 times! *sigh* The last time was around 3:30 and she went to sleep for quite awhile. Woke up and felt great. Acted like she felt good pretty much the rest of the evening. Didn't eat a whole lot but drank quite a bit, so hopefully she'll be fine tomorrow. It came on pretty much out of the blue so maybe it's exited the same way.
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Please continue to keep Micheal in your prayers. Unfortunately, he was not insured at the time of the accident so finances are an obstacle right now in getting him into rehab. I don't want to go into all of the details on here, but I know they must be stressed. Please keep them in your prayers for his physical healing and for the spiritual, emotional, mental & physical health of he & Jenny both as well as for their child & parents.