We'd have been home much earlier if only they could have...

Ridden on her magic carpet…

Or used the highway as a racetrack…

Both of the kids were so looking forward to Halloween. We left NY in the morning, trying, trying, trying to get home in time for Abbey and Elijah to do a little trick-or-treating. It's a good 9-10 hour trip. In order to make it, we needed to have everything go perfectly. That is… very few potty and food breaks, and- the biggie…no traffic tie-ups.

The kids did their part and rode like troopers. Sometimes boredom tends to make kids due strange things…

like put stickers on your eyes???

Amazingly, we went through DC with very little traffic problems and the same thing for Richmond. We kept right on truckin' south and pulled into our driveway about 7:15 pm, time for Abbey and Elijah to go into their rooms and emerge as Jasmine and Lightning McQueen.

and off they went!

We met up with Anna, Jamie and their little Angry Bird..

Come on, Mimi, enough with the flash already!!

So, Halloween was saved, and much candy was consumed!

Evie Claire comes home

Beth spent a day and a half in the hospital. That was a day and half more than she wanted to be there. The conditions weren't the most pleasant. She had to share a room, meaning that Greg couldn't spend the night with her. I thought that was awful. The second night, she had a meltdown due to the care, or lack thereof, that she received. She called Greg at 2 am crying, incredibly distraught, and her knight in shining armor, found a way to coerce his way to her room. He didn't push his luck and stay too long, but he got to give her a little comfort.  She was more than ready to come home the next morning. The hospital had to repeat Evie's hearing screening. The first day she did not pass on one ear, but the second day, she passed with flying colors. (The doctors attributed the first result to the fast paced birth).

Papa (John) had been designated as the driver to deliver the precious cargo home. The car we had rented was akin to a pregnant roller skate, so no room for me or the kids. As John made his way to and from the hospital, the kids were majorly suffering from cabin fever, so we set off to explore. We found a park and they got to play for a little while. We sauntered back to Beth and Greg's place and anxiously waited the new family's arrival. (I had a killer headache all day. I mean, on a scale of 1 to 10, it was a 9 with major ibuprofen, and a 10 without it. So the day is a bit of a blur to me).

Finally they made it home.

                                                   Big sister Bella welcomed them.

By the way, Bella did really well when she met her new family member. A few days later, she was caught cuddling up to her new baby sister. Man, I love that fur baby!

                                                     The new family, home at last!

Decked out in her coming home finery

                                                       Notice her girlie "Jordans"

Greg's mom and stepdad were also there to welcome baby Evie home. It was neat to see them again. I wish we had had more time to catch up! After they left, I offered to cook dinner. Beth suggested a meal she would like, and John, the kids and I set off to the neighborhood grocery store to get food to cook. It was a learning adventure.  Life in the city is certainly different in some ways than life in suburbia.

While we were in New York, Abbey and Elijah handled the trip very well. It was a whirlwind, not so kid friendly trip, but they were troopers. They did get to explore a little. The highlight for them was riding  the subway.

They got their first hotdog from a street vendor, and ate it on the sidewalk.

John had a very limited amount of days off, so way too soon, we had to say goodbye. To say it hurt my heart, is to put it mildly. I hated leaving! Beth and I both cried. I continued to cry off and on the whole way home. My life is my family and when any of them are away from me, it's like a part of me is missing. I am very thankful for the smallness of today's world. Beth has done a great job sending pictures and little video snippets. Evie has already changed so much. I can't wait to see her (and her parents) this Christmas!

Getting ready for Evie~ her shower

I'll never forget that shock filled phone call from Beth in February as she called and told me that she thought she was pregnant. She had just been here to help Anna with Layne and I had a sneaking suspicion that she might be, so I wasn't all that surprised. But, I was tickled to be a Mimi again!

The months flew by, (at least for me, Beth might differ slightly). We watched in awe as she grew bigger and bigger. We even got to see Miss E Claire on a 3-d ultrasound.

My Mom, Anna and I had a shower for Beth with her friends and family here at our house.

The Cake, one of my creations

Mom bought a packed diaper cake.

What a blessing to be able to have both Grandmothers, i.e. Great-Grandmothers at the shower!

We wrote letters to Evie to be opened on each of her birthdays.

Me and the Mommy to be

With all my girls

Layne attended her first shower.

Beth and two childhood friends, Cally and Jordan

Then we entered into the final few months waiting for Evie to make her appearance. We all sort of figured she would come a little bit early, and she did!

On her way to toothless status!

Abbey has been hoping, praying (while wiggling and wiggling), that she will lose a tooth. All of her good friends have lost teeth and her mouth seemed resolute to keeping all of those cute little pearlies. For months, she would come to me and say, "My tooth is wiggly!" I'd check and all of the teeth that usually come out first were stuck tighter than the proverbial Dick's hatband. Finally, this summer, the bottom right tooth began to budge, but only ever so slightly. By the fall, it was moving considerably more. But, the amazing thing was that Abbey, my child who has a pain tolerance level close to "cut my arm off, and I might cry", refused to let anyone touch her tooth because it hurt! The other big two teeth had grown in behind the loose one. The dentist wasn't concerned and said it would come out eventually.

And eventually it did….at church! I was disappointed to not be there to experience her first tooth, but in a few weeks, she pulled the second one at home.

All of us enjoyed the vision that the tooth fairy presents at our house. We have a quite "unique"(for lack of a better word), tradition regarding the tooth fairy. You'd have to see it to believe it! That's all I'm saying about it for now.

Now we set our sights on the top teeth, which are, you guessed it... apparently happy to stay where they are, at least for now. I hope that these come out before the big ones come in. I love to see kids with that great old big empty space on their top gum. I think it would be fun for her to sing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." But, if the past is any indication, she'll be singing a song like, "There ain't no cure for the summertime tooth"!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

On October 16th, my mom turned 74 years young! Abbey, Elijah and I went to Tarboro to celebrate with her and my Dad.

My mom is so very special to all of our family. She is the most giving person you'll ever meet. All of my kids just love to be around Nana. She's always been there for me, always willing to lend a hand, a smile and a listening ear. There is nothing she wouldn't do for her family and vice versa. Through the years, I've been so privileged to watch a wonderful mother in action. I observed the art of putting others before yourself from watching the pro…. my mom.

 Mom, we all love you and are extremely grateful to have you in our lives!

To my darling newest grand daughter....

Little Miss Evelyn Claire, i.e. Evie Claire for short,

Oh, how I've waited to see your perfect little face, kiss those ultra smooth cheeks, have your slender fingers on the end of your dimpled hand grasp my finger, and give your Mommy and Daddy a hug welcoming them to the greatest journey ever...parenthood!

My chance finally came today! Your Aunt Anna and I listened to your Mom tell of her aches and knowingly told each other that you were going to be here quicker than your Nov. 11 due date. That's what she and I did, and we figured your Mom would follow suit; and we were right. You were coming early. Once the doctors figured out that you were actually busting out, you were born about 5 hours later.  Your Papa, Aunt Abbey, Uncle Elijah and I were hauling butt to get to NY to see you and your parents. It's a long way from the south, (which, by the way, is God's country), a good 9-10 hour drive. But, my dear, sweet little Evie, I'd hop on a rocket ship and fly to the moon to see you for the first time.

As we navigated the crowded, and I mean, crazy crowded streets of the BIG city, I watched the zillions of people rushing to and fro. I wondered what in the world they could be rushing to that is any more important than where I was going? If they understood how much Papa and I love you and wanted to see you, they would have cleared the roads and given us a police escort!

You are part of a big family, my dear, like it or not. There will be times when you will love it. Having 5 doting uncles and aunts will seem like heaven. Then as you get older and they start to tell you what to do and how to do it, it might not be as much fun. But, I can assure you that during the good, the bad and the ugly, we always come back to loving each other.

One thing you can count on is your Papa's and my love for you. We loved you before you were born and will continue as long as we have breath! The distance between your home and ours may make it more challenging, but we want to be a big part of your life. We just might have to get creative in how we do it. But, even if we're not in the same town, my sweet girl, you will always be in my heart. I will pray for you, asking God to keep you safe and healthy, help you grow in all ways, give your parents' wisdom and allow just enough hard times in your life to make you strong.

It is such a privilege to be your Mimi! I'll always be there for you.  You are a gift from God and I'm so very grateful for you,  Miss Evelyn Claire.

With love always,
Mimi

The new family...

The star of the show...

Not Her Talent

Abbey has asked to play soccer on several occasions. This summer she got her chance. I signed her up to play with the Salvation Army. I had heard that they had a program that wasn't very intense nor expensive. We got her cleats and shin guards and she was ready to go!

That is until the first practice. It was on a hot August day. Elijah and I were sweltering on the bleachers watching the little boys and girls run willy-nilly with no purpose. After a little while, Abbey comes to me and complains, "I'm hot!" I told her we all were hot, but she wanted to play soccer, so she needed to get back to it. The afternoon of her 3rd practice, life hit and I just wasn't able to get her to practice. As I apologized to her, she was really indifferent. The next practice, she begged not to go, and then it got cancelled because of the weather. I really thought that once she got to play in a real game she would enjoy it.

I thought wrongly..

She seemed ready right before..

and during warm up...

she listened during the pregame devotion...

but once the game started, I didn't see any glee...

You could tell she just wasn't into it while she had to wait to play...

So that ended Abbey quest for soccer stardom. A few days later I mentioned the next game. She emphatically let me know that under no circumstances did she want to play soccer. Her words exactly were, "God gave me a talent and it is not soccer!" Well, all righty then, Missy, "What is your talent?"

What do you guess she replied???

Here's a hint...