Girl Time

This afternoon Natalie, Paige and I hung out with some of our favorite girlfriends, Andrea, Olivia, Ashlyn and Elli.

By the end of our time playing together, Olivia and Ashlyn were running around in the basement with just their panties on (Olivia had on a few other dress-up accessories but nothing that would count as clothing). Natalie was wearing a dress-up tube-top that was not covering everything that it should. Elli had on a onesie and dress-up heels. It was madness. Girls gone wild, I tell you.

Time with friends, pray answered

Wow, it was a long time ago that I posted this.
One of the perks of being back in Winston is that we get to hang out with the Lenham family again. We had dinner with them last night and I cannot believe how well Claire is doing!! She has been seizure free for 7 weeks. She is so interactive. She wants to be hugged and sit on your lap. She is a sweet, sweet girl and you can tell that she is really trying to communicate with others. What an amazing thing to witness and see. Praise God! Claire and I had a neat relationship when her seizures started. She would see me come through the door and say, "It's Wee!!" She seemed so excited to see me. When we were coming into their house last night she pointed at me with delight in her eyes and it melted my heart. She does point at lots of things these days but to feel like she remember me made me feel great!!
On a selfish note, Jeanne went out of her way to buy me dairy free ice cream Yes, there is such a thing. She is an awesome friend!

Another new baby!

Gabriel David Reames was born yesterday. He weighed 7lbs and 14 oz. Another potential husband for Paige, I love it!

Woohoo!!

Timothy Reed Musser is here! We can't wait to meet him. He weighs 6lbs and 2oz. Lindsay and Tim are doing well. Congrats!!

Tanzania

I just a really fun update from my dear, dear friend from college, Jen. Jen is an amazing person!! She is loving, compassionate, wise, fun, I could go on...We were the best of friends in college. We lived in the same dorm for two years, lead a small group together, were discipled together. We saw each other through broken hearts, random kisses and choosing husbands. She is one of those friends.

After college we headed down different paths. I got married, took a job as a nurse and settled down in Winston. She headed to NYC to persue medical school. She married her high school sweetheart. Their relationship has had some interesting twists of living and working in different places. While I felt like I was living a very generic life hers was so exciting!!

That trend continues. I am having my second child and heading back to Winston. I am mostly a stay-at-home mom. Very typical life! This is what she is up to....still living in NYC in a fellowship for infectious disease. She has an amazing heart to work with the poor, espcially the HIV population. Her husband is living in California (he has his PhD and is a professor at Fuller). Last summer, for vacation they went backpacking in South America. They have both done extensive work overseas. To top it off, they are spending 6 months together next fall in Tanzania!!! I don't even know where Tanzania is!!

Despite these many differences and the distance she is still one of my dearest friends. I would love to spend hours with her over coffee. Chat, chat, chat, make a groovy song mix (we have made a couple on TAPE, we need to get with the times and put it on the iPOD) and chat some more. I admire her so much! I am so proud of her!!

Welcome Home, Wes!!

In the midst of a week that has been tragically sad for several of my friends it is so nice to have some good news to share and to celebrate.

Our dear friend, Wes, is home from war. He had been away from his wife and two sweet little boys for over a year, far too long!!

Wes's wife was my roommate in college and one of my dearest friends. I have been so proud of her this year!! She has shown amazing strength and dedication to her family. She has shown me first hand how much sacrifice all military families make. I am so thankful to the Hite family and all the families who sacrifice so much for us.

Welcome home, Wes!! We can't wait to see you guys!! "Melting Pot" here we come!!

Cox Farm

Fun times at Cox Farm with friends.

Lots of fun slides

Yummy apples

Kettle Corn

Farm animals

Pumpkins

Hay rides

Morning Alarm

Soon after I got Natalie out of her bed this morning all the fire alarms in the house started going off. It took me a minute to figure out what alarm system was going off. Looking back on the situation it didn't even occur to me that there might be a FIRE, I just wanted the noise to stop, it was too early for such things. So with a toddle CLINGING to me I ran through the house (Kim had already left for work at 5:15) and down two flights of stairs trying to find the source of the problem. The fire detector in the basement was flashing, ah ha! Now, all I needed to do was peel the toddler off of me, find something that could help me reach the 9' ceiling and get it to stop. Ok, mission accomplished, LOUD noise gone, small chirping noise here. So, I guess the battery is low and we slept through the beep all night and the fire alarm was giving us a final notice. Now, all I needed to do was replace the battery. Problem, I don't have a battery and I can't reach to replace the battery. Decision, this can wait until after church. More LOUD noise. Clearly the fire alarm wanted to be fixed now. So, at 6:50 in the morning I call me dear friend and ask her to send a battery and her husband to my rescue. After replacing the battery, much button pushing (why do these things have to be so complicated? I can see now why people just pull them out of the wall.),and some early cursing, the problem was solved! Natalie keeps saying "No more loud, mommie, no more loud?!" The highlight of the situation was that me toddler wanted to snuggle very close to me for 15 minutes. Thank goodness for friends!

I'm Back

Kim, Natalie and I just got back from a week in Corolla, NC. We had a great time. We left last Saturday morning and spent the weekend in Windsor to celebrate Mama Askew's birthday and Kim's 30th birthday. On Monday we journeyed to the beach. We stayed at our friend's parents beach home "Crescent Moon". The house sleeps 22 but we only packed in 14. We were with Chris, Sarah, Madeline (Natalie's BFF), Chris's mom and dad (owners of the house), Sarah's mom and dad (who left too early), Chris's sister and brother-in-law and two friends from college. Aside from the occasional turf wars between the two-year-olds we had a great time. Beach vacations are definitely different with children!

I still haven't figured out how to take good pictures to capture the moment, I am hoping that Sarah got some good shots. I had dreams of taking Natalie out on the beach in a cute little dress to take some pics, it didn't happened. Trying to align the weather, with a two-year-old's naps/moods, with everything else we wanted to do was too much.

We did have some lovely kite flying weather. That held Natalie's attention for about two minutes and then she wanted to dig in the sand together. Until I had Natalie, I hated the sand. Now I tolerate it because it bring her so much joy and find myself enjoying it.

We had a great week together, growing our friendship, mostly at Chris's expense. That is what happens when you invite friends to invade your family vacation. I treasure my time with the Reames. I am still trying to convince them that NC is way better than NOVA!

Fun Random Picture

In light of the previous, downer-post, here is a fun picture of Natalie and her dear friend, Daisy. They are playing with poker chips and a cooler. What else do classy girls wearing crowns play with at the beach?

Whirlwind Tour of New Jersey

My mom came into town last Thursday. We got up early Friday morning, loaded the car and headed to New Jersey to visit family. When the trip started we thought we would just visit with my grandparents and maybe a few aunts and uncles. By the end of the trip we had seen 35 people! Natalie was great. We had a wonderful time being together and got some really special time with our family.

Like I said the trip was originally intended to visit with my Chief (my dad's dad), his lovely wife Fran, and my Grammie (my mom's mom). Chief and Fran are doing wonderfully. It was so fun to watch Natalie interact with them. We had not been at their house for five minutes and Natalie had made a new best friend in Ms. Fran. She had Fran pushing her baby's stroller around and changing her baby's diapers. Natalie had so much fun watching Chief feed the birds, helping him take the trash out and leading him around the house. Like I said, a joy to watch. The other really fun part of staying with Chief and Fran was watching Natalie run around a house that I treasure from my childhood. We always spent Christmas time in New Jersey at my grandparents' home. Natalie was playing on the stairs that I remember coming down on Christmas morning. What a joy! She was running through a house that I ran through so many times. What a delight for my heart.

We also visited with my Grammie, who is not doing so well. She is 91 years old, nearly 92. She has lived a long, wonderful life but her time here on Earth appears to be running out. She is still able to be in her home with the 24 hour care of an angel named Zoya. She is an angel. She takes such wonderful care of my grandmother. She provides the care that I wish that I could provide. She lovingly feeds her and cares for her every need. Even though my Grammie is often mean to her (Grammie's mind and personality is not what is used to be) she is so incredibly patient and kind to her. My Grammie is still in the only home that my mom ever lived in. She is still in the bed that she shared with my Pop-Pop for over 60 years. She is still able to snuggle with her beloved cat Susie (who is the meanest cat ever!) who never leaves her side. My mom got to spend good time with Grammie. I got the few brief moments that Natalie would allow me with her. I got to kiss her and tell her that I love her. Natalie kissed her and told her that she loved her. So sweet! Grammie may fool us all and go on living for a while but even if she doesn't we all got to give her kisses and show our love. It was worth the trip for that!

Now, here are the more upbeat and fun highlights from the trip:

• Pizza night at Chief's house with my Aunt Jeannie, Uncle Gary, Uncle John and Uncle David
• Playing shuffle board until 1:30 in the morning with my Aunt Jeannie, Uncle Gary and Uncle David (Uncle David and I won)
• Taking Natalie to Verona Park (another childhood memory of mine)
• Real NJ bagels
• Dinner with Aunt Joannie, Uncle John, Johnnie, Anna, Gary, and Jessica
• Watching Natalie play in the pool with Anna (my 16-year-old cousin)
• An afternoon with my maid-of-honor, Jen, who took the bus in from NYC to visit with me
• Visiting with my Aunt Barb and cousins: Joey, Kristin, Jessica, Keith, and Kristine
• Feeding the ducks at Verona Park
• A pool party at my Aunt Pat and Uncle Ken's house with lots of cousins and friends that I hadn't seen in many years. Some of them I hadn't seen in four years, some probably 10. I got to meet their children and briefly catch-up. So fun! Here is the list: Aunt Pat, Uncle Ken, Robin, Anthony, Samantha, Kenny, Laura, Caroline, Little Kenny, Kevin, "Aunt Joyce", Tammy, Morgan, Shelby, Sidney.

We arrived home safe and sound at 7:30 last night. We had a great time. Again, not enough pictures were taken! So many fun memories. My mom, Natalie, and I are a mean road-trip team!

Mussers and Greenes

I can't believe that my blogging life has made it this far without a mention of our dear friends the Mussers and Greenes. These two families are so special to us. It is not often that you bring six people and their children together and have them click so well. These families have cared for us in so many ways. Tim and Lindsay, Heath and Andrea welcomed Natalie and I into their homes countless times when Kim was working his crazy hours. We lived in Heath and Andrea's basement for a month! We have shared so many late nights together talking, playing Cranium, cuddling babies, crying, laughing till we cried and sharing life. These people are family. Chosen family but family none the less. I miss them all like crazy and can't wait till we live close to them again! I love you guys!

The picture is from their visit last September (Lindsay, Daisy, Olivia, Me, Natalie, Ashlyn, Andrea and Elli in Andrea's tummy)

34 years...

Today is my mom and dad's 34th wedding anniversary. Amazing! What an example of love and faithfulness they are to me! My mom and dad love each other deeply and it shows. Congratulations! I love you both!

P.S. Today Dawn and Andy celebrate 7 years of wedded bliss! Congrats to you,too!

Vacation Recap

After over a week of being on the road and away from home, we are back safe and sound. Here is a brief recap...


First we drove to Emerald Isle to chill on the beach and spend time with our dear friends. We shared lots of good food, drink, conversation, and time catching up. I don't think there are 11 other people in this world that I could share a three bedroom condo with! Our children had a great time playing together and so did we. The sad news is that I didn't take any pictures. I was so busy enjoying the time and chasing a toddler on the beach that I didn't get around to it... A bonus of the trip was that Kim's brother and his family were at the beach at the same time we were. It was great to see them too. We enjoyed a round of putt-putt and Kim got some time fishing with his brother. Good times!!

We drove home on Thursday and flew to Alabama on Friday. My aunt and uncle have a house on the Gulf coast in Alabama. After some delayed flights for bad weather, 17 of us were able to gather together: my mom, dad, brother, brother's girlfriend, 3 aunts, 2 uncles, uncle's girlfriend, 4 cousins, husband, daughter, myself and two dogs. It was quite a crowd. We had a blast playing games, swimming in the pool, riding jet skies, fishing off the dock, deep sea fishing on Dreamin' On (my aunt and uncle's boat) and just being the big family that we are. Can't wait for next year and maybe even more family members can join us.

So, after surviving long road trips and plane flights with a toddler it is back to real life. I seriously need vacation from vacation.

Please pray

I know this is a strange place to ask for prayer but if you stumble upon this entry, please pray for my friends the Lenhams (John, Jeanne, Maggie, Calvin, Claire and Hank). Their youngest daughter, who is six, has epilepsy and has had several bad nights of cluster seizures in a row. Pray that the cycle of seizures would break, that everyone will be able to get rest, and that Claire will be healed. Claire was diagnosed with epilepsy nearly four years ago. She has tried many medications and diet therapy but the cure for her still has not been found. Through all of this her parents have been an amazing example of faithfulness and love to me and many of those around them. They are amazing people! They are a blessing to me!

Family, extended (II)

We spent the morning with our "extended family" on Mr. Reames's boat, "Tar Heel". We had a great time cruising up and down the Potomac River. It was the first time Madeline had been on her Granddaddy's boat and the first boat trip that Natalie could remember. Both of the girls did better on the boat than we thought they would. It is hard for a two-year-old to put up with a life vest and having to be seated for too terribly long. It was so relaxing to be out on the water.

Natalie showed her true Gregory roots and cuddled up for a nap (with Mrs. Reames) about an hour into the trip. There is something about boats and Gregorys that puts us right to sleep!

We had a wonderful time and once again felt so welcomed and loved by Chris's family!

Strawberry Festival

Another fun adventure with Sarah and her family! This morning Sarah, Madeline, Grandma, Natalie and I headed out to the Strawberry Festival. The Festival was held at a state park in the foothills of Virginia. The area was beautiful. We had a great time listening to bag-pipe music, playing with sand art, getting faces painted, watching a puppet show, visiting the petting zoo and eating strawberry sundaes.

I am still learning about my daughter and being a mommie. The thing that I am learning lately is that she ain't happy in the heat (especially when the sand art necklace she just made broke and she is cutting molars {I will be so glad when she has all her teeth in. She is the world's worst teether, but I digress})!! I am also learning that her mom needs to be a lot more patient with her, especially in the heat. Pray for us, it could be a long summer!!

Green Thumb Day at Cox Farm

Digging in the dirt

Rides in the hay

Feeding the cows

Planting flowers

Going down slides

Playing on the train

Resting in the shade

Perfect Spring Morning

What could be better than spending a beautiful spring morning at the park with friends? Natalie, Madeline, Sarah and I had a wonderful time exploring a new park this morning. It was one of the best parks that I have been to in a while. It had great playground equipment for the girls to explore, lots of swings, and lots of trees and shade. What could be better?

We had a picnic lunch and headed home for a long nap. What could be better?

I know what could be better, having Kim and Chris there with us!

Fun Day

Best Buddies at the park.

My Preschool Picasso.