While Daddy has been away.......

Kevin has been gone on a Mission Trip to Minnesota since last Wednesday night (the 22nd). There are 17 high school and college kids and 6 adults. They have conducted a VBS for this church in Minnesota, as well as doing some maintenance and landscaping work for them while they were there. As I write, the team is driving back over to Minneapolis to the airport. They arrive in Atlanta tonight around 6pm, and then will head home! The girls and I are SO EXCITED to have Kevin back home. We have really missed him!

I thought that I would do a post of what we've done while he's been away. It will be a good way to update you--and Kevin--on our lives over the past week!

Wednesday, July 22 - Kevin left late that night to meet the team at the church and drive to Atlanta

Thursday, July 23 - The girls and I hung out at home and I cleaned like crazy to try and get the house clean before we left for the weekend. We had dinner at Cracker Barrel with Gran that night and ran a few errands.

Friday, July 24 - After finishing a couple of cleaning things and completing our packing, we headed out to Americus around 10am. We got there in time for lunch and a pedicure for Mommy after lunch. The girls at the salon were sweet enough to put glitter on Chloe's toes and nails, which she thought was so special! Friday night, we had spaghetti as we waited on MeriBeth to get there. Shortly after she arrived, we had a new couple from Mom and Dad's church over for icecream. Chloe really had fun since they also have small children her age! It was pretty chaotic that night and everyone got into bed late! (seemingly a trend while at Reesie and Papa's!) Here is a picture of Papa and the girls on the front porch waiting for our company to arrive..........

I need to stop here and say that this is one of my all-time favorite pictures! It just melts my heart and strikes such a cord in me. This picture just speaks of memories and of making memories. The three of them were sitting on the front porch swing making a "motor boat" sound with their mouths. Claire learned to do that from Papa and so they always do it together. I am so thankful that my children have a special relationship with their grandparents....all 4 of them. As I get older, I realize that it's the little moments that create larger-than-life memories.....and to me, this just depicted one of those times. Thank you, Dad, for realizing this as well and for helping to create lots of memories over the weekend!

Saturday, July 25 - I took the girls for a quick swim before MeriBeth's parents, grandparents, and uncle arrived. Then, we all had a big lunch of grilled hamburgers! The afternoon was filled with wedding chatter, and then we all attended a dinner in honor of MeriBeth and Jess. It was perhaps the nicest wedding dinner that I have ever been to! Some of Mom and Dad's friends hosted the dinner at the church and it was such an intentional time of honoring Jess and Bee. We had an Italian meal that the hostesses followed by a special time of sharing advice and praying over Jess and Bee. It was very, very nice! And to top it all off, they surprised them with a very generous money tree! What a huge blessing for Jess and MeriBeth as they prepare to go on their honeymoon.

Sunday, July 26 - We went to church with the whole gang and Claire actually stayed in the nursery at Reesie and Papa's church. I thought she would be much happier being free to crawl around than having to sit still in my lap during the service. Chloe came with me to service and was so good. We had a big lunch with everyone at Reesie's house and then say goodbye to all of MeriBeth's family in the afternoon. After naps on Sunday, Jess, MeriBeth, and I took the girls swimming again.


Sunday night, after Claire headed to bed, Chloe got to go fishing with Papa and Uncle Jess at the pond. They caught several fish and were so sweet to watch.

Then, Chloe talked Papa and Uncle Jess into having a picnic with her.......priceless!

Monday, July 27 - The girls and I helped Reesie get her house back in order and then headed back home. We drove through and got some lunch on our way into Tifton. My friend, Melissa, arrived while the girls were asleep to spend a couple of nights. After the girls woke up, we went to Wal-Mart for some groceries and cooked dinner here at the house.


Tuesday, July 28 - We had lunch with friends and then Melissa headed to Valdosta for a meeting. Kevin's assistant, Cris, came out after work and kept the girls so that Melissa, Shauna, and I could have a girls night. We enjoyed dinner at Chili's.

Wednesday, July 29 - Melissa left mid-morning to go over to Albany for a lunch meeting and then home after that. The girls and I, along with Gran, met Reesie in Albany for lunch and picked up Chloe's shoes for the wedding. We also happened to find Gran a dress for the wedding that looks great on her! Then we headed home to be back in time for church. After church, I promised Chloe some ice cream and our good friends, Leslie and Emma, joined us.....what fun catching up!

Thursday, July 30 - We have hung out at the house and played hard today! After naptime, we're going to run a couple of errands and then get our dinner and baths before Daddy gets home. Claire won't get to see Daddy until in the morning. He's hoping that Chloe can stay awake that long....we'll see. They should arrive in Tifton somewhere around 10pm.

Well, that's pretty much it......for those of you who lasted this long.....I commend you! Have a great weekend!