Catching up

Hello faithful readers!

I'm sorry it's been a long time since I've updated. Needless to say having a very active toddler who loves to play on the computer does not lend itself to a lot of time for blogging. Or taking pictures, for that matter. I realized that I have woefully neglected to take a lot of pictures the last few weeks, particularly over the 4th of July weekend. Alas!

I hope everyone had a great 4th. Charles' parents came for a visit and we a had a good time having them here! Of course Emmy loved getting extra attention. We spent time just cooking and eating and hanging around the house. Sunday morning we all went to church, of course. Charles had to be there extra early to sing the National Anthem with a men's quintet (annual tradition) 9:00 service, and then of course we heard them at the 11:00 service and they did a lovely job. Emmy looked super cute in her red, white, and blue dress that Dee-Dee gave her...and no, I have no photos. But Granddaddy (photographer extraordinaire!) took plenty and promised to send me a cd, which I will share when I can.

Lucas, Lisa, and Will, newly settled into their new home in Greenwood, came down to spend the evening with us, too. We were all invited to Mary Ann and Joel's for ribs and chicken so we packed up our food contributions and headed over to spend the evening with them. We had a great time, although of course having two toddlers makes for a wild evening. Not that we're biased, but Will and Emmy are so cute! I can't wait until they are really playing (and probably making mischief) together.

The grandparents headed home early Monday to beat the traffic (and said they were super glad they did because even then it was heavy) and we packed up and picked up Mary Ann and Joel for a trip to the lake. Our church has a 4th of July picnic every year at the church's fabulous lake property. Since the 4th was on a Sunday this year, they decided to hold the picnic Monday. It was a great day at the lake, not too hot. Charles and Joel we in charge of the grill, so they spent much of their time cooking burgers and hot dogs for 50+ people. Mary Ann and I took Emmy swimming. That girl loves the water and she loved watching the other kids playing. After I fed her lunch, Ms. Luanne kept her entertained so Charles and I could relax and eat lunch in peace, too. Very nice!

Tuesday we packed Emmy for her first trip to "camp". At least, as Charles noted, that's what it felt like we were doing! Su-Su had said she wanted to come get Emmy and keep her for a few days sometime this summer, and this week turned out to be the best week. So we packed Emmy's stuff and meet Mom in Greenwood. We had lunch together (and Emmy seemed shocked and thrilled to see her Su-Su when we walked into the restaurant!) and then went over to Lucas and Lisa's to do the transfer of car seat and luggage, and give Emmy some play time out of the car for a bit. Lucas' parents were in town and we hadn't seen them in a long time, so we got to visit while Charles helped Lucas and his dad load up some furniture left over from the previous owners. Their house is looking great! They'd spent all day Monday with Mr. Sam's help trimming up the overgrown yard and it made a big difference! They were, of course, much more unpacked and settled since we'd first visited just three days after they moved in and it's such a great house for them. We're excited to have them closer to us!

So, Charles and I have been spending the last few days ALONE. Yes, we miss Emmy terribly, but we have enjoyed some downtime. We've gone out to eat with friends and cooked dinner with those same friends (you'll never guess who). We've slept late and watched copious amounts of TV (USA has marathons...a dangerous thing). We've also done our usual activities like errands, going running, yoga...but we've been able to either do them together and without a loud one-year-old on our hands! Charles has also been spending lots of time studying for finals. He had one final last night and another tomorrow morning. The we are going to the movies to celebrate!

We're looking forward to having our little Pickle back home with us, but we're thankful for times like these to renew us and remind us how much we love and miss her.