Meeting Little Miss Maggie

This post is about a week overdue, but with my freak medical malady last week, I just didn't have it in me to write it. Better late than never, right?? So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce my almost brand-spankin-new niece: Maggie Kathleen. Isn't she the sweetest?

There's nothing sweeter than a baby girl, you know. I might be a bit biased about that. Maggie was born on a Wednesday, but we couldn't make the trip to Atlanta until Thursday afternoon, and I didn't get to see her until Friday morning. She was totally worth the wait.

My girls, Kendall in particular, were completely enthralled by her. It was the first time that Kendall had really been around a baby, and she wanted to hold her. And when I say that she wanted to hold her, I mean that she completely flipped out if someone else in her presence was holding Maggie and she was not.

It was incredibly sweet. When the screaming wasn't driving me crazy, that is.

I did take a picture with the proud mama (my sister), but I don't think she would appreciate me putting it on the internet for all the world to see. It wasn't a particularly good photo of either of us (totally not the photographer's fault, Dad!).

On a completely unrelated note, it really doesn't seem like that long ago since we made the trip to Atlanta to meet my nephew, Will (sitting next to Kendall up there in the "cousins" photo). But it's been three and a half years already. Where has the time gone?? Atlanta is a long way from central Mississippi, and I don't get to see my sister that often. This trip was particularly bittersweet. I loved visiting with Stacy and loving on sweet little Maggie, and I hated to go. I'm already trying to figure out when I can see her again. I don't know when it will happen, but I hope it's not too far down the road.

Until next time, grace and peace.

The Week that Was: Spring Break Edition

It's Spring Break here in Mississippi, which means that half the state is off gallivanting on the beaches of Alabama and Florida. We, however, had no such grand plans. After a whirlwind trip to Atlanta to meet my sweet little niece, we were going to have a staycation. My master plan included an excursion to the children's museum, lunch with my aunt and uncle, and a trip to the salon for Micah to be pampered.

And then life happened.

Specifically, a persistent toothache drove me to the dentist Monday afternoon. She couldn't localize the pain, but suspected an old filling was the culprit. So I headed off to the endodontist yesterday morning for a probable root canal.

Except he couldn't localize the pain either. So he did some more investigating and discovered that my jawbone has somehow pushed its way through my gum, causing extreme pain and sensitivity. Apparently it happens. I just thought there was an ulcer back there. Turns out, it's the source of all my problems. Well, my tooth mouth pain problems anyway.

Fun times, right?

Instead of playing at the children's museum, the girls played in the waiting room at the dentist's office. Instead of lunch with my aunt and uncle, they ate peanut butter sandwiches in the car. Instead of a trip to the salon, we went to Walgreens for my pain medication.

But they also explored the city park with Dennis and built duplo towers and enjoyed lunch with Gran and watched lots of Disney Junior. So as far as they're concerned, it was the best Spring Break ever.

Hopefully, next week will be a return to normality (and regular posting). After the visit to the oral surgeon at the beginning of the week, that is. Such is my crazy life.

Until next time, grace and peace.

On Moving On

A few months ago (nearly four, to be exact), my family and I packed up, left our home in Iuka, drove five hours, and moved in with Dennis' parents on the farm. It was a move that we had been planning for quite some time, but that somehow came all of a sudden. For years we had been talking about moving "back home," but we didn't think it would become a reality so soon. And then a job opportunity opened up, and before we knew it, we were packing boxes and putting a sign up in our yard.

Life changes fast, y'all.

I haven't said much, or anything really, about it because it took me a while to process. In case you don't know, I don't handle change very gracefully. It takes time for new things to sink in with me and for me to adjust to the newness of it all.

That said, I'm so glad that we moved. Of course, I miss our friends. Very much, in fact. I miss being a short three hours away from my parents. I miss having lunch with my two best friends and their little girls. I miss spending afternoons at the park watching Micah play with her best friends. I miss pouring into "my girls" at church. I miss our home. I miss our church family. I miss all sorts of things about Iuka. It's never easy to leave behind people and places that you love. Our life in Iuka changed me. The people there are very dear to me, even still. They won't be forgotten.

But I'm very excited to be here. Micah and Kendall have been loved and doted on excessively since we moved here - both from Dennis' parents and from my aunts and uncles. I've enjoyed spending time with family that I only got to see once or twice a year when we were in Iuka. It's fun to know that my girls are making memories with some of my very favorite people in the world.

It's also fun to know that my girls will grow up in the same place that I did. Interesting tidbit about Dennis and me: we grew up right down the road from each other and only met when we were in college. Our lives criscrossed more than once when we were kids. We have mutual friends and acquaintances. We participated in the same countywide quiz bowl tournaments. He went to prom with one of my softball teammates. Our world, it seems, is very small indeed. We moved to Franklin just before I started eighth grade, and I thought that was the end of my life in Brandon. I never would have guessed that I would move back 17 years later. And yet, here I am :)

This week, I'm (hopefully) going to lunch with one of my friends from middle school. We will (maybe) go look at a house. We have a (tentative) playdate with a little girl from church. Micah is signed up for preschool in the fall, and Dennis is really happy at his new job. In short, we're moving on.

At least, we're trying :)

Until next time, grace and peace.