Praying

Please join us in praying today for one of Paul's cousins, Giana. She is a sweet, smart little 9 year old who is having surgery to remove a brain tumor today. Keep her and her family in your prayers please. Will update when I know more.

**Update. Giana is out of surgery. Keep those prayers coming.

Over the Highways and Over the Bridge..to Grammy's House we go...

So for 2 weeks we went up to CT to visit Grammy and Grandpa. We left in our car a little before lunch time on a Friday. 16 hours..yes 16... we got to their house in the wee hours of the morning. (Just a tip..NEVER EVER take the George Washington Bridge..even at 1 am on a Friday). So after a little sleep, we geared up to see Cousin Sofie and Auntie Heather. Natalie was so excited to play with Sofie. And she loved Grammy's doll house..or Princess Castle as Natalie called it. On Sunday, Godmamma Jamie came on the train to spend the day with us. Natalie loved the stickers from her and Paul and I enjoyed catching up with her. And with Natalie's train obsession, she loved getting to see Jamie get back on the train to head home and for days we heard "Jamie goes on the train!".

We relaxed a good bit while we were up there and took a few (ok too many) trips up to the outlet mall. We got to eat the BEST pizza (so much better than the one we got here that had AMERICAN cheese on it) and lots of seafood( Natalie loves shrimp and lobster!). We got to spend a day with Auntie Ally, Uncle Nick, Immy and Jamie and play with all of their toys. We even got to go to the beach with them! We went hiking with Auntie Heather and Sofie, hung out and caught up with our friend Dimitar who drove in from NJ, and got to see lots of other family and friends. On the way home, we stopped in NJ to see Nana and Papa (who were up there for their 45th high school reunion), Auntie Lisa, Uncle Dave, Lizzie, Auntie Patti, Uncle Tom, and a dear friend Lisa. The drive from NJ only took 13 hours!! Here are a few pictures from our trip. Enjoy!

Hanging out in Grandpa's chair

Grammy and her girls

Cookin' with Sofie

Checkin' out a New Look

Daddy dueling with Jamie..the boys have to stick together

Cousins

Sharing a Smooch

Natalie, Jamie, Sofie, and Immy

The Princess Castle

Loved Grammy's Swing

Natalie, Daddy, Auntie Heather and Sofie at the beach

One of my favorites..enjoying the view

Natalie thought you were suppose to eat the shells

Enjoying some ice cream

New blog!

Check out my new blog, Diaper Decor (diaperdecor.blogspot.com) I am using it to try and sell my diaper babies and diaper wreaths! Wish me luck!

Babysitting Success = Some Dates with the Hubby

So last night was the faculty potluck dinner before school starts next week. We got Natalie her first babysitter (other than the grandparents). Luckily, one of the teachers from her school also babysits so it was someone who she is familiar with. Although this teacher is no longer at her school (she is starting college at Coker and will be one of Paul's students!!), she is still going to babysit. Miss Lizbet (or Elizabeth) is one of ten children and was the only teacher Natalie would go to for the first 4 months of school last year so I felt pretty confident it would go ok. I told her several times that Elizabeth was coming over, we were going out, etc and said she should show Elizabeth her toys. So as soon as she showed up, Natalie was so excited, saying "Come see my toys" and we left without a problem. When we got back she was still playing with Elizabeth even though we were already home. And this morning she asked where she was!! SO I think that we should be able to have a few date nights this semester, other than when my parents or Paul's are in town! WHOO HOO!

New Edition

While I am planning on writing a lengthy blog about our trip to CT and NJ, I don't have the time now. So instead I will share the news...Natalie has a new cousin. Not sure if that is the technical term considering it is my cousin's child, but it is close enough. My cousin Jay and his wife Stephanie had a baby girl on Saturday night...Ciani Louise Douglass. We are so excited to have a playmate on my side of the family. And considering that there are have been a lot of boys in the Douglass family (my dad only has a brother, I was the only female grandchild out of 6), it is so exciting for the next generation to have TWO GIRLS!!! Welcome to the family Ciani. We hope to meet you soon!

And we've found out that our wonderful friends, the Hendersons, are expecting twins! We can't wait to meet them! What an incredible blessing for them!