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Mason at the Pool

Hello Friends!  It has been raining cats and dogs around here so I am happy to have a minute to catch up on what has been going on with us.  When I last left you, I mentioned that my dad had broken his hip, could not put weight on it for 6 weeks, and my parents were about to close on their house and move... well, it has been a roller coaster and I am just going to make a list of all the events that have taken place since.

My Brother's Dog - Big Charles

1. My dad was admitted to the hospital after the pain meds from his leg caused him to become dehydrated due to adverse reactions (nausea and vomiting).

2. My wonderful partner pharmacist said she would cover my shift that week since I only had one day to work and this allowed me to go to Florence (with Mason in tow) and help (as much as possible while chasing around a 13 month old) my mom get packed and moved.  My wonderful employers for my work- at- home job relieved me of any cases that week as well and so I didn't have to stress over getting that work done either.  Thank the Lord for my wonderful bosses and co-workers.

Leslie and Me

3. I had taken Memorial Day weekend off anyway to go home and celebrate with Leslie and Shane during their wedding and wedding festivities.  I was sooo excited about celebrating with Leslie and seeing all of my best friends from high school and college.  The wedding was perfect and Leslie looked so beautiful! There is not much better than spending time and catching up with wonderful friends such as these.  All of my high school friends are now married and I can safely say that God has blessed them each with a spouse perfect for them (and that goes for my married college friends also).

Bridesmaids and Friends of the Bride at the Bridesmaid's Luncheon

I enjoyed getting to be a bridesmaid with Cara! Here we are waiting on the wedding to begin

Ben and Me with our good friends Shelley and Josh after the wedding before they headed back to Birmingham

Stephanie, one of my best friend's from college.

The beautiful bride having her veil perfectly placed.

 4. Back at Crazy Land, we are all trying to get stuff weeded out and put in boxes.  It seemed like everything that could go wrong did including:  my brother, the strongest person we have, badly injured his leg and the doctor told him that he needed to stay off his leg for a week (this happened before the move), my mom reached her hand in the pool drain and found a snake coiled up inside it (thankfully it didn't bite her!), my dad developed blood clots in his leg and was put on blood thinners, Cara found a spider the size of a tarantula on her leg while she was moving things to and from the cars, the people who sold us the new house unexpectedly took their refrigerator.... you get the idea.  I tried to help mom with running errands as she had a million and one things to do to prepare for the move.  Thankfully, it all somehow got done.  They are now safely at their new house in Muscle Shoals and they love it.  It is strange to think that "home" isn't in Florence anymore, but I think mom and dad will be very happy at their home across the river.

"LeLe" and Mason getting some quality time together in the midst of the craziness

 5. My parents took a while trying to decide what Mason would call them.  Mom wanted to be "Nana" but my sister had negative feelings towards that name for personal reasons and refused to let her be called that.  Thus, the name was changed to "LeLe" since mom's name is Lisa.  However, during the week at home, Mason came up with his own name for her... "Nana."  He started calling her that on his own.  I think this is hilarious but we are trying to make it more like "Nona." We will see....

Haley and Me with our baby boys

6. Mason and I were thrilled that we got to go to Sam's second birthday party while we were in town! Most people who read this blog (that I know of) know Haley, but you can read more about Sam's party if you click on her link "Blessed" on the right of my page.  Haley and I have been friends since we were five (that makes 24 years of friendship) and I love that we have boys so close in age who can be friends too!  At the party, Mason enjoyed his first taste of corn on the cob and his first experience with a bubble mower.  The mower was a gift to Sam, but he didn't get to hardly see it, much less play with it the whole time Mason was at the party.  Thanks for sharing, Sam!

Mason takes his mowing seriously

 7. For a little mid-week break, my 2 great Aunts accompanied Mason and me to Amish country to see the menanights (I have no idea how to spell that but they won't ever know seeing as they don't even have electricity).  If you have no idea what I am talking about, the Amish live in TN about an hour from Florence.  They have amazing gardens and are very skilled at woodwork and other things.  You can visit them and purchase their goods.  My aunts have gone frequently and since I was in town they offered to take me show me around since I have always wanted to go.  I was hesitant to leave mom for the few hours the trip would take, but she insisted that I go saying that I might never have the chance to go again.  I am so glad we went!  I loved spending time with my aunts and my only regret is not taking a picture of all of us together.  The Amish do not like for you to photograph them so my pictures were sneaky and very limited. I loved it there and sort of wish I could live with them for about a week.  The following pictures are from that trip.

The School House

Houses and a Farm (most houses are white and the newer ones are red)

One of their amazing gardens that went on as far as I could see

 8.  After a little over 4 hours of sleep on Thursday night and moving all day on Friday, I hit the road at 9 PM knowing Mason would sleep all the way home.  The trip was smooth, but wouldn't ya know, 30 minutes down the road I realized I didn't have my computer or any of my technology with me. Blast! Mom mailed it to me and the computer-less break was kind of nice after all.  I got home around midnight (the drive from Muscle Shoals is shorter!! Yay!!) and crashed.  The next day I was dead to the world and spent all morning in bed thanks to my sweet husband who took care of Mason.  I don't know how my mom was still going.  She was running on hardly any sleep at all.  She is still recovering!  I don't know what we would've done without all of the love and support from our friends and family.  People came over and brought food, helped load stuff, and even built a ramp for my Dad in the garage. We have been so blessed by our family and friends!

9. Happy Anniversary to us!!  I actually spent mine and Ben's 4th Wedding Anniversary in Amish Country since I was still in North Alabama.  I was sad that we had to spend our anniversary apart, but he had lots of work to do and I was glad to be able to help mom and dad out as much as I could.  We celebrated the Saturday I got back and the picture above if the only real picture (aka taken with a real camera and not my phone) that I have from the date!  My sweet Sister and Brother in Law and our two neices came to play with Mason while we went on our date.  Ben surprised me by taking me to a new restaurant here in town called Central.  We had a great time!  We will further celebrate in a few weeks when we go on our cruise!  We try to take a trip for our anniversary every year and our anniversary trip has always been one of the highlights of our year. I cannot believe it has been 4 years already!

10.  Ben, Mason and I have celebrated 2 new births in our family! We have a new niece and a new cousin (another baby girl) who are just precious and I want to write more about them in their own post.

11. Along with the births, we have sadly experienced a death.  I am hesitant to mention this because it is so sad, yet I feel I can't go without saying it.  The Tuesday after I returned from Florence, I got word from Leslie that one of the girls who had celebrated with us at the wedding had been killed in a car accident.  Bailey (in the picture of all the bridesmaids back row, second from the right) was so young and so full of life.  She was one of those people that you meet and instantly feel like you know them.  She sat next to me at the bridesmaid's luncheon.  I haven't been able to get her off of my mind and I know everyone who was with us that weekend feels the same way.  Please keep her family in your prayers.

12. We are still enjoying our summer here and loving our time at the pool and the zoo.  I am so thankful for the time I get to spend with my little boy who grows and changes and learns new things every day. Being a mom has been such a blessing and a greater experience than I could have imagined.  No, no swimsuit looks good on me anymore, I don't get to eat first or finish a meal most days, my house is covered with toys, and I spend most of my time on the floor playing or on the couch with the ipad watching Sesame Street (the new fave), but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Mason's first experience with Play Dough (recipe on my Pinterest)

13. I could spend a lot of time counting my blessings around here.  These past 2 weeks have been stressful and at times trying and upsetting, but I am so thankful for my family, friends, my sweet little boy, a wonderful husband, 4 years of marriage, and this amazing life God has given me.