whirlwind weekend

Oofta! What a whirlwind weekend we've had, but a fulfilling one full of love and family and friends...

Yesterday, several of the gals that I went to elementary & high school with came over and we caught up on our lives. Four of us have babies now and the little ones had a great time getting to know one another (or we believe they did)! I think it's wonderful that, even though we are all in different places in our lives, we still enjoy getting together and visiting with each other. When I woke up yesterday, I thought only 3 gals were going to get to come for lunch, but as the morning wore on, calls came in, plans had changed & 4 more were able to come! Despite the cold & ice (& a couple of stuck vehicles) we had a great time. We just cranked up the heat and kept on catching up! My little house was full--we had 8 gals & 4 babies crammed in here at once & that's before my sis came! Toys, carseats, burp cloths, blankies, coats, shoes...
What fun!

After that, Natalee and I took a quick snooze in the chair and then we got ready to head to Mike's folks for Christmas at their house. Car trouble set us back a little but Aunt Penny's car saved the day (ours was running fine but wouldn't back out of the icy drive). We had a great supper there after I checked my attitude and all 3 of us were very spoiled with presents. I got new cuddly flannel sheets for our bed (I LOVE new sheets), a new toaster (no more rotating my toast b/c the coils only work on one side!), jewelry from the Dominican...Mike got a table saw & router, a shelf built especially for our DVD's (I'm more excited about that than him--sick of the boxes in the corner!), a knife from the Dominican....oh, yeah & tied up with our birthdays, we both got a new TV! I don't think we've probably really been all that good but the love shown to us was very appreciated. More so than the gifts it was wonderful to relax and visit with family and give Natalee the chance to get better acquainted with her Grandpa, Grammy, Aunt Kea, Great Aunt Penny & Uncle Denny, & Great-Grandma Betty.

Today was Natalee's first day at church. I'll admit, I was very nervous about taking her around so many people but we had to go wish the Ulrich's a happy farewell, as this was their last Sunday with us. Natalee did fine...slept through everything including lunch after church. People were very respectful...lots of lookers and happy congratulations for us, but very few people asked to hold her which helped her nervous mommy relax a great deal.

sacked out all during church & lunch...my big girl thinks she doesn't need to be swaddled up anymore...she sleeps best laying down all sprawled out just like mommy!

After church & lunch we came home and had a good snuggle in the chair & Natalee had her lunch. She snoozed while I made Aunt Lorn Lorn's birthday cake & Daddy got the car out of the iced shut garage...then we packed up again and went out to my folks' for Lauren's birthday supper. We had a yummy meal, that will hopefully set well with Miss Natalee, and a good visit with the folks. Natalee got to see her Papa...she'd seen everyone else at church this morning, but hadn't gotten to snuggle with Papa for a week. I just relaxed & hung out...there's just something about the smells and sounds of my folks' house that makes me feel at peace...it was a wonderful way to end a crazy busy (& COLD) weekend.

Tomorrow's agenda? Absolutely nothing!!! Mikey is off for 2 whole weeks (woo hoo to working at a school) and we are going to stay home and enjoy life as a family. Maybe a little laundry, maybe a little baking, maybe a little cleaning....or maybe nothing but snuggling and loving all day! YOU have a great day, too...stay warm & God bless!