A Week Away...

Alex went on a business trip and has been gone for 9 days/8 nights. I can't remember the last time he had to be away for that long but I can tell you that none of us are a fan of Daddy being out of town. Alex helps with Amelia A LOT when he's home. He enjoys spending time with her and knows these days of her being little will pass quickly. He plays with her as soon as he gets home, gives her a bath, reads her stories, and gets her to sleep every single night. He's a hands-on-Daddy...a wonderful Daddy...we've missed him so much.

I'm reaching week 32 in this pregnancy and I've been really tired. Giving Amelia a bath with this growing belly of mine seems like a workout. So we packed up and went to my parent's for a week! It was so nice to have the help and Amelia enjoyed spending time with her Papa and Granny.

We skyped with Daddy several times and that made it easier being away from him for so long. Amelia wanted to do nothing but kiss the screen of the computer the entire time and would ask Alex to give her kisses.

My brother and his family live about an hour away from my parents, so we drove to Missouri to take my little bro to lunch for his birthday while we were there.



We ate at Lambert's. This is where they throw the hot rolls across the restaurant for you to catch and serve your tea in the largest container known to man.

Yet I still needed a refill.

Pregnancy makes me thirsty.



And y'all...let's just get it out of the way and talk about it...the pregnancy face has arrived. Every morning I wake up and think "my face is even bigger than yesterday!" It's just part of it for me...I always gain weight in my face. Unfortunately, there's just not a flattering angle anymore. Trust me - I've tried every angle - it's still large no matter if my chin is down and my head is tilted to the left. I've come a long way in the vanity department though - because I wouldn't have even posted this picture when I was pregnant with Amelia. I still have my skinny ankles though so I'm not complaining. HAHA!

After eating at Lambert's, we headed back to my brother's home to have cake and ice cream. I brought him a big 'ole cookie cake and my SIL made homemade snickers bars...they were YUMMY.





Amelia doesn't get to see Jackson and Millie very often - they played up a storm.



Millie's room truly looked as though a tornado hit it by the time we left.

On Sunday we went to my parent's church. I bought Amelia this little hat and was going to let her wear it Sunday evening, but she insisted on wearing it on Sunday morning. Girl LOVES a hat on her head. It doesn't even have to be cute...she just likes to wear hats.



I was so excited to hear my Daddy's message because it has been such a long time since I've been able to sit under his preaching. Just FYI - my Daddy can preach - he preaches straight from the Word (Old & New Testament) and I so appreciate that. I never realized just how blessed I was to have my Dad as my pastor for so many years...I took it for granted. I hope as they get older, Amelia and Sydney will realize just how blessed they are to have Alex as their pastor. Daddy's message was on "the tongue." What a convicting message. So much power in such a small member of the body. If I'm going to speak - I want to speak life and encourage those around me. There's power in our words, y'all.

They had their annual men's chili cook-off after church. And what do you know...my Daddy won this year!! Here he is holding the golden chili pot and golden chili spoon. (LOL!) He was so proud of himself. This was his fourth year to enter but first time to win. We'll never hear the end of it now. :)



Amelia went to Awanas on Sunday night. She cried at first (when I took her to her class) but was dancing in front of the entire Awanas group by end of the night!



We made a trip to the mall while there...she always remembers the ice cream cone truck and wants to take a ride.



She was allowed to stay up past her bedtime every night and do fun things like have a dance party at 10:30PM. Only at Papa and Granny's! :)



She read books and watched some of her favorite shows.



And thankfully, all but one night, she slept really well. My Mama bought these little cots for the grand kids to sleep on when they visit. This was Amelia's first time to sleep on one. I put it right beside my bed and she slept until at least 9AM almost every morning. I cannot sleep with girlfriend in my bed. She's practically laying on top of me by morning and that = zero sleep for this Mama.

She took a good nap for me on the way home and now we're just waiting for Daddy to get home. He should arrive home around 9PM this evening!! I can't wait to hug his neck.



Thank you to Papa & Granny for your help this past week!!

Love to all,