My Teething Girlie!

Well, a LOT has happened since the last post. Elyana is growing by leaps and bounds. More on that later. But seriously, this teething thing deserves a post all in and of itself.

So remember how I said on her 6-month birthday, I saw the indentions of a tooth all ready to pop up? It was mainly reddish, but with the craggy outline of a baby tooth beneath. That was on a Sunday. By that Wednesday, the cute little white-cap was up! And it could have happened invisibly, had you only been observing our little Elly-bear. It was so cute. "Aww, the little toothie," we would gleefully exclaim. We never knew the enemy that lurked in the future...

Fast-forward to our beach trip with my family to Tybee Island. 7 glorious days. On this past Sunday, I notice the very same red, toothy-outlined area in her mouth, this time on the bottom left (the other was bottom right). By now her first tooth is a beautious thing to behold, making all her smiles that much cuter! So I was rather happy to see the appearance of another one. But literally, about 10 minutes later, DOOM set in. Without exaggeration, she was like another child! She cried, she fussed, and was upset! Then, by the time she got up from her first VERY short nap (45 minutes instead of her predictable 2 hours), she had a low-grade fever. Add in baby diarrhea (going #2 10-12 times a day instead of the 1 time). This tooth was a bad boy! All day she refused solids, nursed not very well, and needed lots of holding. When she's feeling bad like that, the best way to comfort her while awake is putting her in the wrap so she's near me by comfortable enough to rest. She only gets her paci at nap/night/car, but we let her have it all day, when she'd take it.

This continued all Sunday and Monday. The fever, even with tylenol, was still there occasionally. I was suppose to take her to get her 2nd round of vaccinations (pc and HIB), but called and we decided to get an appointment to see the dr instead. I just didn't want to be "assuming" it's teething and ignoring something else. It probably was just her tooth. The fever was never there Tuesday, but all the other symptoms were, except she'd gotten better at sleeping and nursing.

Today, Thursday, she is almost her normal self. Still rather fussy, but she takes her little pointer-finger and "feels" on her new tooth. It is adorable!

I'm misplaced my camera, so these are all a little grainy since they're from an iPhone.

Playing one day with "Pouf" - a gift from Uncle Carter

In Savannah, Jonathan took us on a boat and we motored downtown, ate, shopped, and walked. Elyana hated the life preserver, but loved the water.

Mom & Elyana downtown Savannah

Jonathan picked a morning-glory and stuck it behind her ear. What a cutie!

Her Daddy took her on her first carousel ride! Nummy, let's eat the pole!

Elyana - at 6 Months

Our little one isn't so little anymore! 6 Month doctor's visit stats:

Weight: 16 lb, 11.5 oz
Height: 26"
Head: 16 3/4
Chest: 16

So in the last 6 weeks (we did her 4 month one at 4 1/2 because I was out of town), she's put on 1lb 9oz (about 1/2 an ounce a day), grown 1 inch in height, and grown 1/2 inch in head, as well as chest. Her percentiles now are in the 76th for weight and 66th for height. Looks like the Graydon side may be catching up with her (all the girls are short), as she's no longer in the upper-top percentiles. But she's healthy! And that makes me happy. Funny how, I never am really convinced she's eating enough, but everywhere I go people tell me what a big/chubby baby she is. I take that as a great compliment and love her chubby cuteness!

Her first tooth appeared on the morning of her 6-month birthday! Well, more-like an abcess, but two days later, the little white-jagged crown of the tooth made its appearance. I have tried to take dozens of pictures of it, to no avail. All too bright (flash) or too blurry (without flash). Ideas? I should say I'm thrilled about the tooth, but honestly it's the first stage I'm a little sad about, as it means those toothless baby-grins will be gone in a little while. I LOVE those drooly smiles! But I want to be glad about every new phase. I just was in no hurry to lose it.

She loves oatmeal! That was her first cereal. She really enjoys eating time and is such a little angel. She laughs, plays, and eats without a fuss. I LOVE it so far! She gets a tablespoon of cereal 2-3 times a day. I am starting to mix in something with one of the "meals" (i.e. veggie or fruit). I mix it all with my milk, of course.

On a typical day, she nurses 5 times a day (7, 11, 3, 8, 12). 7am is her usual wake-up time, which suits me fine. 8:30 is her bedtime, and that works for us well. She does still wake up around midnight for a feeding to make it to 7. I adore our nighttime feedings. I lovelovelove them! I love the sleepy night-time nursing. I love how she's not distracted by anything else, has her eyes closed, and is just so content to be next to me, peacefully nursing and cuddling. I seriously have NO desire for her to sleep through the night and miss this special bonding time. *sighs dreamily*

She is such a happy baby!

We unswaddled her for good about a week ago. She was getting so strong, she was getting out of it and that was disturbing her sleep anyway. She is an active sleeper! She likes to roll, grab her feet, and sleep on her side at times. She seems to do well, except for this new talent: rolling onto her tummy. That, she cannot figure out how to get out of. Definitely happens every night, and usually during a day nap. I've tried to let her figure it out a little more during the day, but we're just not there yet. Until then, oh well. I don't mind helping my precious little one out!

She is so smart and doing everything she should at this age:
- she's been sitting unassisted for a month
- drinking from a sippy cup
- repeating some consonant-vowel sounds ("k" and "g" are her favorite although singing/happy-screaming are her real favorite way to vocalize)
- holding herself in a standing position (unassisted) for up to a minute with a toy/table. Tons longer if we're helping.
- she is understanding object permanance (will look for a person who leaves the room, will look for a toy I've dropped inside something even if she can't see it)
- transfer things from one hand to the other
- work to get out-of-reach toys (she loves sitting in her bumbo, dropping blocks, and working to get them back to her!)
- objects when we take something away (developmental, but not enjoyable)

That's it for now. This tooth is becoming more visible, so that'll be in the next batch of pictures.

Pictures!!!

Elyana turns 6 months old on Sunday! I'll do a "what she's doing now" then, but for now, here are some wonderful pictures of the past few weeks....

We are not starting her on solids until she's officially 6-months old, but we give her little "tastes" of things. I let her suck on frozen blueberries we picked, since Jonathan had been feeding them to her (skins off) and she adores them so.


Push-ups!


Snuggled down in Aunt Catherine's robe


Swinging.... they both look happy!

Elyana screeched for joy when we would swing with her in our laps.

Jonathan and I put her to bed, and went out to our first romantic night-out alone since she's been born. His parents kept watch over her, and we were glad to know she would be in good hands were she to wake. We had an amazingly fun evening and loved, loved, loved being together!

Here is my beautiful sister Karen, and little 2 1/2 week old Michael Stuart. He is so precious! And, like usual, Karen just seems to effortlessly and gracefully slide into role of "mother of three" while being a loving wife, sister, daughter, and friend. And she's exercising with weights already - talk about disciplined! I hope I can be this self-motivated and joyful.

Elyana adored this little push-car we found at Nana & Papa's (apparently, Seth & Karen bought it years ago for Katrina). We are getting one for here!

Can you tell the girls loved pushing their cousin all over the courtyard?! They did it for almost an hour! I love to see them playing already.

My wonderful father with his 3rd grandchild. Three granddaughters, and now a 4th, the first grandson. Just like how he had 3 girls before he had a son.

Look at them all playing... I hope and pray these cousins can grow up and be the best of friends.

Elyana again, in the kiddie-car. Lucy (the german shepherd) faithfully followed. Elyana went nuts over her, she loves all animals so far.

She swam in Nana and Papa's hot tub for Two Hours (only mildly heated to bath-like-water for her)! She is a little mermaid! She got splashed in the face a bunch of times, and never cried! See how her feet are like prunes?!

Another shot of Michael Stuart.

Products I'm Living By This Summer....

I know this is not my typical "how life is" post. But if you're like me, you love getting a tip for a great, affordable product as much as the next girl. You love having one go-to product that someone you know personally uses, that they say delivers every time.

And if you're like me, you adore seasonal products. That means, if it's summer it smells of fresh scents, works with the heat and humidity, and isn't a hassle.

So for this entry, allow me to say a few words about the products I'm using now-a-days.

Ah, Envia's Conditioning Hair Masque. My mom got it for me, after Elyana was born. Having long hair, and never being able to resist coloring it every few months, gives me extremely dry/damaged hair. Add in the daily blow-drying in the winter, and the occasional straightning and curling, and you've got even more parched hair. Enter this masque. Most masques make my hair so limp, I won't use on a day I know I've got to go in public. I already have volume issues! That or they leave the scalp super oily by that evening/the next day. This one? My hair is so soft and smooth, and not oily, even the next day. Love it!


I discovered this in January and packed it in my hospital bag for Elyana's birth. The morning after she was born I used it and it felt like I was on an island getaway. Seriously! It brought back memories of my 1 year anniversary getaway with Jonathan to Grenada. It made me envision warmer weather and a suntan! Now that summer's here it is the perfect fragrance for a mini vacation in the shower. Heavenly!

My sister Mary, aka the Fashionista, introduced me to this. I used to love tanning booths, but with a baby they are a thing of the past. So I'm constantly on the lookout for a gradual tanning lotion that will not stink, rub off on clothes, or be sticky. This fits all the but last one, and it's only sticky if you wear jeans. Love this, I can use it even day and it's not horribly obvious I'm faking it. :)

This, I adored when I saw it in the Sephora summer catalog! My brother and sister-in-law had so, so kindly gifted me with a Sephora gift card for my birthday, and I only too happily went in to purchase this lovely bronzed, summer palette! I adore it! When I combine the liner with any three of the shawods, on my already (fake) tanned skin, it looks like I have been to the pool and am now ready for a fun evening out! Super beautiful combination, really my favorite one to date, and easy to stash in the purse in case I couldn't get my whole regimen done at home, to finish up in the rearview mirror (once parked, of course - you know you do it too!). My only wish? That this came with applicator brushes and/or had a spot for them!

There you have it.... Denise's summer survival kit! :)

Pictures..

Look what our little Princess has been up to...

She met some horses, and loved them...


She swam in a floatie in a big-person pool that was cold (compared to what she's used to).

She found her feet and loves to suck her toes!

She turned 5 months old!

And she got a perfect, handsome, boy cousin!!! Michael Stuart came into the world at 4:30am on June 17th, weighing 9lb12oz (for my petite 5'1'' sister who only weighs $1 dripping wet, that's a feat in and of itself!)

Picture Recap of our New Bern Getaway...

Elyana and me, ready to go pick up Jonathan/Daddy!!!

These are their first moments since she was exactly 2 months old, the day he left.

This is Jonathan's first morning back. After some initial standoffish-ness, she had warmed up to him by then.

Jonathan letting Elyana gum at bread for a little bit as we ate some fabulous seafood on the water in Beaufort...


Look at them play!

Elyana and me at the beach!

Jonathan shows Elyana the ocean! She was an amazing good baby, we stayed about 2 hours and she got hit by cold ocean water, ate sand, had to have sunscreen slathered all over her, and nursed in the heat under a towel... what a sport!

As a belated birthday & anniversary celebration for us both, we made a Mounds cake. Can I just say it was FABULOUS?

We took Elyana on daily walks outdoors. She loves the outside! She had started to like holding onto stuffed animals. So cute!

Jonathan gets a kick out of posing our little girl.

Less than 24 Hours Left!

I can hardly believe we're getting so close to our reunion! It feels so close now. I have to go to sleep of course, but then tomorrow should go by fast. I have the oil to get changed in the morning, and then the rest of the day to get more work hours in, play with Elyana when she's up, make sure the house is clean, get milk & eggs for breakfast on Friday morning, and of course get myself all dolled up! I have various other things on my to-do list, like returning some items and mailing some packages, but those may fall by the wayside if things just move too quickly. I am so glad tomorrow is full, so that even if Jonathan is hours late, it should still fly by.

Ha! Now it's just about 5 hours until my beloved is home!!! I am SO excited!!! I think the time will fly by, it already has really!

I want to give Elyana's 4 month Well-Baby check stats! She weighed 15.2oz, and was 25 inches tall! She's almost doubled her birthweight (of 7lb 13oz) and has grown 4 1/4 inches since her birth. They said she's in the 70th percentile for her height, and 90th for her weight. I felt really happy and proud with what that means for how breastfeed has been for her. What a delight! I am so grateful for my little chunky-monkey.

I've had her on the 4-hour schedule for a little over 3 weeks now. She eats, and then is up for 2 hours, then sleeps for 2. She transitioned into it really well. I have gotten her to mostly leave out the 4/5am feeding, and just go from a midnight feeding until 6 or 7am, about 80% of the time I attempt it. Again, she seems ready for it. She is getting to a super fun stage where every day there's new development. Recently, she started touching and exploring my face with her hands - so sweet! She also watches me drink water from a glass, and started to reach for it. So I let her, and sure enough she drank/licked it like a big girl! *sniffs* She has found her feet, but only occasionally plays with them. She screams loudly now, in delight most the time, but occasionally frustration. I can't help but laugh (bad momma, I know!). She can be occupied easily for 15 minutes with a toy, which is all the time it takes to drive to base, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, etc so that's just perfect for us.

Lots more, but I'll save it. Back to putting the final touches on the house!!! I cannot WAIT to see my Jonathan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Getting Close... In NC

Slowly, we're coming to an end to Deployment #3. We just got our return date.... June 4th!!! Sure, it's not as good as coming home on the 1, 2, or 3rd... But as my mother-in-law said, it's better than the 5th, 6th, or 7th! Last deployment was the 5th. Actually, considering it's delay, it was midnight plus on the 6th. So we'll take it. When you get this close, it seems like what does a day or two matter, when there's a 78 day total? But you're just so excited and ready to be reunited, it can be a challenge even now! My stomach does flips when I think of seeing my Jonathan again, though!!! I catch my breath a little and then have to tell myself to calm down because we're still over 10 days away!

I have had such a fun and amazing time in NC! Firstly, working part time has been so good. There's tons to do, yet I get to be in the office with my dad and brother (my brother Stuart wouldn't normally work in the office, but he and his wife are closing on a house outside Lynchburg in a few weeks, so they're in NC until that's done). So that's fun. I work 2 hours in the morning, and 2 hours in the afternoon, when Elyana naps. Then when she's awake, I take her to the house to play. She gets to spend time with her amazingly fun aunts, uncles and Nana of course! Aunt Mary makes her talk and babble like no one else. Aunt Suzanne makes her laugh the most. Aunt Crystal likes to play piano for her, which she attentively listens to (& she helped me give her a bath, the first person besides J!). Aunt Karen just showers mommy-like love on her (with two of her own girls, and a boy due 3 weeks from now, she is an expert at that). Nana will do whatever little Elyana wants. Anyway, it's just super fun getting to see my siblings interact with my precious little girl.

We introduced Elyana to Uncle Michael and Uncle Christopher (Jonathan's brothers) and she adores them. I think they sound like her Daddy, because she turns her head to their voices more than anyone else's (except mine!). They are really amazing uncles, and play with her and hold her so gently. It's neat to see that side to them. Of course Jonathan's parents just adore her too, and shower her with love and attention and lots of sweet holding. Aunt Emily, Jonathan's yongest sister, even though she has down syndrome, just loves to hold Elyana and look at her. It's adorable! And Catherine I can already tell is more and more comfortable with her. When she visited in Georgia, she wasn't sure she liked holding her when she was starting to fuss, but now, she can soothe her! She's going to be a great aunt/mother/babysitter for sure.

I've gotten to visit people here and there, never long enough, but still incredibly fun. I'm just going to have to post pictures below. I brought two cameras, and one is currently misplaced, so all my Charlotte pics and Mother's Day are lost currently. :(

Elyana has had a lot of firsts while she's here. Her first cold (so her first taste of anything besides's my milk - some infant tylenol). Her first rolling over (back to front too, which is harder). Her first time swimming. Her first beach trip (she did not play in the sand though, since it was too cold). Her first Mother's Day (what an absolute blessing). Her first time meeting all my old Charlotte friends. So much more, but I'd have to look over my papers to recall them all. Anyway, it's been a blast. Just 9 more days now....

Catherine reading, Christopher holding Elyana.


Catherine plays while Grandma holds Elyana.

Aunt Emily!

Uncle Michael met her for the first time

What a face! She melts my heart!

It was Shiona's 3rd birthday. She loved opening the presents, but didn't really care much about what they were. It was adorable. She wanted pizza and an ice cream cake! She was so cute, and had about 30 people there, which is what you get when you have a large family and close friends!

Katrina adores "Elyana Ruth" as she calls her. She is so careful with her! I cannot wait until they're old enough to all play.

At Mom & Dad's beach condo, Crystal and Elyana.

Uncle Noah was such a good spot about the spit up. He still holds her after that!

Nana and Papa with their 3rd grandbaby. #4 coming in 2-3 weeks!

One Year Ago Today...

Elyana, as a little 7-cell, Grade B embryo, was transferred into my uterus. 3 days before that, Elyana was conceived. At the transfer, the doctor was running an hour behind, and I was suppose to have a full bladder for my scheduled time... So that was a very uncomfortable transfer! Our embryos looked a little better than last time. We put 2 7-cells in and still had some 6's, 5's and 4's growing (the time before we'd put in a 6 and 5 and had 5's and 4's growing). We had to fly back to Atlanta the next day, and I was so nervous about it all. I just wanted to be on bedrest for a day or two to give the embryos a good chance to implant, even though it's never been proven that this helps at all.

It seems like a lifetime ago I was at WH doing IVF for the second time. Seems like a lifetime ago I didn't know if I'd ever get to experience pregnancy and childbirth and looking at a baby that was Jonathan and my features mixed together. And here I am, with Elyana Ruth! "The Lord has answered" is what her names means - how I am reminded of that every day!

When she was just 3 days old, we were driving home from her first pediatrician visit. And I looked back at her in the carseat and began to talk to Jonathan. I told him how full my heart was right now. I began to tell him how I never knew if the pain of infertility would ever be gone. I had wondered if pregnancy would remove it, but even while pregnant I had pangs of it every now and then when I was reminded of how hard it was to get to that point, or something like that.... And then I told him, as I began crying (for joy), that now with Elyana here, having her had removed all the pain of the years of infertility. That was truly behind us, God had healed it all with our baby daughter. How amazing was that? I was so very happy, it was like being a different person. Except I wasn't, God had just freed me from a great, huge burden of the last 3 years. Jonathan felt the same way.

I never knew what was in store a year ago, as we headed out to the car that Saturday morning. I was excited and scared. And now I can look, and know God graciously answered the years of so many people's prayers. I am humbled, I am grateful, I am changed.

Thank you, Lord, for our little Elyana Ruth.

Life!

Karen kindly asked how things were.... I can't believe I haven't done an update in so long! We have been so busy here!

Life without Jonathan does move on. I miss him so much every day. In some ways, you just push through deployments every day, and occsionally allow yourself to peek, as a turtle out of its shell, at the time that's passed around you. It can be both encouraging and tough. Like now, I know we're over halfway... And yet it's not yet May 1st and we have the whole month of May to get through. So it feels like significant progress, and yet I know we've got a big chunk of time left to overcome. I look at Elyana and how much she's changed already, and wonder in another month how much she'll have grown and gone through to be like when her daddy comes home. She's so wonderful.

However, we have some really amazing friends in Warner Robins. I have been a part of a military wives' Bible study for a year and a half now. We go through either Christian authored books, or straight up books of the Bible with commentaries. We meet for 2 hours, switching homes each week, each taking turns to facilitate as well. We grew to about 15 ladies, and so this last book decided to switch from an evening Bible study to a morning and evening one. So we're a smaller group now. But finally this deployment especially these friendships have really solidified. I see these girls about 3 times a week!!! We love to do things together! Our acitvities have included: a game & wine & dessert night (with lots of laughing!!!), a make-a-meal for those in need, strawberry picking, Easter-egg hunt, May-day basket making, whole-family dinner/picnics, baby showers, and things like that. These women are really fun to be around, and they are all eager to live out Christ's commands as friends, wives, and mothers! I really I just am so grateful for their friendship. Since they're military, and have small children, we all have so much to share in commonality. For example, evenings can be lonely and hard for those of us with deployed spouses, so we'll do a dinner together at times. Usually getting together with your girlfriends for dinner is a once-every-few-months occasion. We practically do it bi-weekly! Anyway, they are amazing and have make this deployment 100% better than any before.

Jonathan and I celebrated 5 years of marriage this past Friday. 5 amazing years!!! I look back and cannot believe I've got to spend the last 5 years with such a wonderful man! I am so blessed with his love in my life. I am just so happy to be his wife! I hate being separated from him, and never want that to change. Each day we just pray to be done with the separations forever, and get to enjoy waking up every day next to each other. But until then, we'll just pray and grow as much as we can through this. And oh the reunion!!! I get giddy thinking about June! My sweet Jonathan sent me some gorgeous flowers for our anniversary, complete with a note about the meaning of the flowers, and how it applied to our love. *sighs happily* He is my love, forever!

Elyana is changing so much. For four days straight now, I have gotten her to laugh - for at least a minute - at me! Previously, she's laughed, but it would be days between them. Now it's pretty consistent. Her face lights up when she sees me come in the room to get her out of her crib (if she's not been crying/waiting long). I love that!!! The look of recognition and happiness upon seeing mommy - and I'm mommy!!! How very long I've waited for that beautiful face! She really enjoys when I lay down next to her, hold a book over our heads, and read to her. We've once again exhausted our books (I go through them every day and I'm tired of the same ones, I can recite them by heart!), so I ordered about 5 more (used) on Amazon.com today. This Saturday is a used book sale, and I'm eager to see what I can find. Our current favorites are The First Forest and On the Night You Were Born. She will now grab toys and fiddle with them. She finds her hands oh-so-yummy and sucks on them a lot. She constantly clasps her chubby little hands together and twists them around and around, which I love to watch! She also opens her little mouth expectantly like a bird when she sees it's nursing time! She's still happily on the 3-hour schedule (Wake, Eat, Play for 1.5 hr, Sleep 1.5 hr). She goes about 4-5 hours at night between feedings. I've put her in my bed 3 times to sleep since J left, and it has been so much fun! With Jonathan gone it's very lonely, and having her next to me has been so special. Of course, it's an indulgence for us, not a regular thing!

I'm surprised how much difference there is in a newborn/1-2 month old baby, and a 3+ month old like I have now (14 weeks yesterday). While I disagree completely with the rationale behind the Happiest Baby on the Block book (i.e. babies have a need for a 4th trimester, but evolution grew babies heads too big, so they come out 3 months too soon); I totally adopt the 5 S's. They worked for Elyana so well. She actually still is sawddled, has her white noise, and takes a pacifier for nap time. I've tried unswaddling, but her hands are still uncoordinated enough she will hit her face or knock the paci out. The paci she only likes to get to sleep, but she'll spit it out usually 30 minutes into her nap and sleep the remainder of the time. The white noise? Her room is right next to the kitchen, so it drowns out noise when I'm in there, but she will sleep at someone else's houses without it. I will be trying to wean her off of some of these things in the next month or two, but right now I still feel she has a legitimate need for them. :)

And that is a huge summary of what we have been up to lately. My brother Carter drove down from NC for his Easter break to be with us (he was the first uncle to meet Elyana)! My sister Mary flew into Altanta to spend a week with us (we went to Starbucks every day, and she graciously worked out with me every night so I didn't have to take any time off!). I had amazing times with them!!! I have a little over a week here, and then I head back to NC until Jonathan returns - I am so excited! This time will be my first drive with my little "buddy" in the car.
Ok, picture time!!!

She fits into some of the prettiest dresses now!


Elyana and me at Easter time!


Uncle Carter and Elyana


Aunt Mary and Elyana (Elyana adored her!)

Charlotte Visit - Confirmed!

Ok guys.... Here it is! Eileen has generously offered her home, and it seems like a good solution for the majority of you all... So here are the details...

11am, Friday, May 8th! Bring your kiddos and let's have fun!

Eileen says: Just let everyone know that they should bring a bathing suit(and towel) for their kids, we just got a pretty big baby pool and a slip n slide that I will bring out if it is warm. I will have some food for the kids, and maybe a few snacky sides.

I'd like to add that I'm bringing chicken salad on croissants for the adults, just leave a comment on here if you're planning to come so I have an approximate amount! If I'm really good, I'll bring something like muffins too. :)

If anyone is coming & doesn't know where Eileen lives, email or call her, because she says mapquest gives horrible directions.

See you in a few weeks! Super excited!

Charlotte Visit - Idea?

Ok, so since two of you ladies that I want to see have conflicts with Saturday, how about Friday? I plan to arrive around 11am, if not a tad earlier.
Depending on what you guys' schedules are all like, that leaves lunch, coffee, or dinner. If it's during the day, I know you all have kids, so meeting at one of your houses or a park would be fine too if that would be a good idea. Just want to make it easy and fun for whoever wants to come! (If we did a park, I'd insist on bringing my Starbucks drink with me!)
I'm super excited about this! Please let me know and let's mark our calendars. How fun!

To My Charlotte Friends!

Well, I think this is a good way to put out the news that I'll be in Charlotte next month. I'm driving in on the morning of Friday, May 8th and I leave after church Sunday, May 10th (Mother's Day if I'm not mistaken).

I know I'll probably see many of you quickly in church, but it would be really nice to have a bit longer visit.

So I'm sending out feelers to see if any of you would/could get together that Friday or Saturday. It could be coffee, lunch, or dinner. Do any of you want to do that? If so, what time/day works? Anyone who reads this, I'm talking to you!!! I'll be staying with the Freas. :) Can't wait!