Pack Up, Mama

Yesterday was a big day. My boys (I love saying that) helped me pack up my office where I will not be returning after maternity leave. I go back in a few days to sign paperwork and turn in keys, so I am not quite done, but loading all my personal belongings up on a cart and wheeling them out of that place was pretty significant. I loved my job. I love my boss. I love my Department. They have been so good to me for the last 9 years, but we are taking a step of faith and leaving it behind--trusting that God will provide for our family. I am so proud of my husband for leading us in this direction and thankful for the peace God is giving us. I have a new job now, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world :)

And Baby Makes Three...

Oh Blog...it's been a while. To say I've missed you wouldn't really be true, but since I have a moment today, I am revisiting you and it feels...nice. My last post was the week after I found out I was pregnant, about the time the morning sickness set in. Needless to say, you've had to take a backseat for a while, but I know you understand. Now baby Brock is 11 weeks old, sleeping for reasonable stretches of time at night, and there are lots of friends and family on the west coast and elsewhere eager to see his cute little face...so here we are, Blog. Thank you for waiting so patiently.

The Great Escape: A Prequel

I introduced you to Angel, the kitty escape artist, in a previous post. Here she is in action. Had to get it on video...photographs wouldn't do it justice. 

Pet Sitting our Favorite Bulldog

We are expert pet sitters. Tell your friends, tell your family...we are open for business. We missed all of our pet sitting jobs when we lived in Mississippi, and are so happy to be back. Our favorite house belongs to Curly the bulldog. We have a framed picture of Curly on our mantle. My husband loves this dog. His dream is to own a bulldog one day. My dream is that he will get his bulldog fix from pet sitting. In any case, we both love to take care of Lord Curlington.

Mimi's Cowboy Bathroom

Those of you who know my Mimi, or have known me long enough to hear me brag about her, know what an incredibly creative and gifted woman she is. She is a fabulous seamstress, quilter, knitter, scrapbooker, painter, cook, baker, hostess, party-thrower and interior decorator, and she is always using her talent to make other people happy. I love everything she has ever done for me...aprons, quilts, purses, cards, photo albums, picture frames, bedrooms...we're not talking not tacky grandmother stuff here...its the real deal. And I love her house. She is always doing something or other to spruce up the place. One of my favorite spaces in her home is her Cowboy Bathroom...kind of a John Wayne-style tip-of-the-hat to all of her kids and grandkids. I had to take some photos of it on my last visit. Love it!



Smoke Free Campus

Another thing I wanted to remember about our time in Mississippi was a scenerio we encountered on a somewhat regular basis on the way to work. The hospital where I was employed was a smoke-free, tobacco-free campus, as stated on the blue sign in the middle of this picutre. Well, patients would get around this rule by taking their smoke breaks on the sidewalk in front of the hospital, so they were not technically "on campus". But sometimes, they didn't quite make it down to the sidewalk. That was funny enough since the no smoking sign is right there in the front lawn. But sometimes, it got even better--patients in hosptial gowns, hooked up to IV's, would light up their Marlboros right there in front of that darn sign. I took my camera to work every day during my last week in hopes of caputuring this on film. On my very last day, just when I thought I might never be able to document this, lo and behold, there were two of them out there just waiting for me. Hospital gowns, IV's, cigs, and all. I said a prayer of thanks (for which my husband rebuked me) and grabbed my camera. I wish this were a better picture, but my husband wouldn't slow down or stop. He is a nicer person than I. I don't care you who are, this is funny.

The Garden of Eden

I took pictures of things I wanted to remember when we were getting ready to leave Mississippi. This is one of them. We named it "The Garden of Eden". It is an oasis of beauty situated in the middle of seminary housing in Clinton, MS, courtesy of my good friend and neighor, Dee Dee.  The first thing she did when she moved in? Did she unpack, move boxes around, set up her living room? Nope. She headed straight to Lowe's to take care of the most important part of the house: her patio. There are no backyards in the townhomes, but there are patios. Most people don't do much with them, but Dee Dee is not most people. The inside of her house is gorgeous too, complete with curtains, custom upholstered furniture, decorative pillows and paintings, all of which she has done herself, but my favorite thing about her home is definitely this little "add on" outside her living room window. Moving away from friends has been hard, and I'm thinking about Dee Dee today especially because Tuesdays were our Starbucks days, but distance can't change the fact that is she is one of my dear friends, and I know when I go back for a visit, Dee Dee and her patio will be there waiting for me :)