Good-bye To My Memory Home

Today my parents sign the papers to sell our cabin, my "memory home" as Lorelei Gilmore would call it.  They are loading the U Haul truck up as I write this, packing away all of the things they decided to keep and bring to Utah.  

I can't figure out how to feel: I'm beyond excited to have them living near us, to be a part of our everyday lives.  I'm so excited to watch them make memories with their grandchildren and to have a face-to-face relationship with them for the first time in my adult life.  This by far out weighs the sadness I feel for losing my memory home.  However, there is that part of me that grieves over the fact that I won't be going to NC every year.  My children won't know the culture that made me who I am, the people who poured into my life or the southern accents and charm that I love so much.  North Carolina is where I met the Lord.  Boone is where I grew up spiritually as I attended college.  My dearest friends and spiritual mentors live there.

But, the fact remains that the cabin is sold and I won't be able to go back there.  Hopefully there will be a yearly day-trip to Boone when we visit our family in SC and my kids can experience all the wonderful things about that town.  And thankfully, Utah is "home" now and I love living here, so it's not as hard as it would have been 5 years ago.

But, oh, the good that comes out of my parents selling their home!  I cannot wait to have my parents here!  They will be here for all the birthday parties, holidays, school awards, dance recitals and sports games.  They'll be here in the hard times when I need a hug (and I'll be here when they need one), or when Bobby travels and I need to sleep in :)  I'll be here when my mom needs a back rub or my dad needs someone to watch "Everybody Loves Raymond" with.  Saying "hello" to these things is well worth the trade-off of saying "good-bye" to the cabin.

My parents graciously payed for me to fly home about 6 weeks ago so that I could say good-bye to Boone & the cabin.  I got to see some very dear friends, introduce them to my youngest son, spend time in my favorite food places, and enjoy the beauty of the NC mountains for the last time.  It was a precious 4 days of memories for me, and of course I took pictures :)

Nana playing with Joey in the airport

Giving Joey his new toy

Dad making me waffles... a childhood tradition

Joey's bath time!

 Snuggles with Papa

My BoJangles breakfast!

 Family photos in Stick Boy (our favorite bakery)!

Dad making beef stroganoff, my favorite!

One of my spiritual mentors, Denise :)

 Amanda with Joey!

 Oh, how I love these two!

Andrew, you're definitely taller than I am now ;)

Sweet Candace with Joey

I love this picture even though my eyes are half closed.

Had to get one with Kelsey Alice! 

The boy in the corner... this will only make sense to Mt. Vernon college students.

My best friend and my baby

A walk downtown Boone

This is the coffee shop that we went to when we first bought the cabin (I was 8)

  One of my favorite places in the world

  This is where my dad and I used to get $1 chili dogs on our way home to Cary from the cabin... obviously, it's not open anymore!

The cabin deck just before I said good-bye

  Our campfire pit out back

 Papa's beehive... so sad he had to sell this, too.

Oh, the Christmas trees!  One of my favorite views on the road to the cabin.

 Where does the Lone Ranger take his garbage?  To the dump, to the dump, to the dump dump dump!

I have been so blessed to grow up in North Carolina and will always cherish those memories!  Now, here's to making new memories with my parents in Utah! 

Joey - 6 months!

My happy baby :)  He loves to grab a the mobile above him, especially the monkey.  He's usually happy for a while in the swing before wanting to be held or moved.  I had lost the plug in between babies so I ordered a new plug for the swing so that it would work, and I'm so glad I did!

3/13/16 - Joey played in his jumper for the first time today.  He loved it, and Gia & Trey loved it too!  They kept hitting the music button and dancing around, while Joey was completely distracted by the toys.

At 5 months we went to the doctor and he weighed 16 1/2 lbs, which is a whole pound more than when he got weighed at 4 months!  

He's definitely in 9 month clothes now, or "6-9" months.

Still no hair!  We keep waiting for it :)

He still eats about every 3 hours for close to 20 minutes.

He LOVES stuffed animals and other toys!

3/28/16 - Joey rolled over both ways for the first time!  I just happened to be filming the kids with my video camera and caught it on tape!  Now he rolls over a lot.

He loves to bend over backwards, silly boy!

He had his first Easter and attempt at Easter pictures :)

He likes to eat at dinner time, but he has to have milk first and not be tired.  He eats 1/3 to 1/2 of a jar at a time.  Eventually I'll make my own baby food, but a friend of ours was so sweet and gave us jars of food, so we are using that first (plus, I don't want to make it until he's really eating a meal's worth).  He doesn't like peas, but loves sweet potatoes and carrots.

I'm still not sleeping.  It's been about 2 months since I've slept more than 4 hours at time, which is pretty tiring.  However, Gia and Trey are so patient with me in the morning and are totally fine watching a show while I occasionally get an extra 1/2 hour sleep.  His naps are also sporadic and at different times in the day.  All of my kids have been this way until they turned about 10-12 months.  Then, I'll get my sleep back and we'll be on a more regular schedule.

He's definitely an extravert!  He loves people and all the action going on around him.

Around the end of March he started outgrowing his bassinet, which is a bummer because we can't fit the pack & play in our room.  Since he's not sleeping through the night yet, I hate to put him in Gia's room yet.   However, we may not have a choice because he doesn't seem very comfortable in the bassinet anymore.

Even when he doesn't sleep, he's happy when he's awake.  That's a blessing!

He switches from the bumbo to the play mat, to the bouncy seat to the swing, and to my arms all day long.  And he's as happy as can be in each of these things for a good, long time.

And some other pictures, just for fun!