Wordless Wednesday...My Pilgrim and Indians

Emma Indian with braids

Suzy Pilgrim

Andy Indian

It's Official.....the Chicks have left the nest!

The last of our family left this morning. We were up at 3:30 a.m. and on the road by 4 to reach the Richmond airport for their flight. It's a 12 hour trip for eldest daughter and baby Emma. They are flying into some really cold winter weather which will be a major change from the balmy sweater weather we have had in Virginia.

The house is unusually quiet....there is no run on the bathroom, no toys on the floor, and no squeals, giggles and smiles to greet me. I do have a picture ornament with Emma's voice recorded that I've listened to a lot today while looking at the tons of pictures we took while we were all together.


Emma loves Little People so of course not wanting her to forget her beloved Poppa and Diva I was thrilled when I found these for her. They actually do kind of look like us! I got really tickled when she picked up the Diva and kissed her! (What a clever girl!)




Uncle Andy bought Miss Emma her beautiful red dress so Saturday we took her to the Mall for her visit with Santa. She was in a really good mood when we got there but unfortunately Santa had pressing business at the North Pole so it was quite a while till we were able to get a picture with the two. Poppa was very good at amusing Emma by one of the giant Christmas trees.


Emma's Christmas shirt says, "Best Present Ever" and has a big bow on it. I certainly can say that she is the best present ever for our family. It was a thrilling experience to have my birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas all rolled into one one big eventful week. I may never get over it...I hope not! I can look at the pictures and be transported right back to the fun and laughter.

I was gently reminded that Thanksgiving is every day. Thank you family for the sacrifice of time and travel. All of you may me feel very special and very loved.

All the Chicks in the Nest!

Here they are! All my babies home at one time except for SIL Jerry (husband and father to Emma still in Canada.)



Boy Wonder had not been home in three years so of course we had to kill the fatted pizza at his return. Suzy and Tim join us Tuesday afternoon after a brief visit with friends in Tennessee.



Tuesday night we ate at Cracker Barrel (family favorite and not available in New York or Canada). Oldest daughter and Emma love that you can eat breakfast at any time of the day there. It's also fun to look around while you wait for a table. No one went away hungry!

We were able to borrow a pop-up camper from a friend so it made for an extra bedroom in our drive-way. It worked pretty well till the temperatures dropped and the heaters tripped the breaker. I had some cold kids the next morning!

All of caught a "bug" of some kind, at various times, so some were well when other were feeling bad. Becky and Tim with the help of good ole Dad came through with the Thanksgiving Feast. Mr. Wonderful did the bird and Tim and Becky did all the side dishes. It was a wonderful feast made better by having every one home.

Auntie Suzy made Emma an Indian outfit to celebrate the day. She even made a head dress with feathers and braids.
Emma seemed to enjoy being the center of attention and also got two board books for Thanksgiving. One us called the Five Silly Turkeys and the other was about The first Thanksgiving.

Uncle Andy had to leave Friday afternoon so immediately after
our Thanksgiving feast the house was decorated for Christmas. The girls and Tim put up the tress and some decorations to make the house look very festive. Christmas came early at our house. It was nice to share the celebration with family and Emma doesn't know one day from another right now.



This is one of Boy Wonder's gifts....."A Man, A Can and Microwave!" He tends to eat out most meals so this is a cook
book for men.



More later....all the chicks have left the nest except for Becky and Emma and they leave really early tomorrow morning. This will be one sad daisy after everyone has left the patch.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

Imagine a day where you were the center of attention. (That's every day with Emma! ) The Divine Miss Em has a way of smiling with her whole face! I got smiles, squeals and grins all days.

Her bib says "Grandma Spoils Me" and I've certainly done my best to fulfill the prophecy! We were on the go all day yesterday.....all of us were tired at the end of the day.



Emma and I read books, and walked all over Harrisonburg








(well at least Walmart, Target, Barnes and Noble, Old Navy, and Chick-fil-a, and finally off to Red Lobster for a Birthday Dinner.)



Suzy and Tim will be coming to today so that will add to the mix of people to distract Emma. Poor Becky is not getting much sleep at night. Emma is so afraid that she will miss something if she goes to sleep that she is not sleeping at very long intervals which is wearing out her mom.


We may have to take Uncle Tim and Auntie Jewgy (Suzy) shopping with Emma and put her mom down for a nap. We forgot to take the stroller yesterday so Emma's nap were very short.

Thank you all for your birthday wishes and posts. It was a special day and will be a special week. I'm trying to post as many pictures as possible as I know the week will fly by all to quickly.

Sunday Seven....Thanksgiving Edition

Sunday Seven ---Thanksgiving Edition

1. Look at this face and tell me why I'm not the happiest Diva on Earth. We are so thankful that we can spend 12 days with our daughter and grand baby who is now a crawler and soon to be cruiser. She has so much personality now and lights up when she sees you.


2. We are so thankful to have finally settled with the insurance company over my accident. We were very concerned that we might have to go to court and have it drawn out for a long time. We praise the Lord that the settlement was much more than what we ever hoped for and that we will be finally be able to pay off our medical bills. Thank you so much for your prayers. God is good, all the time!



3. I am so thankful and happy that all my little chicks will be home for my birthday and for Thanksgiving. This hasn't happened in such a long time ......I am indeed blessed.



4. We were able to pick up Boy Wonder at the Richmond airport this morning. He was really anxious to see Miss Emma and of course came bearing gifts. Naturally he had to bring her a New York Met toque, and a special red dress that he hopes will be her "Meet Santa" Dress .


5. Baby Girl (Suzy) has been taking a quilting class. This is the quilt she made. It is even more vivid than this picture. For my Birthday and Christmas present she is going to make me one and we get to go shopping for material while she is here. I've always wanted to make a quilt but the sewing gene has not been passed on to me. I'm am really excited about this wonderful gift!

6. Monday is my birthday and I have not had all the kids home for my birthday in 8 years! Boy Wonder is never home for his birthday so I'm getting a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake (his favorite) since he has a craving for one.

7. I am so thrilled for my birthday present from Mr. Wonderful....no it's not from Jared's but I have been wanting a Dyson Vacuum Cleaner forever. It's what I consider the ultimate gift so I never dreamed that I would ever actually own one. Our vacuums have either been hand me downs or garage sale varieties so I do feel very loved and appreciated.

That's all from a very busy crowded Daisy Patch.....and I'm loving every minute of it. Hope you are loved and cherished by all those you love and hold dear. Cue the music, dim the lights and exit thankfully for another week of life.

Emma Meets Lucy Cat

Our Emma loves the kitties but they are not sure what to do with her. JJ, our orange marmalade cat gives her lots of space and runs when he see her crawling towards him. Lucy, the gray tabby was not sure what to think when Emma approached her. Watch closely and you can almost hear Lucy's thoughts on how to get out of Emma's way.

The first wave.....

The first wave of our tribe has landed. Daughter Becky and grand girl Emma arrived late Thursday night at the Richmond airport. Emma was in a particularly good mood considering the 12 hours of travel, jet lag, and eager grandparents that were all grins and grabs.

Friday arrived all too quickly as we did not get everyone to bed before 2 a.m. Emma is adjusting to a new bed, sounds, and time change and her poor Mama is very sleep deprived.

Friday started out with lunch at Chick-fil-a ( her mom's favorite) and shopping at Kohls , Barnes and Noble , and marathon grocery shopping at Food Lion before Auntie Jewgy (Suzy) and Uncle Tim arrived from New York.

Suzy and Tim are visiting friends in Johnson City, Tenn. this weekend so their arrival was only a tease of things to come. They will be back on Monday to help me celebrate my birthday with the rest of the family. They left this afternoon after going out to lunch with us at Chick-fil-a (is anyone seeing a pattern here?)

More shopping occurred this afternoon, I got to go birthday shopping as well as Christmas shopping as we will celebrate Christmas while we are all together this year. Looking for Emma clothes, and toys was especially fun.....I think Mr. Wonderful actually enjoyed it too.

Emma has been a real trooper. She has gone from person to person, buggy to cart, car seat to grocery cart and girlfriend has endured it all with grace and an occasional meltdown.... but some times a girls just has to crash and burn.

Uncle Andy flies into tomorrow morning from New York after working all night. I'm sure he will be one tired boy.

Friday Funny....Turkey Any One!