My Moms

This post is a long time in coming. I should have done it about 3 months ago but I just didn't. Partly because I can read lots of email and blogs while nursing is easy but typing is a little trickier - while this excuse is lame, it's true and the best I've got!

First, I want to tell you how great my mother-in-law is. She is such a wonderful lady - I'm not really surprised by this because her oldest son is the sweetest, kindest, most wonderful man and that must have come from somewhere, right? Sandy came to stay with us for 2 weeks when Hannah was born. She had had a really busy summer and really hadn't been home for more than 4 days in a row but she graciously gave us a ton of her precious time and helped out greatly when we had a new baby in the house. She took care of my big kids, she cleaned the house from top to bottom, she never let the kitchen get the least bit messy, she held and comforted the baby so I could get a shower or a nap, she gave me many pre-labor massages and even a pedicure. It was wonderful to have her here and know that the house was in good hands even when I couldn't be here to take care of my gang. I just don't know what we would have done without her. We have friends that would have taken the kids while I was in labor but for all the days after that, we would have been on our own and it would have been much harder.

Thanks, Sandy, I love you and am so thankful for you!

Now, about my mommy.... She was just here for a week and we had such a great time! She was so helpful straight out of the gate. Barrett picked her up on Saturday afternoon and we enjoyed taking her to church and just getting caught up. Sunday, we went to an apple orchard and got an entire bushel of apples. It was so fun picking and tasting. Barrett was sick so decided to stay home but the rest of us had a good time. We got our big pumpkins there, too. For the next 3 days, my mom cut and peeled all those apples and made tons of sauce and pie filling. Our freezer is full and we are enjoying all the great fall flavor of freshly picked apples. She took the kids out for a special shopping trip to get materials for Halloween costumes and Legos. She taught Hollyann how to sew and they made her Harry Potter robe for Friday. They made clothes for her American Girl doll. She sat with the baby for countless hours while I went and walked a dog and ran to the store 100 times to get ready for our birthday sleepovers that we had on Saturday night. She came to MOPS with me and helped set up and take down the room and, again, held the baby so I could get it all done faster. We got all caught up on their adventures in Alaska and all the work they did cleaning out my grandparents house last month and getting it on the market. And we shopped - not much but still, it needed to be done and she was a great help. By the time the week was over, I was exhausted! We got more done in one week than I have since Hannah was born! My dad missed her and wanted her back but it was hard to let her go. Who knows how long it will be until my kitchen floor is mopped again?!

Thanks, Mommy! I love you and miss you already. See you in 2 short months.

I thank the Good Lord for my wonderful Moms. He has blessed us so greatly with the best parents in the world (we love our Dads, too.) We can't wait to see them again and spend the holidays with them - and we won't ask them to do a thing!