Part Deux

So I am writing tonight under duress because my Mom told me that she keeps getting angry when she opens my blog and finds no new posts. Sorry Mom...this one's for you.

I have been putting it off a bit because I have some great pics on the camera that I want to share from Nana Feast and Chapel Hill. Tonight I was all ready to share them with you when I realized that all the camera gear is in the twins' room and there's no way in the world I'm going to risk baby drama - even for the sake of my Mama.

Let me just say, though, that it was really sweet to get to see friends last week. It was crazy and there were many times that I wondered why we even tried this adventure with a six year old and not-even-two year old twins. Nevertheless it was just good for my heart to see those folks. The McSwains were gracious enough to open their home to us and I slept in sweet Emily's room surrounded by smiling faces in high school photos and Bible verses posted all over the walls. It truly was like being covered by angels. What made it even sweeter is that Emily was in a group I had the privilege of co-leading that we affectionately called "The Freshmores" (because the girls were freshmen and sophomores when we started).

I have to say that I love McSwain-land. It's a crazy house with people always coming and going, phones ringing, people laughing, and some type of yummy carbs baking in the oven. I had a chance to spend about an hour with Susan the last night we were there and it was so sweet. We were both about to fall flat on our faces from exhaustion so we decided to sit on the couch and talk and laugh for a while. So fun.

We had a cookout thrown for us at the Holahans' and it was great. The girls and I jumped with friends on the trampoline and reminisced about that fateful day in NC when Maggie broke her leg jumping on one at a Business School picnic. Ahhh, those were the days. Inevitably the girls would meltdown around 4:30 or so and it would usually last quite a while. Of course we were never at home base when that happened. Mostly it happened when we would sit down together at a friend's house to eat dinner. I try very hard to make my kids sit at the table and eat, and they do pretty well. When they're "Ahh Dun, Ahh Dun" though, they are truly all done and ready to get up and outta there. So we would let them out, which always meant we were no longer seated either because we were chasing them to make sure they didn't drink dog-water or decorate the walls with Sharpies. Fun.

It was fun, though, because all these people either have small kids themselves or know what it's like. And I think they really truly love us, which is good because when you are traveling with small children there's really very little you can do to mask your frustration/exhaustion. I am so grateful for those friends who took us in and just jumped right in to wipe noses, give baths, and unearth kid toys so my girls could have fun and we could steal a few minutes to visit.

I'll write more later with pics, but I just wanted to say thanks to all my sweet friends who loved on us last week. Can't wait until next time...and by next time I either mean when you come to Florida or when my children are old enough to feed, bathe and clothe themselves!