We ended up leaving a day earlier than expected after Scotty called and warned us of an impending blizzard on Friday (we were supposed to leave Friday afternoon after Jesse got off work). Roy graciously said to "hit the road," and we did... at 7pm on Thursday night. We drove all night and got here at 4:30am on Friday. It's a good thing we did, too, because they got almost a foot of snow here, which hasn't happened since I was 17! That's a long time, and it takes the one plow in the state of NC a VERY long time to plow all the roads here. :) The kids were really good in the car, and I thoroughly enjoyed the new song I learned from their book on tape: "I'm Herman the worm-an and I like my squirming and I like being close to the ground... boom boom!" I think I liked it more than they did, and now the silly, non-Christmasy song is stuck in my head.
On Friday, before the roads got really bad, we delivered Cinnamon Bread to Louis and Brenda (after I lost it, blamed Jesse for forgetting it, then found it in the van) then came back to Grandma's and got to see Derek and Theda for a few mintues before they left for Florida (they brought us a whole box full of yummy cannoli). The snow
fell, and fell, and fell, and one of Grandma's giant spruce trees fell, and the snow still fell! Saturday, when we woke up, there was snow everywhere, and all the southerners blamed us for bringing it with us. We put plastic bags on our shoes (of course we didn't bring any snow clothes down here... who would've thought?) and headed up to Angela
and Scotty's house, and proceeded to play in the snow ALL DAY. Sadie and Josie ended up wearing a dazzling array of clothing borrowed from Cameron, Caleb, Angela, and Sharon. They went sledding (Sadie went really far, overshooting the boundary tree and landing in the blueberry patch once; Josie and Caleb went tandem-sledding and there was much squealing and shouting for joy), played with the cat, Spencer (Sadie kept carrying him around and putting him in the snow when she thought no one was looking), riding the 4wheeler with Daddy and Scotty, unfroze at Aunt Sharon's (Sadie spent a long time at her house, eating chili beans and thawing out with hot chocolate), and had a great time playing with the boys in their rooms. Adelaide took a long nap on Caleb's bed, then ran around playing with bowls (I cleaned out Angela's tupperware cabinet) and trying to keep up with the big kids. Jesse, Scotty, and Uncle Gary spent the day getting cars unstuck from the driveway, clearing driveways, and playing around on the 4 wheelers. Angela and I finished wrapping her presents and then she made my new favorite for dinner: Hamburger pie! On Sunday, there was no church anywhere, so we went over to spend the morning and early afternoon with Daddy and Sylvia. The kids were really glad to see them and ended up staying over there to snuggle, eat popcorn, and watch movies after Jesse and I left to put Adelaide down for a nap. Daddy told them the "tobacco story" about how when he was little, his daddy bought cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco for him and his four brothers, and put it all out on the table and said, "Boys, I think you're old enough for this now, so have at it!" They learned a lesson that day, and NONE of them ever smoked. Sadie and Josie think this is incredibly funny. I think it was good parenting! Josie is excited about the pile of gifts under Mamaw and Papaw's tree... and I quote, "Hey! Look at our stack!"
While they were there, I snuck out and picked up Melanie for a quick trip to Cato's. It was great... we have to steal moments together when we can, you know.
Later, Thomas, Elizabeth, Josh, Natasha, Britt, and Bayleigh came over to play. Adelaide was a little shy at first, but she finally warmed up to Bayleigh and they are SO cute together. I could just sit and watch them play together for hours. Later Angela, Scotty, and the boys came down for supper (Great Grandma let Sadie and Josie help make the biscuits), and the house was madness. But it's fun madness when you're all together at Grandma's house, even if I did have to do the dishes! The kids were going crazy, running around and around and around from the kitchen to the living room, wrestling in the floor, and finally Angela and Scotty took ALL of them to their house (except the babies) for a sleepover.
On Monday, the kids stayed at Angela's for as long as was humanly possible. They were NOT ready to go, but I thought Angela was ready for them to go! They'd had a great time sleeping in the living room floor, having PJ day, forming alliances (older kids against younger kids) making cinnamon/applesauce ornaments, and having a generally good old time. Jesse and I took Adelaide and went to the bank, where we saw my cousin Kristi and several other people who loved Adelaide's hat! Then we picked up the girls and put them all down for a LONG nap. Later, we went to my Daddy's and Sylvia's (Papaw's and Mamaw's) for T-bones (cooked by flashlight on the carport outside), and then a rousing game of catch in the living room... Sadie gave Mamaw a reprieve from story-telling for the night!
Tuesday: How many times can one person go to Walmart? I think I've been there 5 times already and I've only been here for 5 days. Ridiculous! We got BoJangle's for breakfast, then I went to Angela's for a while (by myself) while she baked me my very own Hamburger Pie. Sounds gross, tastes delicious! Later we took the kids over to play with Dalton and Noah (Kimmie is almost 13 - almost too old to play!) and Chass made them macaroni and hot dogs for lunch. Adelaide and Sadie kept trying to swipe M&M's, and Josie and Dalton played non-stop, listening to music and running around like hoodlums. After we got back to Grandma's, Melanie and Ada stopped by to play for a while, and Jesse made pecan pies with Sadie and Josie. The kids and I went out to Daddy's, where there was much tickling, ball-playing, and dirty fake-outs (Papaw taught Josie to fake a throw, so she kept looking at him while she chucked the ball at Sadie!:). After we got the kids to bed, Jesse and I went BACK to Walmart AGAIN, where we saw my cousin Bridget, then went up to Melanie's to hang out... just grown ups!
Wednesday: Grandma made the kids livermush for breakfast, then Amanda came over and we all went up to Melanie's to play until naptime. Later, we're headed off with Becky, Stephen, and Hailey to see Kimmie and Chasity perform in their Christmas play. So far, we're having a great mix of relaxation and busyness! Hope it stays this way!
