Sara's Baptism

Asher reminded me of Jamie so much with his cute face, rolled sleeves and hands in his pockets.

We had the pleasure of attending my niece Sara's baptism while we were in Bristol. She is the baby of seven children so I can only imagine what it must have felt like for her parents. Sara was really cute and laughed pretty hard when her dad came out with his white jump suit on. 

I got emotional after Sara came out of the water and her two older sisters lovingly guided her to the dressing room and helped dress her and do her hair. I thought of Lisa and how she must have felt both proud to have her older daughters so wonderfully care for their younger sibling and sad to not be the one doing all of that for the final time. I'm certain Sara cherished that time with her older sisters, one of whom is off to college next year and the other is only a few years from college herself. The blessings of family are so great and so varied and watching my nieces and nephews survive so happily makes me wish, just a little, that I had more than three kids. It makes me sad that Maeve will never have a sister. 

After the baptism Sara was confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. I was sitting on the front row with Maeve so we had intimate access to the blessing. Maeve was at her chattiest during that special blessing. If she weren't so stinking hilarious I would have been more horrified. At one point she stood on my lap and put her hands on my head and said, "Please bless mommy." She was sweet to give me a blessing, just like the one her uncle had given her a few days earlier and the one he was giving her cousin in that moment. 

I am grateful for living ordinances and for the pleasure of being part of them for people we love so much.

Visiting the Biltmore with 8,000 Other People

I don't have any photos from Thanksgiving Day or from earlier in the week. Thanksgiving was lovely and enjoyable. We Skyped with Jamie and it was fun to see his face and bring him into our holiday festivities. I went to Target and Walmart with Lisa and Lori for a bit of pre-Black Friday shopping. Did you even know that was possible? Lines galore but everyone was behaved. The scene at Walmart was a bit depressing--Appalachian Walmarts often attract the most haggard people, myself included.

Originally I had planned on going to the Biltmore on Monday but we decided to go on Friday so that more family could join us.

The day after Thanksgiving is the single most busy day at the Biltmore. Big surprise, right? We got there at noon and couldn't get into the house until 4:30. I didn't hesitate to accept that time because my first impression was that the lights would be twinkling and the views more festive. I failed to think of the impact on my children.

Having a later visit to the house meant we could take our time at lunch, which we did. North Carolina always has good Mexican food. Were you aware? We occupied the corner of a spacious restaurant and everyone happily ate their food. Even 1,000 calories a week Asher had several bites of food.

After lunch we went to the petting zoo. Maeve was offended that I brought a stroller. She was happy when  Lori set her free.

The birds were great. This calm rooster was patient with all the kids excited to see and pet him.

I feel you bird. I was not far from falling asleep while standing. Five nights in the same room as Maeve and the same bed as Asher and Soren made for a VERY tired me.

This was a lavender something or other breed of chicken. It was huge and beautiful.

Asher said, "Look at the different teams!" He identified the breeds as teams. I love him.

Climbing, I mean, 'driving' this tractor was endlessly amusing to the kids.

Running through the tree maze. Many shortcuts were taken.

Maeve and Jennifer!

Rhett kissing the statue.

Antler village was pretty cheesy.

It's so fun seeing Maeve with her aunt and cousins, especially when she is high stepping.

The touring car. George Vanderbilt borrowed a car like this from a friend and apparently said, "I love this mode of transportation SO much." He spent the equivalent of $115,000 on it.

Finally, the house!

It's such a bummer that photography isn't allowed in the house. The decorations were stunning.

Countless Christmas trees and miles of garland graced the home. I loved all the various color combinations but my two favorites were blue with gold and orange with green.

My kids were fussy, like even before we got in the house. I was determined to see as much as we could by ignoring their cranky behavior. Maeve insisted on being held. She was heavy but at least pleasant. At one point she made clicking sounds and said to me, "Come here kitty." She's hilarious.

We didn't make it to the basement. I told the others to take their time while I grabbed a snack with the kids and went to the car to wait for everyone. Part of Soren's unpleasantness had to do with his panic over the ice cream shop closing before we finished the tour. He got his ice cream but we nearly froze eating it.

As we were making our way back to the car I realized that I didn't pay attention to where we parked. We were standing on a dark, wooded path that was split between parking lots (seriously Biltmore? NO lights?). I absolutely could not recall where we had parked and there were SIX parking lots. The cold, exhaustion and darkness sent Asher into a panic. He started to cry and shout, "Help! Help! Help! Someone help us!" A few people behind us asked if we needed help and I told them we were okay. I had to pretend we were okay because I didn't want to further traumatize Asher. Poor little man. I whipped out the flashlight app on my phone and handed it to Asher. I chose a route and hoped for the best. The path was gravel so I had to turn Maeve's stroller around and drag it up the hill. Once we got to the parking lot and I saw the many different directions we could go, I started to panic myself! The last thing I wanted to do was drag my kids around miles of cars in the freezing cold. I pulled out my key fab and started pressing the unlock button as we moved around. Eventually I heard that blessed beep and saw the lights flash! Yay! We quickly got in the car and I handed out snacks and turned on a movie. All was well, happily. 

We still had a nearly two hour drive ahead of us. I was so tired when we got home that I wanted to lay down and die. It was that newborn kind of tired where you've been up all night for weeks at a time and you just can't catch a break. The kids were wired after sleeping the entire way home. Fortunately, everyone went to bed relatively easily and I got enough sleep to recover. Part of my exhaustion was emotional because even when I am surrounded by loving friends and family who want to help, there is nothing that can replace the comfort and succor of a husband.

Hubs: These are for YOU!!!

Jamie, these super cuties and I miss you! 

Only 28 more days!!!

Maeve's Cake

I made a boxed cake mix for Maeve and a great batch of buttercream frosting but I loathed the boxed cake so much that I discarded it and left my baby girl without a cake. I felt especially bad about it when Maeve would tell people that she blew out candles on her cake. Perhaps she had a whimsical dream about this happening but it certainly didn't occur in my presence. I asked my mom to make a cake and she did, from scratch. She also agreed to decorate it after the manner I had originally inteded. A fun ombre scallop pattern! My mom did a beautiful job, once again! Maeve and the boys were extremely excited about this! We all enjoyed the ritual of singing to Maeve and she above all enjoyed blowing out her candle.

Back to the Hirshhorn and Paul

My mom loves going to the mall so we try to squeeze in a trip with every visit. The Ai Weiwei exhibit at the Hirshhorn was the perfect excursion.

Maeve was just happy there was no stroller involved.

She's so cute with her hat. I figure if she wont wear a coat at least her head will be warm.

It's my favorite when the hat falls down to cover one of her eyes and she immediately says, "I'm a pampirate, aye matey!"

I tried to get a shot of the kids seeing the snake of backpacks--they loved it.

Asher and Soren were fascinated by this peice and I saw new patterns in it that I didn't notice the first time.

Soren ran to the end and I ran to the beginning.

We watched a video about this piece. Ai Weiwei obtained the twisted steel beams from the wreckage of the earthquake and had each of them pounded at least 200 times each to be made straight again. I continue to appreciate his mission to remember the people killed in that earthquake.

Walking across the mall to the French bakery Paul.

Squirrel chaser!

Blueberry tart, almond, cream and chocoalte pastry, mini chocolate croissant and a loaf of sour dough bread. Yum!

Soren finished his croissant in record time.

Asher man pretending to eat the menu.

After eating our pastries the kids ran around the Navy Memorial and I shut down that activity as soon as Maeve fondled a hobo blanket left on a nearby bench. Gross.

Museums and pastries with my mom and kids is a pretty great way to end an already great visit.