12-29-17  still too cold to do much!

So I talked the kids into letting me babysit and sent them to order new glasses and on a date to a restaurant by themselves.  I think we all 4 had a good time.

Layla even turned 1 month old today!  She's had quite the time so far in her short life---nicu for about a week; home with her birth mother for a few days; into interim care for about a week; and to her forever home at 3 weeks.   So far, she seems to be coping with all the changes very well.

Angie writes this:

Layla is One Month old today!

Although she was born 5 weeks premature, our little babe is growing like a weed! She weighed in at 7 lb 12 oz this morning and measures 20.5" long.

She likes long walks on the beach, puppy dogs and ice cream. Just kidding, she's less than 5 weeks old. But she does like eating and sleeping and melting our hearts with how cute she is!

12-27-17  babysitting Layla:

For not really ever missing being a Grandma, now that I am, I'm pretty thrilled.  Don't even mind babysitting.  So when Josh had to go out of town for a night, I stayed with Angie for the night and helped with the little one.

But first---I ran up to our local resale shop and found a bunch of $1 long sleeved onesies for Layla.  Seems they had a lot of short sleeved ones, but we're in a wicked cold spell right now!  Anyway----it was fun shopping for baby clothes.

 Taken during my night shift.

 Look at all that hair!

 Such a content little thing!

12-26-17  back to Ga. to meet our granddaughter!

Since we were all coming back to St. Louis for Christmas, so we thought, I also made a few Dr. appointments for myself.  Had labs drawn last Thurs., so today was the day to go back for the results.  Then we planned to jump in the car and drive back to Georgia.  Since my appointment was at 9:15, I had high hopes that we'd be on our way by 10.  No such luck.  The appointment ran late so we didn't get on the road until after 11.  But my appointment went really well for a change!  For the first time since I've been going for regular check ups (since about 50 years old), my A1C was in the normal range.  Until now it had always been in the pre-diabetes range, so I was quite happy with these results!  I guess all those salads are paying off!  Even lost a couple pounds which isn't bad considering all the food I ate at the Christmas parties and the 11 nights cruise!  Now if it would just get warm again so I can go out and continue trying to be good. 
This is why I don't care much for snow, either----it looks pretty initially, but it doesn't take long for it to look like this.

 This was the start of a particularly bad cold spell, too.  Highs in the single digits in St. Louis for the next week and only in the 20 in the Atlanta area!

 a really dreary day!

 no wonder the barns get so weathered.

 Missing the greenery of Florida and the Caribbean!

 a rather pretty barn

 back to the usual mid west barns

 so cold Rend Lake is freezing.

 I don't know why these bill boards are up, but I get a kick out of them

 On into Tennessee and icicles on the bluffs

 finally some blue skies

 so many barns we've seen trip after trip

 then there are some I don't remember seeing before!

 Some we've seen get more and more dilapidated. 

 another "new" one

 when the trees are with leaves, some of them are totally hidden.

 another familiar one.

 wonder why this one has a red stripe?

 Wondering if someone lives in here?!

More icicles on the bluffs in Tennessee

 warm afternoon light with pretty clouds.

 We hit Nashville right before sunset.  Usually we detour around the city, but this time we decided to listen to the car Navigator and go straight through. 

 There were no slow downs and it was nice having a different view for a change.

 Love the symbol for this radio station---the "batman" building with the traditional 3 stars of the Tennessee flag.

 looking East as we left the city

 Sunset lasted a good while and was really pretty tonight.

 Got back to the Suwanee area by about 9:30, so we called to see if the kids were still up.  They were, so we went to meet Layla!  Such a cutie and such a good little girl. 

Nice ending to a long day! 

12-26-17  Revocation period is OVER---Angie and Josh are officially Layla's guardians.   Now to get through until the official adoption happens in 4-6 months.
Can't wait to get back and meet her!!!

I took this off Angie's facebook page:

“For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him.” 1 Samuel 1:27
On September 29, 2016 (our 9th anniversary) Josh and I signed a contract with an adoption agency here in Atlanta. After completing hours of education classes and loads of paperwork, we were officially home study approved on February 21. We prayed and prayed, and waited and waited. But last Sunday, God answered our prayers; a birth mother selected us to raise her baby girl! This past Thursday (ten months to the day after being home study approved) we welcomed little Layla Noelle into our hearts and home. As of 5pm today, the birth mother’s parental rights have been terminated, and we can begin working towards finalizing the adoption.
We are so thankful for everyone who has supported us through this journey to parenthood! It’s been a long time in the making (just over 9 years) but we are so elated to have Layla in our lives and we know this was God’s plan for us all along.
Did I mention we're head over heels?!         

12-25-17  Merry Christmas!!!!!

Not often do we get to spend Christmas with Tim and Faith anymore!  So when they invited us to Jerry and Brenda's for dinner and gift exchange, we accepted.   Brenda had her big family dinner last night while we were at the LaBeaume party.  Which meant we had another big spread of food to stuff ourselves with---leftovers, but still yummy!!!

 Then it was down stairs for presents.

 I think Jerry really liked his gift from Brenda!  Guess you still give each other presents when you've only been married a  little over a year.

 Then it was time for a celebratory drink

 and more Mexican dominos!

 It was a great Christmas.  Nice having family and friends to spend it with.  After the kids had grown and we still lived in St. Louis, Ken and I spent many a Christmas day doing nothing.  Amazing how much more time we spend with family and friends now!!!