Tennessee Fun!

[Warning: lots and lots of pictures ahead and text that wants to be centered.]

Our time in TN was really wonderful, and was among other things, the last time that we will all, as a family, be together for another year. We properly captured every moment, fun and party to be had and savored being together.

We drove straight from church to home and made it with time to hang out, change and eat before running to Darci's wedding. It was so great to see little Eli again, as well as the rest of the family. We got a great surprise, too. My cousin Errin was visiting from Detroit and surprised us by being there to visit that week.

On our way out the door to the wedding, Amos found his little blue acoustic guitar and was so excited that he didn't want to put it down and leave. So my Dad brought out the new fly swatter guitar that he got for Amos, since we lost our other one. It did the trick, as Amos happily went out the door with his new little guitar.

Darci's wedding was great, just like her. It was beautiful, whimsical, flirty, worshipful, bittersweet and fun. We saw many old friends there and were glad to catch up. My parents, Nathan's mom and Amos all made it there and we had fun showing off our little boy. There was lots of good food and dancing and mirth! Amos danced with Mom to Elvis, as they were waiting for Dad to bring the car. After he had had enough, my parents took him home and after a few tears, my mom cuddled with him and was able to put him to bed. She was happy to stand in for me, finally feeling more like his Grandma!

Back at the wedding, as things were dying down, I was making a painful discovery. Earlier, I had tried to get my camera out of its bag and as I unzpped the bag, my camera fell out, onto the concrete floor. As I put the battery and memory card back in, I noticed that the card door wouldn't close. I finally got it to stay shut and then, as I was trying to photograph Darci and Jeremy dancing in the candle light, I realized that the only working funcion on my camera was the automatic funcion, making it nearly impossible to take pictures without a flash. Even my video function was no longer working and while I was thankful for at least one working way to take pictures, I was bummed that my camera was closer to death.

Me and our dear friend Kyle. Our wedding, seven years ago was her first to photograph and she enjoyed adding Darci and Jeremy's wedding to her list!

On Monday, the boys hatched a plan to go swimming. My mom helped them out by getting in touch with a client and seeing if we could borrow her key to their neighborhood pool. When we got there, we discovered that we had only half an hour, as the pool was closing soon, due to a swim meet. Mom, Dad, Errin, Dan, Nathan and I had a blast at the pool and then descended upon the local Starbucks in all of our wet swimming attire for some late afternoon caffeine jolts. My mom and I went to Kroger and had fun listening to musical cards in the Hallmark section and then remembered to finish shopping for Amos' birthday dinner. After getting home, I made birthday dinner and prepared to have the family over. Soon Aaron and Christen came over and played for awhile. It was great to see them, although I was busy in the kitchen. After dinner, Amos opened his first present, from Uncle Jesse. It was his first fishing pole and after we all finished eating, we headed to the pond and tested it out. Amos didn't catch anything, but he did help his uncle reel in a small-mouthed bass. When Jesse offered to let him touch it, he held his hand back, a bit freaked out!
Soon Great Grandma Sheehan and Grammy Carole arrived and the fun continued. Amos blew out his two candles, wondering where the flame went. Since it was nearing bedtime, he didn't get to eat any cake but did enjoy opening presents. Uncle Joel and Jerusha arrived and it was time for family pictures before bed. One last birthday tradition: we danced to the Birthday Song and Amos got a breathing treatment!
I was able to use the automatic function on my camera to capture the birthday festivities. My mom instituted a collection for a new camera for me. I was reluctant, seeing as how I broke my camera and so it was my fault and I didn't feel deserving of such grace. But Nathan happily agreed, the logic being that so many of our family and friends enjoy my pictures, that they wanted to help. I was very humbled and blessed by what was given (thanks Mama P, Christen and Aaron, Mom and Dad and Jesse!) and feel overwhelmed by love and care through those gifts. And after everyone went home, Nathan informed me that my new camera was already in the mail. He had called earlier to see what color I wanted and while I was suspicious at such a request, I didn't ask any further for fear of messing up a surprise! He had chosen next day shipping, too, so it was to arrive the next day. My sweet husband wanted me to have my new camera for the rest of the week!
We rounded the night out with a bonfire in the front pasture and stayed up way too late!

Amos the conductor (with Dada on the train whistle) reads and enjoys his new truck book from Grammy C. It was tough to move on to the next present--what could possibly any better than a truck book?!

Grammy C looked on while Amos played his flyswatter guitar and got a breathing treatment before bed. The rest of us danced to the Birthday Song, by the Beatles, a Meeks family tradition.


Tuesday morning came and Nathan prepared to drive home in the rental car to get some work done. Amos must have had a stuffy nosed-night, as he was cranky all morning and then threw up after breakfast. It seemed that due to teething, he had a really runny nose and it irritated his stomach. After we got cleaned up, he seemed to feel better and playing. We said goodbye to Nathan, had lunch and then I put Amos down for a nap, and left to go shopping with the girls! But before I left, my new camera came up the driveway in a UPS truck! It is so small and sleek compared to my old camera. It came with a small memory card so I immediately had to remedy that by buying more memory! My first photo shoot was of Elijah and Beth on the front porch. We all marveled at the clarity and high megapixels on this thing. Needless to say, since that day, I've loved every minute of picture taking. So, the rest of the pictures on this post are from the new camera. Can you tell a difference?

Later that afternoon, we went up to Mr Leeson's house for snacks and drinks. Mr. Leeson is like a great Uncle to us, and it's a tradition to have us up when my Grandma is in town. Of course, his house was less than child friendly and Amos finally found his "toy" in the little fountain out front. I stripped him down and he played happily for at least half an hour. While he didn't drink the water, he did put his hands in his mouth alot and later that night, before bed, he threw up again. I got really freaked out, wondering if I had exposed him to bad water. Thankfully, he didn't throw up anymore and slept well that night.

Amos' first encounter with play dough.





All of us up on Mr. Leeson's porch

On Wednesday, we recovered from the previous day of throw up. All day Amos ate saltines, gatorade, yogurt and Pediasure to help his system recover. And he did recover, very well. We spend the day playing and had fun watching Uncle Jesse drive around the yard on his newly acquired child's dirtbike that he found in a donation pile at the end of a driveway in a swanky part of town. Apparently, it's "for Amos" in a few years, but Jesse had a blast and everyone (but me) took turns driving around on it. We continued to cement our redneck status! That night we played our favorite family card game, Squige (I actually have never spelled it out before and have no idea how it's spelled!!). Beth, Abby, Errin, Jesse and I had a blast hootin' and hollerin' and trying to beat each other! Jesse actually won a few times, which surprised us girls who were moving alot faster than he was! It was Errin's last night, so of course, we stayed up late and had fun being together on her last night.

Ab was excited about Led Zeppelin in this picture!

On Thursday morning, Amos woke up hungry. He and Grandma had breakfast together, Amos had eggs and a piece and a half of toast. He nibbled on it whole (the first time I had just handed him a piece of bread without cutting it up) and especially enjoyed it when I put grape jelly on!
Later that morning, Megan, Levi and Ari came over and played. Ari is now four months old and is looking so much like Megan! When we woke up from our naps that afternoon, we discovered that somehow, we ran out of water. Having so many people in the house put a big strain on the spring water supply. So after we figured out where to go for dinner, we mobilized to find water!
We had a great dinner at the Franklin Chop House and reminisced about how the last time we were there, Beth was in the beginning stages of her labor with Elijah and could only stay for a few minutes due to such tough contractions. On this night, we sat at the same table, but Mom and Grandma sat where Beth and Dan did last time, holding their sweet babies! After a stop at Target for water, we headed home for bed. Uncle Joel came over and hung out some more with us and we enjoyed seeing him again!

We woke up Friday morning still with no water and a possibly broken pump, which brought the water in. So what else was there to do, but go out for breakfast! We enjoyed a greasy southern breakfast at the Loveless Cafe. After we ate, we made sure to stop by the wooden picture that you put your faces through and captured Dan, Dad and Amos as a farmer, his wife and their dog. While I packed, Mom got Amos playing in water again, in the back yard, which he really enjoyed. The dogs played too, and he had great fun. As I raced around packing, Amos played and played and was especially intrigued by watching the pump repair guy.
We finally drove away later than I wanted to, but excited to see Dada again. We said goodbye to Grandma, Beth, Dan and Elijah and Mom and Dad. I was so busy trying to get out the door that I didn't have the chance to realize that our family wouldn't be together again for a long while. It's slowly soaking in.
The drive went well. We made a few stops and Amos did well riding in the car. We made it home safely and I thanked God for reuniting us with Nathan again!

Family and friends gave generously to help fund the purchase of a new camera. So when the pump broke, we found it fitting to take another love offering. I wish I could've given more.

Elijah and his Great Grandma Sheehan.

Cousin (pseudo sibling) time!