GEORGIA DAYS

Falling asleep mid-game on the drive out to Georgia

Passing time in the car while we ran many errands on Friday

Holding baby Eli (now almost 3-months-old)

Getting groceries for Cheryl and Doug's lake house, where we stayed with Uncle Gerald

Running off some energy at ChickFilA after milkshakes while we waited for Gramma to get her hair cut and colored by Whitney

Helping Uncle Gerald move pine cones out of the driveway

Celebrating Gramma's birthday on Sunday with Mexican food and a giant cookie

Watching morning cartoons in bed at the lake house

Spinning daddy on the tire swing at Chehaw's playground

Taking a turn with the deep tissue massager on the ride home...

Reunited with Buster before the vet closed (where we boarded him)

SAYING GOODBYE TO GG

We arrived home tonight from a 5-day trip to Georgia, where we traveled to celebrate GG's life. GG had been extremely ill (bronchitis and c-diff) and in the hospital for almost a month. She had good hours and bad, but she never lost her wit or her strength to fight. She was 98-years-old and one of the strongest, most independent, and highly intelligent women I have been blessed to know in my life. She took care of herself and her house and everyone else around her up until 2 years ago when she broke her hip and had to move to a rehabilitation facility, then nursing home. When I met her 13 years ago I had no idea how well I would get to know her or how long I would have her in my life, and I am beyond grateful for the time I had with her, and for the time my kids had with her. They loved GG as much as we did, and we will all continue to love her as we miss her, think about her, and reflect on her life. The kids attended her viewing and service, and during that time (and throughout the rest of the long weekend) they provided a wonderful distraction to many family members (and also some comic relief during the saddest and tensest of moments... pictures James loudly questioning me "Why is that man YELLING?!" in reference to the Baptist preacher who led the ceremony, and "Why are these chairs hairy?" in reference to the fabric covered folding chairs at the gravesite). It was so good to see many family members this weekend as well (especially after having missed out on a Waddell family Christmas this year), and I'll upload some photos from our weekend in a separate post.

Below is GG's obituary, written by Aunt Cheryl, and in the middle here are some of my favorite photos of us with her over the past few years.

Martha Cora Priest Waddell

DAWSON - Martha Cora Priest Waddell passed away Wednesday afternoon, January 22, 2014 in Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. Visitation will be Saturday, January 25th at 10:00 am followed by the funeral at 11:00 at Harvey Funeral Home in Dawson. Rev. Melvin Slappey will be officiating.

Born September 22, 1915, she was the daughter of Emmett and Frances Priest and the widow of Marvin Eugene Waddell, Sr. She was preceded in death by a son, Marvin Eugene Waddell, Jr. and a son-in- law, Bill Kirkpatrick. The last two years of her life she lived at Lee County Health and Rehabilitation Center where she had a wide circle of friends.

Survivors include daughter, Sara Waddell Kirkpatrick, Grayson, GA; son, Douglas (Cheryl) Waddell, Albany, GA; daughter, Jean Waddell Lindsay, Atlantic Beach, FL; son, Gerald Waddell, Warwick, GA; daughter-in- law, Beverly Waddell, Dawson, GA; and nine grandchildren, Jill (Marvin) Willis, Grayson, GA; Jonathan (Lisa) Kirkpatrick, Berlin, Germany; Stephen (Heather) Waddell, Albany, GA; Jason (Amy) Waddell, Pensacola, FL; Jamie Lindsay, Brooklyn, NY; Jay (Denise) Lindsay, Vicksburg, MS; Karen (Chad) Pritchett, Americus, GA; Kyle Waddell, Gainesville, GA; and Whitney (Ben) Rish, Sasser, GA. She is also survived by twelve great-grandchildren, Julia and Marvin Willis, Skylar and Carter Kirkpatrick, MacKenzie and Wyatt Waddell, Finnley Waddell, James and Cora Lindsay, Tanner and Kate Pritchett, and Eli Rish.

She was a dedicated homemaker who put God and family first. She made award-winning quilts and pear preserves, and was known for her dry wit. She enjoyed bingo, reading, and word searches. She was loved by all who knew her; she will be greatly missed. Those wishing to sign the online registry may do so at www.harveyfuneralhome.com.

BMX TRAX

 After heading out for a 10-mile run this morning (2 miles of which I ran w/ Jay, his first run in over 6 months!), we made Jean a bacon, egg, and hash brown brunch, then drove around with Uncle Gerald to check out the lot for his new house and the home that Whitney and Ben are purchasing, followed by a late lunch and a trip to Chehaw for the kids to ride their bikes at the awesome BMX track. It was warmer than the previous couple of days had been and the kids BADLY needed to get some energy out. It made Uncle Gerald's day to be out there watching the kids and helping rescue them from falls, and Jean was happy to cheer them on and laugh at their antics. It was a good, relaxing day following a very stressful few days.

100 DAYS

Is this a "thing" anywhere outside the Deep South? Kids here celebrate their 100th day of school by either adhering 100 random objects to a shirt or dressing as though they are 100-years-old. Since our warning for this activity was 5 hours (notices were sent home from school yesterday afternoon, approximately 5 hours before James' bedtime), we opted to grab his vest out of his closet (sorry Grambot, don't be offended - cute little old men wear sweater vests) and pilfer the Halloween costume box for a gray wig. Done.

James was NOT impressed with the wig. He cried about it. Seriously. All the way to school he fussed and complained, even though Jay was the one wearing it in the car (trying to get him on board with the costume). He wanted to dress as someone else (Batman, in particular) and not an old person. He wasn't even impressed when Cora put it on and danced around. It wasn't until after his teacher snapped this photo of the kids who participated (that's only7 out of 14 kids in the class who dressed up... note to teachers, give us parents a little more warning and you'll get better than 50% participation!) and all the girls started fawning over James that he decided the wig was cool. Just another day in the life of a preschooler...

TINY DANCER

And... we have a dancer! Cora loved her class and wants to go back right away (too bad it's only once/week)! We got her dressed, attempted to get her baby fine hairs into a bun of sorts, and she marched right on back to class all on her own (parents aren't allowed in the dance studio - too much distraction). It's a pretty big class (8-10 girls), but from the peeking I did through the blinds, Cora had no trouble staying focused. After class her teacher popped out to let me know that she did great and was really impressed with our girl! In fact, I'm a bit jealous that she listened so well to her instructor when she doesn't show her daddy or I the same courtesy... She's already talking about her fancy dress for the recital in May (it will be a Dr. Seuss theme, so the dresses will be WILD) and how she made new friends. We didn't know if or when we'd ever be dance parents, but the day has come and I think it's going to go well for all of us!

Before class, showing me how she can stand on her tip-toes

What James did during class

Peeking through the blinds at our little dancer

Showing off her dance studio on the way out

3-DAY WEEKEND PLAY

After a quick doctor visit (turns out Cora's accidents, probably over the entire past year, are due to MAJOR compaction, so meds and a diet change are in motion to get "other" things in motion...), we took the kids over the river (had to cash in our winning $3 Lotto ticket and $5 scratch-off win!) then down to Riverfront Park for a couple hours of bike riding, playground romping, and sand playing (in the volleyball court). Three day weekends are the best...

It's been a busy weekend (lots of fun, and also some good productivity around the house - hey, we even took our Christmas tree down finally!) and we're not ready to go back to work/school, but I suppose that's how these long weekends go. The good news is that James' class is splitting up... 4-year-olds on one side of the partitioned room and 5-year-olds on the other. We have our fingers crossed that this will help James with his focus during seatwork, since he told me unprompted last Friday on the way to school "Mommy, I don't like doing my homework at school. The other kids are too loud!"

BOOK BABES

Post-shower storytime

BALLERINA BABIES

Just playing dress-up and practicing for tomorrow's class!

MARIE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

The kids went to Marie's birthday party this afternoon (she's ONE already!) and the only photo I took is of them joy-riding on one of Mason's electric cars (the John Deere Jeep). Cora almost ran into parked cars and the house a few times, so James took over and drove her around instead. She obviously trusts him a lot to be riding around like she's on a roller coaster, hands in the air...