Showering Brenna Noelle (and her mommy!)

On Saturday, several family and friends gathered at First Baptist in Danville for a baby shower for our next beautiful grandaughter.  (Thus, the visit from Lindsay, Troy and Olivia - see next post.)  We had family from Ohio, Kentucky and of course, Indiana attend the event and Elizabeth got lots of wonderful gifts for Brenna.  I didn't get very many pictures, but Lindsay took several, so you might check out her blog as well.)

 Decorating onesies for little Brenna

 Mom-mom and Olivia

 The glowing mommy-to-be

None of us can wait to meet the newest member of our family (and the Crawford family, too!) 

Olivia comes to visit!!

Last Wednesday, Olivia (and her parents and doggies) made the long trek from Memphis to Indiana and boy, were we glad to see them all!  It was a crazy few days but precious moments with our precious grandaughter!  If she were here for a month, it wouldn't be enough time, so we are thankful for every minute we get with her.  She is such a sweetie!  With Troy's resident schedule, he might not make it back to Indiana for quite awhile, so it was an added treat that he got to come this time.  We squeezed in a family dinner on Friday night with all 8 2/3 of us (Brenna in utero) but you wouldn't know it from the pictures. 

Sweet smile

 Ian was so happy to see his pal, Gus!

Gus even rode on Ian's lap to wait for the bus and Ian would have happily taken him to school!

Olivia is happiest when she's not bothered by clothes!

Tummy time

Gus is Olivia's favorite, too and he is never very far away from her.

Flying!

Well over a year ago (maybe 2), Tom and I were able to particpate in a silent auction for some friends of ours who were adopting 2 little boys from Ethiopia.  Another friend who is a pilot, donated an airplane ride and I jumped on that immediately!  We won the bid but have had a hard time getting together to fly.  Well, last night was the night and it was a beautiful evening for  flying.  We flew around Purdue, Lafayette, and up to Lake Freeman, which was beautiful as the sun was setting.  So, not only did I get an awesome plane ride but we also got to help 2 little ones get to their forever mommy and daddy! 

 Ready to go!

 Heading for takeoff

 Ian checks out the plane

Can you tell who was almost as excited as I was?

Ian Goes to School!!!

Today was Ian's first day of 4th grade at Cole Elementary and he was pumped!  Mostly, he was excited about his new lunch "box" and absolutely ecstatic that he got to ride the bus!  After meeting his teachers at an open house last night, the actual school day today was a bit boring because he had to listen to several adults talk about him and figure out the best ways to meet his needs while he's at school.  He yawned several times to show us what he thought of the whole ordeal but was pretty patient through it all. 

 Ian with his 4th grade teacher who has been teaching for 39 years!

 Ian will spend lots of time with this wonderful lady who is the Resource Room teacher.

The big day!  He could hardly wait to get outside to wait for the bus and in this picture he catches a glimpse of it coming.

Oh, it's getting closer!!!! (I wish you could hear the squeals!)

Riding the lift up to the bus.  Once he's in, his entire chair is secured so he never has to get out of it.  

 

 Off he goes!  (Followed by Mom who spent most of the day at school, training everyone involved with his care.)  By the way, this not just any school bus - it's Ian's personal chauffeur since he is the only one on the bus in the mornings! 

 Snapping pictures of butterflies while waiting for Ian to get home.

Still smiling when the bus brought him home and anxious for tomorrow to come so he can do it all again.  I wonder if it will ever get old to him. 

Land of the Hot and Humid

Last week, we packed the Yukon with Ian, Drew, Elizabeth, us and all the stuff that the 5 of us require, plus a few items for Olivia :-) and headed to Memphis.  It was way too hot to do much so we stayed inside and played with Olivia and with the Wii.  A few pictures from the trip............

 Olivia loves her little "raft" because she can touch the bottom and move it all around her pool.

 Serious moment

 The girl LOVES the water

 Watching a Veggie Tales movie on the computer with Mommy

 Our handsome boy!

Talking

Olivia loves being a "Nudy Judy!"

This is how she wakes up every morning!  All smiles!

Tom and Ian playing the Wii while Lindsay concentrates on facebook.

I was trying to keep Olivia happy and awake until her appointed naptime.  Obviously, I failed.  She fell asleep while "trotting to town."

Aunt Elizabeth and Olivia

Uncle Drew taking a turn (proof that I shared...........a little bit.)

Adorable!!!!

Another Move

We headed to Louisville Friday afternoon to help Drew and Elizabeth move to Lafayette. We got there in time to enjoy the pool for awhile which Ian loves! Big brother made the experience much more fun than mom normally does and Ian wasn't ready to get out when the time came (although we don't think he would ever be ready to get out!)

Dad, Ian and Drew

Elizabeth (and Brenna) enjoying the warm water on her feet

The moving truck packed and ready to roll.

Ian, ready to drive the U-haul truck

Part of the unloading crew at the storage unit in Lafayette. After unloading, we headed to our house for the feast of a meal that my parents and grandmother brought!

Drew and Elizabeth are staying at our house for a few days until their house is ready and part of the KSBC youth group tradition is to "flock" certain folks on special occasions. So......we realized on Sunday morning that they had been officially welcomed and flocked sometime during the night!