Just Being Happy

These things happened this week:

*on Monday Hilary had a photo shoot so she dropped off Owen and Lynnlee before lunch and they stayed with us while she met the West Central senior and her mom at Prophetstown State Park for the shoot.  They also used our barn for some of the pictures.  After she was finished, she stayed and visited with us until it was time to return home to meet Landon's and Tessa's bus

*on Tuesday Hilary had a hair appointment so she dropped off Owen and Lynnlee at 8:15 and they spent the morning and part of the afternoon with us.  She took advantage of some kid-free time to have lunch with Blaine in Delphi.

* on Tuesday also Rebecca, our first realtor, stopped by at our invitation to see the house and what we had done to it since we moved in.  That was important to me because she knew the condition of the rooms when we purchased the house and knew what my ideas were for improvement and I wanted her to see what we had done.  She was shocked and surprised and pleased and very complimentary about our changes and the progress we had made.  She also liked the gift of the Thirty One bag and the bottles of wine and the candle we gave her as a thank you for helping us find the perfect house for us.

*on Wednesday we accepted an offer on our old house in Pulaski.  There may be some roadblocks with the house, but it felt good to made that decision even though the price was less than we had hoped.  The buyers asked for no inspection which made it easier since we think we would have had to put some extra money into the house that we really couldn't recover.  Keeping our fingers crossed that all will go well with it.

*on Thursday afternoon Tina stopped by for a visit after her Carroll/White REMC Board of Directors meeting.  It was good to see her and just catch up  for a while.  We enjoyed a piece of apple cake that I had made using my mom's recipe.

*Blaine came over on Thursday afternoon and he and Gary worked on the wood stove in the Party Barn.  They also worked on a couple of space heaters to get them working.  Between the stove and the space heaters the Party Barn should be nice and toasty for Kent and Sandy's 40th Anniversary Party next weekend.

*On Monday evening we decided to run into Lafayette and eat the 'early dinner' special at Texas Roadhouse. The meal was good, and the server, Zach, was very friendly, attentive, and conversational.

*On Wednesday evening Hilary called and asked if we wanted to meet them at Wings Etc for dinner.  So we did.

*On Thursday after they worked on the wood stove, Hilary and the kids came, and Tina left, so we all went to Monicals for pizza and salad and breadsticks.

*On Friday Lynnlee was still running a fever so she stayed with us instead of going to Auntie's house and possibly giving something to Owen.  She was such a good girl, and she is so comfortable here at the new house.  It does make me sad that she won't remember when we lived at the other house, but memories are memories and that is what counts.  She ate well.  She decided that going up the stairs was something that she could now do.  She liked to nap ON Papaw.  She is such a little sweetie.

*Today we went to Stone House for a late breakfast, then to Payless by the mall for groceries.  It was a bad time to go to Payless. Saturday for one thing.  Earlyvoting center for another.  While it was good to see so many people exercising their right to vote, the line was so long, snaking its way through the flowers, the dairy section and along the self-checkout registers.  Lots of people out this morning!

*A pot of Wild West Chili Soup is on the stove, waiting for macaroni to be added in about 30 minutes.  Hilary and the boys (including Parker) are coming over for dinner. Tessa is spending the night with Nola.  Blaine is working.  Parker is spending the night with Landon.  Chili and grilled cheese are on the menu.  There are a few pieces of apple cake (which Hilary doesn't like because the apple pieces are too big---can you imagine??), a peach pie in the fridge, and a bag of cookies from Stone House on the island for dessert.  Good times ahead.

And these are reasons why I have been happy this week.  I love being closer to the kids.  All of this makes me smile.  I am happy.