Life is Good and The Babies are a Smilin'!

These four faces are the most beautiful in the world. Now, there are some of you out there who would disagree because you have your own set of beautiful faces that you love and cherish dearly. But these are mine. From the children I bore ​came these four, and I love them to the moon and back about a million times ninety.

Most who know me well know that my eldest daughter and her family have completed their seven-year mission journey to Honduras (at least for now) and have relocated back to the states with their two precious little girls. It is an understatement to say how much I have enjoyed having them not only home in Georgia, but a mere 20 minutes' drive away. On a recent trip back to Honduras to finish up their packing, bring baby back to meet their Honduran family, and to say goodbye (for now), I was a mess! It has been heaven having them home and, needless to say, I have become quite spoiled. But for now they are here and I'm lovin' it!

My son, on the other hand, will probably never live in Georgia again because he married a Florida gal, and they have been back in Tampa for the last five+ years. I have missed them terribly and every chance I am with them is something I never take for granted. But, as you can see in the pictures above, they are older and with older comes busier and more tied-down! Once kids get into late grammar/middle/high school, the parents aren't likely to dig up their roots and replant them unless they absolutely have to. I totally understand that, but it doesn't mean I miss them any less. I am headed their way this week, and I am beyond excited! My oldest starts high school the next week and I had to see her before the rush and craziness of the new school year starts in! I can't believe my one and only grandson is nine; he is changing so much. I cannot wait to hang out with them. Can you see me? I am totally doing my happy dance!

As for the youngest child once housed in my uterus, she is counting down the months till her April 2018 wedding. It's not likely she will ever live in Georgia again either, since she's marrying a Texan and both their careers are established there. I'm okay with the crazy pull the city of Houston has on her but I fully expect, if it be the will of the Good Lord (and I've relayed this to her and her fiancé), to have at least one grandbaby from them in the not-too-distant future. They owe me that, don't you think, moving so far away from mama?!  But first, let's find that wedding dress, girl!

In the meantime, we celebrated my Daddy's 91st birthday yesterday, and I truly find it hard to believe that it's been a year since he had his 90th shindig! But it was a good family time and the day was truly special. For 91, he is doing relatively well (for those of you who have asked), just the usual 90-year-old aches, pains, and complaints about the English peas they serve him. He enjoyed the day with five of his seven great-grandchildren around him. I missed my two oldest but I have learned that this is my plight in life right now, that the times my children, their significant others, and my grandchildren are all together in the same room are few and far between, so I take "what I can get when I can get it" and try not to fuss about it too much. My sister was here with her three grandchildren and that was an added bonus. Family truly is forever.

But to the renovation in progress, in case you were wondering...

It totally drones on, kind of like this summer heat. But by the time I get back from Tampa, I fully expect to see the back room completed (roof and all), inner walls studded out, and everything ready to be finished in that area of the house. I will have my "floor-laying" pants on, ready to go! We will soon have our engines revved and ready to truck ahead and shift into what I call the final stages of renovation. Now, I'm too smart to get overly excited, because I know the final stages can drag on like a Baptist preacher on a muggy August Sunday with the windows open but no breeze. All you can think about is Sunday lunch and a nap in front of the fan. But we're on a mission to get this renovation finished. Full steam ahead!

I call some of these pics the Blue Man Group, because a very large tarp covered the add-on before the roof, casting a mysterious moody glow...weird lighting for a picture!

Two of the hardest-working men literally in the whole world! First wall up!

View of the new bump-out from the east end of the master bath/closet/laundry/half bath addition

The steady hum of the miter saw not too bad. But the dust storm that it creates is wearing me down!

Finished 5x7 foot bump-out which will house a free-standing tub and separate shower

Cousins! (notice her arm is around him and his arm kind of hanging loosely to the back...not too close now, cuz!)

Cousins meeting for the first time (she's still too little to have cooties!) #deerintheheadlights

Daddy with five of his seven great- grandchildren. Happy 91st Birthday, Daddy-o!

---

"Family and close friends are who get us through what can be long, hard days. They are like lyrics to the song of our life...familiar and comfortable, sometimes making you happy and proud, sometimes bringing tears and haunting your soul, but stuck deep in your heart and stirring it to something more than complacency."