Wow, Have We Been Having Fun

Anne, Gene, McLean, Ben and Mary Elizabeth arrived January 1, 2012.  We had a great time together as I mentioned in the last blog.  I wanted to add a few pictures of our time together:

Garry and I got the older grandchildren Innotabs...their own little computer for games, songs, pictures and movies.  They had lots of fun learning how to use it!

Garry with his sweet Mary Elizabeth...

 Ben riding his Hobby Horse that Nonna made:

 Mamaw and Papaw arrived on Thursday, January 4 and we all went to dinner to celebrate Anne's birthday and meet Patty Pierce's boyfriend, Ben...cool name, huh?  This is a picture of Ben drinking his very first soft drink, a Sprite!

Our dear friends, the Sweetens, joined us all for dinner:

Patty and the boys...

After Mamaw and Papaw left, Anne, Gene and McLean went ahead of us to Little Rock.  Mary Elizabeth and Ben stayed a few extra days:

When we got back from Little Rock, I left 2 days later to head to Athens where I spent time with Paige and her family after the birth of their new daughter, Larken.  Piper and I had fun at the library:

The next video is hilarious...Piper is interacting in the front with many of the other children, but watch how some of the children start following Piper when she begins circling the storyteller!

And here are the new sisters having a special time together, the first time Piper fed Larken.

Piper chatted the whole time explaining how fun it was to be a big sister. 

It was getting obvious that Larken wasn't hungry any longer, so Piper asked permission to stop feeding her...

After feeding Larken, it was just play time and Piper was so excited just to be holding her!

Piper asked to start playing with toys with Larken...it is almost as if she is pledging to take special care of her here!

Our Grandchildren and a Peek at Our Newest Arrival

Garry and I  just got home this evening from a trip to take Mary Elizabeth and Ben back to their home in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Anne and Gene, along with the children, came to spend a week at home.  When it was time to leave, they went ahead with McLean .  In the meantime, we were so happy to spend the time with Ben and Sissy and send them to Mimi and Grandaddy's part of the time so they could enjoy both sets of grandparents.  We left this past Thursday morning for the trip and while we were there, on Friday the 13th, Miss Larken Winter Maitland decided she would make a surprise appearance 13 days early.  She was born at 9:02 a.m., weighed 6 lbs, 8 oz., and was 19 inches long.  Paige had a tough labor, but Mommy and Baby are healthy and happy, ready to spend a few days at home with their new family of four until I come to help out on Tuesday.  Here is a peak at what our darlings look like today!

She's finished...the quilt that is...part two...

One of the last posts before my illness was of the quilt that I made for Piper for her 2nd birthday.  Shortly after I was released from the hospital our family gave Paige and Piper a surprise birthday at DiPratos...I gave Piper the quilt at the party.  After returning from Little Rock in late October, I began working on Mary Elizabeth's quilt.  It is finished and waiting to be given to ME soon.  I hope she will love it as much as I have loved making it for her. 

This next picture is Piper's quilt...

And here are the boy's hobby horses...so excited to have them finished in time to give them to Ben and McLean when they arrive today!