Thanksgiving

 For Thanksgiving, our little family was invited to share this special holiday gathering with my Uncle & Aunt that live in Atlanta, Georgia.  To say we were thrilled is an understatement... we were ecstatic!  We had all these grandiose plans to leave early, early Wednesday morning - arrive downtown Atlanta, do some sight seeing and head to their home late afternoon.  However, our plans changed slightly with the traffic that we ran into on the way there.  Just past the NC/SC border there was a flat-bed truck which had tipped (due to the crazy rain and wind that had occurred earlier that morning).  In order to clean up the mess they had to bring in another flat-bed truck to transfer the goods.  Not only were both sides of the freeway backed up for hours, but what normally takes about 1.75-2 hours to get this far had taken us FIVE so far.  So... plans changed, we adjusted.

After stopping at Chick-fil-a (which, by the way, is the MOST kid friendly fast-food place.  EVER.) we re-evaluated our options and forged on straight to our relatives so that we wouldn't miss our timeline we told them of being there late afternoon.  In hindsight, it was probably for the best because many of the attractions closed early that day as Thanksgiving was the next day and they wanted to get home to see family also.

While at the Dunham's house, we enjoyed some of the most delicious, extravagant, bounteous food.  We were fed like royalty.  But not only was the food good, the company was even better!  We were able to relive what it feels like to stay up late and chat with friends, watch movies, and not have a curfew.  I was the party-pooper that headed to bed the earliest, but man... making a baby is not easy.  I was tired!

During our time there, we failed to take pictures to document the food galore, the friends, and the conversations we had.  The only time I even remembered to pull out my phone was when all the boys would pull out the shotgun in an effort to get rid of the pesky rodents that are attracted to Rob's house.  They shoot at them to keep them at bay, and if they are lucky - they'll hit one, every once in a while.  But mostly, Rob hates them because they get on his roof and into his house.  Good old Gordy felt like he was the seasoned hunter and tried to show off his shotgun skills, but he wasn't successful.  It wasn't until our last morning there, everyone let Michal shoot, for target practice of course.  No one could hit these squirrels or chipmunks anyway.  As soon as the targets were up, out of nowhere a squirrel appeared.  Egged on by all the guys, Michal went ahead and aimed to kill.  He lifted up the shotgun, looked through the gauge, took a deep breath... and fired.  And the one and only shot he got off... he killed the poor squirrel.  Shot him directly in the heart.  Michal couldn't even go near it, he felt so awful.  It shows how tender and loving his heart is, (even if he does push his liberal political views a little too much sometimes)! 

We were planning on going to the Coke Museum and/or Aquarium on Friday and heading home Saturday around "nap-time", but when I woke up Friday morning, I was ill.  I told Michal that if we didn't head home right away, we would have to stay until Sunday or Monday to make it home.  And we were right.  About 90 minutes after arriving home in Winston-Salem (it only took 4.5 hours to get home compared to 8 to get there)... I spent the next day and a half in the bathroom.  I didn't get any sleep.  I was sick and exhausted and had no idea what was wrong with me.  It wasn't food poisoning because no one else was sick.  I even went and saw my OB Tuesday (after regaining some strength) and it remains a mystery why I was so violently ill.  I just hope no one else got what I did because it wasn't fun. 

To lighten my spirits, Rob sent me some pictures he had taken of Lily one afternoon.  Who knew how talented he is at taking pictures? They are AMAZING!  I love all of them, and they were just "for fun" photos around the house.  I'm pretty sure I'd rather drive four point five hours to his house and pay him, that pay what the photographers in this area are asking for!

What I love the most is Lily's personality that he was able to capture.  It's so hard for me to accurately describe some of her personality characteristics, but he did it so effortlessly.  I was uber impressed, and slightly jealous that I don't have this talent.  

 Thank you Uncle Rob & Aunt Dawn for making us "Feel Like At Home." And giving us some family to celebrate Thanksgiving with so that we weren't alone!  We love you!