Vacation Part II

The second part of the vacation was driving from Sevierville, TN to Atlanta for my 10-year High School Reunion (*gasp*). Thankfully, this car ride went relatively uneventfully. My reunion was good, overall, but I cared the most about seeing my two dear friends, Ashley and Alicia (below, right & left). The evening was definitely awkward getting started. I didn't have as many "So, what have you been up to the last 10 years?"-conversations like I thought I would. I guess if you hadn't really been involved in someone else's life in the previous 10 years, it seemed weird to have much more than a 1-minute conversation. Plus, everyone could reference the "memory book" listing exactly what one had been up to. Most people, like 95-98% of the class lived still in the area and never really left Georgia. Despite some of the awkwardness, and the bad DJ it was still good to *see* my old classmates and dance anyways with Ashley and Alicia. :-)

I'm not sure why we're doing Charlie's Angels. Was it Dustin's idea or Alicia's?

We stayed at my mom's house in Atlanta for the short stay (arrived Saturday afternoon, left Monday morning). MaLu and MaGe took care of Levi while we went to the reunion. It was the longest I had left him with anyone. We left two bottles, and my mom even put him down for the night (the first time anyone had ever done that)! She did a god job because he ended up sleeping the whole night (8 hours)! We had to wake him to go to our next thing in the morning.
MaLu, getting some love.

His great-grandmother, MaGe, loving on him.

I was so thankful that during our very short stay on in Atlanta to have so many wonderful people to come to us in Alpharetta at my mom's house to visit. Below, is one of my best friends from college, Priscilla Sanders, meeting Levi. I wish I had also taken pictures of/with another close friend from High School times, Ed Kenney, and his awesome wife, Kate, and their 2 year old, Will, who I got to meet for the first time. They actually live in Chatanooga (but moving to B'ham, small world!) and just happened to be in Atlanta for a family reunion. They so graciously drove and met us for breakfast Sunday morning--it was so great to see them! Also not pictured is a sweet friend from medical school, Ellen Chiu, who amazingly drove up from downtown with her boyfriend of almost one-year to hang out at my mom's on Sunday. She's doing her Internal Medicine residency there at Emory, and it was so great to see her, for her to meet Levi, and us finally meet David. Last, but definitely not least, even my mother-in-law drove all the way to B'ham to hang out with Levi on this Sunday at my mom's! (closer drive than Cincinnati!). We are so blessed. I felt like Sunday was a wonderful day-long party, seeing so many wonderful people!

Nana, MaLu, Priscilla, Dustin, Pawpaw, and MaGe enjoying the afternoon in my mom's pool.

Levi got to go in the pool again, and I think really enjoyed it this time!

Post-pool sweetness. Those blue eyes just get you!

MaLu and MaGe planted a fig tree at their house in honor of Levi's birth. It'll be sweet for Levi to see "his tree" when he visits and be told it's as old as he is! I think it's also pretty neat given the symbolism of the fig tree in the Bible. Israel, God's people, were often represented by the fig tree, and it also symbolized the Messiah's coming [when the fig tree puts forth leaves, one knows that summer has arrived, a parallel to the signs we will see when the Messiah returns, (Mark 13:28-29, Mat 24:32-33, Luke 21:29-31)]. Jesus also referenced the fig tree often by stressing the importance in bearing fruit, as a parable to God's people. We pray that Levi, too, will one day know God himself and bear Him fruit to His glory!

Levi's tree, bearing fruit! :-)

Four generations together!

On our way out of town, we had a brief visit with Grandma and Grandpa (my parents).

Levi is the first to sit in this rocking chair which will be "the chair" for all the grandchildren. Grandma Laura will be shellacking all the grandchildren's names on the chair, Levi to start it off!

Grandma and Levi, bonding before having to say bye.

Our drive from Atlanta to Cincinnati was thankfully without a mess, but the usual 7-hour trip turned into a 11-hour drive!! Yikes! We have entered a whole new world.