Well, I've been back almost a week now and still haven't downloaded all the rest of my pictures. I will soon... but for now some fun tidbits about what I saw there.
So unlike in my neck of the woods, folks in the South are more open about their faith and it seems to be just part of the culture there.... We were in a restaurant my last night in Jackson and two things caught my attention:
1. There was a group of 3 college students sitting in a booth together. One girl piped up in her cute southern drawl, "Ya'll wanna hear my blessin' today?" It has been way too long since I've been in the presence of younger women sitting together sharing the great stuff in their lives. And sadly, you just don't hear that out in public! Granted, I know a bunch of awesome, amazing, together young women that I could totally see doing the same thing... but there was just something about hearing "Ya'll and Blessin'" in one sentence that struck me.
2. On the wall, they had a grouping of 2nd grade student's depiction/drawings of "Christ's Passion." (Christ's death) Amazing!! Never, ever, ever have I seen that outside of a church, especially not in a restaurant.
Then there's the sweet tea. Need I say more? I know I could make it at home, but I don't. It's my "visit my sister novelty." I had sweet tea at Chick-fil-A and Mo's... yum yum. Oh, and of course my other fave, Cherry Limeade at Sonic. I love and miss you! hee hee
Okay, and my last day in TN on the way to the airport, we ran through the drive thru at Chick-fil-A (thought of you Leigh) and there was a cop sitting outside at 11:30 am. Jen said that he's there everyday directing lunchtime traffic at the most popular spot!!!! He was there early just in case. He actually gets out of his car and keeps the peace between all those flocking to the home of the yummiest chicken sandwiches. My camera was buried in my carry-on bag or else I would have snapped a pic. It was too much!
Oh, and then there are the bows. Bows, bows everywhere bows. I love them. And I can't help but mention the Jon Jons. These little suits also come in lavender for boys are all around in the south. These two little babies pictured cost $66 & $68 bucks! Out of the two Sundays I've been at church with my sister, I saw at least 2 little boys in them. They also had the white knee high socks and white leather shoes too. Wowsers. We prefer the cargo pants and collared shirt look... but whatever floats your Sunday boat! In their defense, we have some strange customs too. Oops, did I say it was strange?
Well, that's my tribute to the South. I love it, I really do. My sweet baby's curls looked like perfect ringlets there. I got a great (and painful) sunburn that is now turning toasty brown and is peeling. I got to see my 3 nephews and neicey and got to spend time with my sister Jen and my great-at-helping-with-a surprise-bro-in-law Kris. For now, I'm gonna snag me some black tea at the store next time and perfect my sweet tea recipe.
Here ya go, Grandma Marla Kay! The girls wore their matching dresses today to church that came all the way from Alaska for them. They're even cuter without the little jacket, but it was raining on the way to church. Annika also tried her hand at a smallish Tennessee bow in her hair. ha ha Man, those girls wear the bows around here. On the bigger girls they can get as big as a saucer! I love it. Jen got Annika her own set of bows with a headband to stick them on... she'll be wearing them soon! She doesn't have enough hair to wear it like Miss Molly does. 
We've been swimming a bunch lately, and decided to get goggles for the kids! The second they came out of the package the other night, these two wanted to get in the bath to try them out...
trying out her standing/climbing skills in high places
Showing all 4 teeth at once!
As I was feeding Annika in her highchair the other day, Morgan brought out her doll, highchair, and dolly dishes. Drew snapped this shot of us feeding our babies. 
Morgan came back and saw her kidnapped doll and decided that her sissy needed her own doll. So she ran and grabbed Annika's baby doll and the bottle with "macaroni juice" in it! It really does look like that sauce that sits in the Mac 'n Cheese pan. And all were happy.
And I treasured this first dollie playdate with my girls!
In-Between
9 years ago