Are we there yet…

Its 10:50 pm and I have just spent the last 2 hours ironing clothes that are sure to get wrinkled on our 9-11 hour journey to the coast. It’s been 2 years since our last vacation and I want things to be perfect. I have two more loads of laundry to get done, a trip to the dry cleaners, a quick outing to find a pair of white shorts, and an appointment for much needed pedicure. And then, we’re off. The plan is to leave Wednesday morning at 5 am. We’ll spend 4 days at my parents place off the coast of Georgia, one night in Waycross to visit family, and then a week in Fernandina to relax on the beach. I can’t wait!

Thank you all once again for lifting Garrett up in your prayers and thoughts. All went as expected at G’s appointment today. They removed more tissue from his upper arm and left behind an ugly incision with 13 stitches. He also had blood work done and a chest xray. The results should be in the next 7-10 days, so I will keep you posted. G has another appointment with the dermatologist on the day we get back from vacation. Two days later, he is off to Schenectady, NY for an interview. The job is in Marietta so we are really hoping this one works out.

Ahhh yes, things have certainly been a little crazy around the Harvey household. To make matters even more interesting, after we get back from vacation, we have exactly 2 weeks to pack up our house and figure out where we are going to live next year. But first things first. I’ve got vacation on the mind and 13 nicely pressed dresses for my sweet baby girl to wear on her first trip to the beach! I’m packing my worries away and praying that God will get us through the uncertainty that lies ahead.

Below are some pictures I “borrowed” from my sister’s blog of Hendley and MR. Thank you once again Julie for taking such good care of MR today. I’m also enclosing a few pictures from Sunday. After church, Clare and Chris invited us over for grilled chicken, corn on the cob, pasta salad, and melt in your mouth buttered biscuits. Bradley and Mary Reese had a great time playing on the swing set and riding in the wagon. The food and fellowship were a wonderful reminder of how lucky we are to have these new friends in our lives.

Mary Reese (9 months) and Hendley (16 months)

I love the look on Hendley’s face in this picture. Hendley couldn’t figure out why MR got so upset after she ripped the duck out of her hand

No doubt about it…she is her daddy’s child. As Gran C would say, “It’s little Garrett with a bow”

Swinging with Bradley

Thank you to all of our prayers warriors for lifting up Baby Trent in your thoughts and prayers. Julie and Bill went in for another sonogram this morning and found out that although Trent’s left kidney has a mass on it, the kidney will function as normal. This is great news and we couldn’t be any happier! What’s even more encouraging is that if Trent does in fact have trouble with the kidney, the situation can be corrected in Charlottesville by one of the top urologists in the world!

While Julie and Bill were at the appointment this morning, I had the privilege of watching over little “Nene” (this is the name Hendley has given herself). Nene was a mess; constantly bossing her little cousin and telling her “no, no, no”. MR was oblivious to her disapproval until she caught Nene trying to sit on her brand new car seat. And then “Meme” appeared. Meme is MR’s alter ego (as of today). Nene and Meme were hilarious together. They were like two old women arguing over a church pew. 

The confrontation lasted throughout Regis and Kelly and ended when it was time for Meme’s morning nap. When Meme awoke, she planted herself in the car seat and settled in for another episode of the View. I’m beginning to fear that if G doesn’t install it soon, the car seat could become a very expensive and brightly colored lazy boy for the living room.

Please continue to pray for Garrett over the weekend. We go back to the dermatologist on Monday for further testing.

Mission almost impossible (in 10 seconds): Setting up the camera on auto, picking up two 20+ pound babies, running to get in place, and smiling for the camera…

Mary Reese is 9 months old today! To celebrate, we headed over to Target to purchase a big-girl car seat with a big-girl price tag (who knew car seats were so expensive?). There were two color options: a two tone gray or a loud and proud pink. The gray looked like the interior of a 1980’s astro van, so we went with pink. Bold, loud, and oh so girly. And according to G, slightly obnoxious.

Regardless, I’m glad to have the car seat purchase behind me. Now, I can focus on packing for the beach. And trying to figure out what we’re going to do on July 31, when our lease runs out. Hmmm, I just realized that that is only 5 weeks from now. At least if we’re homeless, MR will have a comfortable car seat to sleep in.

One additional prayer request before I go. Please say a special prayer for my sister tonight. She goes in tomorrow morning for another sonogram to determine if little Trent’s left kidney is functioning. Please pray that God will impart His comfort and peace on Julie and Bill and that He will continue to bless baby Trent.

I’m leaving you with some pictures that we took on Wednesday of MR’s first trip to the pool. We had so much fun on our pool playdate with Clare and Bradley that we went back for round two later that evening (no worries, I loaded G and MR down with SPF 50 before leaving the house).

Short post, but just wanted to ask everyone to say a prayer for my husband, Garrett. He had a mole removed a few weeks ago and got a call from the doctor this morning that it is stage one melanoma. We are thankful that it is in the early stages and have full faith that the doctors will be able to safely remove the cancerous tissue. We go back in on Monday to have more of the tissue removed and to do blood work and a chest xray. I will keep you all posted on the results of the test. Thanks for your prayers!

I won’t pretend to know much about college baseball, but I do know (thanks to my husband) that the bulldawgs rallied to defeat Fresno State in game one of the College World Series. The game meant that I got to enjoy the two hour special of the Bachelorette without my husband harassing me for watching such filth. It also meant that poor MR and Sadie had to put on their red and black and endure yet another endless photo session.

The bulldawgs arent the only top dogs in this house, this weekend I purchased three back-up “Pink Poodles” for Mary Reese. Never one to keep a secret, the box of poodles barely made it into the house before I ripped one out to present to sweet MR. She now sleeps with one in each arm.

Saturday was a day worthy of praise. Fried Chicken, pictures on the Darden lawn, good weather, a girl’s shopping trip, and Bill’s famous hamburgers and hotdogs. God is good and He has certainly blessed the Boucek’s, Ermlich’s, and Harvey’s with three sweet and beautiful baby girls!

Grace (3 months), Mary Reese (8 months), and Hendley (15 months)

Tonight, we hit the town for Friday’s After Five with Julie and Bill and Dawn and Spike (Bill’s sister and her husband). In the old days, these outings would be marked by a late night on the downtown mall followed by a cab ride home. These days, we hit the town with strollers, diaper bags, and snacks. And were home by 8.

Nonetheless, we had a great time comparing mommy/daddy stories and catching up on a little grown up talk. The three girls, ranging from 3 months to 15 months, were perfect!

This picture says it all: MR up to no good, Hendley eating, and sweet Grace taking it all in.

Day #4 of hunger strike. No not me, MR. When I picked her up from the gym this morning, I realized why. Little Miss Mary Reese was having a ball, sitting in a high chair and enjoying a four course meal of graham crackers, puffs, bananas, and bread.

By the looks of it, she’s not at all concerned about bathing suit season. I don’t much blame her. I’ve always been one for sweets and would much rather pass up a jar of Vegetable Medley for a good ole Gerber puff.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday. Love Light (Hendley) stopped by for a quick cousin playdate. I swear they had more fun than it looks…