Miles of Smiles: Back from Hiatus!

FYI...It helps to "Publish Post" not just save the post.

So I have been off for awhile now as most of you can tell. I probably have no readers at this point, but they will eventually make their way back. If you post, they will come!

My last post was in early February. Since then the following has happened (as brief as possible):

We closed on our new house on Feburay 27th. Yes, a great birthday present. My brother, sister, and their families came to visit that weekend. Everything was great except for the minor problem of having no blinds on the windows. Just minor. Good thing that we live in the "country." My nephew took a nap in Samuel's bathroom because it was the darkest place and the closet just didn't seem like a good idea.

My parents came for a visit the next weekend when some of the craziness had died down. Notice I just said some of the craziness! Mom cleaned my upright freezer because it molds when not cleaned before storage! After a few weeks the freezer proceeded to die and we had to buy a new one. That being said, I still appreciate mom cleaning the one I had.

On Spring Break, Jeff went on an annual fishing trip with some of his buddies. That was fine because his sister and niece came in for a visit with Sam and I. Turned out that they were a blessing in disguise because I ended up getting a nasty stomach virus which I would not recommend. Besides that, the visit was very nice. My niece really enjoyed having her own room upstairs across from Samuel.

At some point, I forget the exact weekend…our good friend and his girlfriend came for a visit and helped install our surround sound system and TV in the upstairs "media" room. It all sounds really nice. I just wish we would use it more. Jeff and I get around to watching our movies when Samuel is in bed for a nap or at night. At that point Sam is sleeping next to the media room. We have yet to decide if a movie would even bother him.

I hosted a shower for my sister on April 25th. My brother, his family, my sister and her husband, and my aunt, cousin, and kiddo were at the house. It was interesting seeing 3 boys about 6 months apart playing. The future has a lot in store for these guys.

I had the extreme pleasure of traveling to Texarkana for an audit the first week in May. It was the longest I have been away from Samuel and it was very hard on me. I did have highlights, like when Samuel called me one morning to tell me that he missed me and that he loved me. I was expecting to hear Jeff's voice on the phone…what a nice surprise! While on the trip, we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel every morning (it was close to the hotel). I could not pass up getting Sam some goodies while I was there. He especially liked his John Deere shirt I got him.

My sister had a beautiful baby boy on Friday, May 22nd at 10:46 pm. He weighed in at 7 pounds 10.5 ounces and 19.5 inches tall. I would like to say I took pictures, but I was too interested in holding Benjamin!

Also in May at some point I ended up with another sinus infection which are getting old!

We also started using the neighborhood pool like crazy in May. There are a few couples that are constant and have kiddos about the same age as Sam. It is nice to let them play in the water and have adult conversation on the side. I am looking forward to getting to know my neighbors better as we hang out.

Then came June with a flash. I was still trying to decide where May went.

June for the most part was very busy. We went to my sister's on the 20th for a visit. It was nice to see her, my bro-in-law and of course, Baby Benjamin (that is what Sam calls him). We had a good visit and even made time to get some shopping in. Not that I am complaining, but our town just does not have the shopping that the bigger cities have.

On June 13th I hosted a family baby shower for one of my friends. She is having her second girl and we are all very excited for her. It was a nice time, but a little hotter than I prefer. Until today, we had over 25 days in a row of no rain. As you can imagine, that helps make the summer hotter. We hit over 100 almost every day last week. This week has been nice because the little rain we have had has brought us down to about 95. Yes, we are thankful for 95 at this point.

Now on to the part that probably everyone was interested in. Here is a mass post of pictures from the last few months.

Updated pictures on the house!