We left Mississippi in July of 2010, so I decided to begin this blogging journey with some highlights since then.
Before we left, our friends gave us a "Going Away" party. It was such a sweet experience to be surrounded by dear friends for a send off in such a special way.
For some reason (a blessing from the Lord) I wasn't sad, yet excited for the new chapter in our lives. It has always helped "knowing" we are coming back "home" once Chase finishes school. Although, if you ask Chase, his response is, "We'll just go where the Lord leads us." I quickly let him know that I have a direct line to the Lord, and He has let me know that He'll be leading us back to Mississippi... or at least to the South! :)
Once we arrived in Philly, naturally, one of the first things we did was go to a Phillies game. We have definitely jumped on the Philly wagon... it helps that they are a pretty good team!
Within the first week of being a "North Easterner," I realized we were no longer in the "Land of Cotton"... or the "Land of Hair-Bows." Back "home" my girls were known for ALWAYS having a bow in their hair.... even in the swimming pool. (I was teased some for this, but it really was perfect for a Maxey "head-count" while trying to keep up with little ones in the pool."
Chase and I decided we would take the kids to a "Kids Fest" one of our first nights being here. There were HUNDREDS of kids... HUNDREDS!!!! It wasn't until I sat down (probably 30 minutes after being there) that my eyes scanned the field of children all dancing to a band, that I realized my two girls were the ONLY two with anything close to a bow in their hair!!!!! It was extremely obvious that we were not from the area. :)
Another funny "bow" story is from the fall. We went to Mary Hayes' school Fall Festival, and of course, I had bows in the girls' hair. We stopped to pet a dog, and the child with the dog looked with a stare of amazement at Lizzie's head and said, "Your... bow... it's... soooooo BIG!" Ha! the honesty of children.... guess that's what everyone is saying inside their heads! MH has faded out of the bows unless we are going to church or a party. Lizzie will still wear them, but somedays there can be a little hesitation. :( MH will say, "Mom, when can I completely stop wearing bows?" My response, "When you can do your hair yourself." MH: "Can I try today?" Mom: "Nope." :)
Of course, we've been to see the Liberty Bell and Constitution Hall. Chase and Mary Hayes took the first trip with a friend who was up visiting, and Mary Hayes and I went back with my mom, "DeeDee," when she came to visit....
Chase's AWESOME brother (Kirkland), mother (ShiShi) and Steve (Stevie) all came up to help us move into our house. I don't know how we would have done it without them!!! Once we had moved, we decided to have a night of fun. We ALL loaded up in my "bus" and spent HOURS at "Dave and Buster's." It's a restaurant / game place where a LOT of money COULD be spent. Oh, but not us.... Jen and Steve graduated high school with Buster of Dave and Busters, so we were treated like Dave and Buster royalty!
It's September so school is about to start. Yes, September! We had an extra month of summer vacation, but we will also be in school until June... yes, JUNE!!! Mary Hayes is attending Phil-Mont Christian Academy. It has been SUCH a BLESSING!!!! We LOVE it!!! Her teacher is Mrs. McCann (originally from Georgia).... ahhhh she is a breath of fresh southern air! :) We ADORE Mrs. McCann!!!
Lizzie and Charlie are going to a Church Nursery School. Lizzie LOVES Ms. Kate and Ms. Jane...
And Charlie really does love Ms. Katerina and Ms. Linda... he was just a little camera shy this day...
October brought BEAUTIFUL fall colors. We had so much fun painting pumpkins. We even had a little "Happy Fall Y'all" on one pumpkin. :)
For Halloween Mary Hayes was a cowgirl....
and Lizzie was Snow White....
and Charlie was a fireman....
November brought us a trip to New York City for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I grew up watching this parade EVERY year because my mother made it SUCH a HUGE deal! So when I let a college friend who was now living in NYC know we would be coming for the parade, she responded back with 5 tickets to the BLEACHER SEATS for the parade. We had NO idea what a big deal this was! As the thousands of other onlookers stood for hours to watch the parade, we were blessed with a nice seat to watch it. It was unbelievable!!!
December came in a flash! It brought us our first Philly snow....
And just as always, the month came with MANY activities. First, came school Christmas programs...
Mary Hayes was a donkey in her school program. Lizzie was an angel...
And Charlie sang while his teacher played the violin...
But this year, December came with one VERY important trip.... a trip back to Mississippi!!!!! It was sooooo much fun being with our children on their first plane ride. So exciting!!!
(Sorry, can't get the photo to rotate???)
We were able to see all family and MOST friends. There just wasn't enough time in the trip. But....it was like coming home after you had been at college for a semester.... home, sweet home!!! Ahhhhh!!!
Us with Chase's brother, Kirkland, ShiShi and Stevie.
Lizzie and MH with Lizzie's BEST friend, Weatherly. They were SO excited to see each other!
No comments:
Post a Comment