First week of school

It is that time again: the start of a new school year. After being a stay-at-home mom for the summer, I am now back at school full-time. I will admit, I am glad to be back, although I do miss seeing Ally during the day. I do have a picture of her as my desktop computer background, so at least I can look at her when I want.

Ally now goes to a home daycare about 1.5 miles from our house. She is with 4 other little girls and she is the only baby. Her daycare provider is a Colombian woman, whose family is also parishoners at our church. Ally cried for a little bit the first day, but now she seems to be doing just fine. One thing's for sure, she's definitely getting to see a lot of excitement with 4 other little girls around.

Ben had planning week this week, where he got to go to a lot of faculty meetings. Right now he is dressed up in his PhD regalia, attending Fall Convocation. His classes start on Wednesday.

Grand-Nana would be proud

That her great-granddaughter wore a hat to church today!

Here is Ally in an outfit that our friends Brent and Kristi (former small groupers) gave her. The dress and bloomers are really cute, but the hat is the icing on the cake, in my opinion.

Cabin trip #2

Last weekend, we went back to the mountains of NC to spend a weekend with our small group. It was lots of fun; the only regret is that we couldn't have stayed longer.

Standing at Looking Glass waterfall in the Pisgah National Forest

Ally sleeping during the hike

Ally REALLY asleep during the hike

The whole group

Ally, Elaina, and Rebecca

Visiting Nana and attending Heather's wedding

This past weekend, we traveled to Portsmouth, VA, to attend our friend Heather's wedding and to visit Ben's grandmother. Heather is a good friend of mine from college, and she was the maid of honor in our wedding, so we were excited to share in this special occasion with her and her family. Additionally, Heather asked me to play the violin during the ceremony, so I was excited to be an active part of the wedding.

Very conveniently, Ben's grandmother (his mom's mom; Nana to us, Grand-Nana to Ally) also lives in Portsmouth, so we stayed with her. It was her first time to meet Ally, and she was most excited to show off her new great-granddaughter to her friends. Also, we got to see Ben's uncle BJ and both aunt Lindas, as well as Nana's sister Betty. It was a good visit, and everyone was excited to meet Ally. And of course, the most common comment was "Look at that head of hair!"

Below are some pics from our trip.

Ally and me with the new couple Heather and Eric Poma

Ally napping during the reception

Me playing some prelude music

Ally and her Grand-Nana

Ally meets Willamina Wolf

Ally sleeping with her dog's nose in her mouth