hey grandmom!

i'm so glad my grandmother finally got to meet caroline. we had such a good visit to TN a couple of weeks ago... it was a quick trip but definitely worth it. you know, a few months ago, i was sad that grandmother hadn't seen caroline yet because i knew how quickly this baby girl would not be a baby anymore. but as i watched caroline smile and giggle at grandmother more than she ever would have 3 months ago, i was so thankful that we took our trip when we did. i think grandmother really enjoyed watching ethan running around, playing with whatever he found on the floor (rather than the big bag of toys i brought!). the last time we visited, ethan was barely walking and not saying much that we could understand yet... so grandmother basically saw a completely different ethan! hopefully we didn't exhaust her.

during our visit, we drove by the lot where granddaddy & grandmother's precious house once stood. now, there is a huge huge castle in the place of their sweet little cottage. i had a sad, sinking feeling in my stomach as i took pictures of the new house, so i can't imagine how my mom and grandmother were feeling. but as i've said before, praise God that our hope is not in the things of this world. i'm sure my grandmother reminds herself of that often. if her heart was sad as we drove away from what was her home for so many years, i hope that she was cheered by ethan's little voice calling, "hey grandmom!" all weekend. he loved saying her name, and as we drove away, he would not stop saying, "bye grandmom! bye grandmom!" he continued saying "bye" to her at random times throughout our next week at home, too. :) grandmother, we love you and we look forward to the next time we see you!!

ethan loves the blinking light on the camera timer!
caroline was so happy to be the 4th generation in this picture!
caroline was all smiles for grandmother

more pictures from our trip to come....