A few weeks ago my mom told me that she and my dad were going to drive down to Cordele, GA to visit her dad and step mom, Grandpa and Marylene (Muv). She also mentioned that Marylene wished that Faith could go down there with them. I don’t mind Faith missing school in order to visit her great-grandparents so I said that Faith could go with them. As the weeks passed, I realized that I wanted to go too. After my Grandma Madeline died in May, I have realized that time is precious and that I need to see my grandparents as much as I can. In fact, my mom was making the trip down to see Grandpa because it was his 85th birthday.
The seven of us left Charlotte on Thursday afternoon and arrived in Cordele seven hours later. Of course, I made my parents find a Chick-fil-A on the way down so that the kids could run around and play. We arrived after dinner on Thursday and left to drive back to Charlotte on Saturday morning. It was a very quick trip, but totally worth it.
I think that Muv was the most excited to have us visit. She and Faith were inseparable for most of the time. At one point I looked around for Faith and found her trying on Muv’s clip on earrings…..
The boys decided that they wanted to get in on the action. Notice Miller’s large, colorful earring….
Then it was time for the much anticipated painting lesson with Muv. She had already set everything up when we arrived in town. Faith had been looking forward to this part for days…
Oddly enough, Wilson and Faith loved the hammock the best. My dad and I swung them so high on it that they almost fell out. They enjoyed it so much that my parents are considering getting a hammock…
Here is Grandpa’s birthday dinner: Mom, dad, Wilson, Miller, Grandpa, Uncle Jimmy and Marylene/Muv, and Faith…
Miller was so sweet to Grandpa, and vise versa. Miller wanted Grandpa to hold him and he kept complimenting him on his shirt (not sure where Miller learned to say, “I like your shirt”.)
Grandpa and Muv thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Muv called Grandpa into the room when Faith did flips onto the bed because she thought it was cute and showed talent. Grandpa laughed when Miller was announced and introduced into the room by Wilson to do a “naked baby” dance. They let the kids jump on the bed, run through the house and play with some old canes that were in a large basket in the hall. I have the best grandparents in the world! I am so blessed to have grown up with four sets of grandparents that have loved me throughout my life and love my children just as much. Going down to Georgia with the kids was a great decision and I couldn’t have done it without the help of my parents. It takes a village.
The seven hour drive was quite long with the three kids, but it was worth the effort. I hope that I remember how much we all enjoyed it and do it again next year. As we pulled out of the drive way, Wilson started to cry and say that he didn’t want to leave. I asked him why and he said (between tears), “Because I love the hammock….and the pink lemonade…and the pizza restaurant….”