From the Trip to Mamie and Grandpa's House

We were hosted in our college town by dear friends Bruce and Carolyn. We arrived after they had gone to bed (wee hours of the morning) and woke up after Carolyn had to leave for work. So we had some good time with Bruce in the morning and then met up with Carolyn at her workplace where Caroline charmed all her co-workers, walking hallways and peeking in offices.





We then went to see dear Mary, a woman who prays for us every single day and for whom I seek to pray every day. She was on the session with me at my college church. She has marvelous stories and it is always a delight to see her. Caroline fell asleep during our visit and thus is sleeping in the shot below.



We then had lunch at a restaurant I remember fondly from college days and that is where C had her first taste of burger, fries, and coleslaw... no pics. Just picture a very pleased little girl.

And then, at last, to Hank and Alan's home, a sacred space for mommy. This was, by far, C's favorite stop as they have a big, old yellow lab named Simon. I remember when this lab was a puppy! My senior year of college! Wow. Simon is blind and deaf which means he doesn't run away when he sees an eager little girl coming which delighted Caroline. She was pretty gentle with him, but at one point she stepped on his paw. He was not amused and he growled at her. This was her first experience of the scarier side of dogs. She responded to the growl much as she responds to us saying "NO" at certain times. Meltdown. In any case, she got over it and we had a lovely time with Hank, Alan, Kurt, and, of course, Simon.





And then on to Mamie and Grandpa's house. The snow was falling when we got there at 2 a.m, but there wasn't much on the ground. Mamie waited up for us and was thrilled to see us. Mamie and daddy then got some sleep as C explored the new house, delighted in the cats, and watched the nutcracker with mommy. Eventually we got some sleep. And the next morning there were several inches on the ground. Nothing could have made daddy happier. No snow pics. C wasn't that interested... though she did seem to try to catch snowflakes as they were falling at one point.

And then our trip continued. Caroline slept all the way from Wooster to Erie where we stopped for dinner with Kev's best friend from high school, T.J. There Caroline ate Chinese food for the first time, enjoying several veggies we don't recall her eating before!