December 20

Last night I spent the latter half of the evening wrapping presents after the kids went to bed. I actually spent some money this year on matching wrapping paper, decorative ribbon, and tags, so now under our tree is stuffed with pretty presents. As usual, the excitement of wrapping gifts made Mr. Morgan and I want to exchange our gifts for each other immediately. So we stayed up late for gift-giving.

Parked Cars

Hamilton loves to play the piano especially the prerecorded songs. He giggles if he particularly likes the tune. Sometimes he'll sing while he touches the keys. Either way he's looking up at the music just like Sissy does when she practices for real. Today as he was playing, his cars took a much needed break.

Where else would you park cars when you're playing the piano?

Speaking of cars, Mr. Morgan now drives a new-to-us Audi A3. He's just as giddy and excited about his new car as Hamilton is about the Matchbox variety. Mr. Morgan may have used the word "blissful" to describe his commute to Claire's school after his first day of driving. Yay!--for his getting a better car to drive, but retiring the Explorer signals the end of an era.

After my flipped-the-car-several-times wreck back in 2004, Dad helped living-single-me pick out the Explorer. When Mr. Morgan and I married, he called it "part of his dowry." It made Mr. Morgan a fan of Explorers, but lately it's been the bane of his existence. Enter the Audi A3. Our car-life is now good again.

Wonderful Weekend

After our first full day back with the kids in our regular routine, I'm so thankful I had such a fun anniversary weekend. I've felt revived and refreshed all day. Mr. Morgan and I dropped the little ones at the farm for the weekend, and we headed to Hendersonville to stay in a quaint bed-and-breakfast. Who but Mom and Dad would watch three kids and two dogs for a long weekend? Yes, they are dears. The kids had a blast, and I think Mom and Dad enjoyed all the crazyness too--though I'm sure they were relieved to see the back of our loaded-down vehicle come Monday afternoon.

Hamilton seemed to have learned tons of new words and to be talking more and better just in three days if that's possible. He loved seeing Mimi and Pops's chickens and collecting their eggs, as well as the usual fun stuff like seeing the horses, riding in the golf cart, and playing with different toys.

Claire got horse-riding lessons and training from the friendly neighbors with eight horses. Susan said Claire was a model student and quick study; I believe Susan's words were, "I'd like to clone her as a student." Claire loved everything about the horses: being dirty and grimy, walking over horse manure (or what Hamilton called "orsie-poo"), and giving treats so they'd do a command. She was so proud to show us what she'd learned, and she loved that one of the Morgan horses was named Claire.

Claire asked what we did on our trip, and all I could think of were the things we don't usually get to do--sleep in, nap in the afternoon, talk during meals without interruption, etc. We also toured the Apple Festival, saw a play at the new Flat Rock Playhouse downtown, and went to see a movie. Though we're still on a fairly restrictive diet, Mr. Morgan and I found some fabulous places to eat including Tupelo Honey Cafe--a definite must if you're in the Asheville area. We loved our time away! We did plenty of reminiscing about the past five years, and I'm so glad I married that man. He still makes me laugh!

My Surprise

Well, Saturday was the day I felt the best which was fortunate since Mr. Morgan and I had an evening out planned. Since it's taken me so long to post details, I've had several friends and blog readers eagerly ask me what the surprise was.

Phase one was dinner out in Mt. Pleasant at a delicious, fancy restaurant. Phase two was a play at The Village Playhouse. Mr. Morgan knows I love the theater, and our actor-friend Lindsey was performing in this political drama. I loved the play, and the political story with its plotting twists are right up my alley. This play has garnered lots of attention, since The Village Playhouse showed its South-Carolina debut and George Clooney is directing the movie set to open this fall. It was a great night out with my sweet husband who planned and executed the whole night!

Sadly, I went back to feeling bad on Sunday with tons of coughing thrown in. After sleeping poorly that night, Monday morning I went to see a doctor who thinks I have viral bronchitis. He's waiting for lab results to be sure, so I'm just treating a few symptoms this week but still feeling bad. Of course, it's not the worst, and I'm still able to function; however, I've had lots of extra things this week, so blogging time has gotten pushed now for several days.

A Saturday List

1. It's been four days since my last post which was not my intention to go so long between; however, after a super busy (and productive) week, on Thursday I got hit with the worst common cold--the aches, fever, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, etc. I felt a bit like I'd been run over by a truck, and I didn't sleep well that night either. Probably one of the worst night's of sleep I've ever experienced. So I did pretty much nothing on Friday as I recovered. I finally took some DayQuil yesterday evening which made a huge improvement in my symptoms. This Saturday morning I feel much better, and I'm hoping to tackle some spring-cleaning projects.

2. Mom came to visit on Thursday, which was great timing since I didn't feel well. She took Hamilton back to the farm with her on Friday, so Mr. Morgan and I slept in until 8:15 this morning.

3. I have the most wonderful friends and church family. Yesterday I "called in sick" for leading our Friday morning women's Bible study, and thankfully our other leaders easily stepped in to cover in my absence. That afternoon I received two phone calls from dear friends wondering how I was feeling and offering to bring food for supper.

4. Mr. Morgan has a surprise event planned for me tonight. He slyly sent me a calendar-event invitation two weeks ago instructing me not to plan anything for tonight. Now that Hamilton is at the farm for the weekend, the surprise event has morphed into phase one and phase two; with no babysitter to pay, there's more money for the surprise. I'm SO excited to see what he's planned!

Story of Us

I've spent the last hour or so creating our family blog and writing my first post. For a glimpse into the Morgan household, here's the current situation: I'm sitting in the back of the Explorer typing away on my laptop, while Mr. Morgan sits in the front tinkering with the GPS. He's hooking up the power for the GPS to the Explorer's power, so the GPS will turn on when the Explorer is started.

While his tinkering with all things mechanical is typical for our household, so is his wanting me to be a part of what he's doing and for us to be together. The mobility of the laptop enables me to be here doing my thing as he does his. This scenario is typical for our weekends. And, of course, the puppies are sitting next to me in the backseat. They would be restless and underfoot if they weren't taking part in the "exciting action" inside the Explorer.

And, success! I offer my typical "Yay!" The GPS's power is now synched with the Explorer's, so I'm hopeful we'll be on to the next Sunday afternoon activity soon.