4th of July Weekend

This 4th of July weekend was spent very differently than last year's. Last year we woke up around 5:30am, drove to the Doraville Marta station, and rode downtown to join 54, 998 other people in the Hotlanta heat to run 6.2 miles up and down the hills of Peachtree Street. Exhausted and triumphant after crossing the finish line, we then road Marta (which was smellier than usual) home to shower, change, and go to David's Great Aunt Joy's for the annual 4th of July family cookout. After that, we went home to clean house and prepare to host a cookout of our own the next day with my family.

This year we woke up early, too. At 2:32, 5:37, and 8:31. Instead of pacing myself in a race, I used my endurance skills to make it through several nursing marathons. I sprinted to the kitchen to scarf down some Cheerios and then hurried back upstairs to shower, thankful that I remembered to condition my hair and shave both my legs. I threw on what ill-fitting clothes I can wear these days and applied a little mascara while David got Audrey dressed. (And I'm certain that I looked better after the race last year than I do now at two weeks postpartum.)

The doorbell rang at noon and my mom, brothers, sisters-in-law, niece, and nephew arrived to spend the afternoon hanging out. (My Dad was in Florida taking care of his mother and we missed him terribly!) My mom brought over a ton of delicious food, including homemade crab cakes and an apple pie. We ate lunch, passed babies around, and took a million pictures. Amidst the squealing and crying (most of which came from the kids), we swapped stories about poopie diapers, sleepless nights, and precious expressions. What did we used to talk about?!

This morning, after an amazing night's sleep (which is relative these days! We got about 7 hours in three different segments) we got up and got ready for David's parents to come over. They brought us a yummy lunch and entertained Audrey while we ate. This afternoon, we went for a short walk around our cul-de-sac and down the street. We were only gone about ten minutes, which was enough for our first venture. We came in, fed Audrey, watched some tv, had some "activity time", fed Audrey, ate dinner, did some laundry, and fed Audrey. Now we're about to go read "Goodnight Moon" and settle in for what will hopefully be another night of rest.

Yes, it was an entirely different weekend, but I wouldn't have traded it for the world. We're so thankful for our freedom and our troops, and that we get to raise our incredible daughter in the greatest country on Earth.

Enjoy the newest photos and have a great week! And say a prayer for us...it's David's first full week back at work!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=36522690&l=5ad7bc85e3&id=22619877 (Same album, new pictures are at the end.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/hsinyard1/AudreyJeanSinyardSFirstMonth#