Friday, June 3, 2011

greetings from down south

Well hello!
Here I am in the Peach state
getting some much needed family time in.
my family lives all over the country.
As we get older, it gets harder and harder to get together.

This weekend, we gathered in Atlanta from all over the country:
Texas, Utah, New Jersey, New York, and Idaho. 

It was no easy task to get us all together.
There were  flight delays, cancellations, storms, 
and trees falling on houses.

(#1 travel tip learned.  PACK EXTRA DIAPERS in case your flight gets canceled and you have to stay in a hotel with a baby and no luggage...a toothbrush and clean underwear in your carry on are a good idea too) 

As it turns out, the day we were all traveling to town, 
Atlanta had some big, windy storms.
This is what happened to my sister's house
hours before 18 adults and 4 children were scheduled to arrive 






Thank heavens my new nephew wasn't sleeping in his brand new nursery 
when this happened.

baby Colston-isn't he beautiful?!!

Despite the high stress situations that threatened our holiday plans,
the party could not be stopped!

There is nothing better than family time.
Add in a beautiful home for us all to stay,
a pool to escape the southern humidity,
new babies to meet and snuggle,
and bushels and bushels of crabs with Old Bay Seasoning,

all experienced with those you love
Believe me, 
It was a recipe for a WONDERFUL weekend! 

I just love these people called family!

29 comments:

Taryn said...

Okay, so now my little stressful situation doesn't seem half bad! Ah! Your poor sis!!! Her house is beautiful though, which makes it even more sad. But yes, thankful that no one was hurt and that you guys are still managing to have a great time. Nothing like the unexpected to make life interesting, right?! Have so much fun with your fam!!! If you head back to Utah before the 20th let me know!

sam and kyrsten said...

oh my goodness. i feel so bad for your sister and her house. what a SERIOUS blessing that your nephew wasnt sleeping in his nursery. scary. but glad you get to see your family!

The Millers said...

That is crazy! The weather and wind storms back east are so different then what we are used to. I'm glad everyone is ok! It sounds like it all worked out and actually is a pretty entertaining story! I hope you all have a great time.

Sorta Southern Single Mom said...

OH MY WORD! I'm so glad everyone was okay. We had tornadoes rip through in April and one of my students lost her entire home... so scary!

I'm glad it all worked out for you to arrive safely and enjoy each others company... what a beautiful family!

Stopping by from SITS!

jenn said...

howdy! happy sits saturday!

i'm sorry yall had all the trouble getting to your sisters and sorrier that a tree took out part of your sister's lovely home. but i'm glad yall got to spend time together. it IS hard to get everyone in one spot.

in a week or so, my family will travel to utah to spend time with my great-uncle on my mother's side. one of her brothers, his wife and one of their sons will join us. it used to be both her brothers with all of their children, my grandmother and, sometimes, additional relatives from my mom's side of the tree. we used to have trouble cramming everyone in the house. now, we have empty rooms. what bothers me the most about it is my great uncle is well into his eighties.

misssrobin said...

Congratulations on your SITS spotlight. What a beautiful photo.

I'm glad no one was hurt and hope your sister and her family are able to recover quickly.

Vicki @ Grams Made It said...

Stopping by from SITS and I've just got to say that I love your attitude. It's great.

It seems like something always goes wrong when I'm expecting a crowd. Fortunately, for me it's usually a backed up garbage disposal. A huge tree through the roof would be a little bit more than inconvenient. So glad the baby wasn't in his room.

Unknown said...

I clicked on a link at SITS that brought me here. I sure do wish I could read your blog, but the font is so faint, I can barely see it. :-(

Just Me said...

your family is so amazing! I hope that the tree did not ruin your weekend!

LBDDiaries said...

Beautiful pictures of a beautiful family. And whoa! on the tree falling on the house. So glad everyone is OK even tho there is much to fix. She has a beautiful property. Visiting from SITS and now I will go dig around in your blog!

Tina @ Girl Meets Globe said...

Happy SITS Spotlight day! What fun to have time with family, even under the circumstances!

Unknown said...

I found you on SITS. Great to meet you!

Pinkim said...

So glad that that baby is alright! I am sure that made it all OK, that and the fact that the family arrived! What a beautiful home...and it will be again...Congrats on the SIts feature....Pinkim from TrulySimplyPink

Making It Work Mom said...

Stopping by from SITS. I can't imagine anything scarier happening than what happened to your sister's house. what a great attitude you all have!

Kristine@thefoleyfam said...

Found you thru the SITS girls :) Such scary pictures... I can't even imagine :( Happy to hear no one got hurt and you guys had a great time!! You have a beautiful family! I'm your newest follower :) Looking forward to keeping up with your adventures :)

Jen-MamaZen said...

Hi from SITS! Your Blog is Beautiful!

Glamm Girrl said...

Happy Saturday and congrats on your SITS Feature!!! You deserve it! I just wanted to say that I'm very sorry about your sister's home and the tragic events. But thank God that everyone is fine! Keep smiling and can't wait to read more if your poss!!
Happy Blogging,
City Girl

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for darkening your font! I can now read it. :-D Hooray!!!

SuzRocks said...

Wow. what a gorgeous family! Looks like so much fun (minus the tree through the roof.) glad everyone was okay!

Unknown said...

stopping in from SITS! Scary pics of the house and the tree damage. Ugh with all the news of tornadoes, the weather has just been unrelenting. Glad all are safe and love the family picture!

Also will you share your trick on disabling the right-click? I tried to open this comment in another tab to keep reading your next post and you "caught me" .)

Happy Sits day!

Rachel and Jason said...

Holy cow, Leah! That is CRAZY!? Out of a news report or something. You're right! So glad your sweet nephew is safe and sound. Looks like you had a good time :)

. said...

Yikes! That is so scary! Thanks to God no one was home when the storm hit. May God protect you and your whole families always. And cute baby! Aww! :)

From SITS :)

C. said...

This certainly puts things into perspective, doesn't it? So glad your family was safe and that the baby wasn't in harm's way! I'm a southern girl myself and, while I sometimes miss "home", I certainly don't miss the crazy storms! It was nice looking thru your blog!

Anonymous said...

Hi from SITS! All things considered (that poor, poor house!) looks like y'all had a lovely time. Enjoy your day.

melissa said...

Congrats on being featured on SITS! Sorry about the storms. It looks like you have a beautiful family who is able to turn tragedy into triumph!

mom2kiddos said...

What a BEAUTIFUL family picture. A true blessing indeed that your little nephew wasn't sleeping in that room.

Congrats on your SITS Feature Day! Have a great week ahead!

Unknown said...

Oh my word. That tree was gigantic. I am glad you forged ahead and got together anyway. Family is the very best. I absolutely do not know what I would do without mine. Congratulations on being the SITS girl today. I LOVE the picture you sent in of you and your sweet baby. ADORABLE!

Counselor Musings said...

Stopping by from sits! You've posted some fantastic pictures in this post! You have a beautiful looking family...

simona said...

wow, i'm happy to hear everybody is doing well and the baby wan not in the room when it happened!! it's still unfortunate this happened and bad timing too. i'm also in the atlanta area, there have been so many trees down it's unbelievable.