Rosemary

Bert's sister, Alison, and her husband, Stephen, recently adopted a precious little 6 year old from Uganda named Rosemary.  She's absolutely beautiful inside and out, and we're so thankful for her to now be a part of our family.  Alison has been in Uganda with Rosemary for a little over a month (Stephen was there for a little over a week, but then had to fly back to get back to work).  Yesterday, Alison and Rosemary were able to come home to NC, and a big group of us met them at the airport to welcome them home!!  

Here is a picture of the group....just excitedly watching the escalators for signs of Rosemary and Alison!:)  

I had a doctor's appointment that morning and we weren't able to leave Greenville until about 10am. Thankfully, we didn't hit any traffic, the girls were great car-riders, and we only had to stop once!!  We pulled into the parking lot about a minute or two after their plane landed! Yikes! We grabbed the girls out of their carseats and took off running for the terminal!! We were so close...we didn't want to miss seeing Rosemary for the first time!!  We actually made it in plenty of time as their plane taxied for quite awhile before letting any passengers off.  We were just thankful to be there and SO excited!:)  

Aidan, our nephew, made this sign to welcome them home!  So sweet!  

Aunt Carrie (who had flown in the day before from Los Angeles) showing Emily a few pictures on her iPad as they passed the time.  

Just after they came up the escalator Rosemary immediately spotted her Daddy.  You could see Rosemary trying to break free from Alison holding her hand so that she could run.  Alison let her go after just a minute and she took off running for her Daddy's arms.  It was one of the sweetest things E.V.E.R!  

Bert snapped the picture below just before Rosemary flew into Stephen's arms.  If you click on the picture to make it bigger you'll see a huge grin spread across her face!!

The Sandridge's were reunited at last!:)  

Rosemary giving Emily a hug for the first time.  They were instant friends!  

Sweet cousins!  

A welcome home sign and some of Alison and Stephen's friends made for Rosemary!  

After we relaxed at their house for a little bit we all headed to Mellow Mushroom for dinner!  

Hannah wanted to sit in the chair like a big girl!  Cutie!! 

After dinner Rosemary and Emily went to the "playground" (that's what Em was calling this cornhole set) to play before it was time for us to hit the road and head back down to Greenville.  As you can see in the picture below....Emily was following Rosemary around and copying everything she did.  They had fun!  

Rosemary, we are so so thankful to have you as a part of our family....we love being your Aunt Steph and Uncle Bert.  You are a precious gift from God!  You are loved, loved, loved, and we're praying for you as you adjust to this whole new world.  

When I get to be a Mommy....

Emily's new phrase these days is "When I get to be a Mommy _______."  Usually what follows cracks me up, so I decided I needed to record a few phrases she's said over the last few weeks in the blog!

"When I get to be a Mommy I get to ride a school bus all by myself."

"When I get to be a Mommy I get to blow my nose all by myself."

"When I get to be a Mommy I get to drive a car like you."

"When I get to be a Mommy I get to put diaper rash on Hannah."  (she meant diaper cream)

"When I get to be a Mommy I get to go to big church all by myself."

"When I get to be a Mommy I get to have gray hair too."  Haha!

Did you catch on that she likes to do things by herself!?  We love our little independent 3 year old!:)

July 4th and a Visit from Grandmama and Pawpaw

Grandmama and Pawpaw came up for a visit on July 4th and spent a couple of days with us.  We had such a great time!  It was a rainy couple of days, but that didn't slow us down much.  We were still able to grill out, play with bubbles outside (many times), and take a trip to the zoo!  

Aunt Carrie bought these cute outfits for the girls for them to wear for the holiday.  Thanks, Carrie!!:)  

Hannah has a new found love for playing with bubbles.  She smiled and laughed and jumped around the whole time someone was blowing bubbles.  

If you tried to take a break from blowing the bubbles Hannah would start saying "BUBBLES, BUBBLES!"....in a bit of a panicked voice.  No rest for the weary.:) 

Grandmama and Hannah playing with the bubbles...

Sweet girls...

Hannah was so attached to Pawpaw this trip.  She pretty much wanted him to hold her if he was in the room.  She would get the biggest smile on her face when he bent down to pick her up.  So sweet!  

Walking around the yard with Pawpaw...

Bert fixed an amazing dinner for us on July 4th.  He grilled chicken, corn, squash and zucchini and even made homemade peach ice cream.  It was all SO good! It had been raining off and on all day, but he finally was able to get the grill started in a sunny patch. But of course it started raining again not longer after everything was on the grill! He had to brave the POURING down rain and some thunder and lighting to cook everything, but he got it done.  I was stressed out about him being out there with the lighting, but he kept insisting he was fine.  In the picture below you can see Bert at the grill wearing a Bugs Bunny poncho.  I actually bought that poncho about 15 years ago on a trip to six flags.  We dug it out when we realized the rain wasn't letting up....I think it's been worn maybe one time since I bought it. While Bert wasn't that excited about wearing a Bugs Bunny poncho...he was thankful for what protection it provided from the pouring down rain.  Haha!  

On Friday we took a trip to the zoo and had a great time!!  The weather was great because it was cool, overcast and the rain held off for us! 

Bert, his parents, the girls, and the giraffes!:)  

Every other time we've been to the zoo both lions have been sleeping on this rock that you see in the picture below.  The info sign said that these lions sleep about 21 hours a day....crazy!  One of them woke up while we were watching them so I had to get a picture.  I know the glass is really thick and the bars are really strong but this guy honestly still made me a little nervous.  I enjoyed getting to see him awake and so regal-looking, but I was totally fine with walking on to the next exhibit!:)  

Family pic...

We had a really fun 4th of July weekend!  We were so glad Grandmama and Pawpaw were able to come up for a visit! We ended our weekend with a great meal at Mutt's BBQ. When Grandmama and Pawpaw left from there, Emily cried and cried as their car was pulling away... We all had a great time with them and can't wait till next time!