The Precious Pauls as a family of four!

I finally have my computer back and have been able to download the pictures I took in Atlanta! Here is the first picture of the Precious Pauls as a family of four!

Since I last wrote, Tom and I have spent a week in Atlanta. True to form, Jenny did not let me baby her but I got in some snuggle time with Hattie - and read lots of Henry and Mudge books with Lucy!

Last weekend Tommy and I made a quick trip to Baton Rouge. He had to work until noon on Saturday. We got down there in time to eat dinner at Don's Seafood (still yummy). Sunday morning we lined up at the U-Haul place to get the truck we had reserved. I was amazed that the line would be that long on a Sunday morning. I bailed on Tom and went out to the car to finish an octopus. (New crochet kick for Suzie and me: tawashies) Evidently I missed quite a bit of excitement inside. Maybe I can get him to tell you about it sometime. Finally, Tom and a clerk come outside and head to a fairly large truck. They walk all around it and inspect it. Then the clerk opens the door to look inside. Then he climbs inside. Then he calls someone on his cell phone. Then he climbs back in the truck! When he gets out, he has to admit that there are no keys to be found for this particular vehicle. He and Tom disappear back into the building where an entirely different, larger, truck is rented to us.

We manage to stay together as we navigate BR traffic; thank goodness it was Sunday! We are the lucky recipients of a good friend's need to down-size as he moves from Louisiana to New York. (Thanks, Weavie!) He has left us a garage FULL of nice things: two beds with headboards, two couches, two recliners, a washer and dryer, a microwave, a kitchen table and chairs, a desk, a dresser, and a HUGE projection screen TV! Michael and Jason, two of the Sadden boys, friends from our Baton Rouge days and beyond, help us load the truck and then we take off for El Dorado. The drive was blessedly uneventful! Jimmy, Julie, John Paul, and Maddy meet us at the storage facility and help unload the truck, which could be turned in right on the spot!

This week the plan was for us to go check on Grandma on Tuesday afternoon and then watch Lanie play softball. Jill called me on Monday to tell me that Lanie will be out of the line up with a broken pinky!!! I don't think it will slow her down for too long though. That meant we were in El Dorado to go to DanMan's first game of the season. He has changed so much since last year! He moves with so much more grace - in an athletic way of course!

May is getting crazy! I wish I were in charge of scheduling. Jenny, Eric, and the girls will be driving to Little Rock on Wednesday, May 5, to house hunt. I have been invited to come and play with Lucy during the day because we don't believe she will think house hunting is much fun. I had visions of Jimmy's family and Julie's family (with one of those vehicles bringing Tom) coming to Little Rock for the weekend. Of course, everyone is anxious to meet Hattie! Turns out that I neglected to write a very important occasion on my calendar - Maddy's first dance recital! I knew she had one but I just couldn't believe that anyone would choose Mother's Day weekend to spend in the auditorium - that's one thing I would change if I were in charge of scheduling. Maddy will perform both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Rest assured that you WILL see pictures. Jill's birthday will fall on Mother's day this year - as it did in 1971 when she was born!

The next weekend two of our great nieces (Kristen and Priscilla Forester) will graduate from pharmacy school AND Hannah will have her piano recital. (These girls' younger sister, Heather, will graduate from college over Mother's Day weekend. I already know we'll miss that!) I am hoping that Tom and I can go to the Honors Convocation on Friday night. These girls all came to see Jill's hooding and they were there when Jill "hooded" Jenny! Priscilla did a rotation in El Dorado and we ended up getting to know all the girls better through that arrangement! We'd hate not to attend some celebration.

The rest of May will be busy too but I'll tell you about that next time. I have barely gotten up from my computer chair in the 24 hours I have had my machine back. I have missed it so much! I spent a lot of time trying to find my pictures after I downloaded them. A relatively new camera and a "rearranged" computer had me all confused.

Our Easter Baby!!!!

Hattie Elaine Paul was born on Easter Sunday, April 4, at 2:35 P.M. EST, in Atlanta, Georgia! She weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long - and she has dimples! Lucy is enchanted with her and loves being a big sister, so far.

Jenny and Hattie were dismissed from the hospital the evening of April 5. I left for home EARLY the morning of the 6th. I wish I had a picture of what I saw as I was trying to sneak out of the house. Jenny was on the couch with a sleeping Hattie on her chest and Lucy snuggled up beside her. It was one of the very sweetest things I have ever seen! Speaking of pictures, I have a lot on my camera but I am using a borrowed computer to update my blog.

Tommy and I leave for Atlanta when he gets home from work today. We don't plan to drive the whole way tonight. Tommy had scheduled his vacation for the week Hattie was due. Since she came early and since her other grandmother was able to travel to meet her on Tuesday, I came home to pick up Tom.

I have a funny story to tell before I sign off and go home to finish packing. When Jenny went to her OB appointment last Friday, someone in the office suggested that she go to a particular Italian restaurant for dinner. Saturday night I kept Lucy so Jenny and Eric could go there to eat. When a very pregnant woman enters the restaurant, she is not even given a menu. She is automatically served eggplant Parmesan. Babies are supposed to be born within 48 hours after the mother has eaten her meal. Jenny said that the walls are covered with pictures of babies who were born before the 48 hours were up - and now Hattie gets to join them! If the woman does not deliver within the time frame, the restaurant gives her a $25.00 gift certificate; if she does the baby gets a special shirt! I will try to post a picture of Hattie in hers when she models it!

Guess I had better get ready to head back to Atlanta!