Life in the South!: Time is precious (and so is family)!

I think I have always been aware of how truly blessed I am to have grown up around my family. Phillip and I were both raised this way, so it's imperative to us that Emory is exposed to the same lifestyle. Since Emory's birth I have realized how very precious life is, and how privileged I am to have three out of my four grandparents still alive (and close by). I always saw my grandparents frequently before, but I want to make sure that Emory is around them as much as possible. Luckily, my dad's parents live only five minutes away. Usually, I will wait for Emory to have one really long, solid nap, pack a bottle, and head over to find the folks!

Emory L.O.V.E.S. his Granddaddy!

I love this kid's faces.

Riding the horsie! Thanks Grandmother!

Here's a video of the fabulous conversations Emory shares with his great grands!

Untitled from Kristin Harris on Vimeo.

We visited Florence this past weekend. Emory and I headed down on Thursday. He got to spend most of the day on Friday playing with Aunt Diane. This was a working weekend for mama and daddy! Between Friday and Saturday, I painted for almost 24 hours. Phillip painted with me on Saturday for 14 of those hours. We attempted to continue the painting on Sunday, but everything from Saturday hadn't cured long enough so we pressure washed Aunt Diane's house instead. I have to say this was probably more fun for us than anything. I pressure washed a lot of bugs...and Phillip. Mason kept trying to attack the water (common occurrence with this pup).

Also, we FINALLY got to take Emory to church. I realize this makes us look like horrible parents, but we have tried previously (on numerous occasions) to accomplish this task...to no avail. We had actually made a date on Sunday mornings with Elevation Church on Channel 3 at 11 AM. We didn't have to worry about who heard Emory scream.

Anyway, we were up on Sunday with a happy baby. I had packed just in case we had a Sunday morning success. We went to Liberty UMC. This is the church Phillip grew up attending. His Grandma Taylor was a member for well over 50 years. Everyone at Liberty is like an extension of their family. Emory made it through most of the service being held by Jackie, his best friend's sister. Since he didn't want to quiet down for the last few minutes of the service, he and I went on a walk. Most of Phillip's family is buried in the church's cemetery. His grandma passed away almost a year ago, so Emory and I went out to the grave site for her and Papa. I was 9 weeks pregnant with Emory when she passed away. Something in my heart broke for Phillip as I was standing there. Anyone that knows him can attest to his complete adoration for his Grandma and Papa Taylor. They aren't here to see this. Phillip joined us after the service and talked to Emory about them. It was one of the most touching moments I've witnessed while watching Phillip and Emory interact.

After our first quasi-successful church experience.

When Phillip and I finished pressure washing the house, Grammy Harris was still watching Emory for us so we decided to go pick some grapes before heading home. The vines are loaded right now! As usual with us, opposites attract. He loves scuppernongs and I love muscadines. We both looked horrible, probably smelled worse, and were getting eaten by sand gnats and mosquitoes, but we had so much fun!

My muscadine grapes! Yum!

Aunt Kandice stopped by this week to play with Little Man. Aunt Kasey and soon-to-be Uncle Matt invited us over to play for a little bit last night. Rascal was a gracious host.