Nashville Friends

Today, while Wesley was off at his retreat, Jackson and I enjoyed a day full of visiting with friends. We started off the morning at the West End Church of Christ. When Wesley and I were first married, Wesley was the Youth Minister at West End. Though we were only there for a little over two years, we developed deep friendships with many in the congregation. Several had not met Jackson so I decided to go to West End's Breakfast with Santa so I could see some friends and introduce them to my little man. My parents, sisters, brother-in-law, niece, & nephews joined us for the fun!

The church really did a great job with the event. There were five different craft/play stations for the kids; breakfast; and then, of course, time with Santa. Jackson enjoyed almost all of the fun. He loved the donut hole I gave him for breakfast; he enjoyed making a Christmas ornament with his Mimi; he really loved playing with his cousins on the toys; but he very much disliked seeing Santa again!

Here is our attempt at a picture of the cousins with Santa.

Once Jackson calmed down, he and Mimi worked on a Christmas ornament. (Pop-Pop supervised)

My niece, Rebekah, is a funny little thing. She and Jackson are only 6 weeks apart, but their personalities are so different. While Jackson is smiling all the time, Rebekah has perfected her "little old man" look. Here she is with Mimi. Doesn't it look like she is telling the camera, "Why are you bothering me by taking my picture?" She does this face all the time - it is so cute!!

At the end of the breakfast, I again attempted to get a picture of Jackson with Santa. It became very obvious that he was going to have nothing to do with this strange man so I jumped into the picture. Part of me is sad that I don't have a picture of just Santa and Jackson but the other part of me is glad that Jackson finds comfort with his Mommy :)

At the end of the breakfast, Baby Elizabeth made her grand entrance. I was so excited to finally see her!! Erin and I have joked that Elizabeth might be the future Mrs. Bender so we wanted to capture their first meeting. Needless to say, Jackson was captivated by her!

After our time at West End, we went to visit Great Pop-Pop over at Aunt Alice’s house. It was so nice to visit with both of them. Jackson made himself at home with all her “toys.” His Pop-Pop let him ride on the handicap seat that travels upstairs. I think he really enjoyed it!

We weren’t able to spend too much time with Great Pop-Pop because Jackson was so tired, but it is always nice to see him and Aunt Alice.

After lunch, my mom offered to watch Jackson so I could spend some quality time with my friends Erin and Daniel and baby Elizabeth. I probably stayed at Erin and Daniel’s too long, but I just couldn’t put Elizabeth down. She is so beautiful. I fell in love instantly. I wish we lived closer so I could visit with them more often. I miss them so much!

This evening, Jackson, Mimi, Pop-Pop and I traveled to Franklin to eat with Susan and her crew. Even though the visit was short, it is always so much fun to be with Susan, Tim, Rebekah, Caleb and Joshua. At dinner, Caleb showed off his surprise – he lost his tooth! Now he and Joshua have each lost the same tooth.

It is always great to be in Nashville and visit with dear friends. Though I enjoy our life in Georgia, I miss my family and Nashville friends daily! I love it when I have a weekend to just catch up with everyone.