Update

Wow, I can't believe it has been this long since I last posted. Sorry it has taken a while. Here is the latest. On July 17 I got the much anticipated call from Andy letting me know that it was time for baby. I managed to get my shower ( in between phone calls from Mom and Bonnie) and headed to Landrum for the blessed event. When I got there Jessica was in early labor, her water had broken and she was having regular contractions though not very long in duration. Most of the afternoon was spent trying to rest but also trying to keep the contractions regular and progressive. She was doing an amazing job. By late evening, she was in active labor and doing a remarkable job of being in control. I won't go in to too much detail about the rest of the night, but just say that...Jeffrey Staton was born at 1:42 am and weighed 8 lbs and 12 ozs. Mother, Father and son were doing well. I got a few hours of sleep and headed back to Asheville at about 7:30 am. What a night. I was so honored to be a part of it all.


The best part of Staton arriving on that Friday is that I had less to worry about during Tag's family's visit. I would be able to take Sara and Sofia to Dollywood for Sara's birthday treat. Jimmy and I both had to work all weekend so I had made arrangements for the girls to spend the weekend on the mountain with Mom and Dad and their cousins. I drove up Sunday after work to spend the night, that way I could take the girls to Pigeon Forge early the next morning. As it turned out it, we didn't leave very early, but that was OK. We still made good time and got to the park by 11. Since it didn't open until 9 anyway, we didn't miss too much.


Sorry, I don't know how to turn these pics. Anyway, it was a nice day at Dollywood, except for the heat. Uggg, Sara and I seemed to be affected the most, as Sofia is somewhat used to hot weather, being from Arizona and all. The girls had a great time riding rides and being together. Unfortunately, we got rained out early, so they were unable to ride some of the things they wanted to. We got home rather late on Monday night and I spent the next day trying to get some rest. It felt like I hadn't slept in days. And quite honestly, I had not gotten enough sleep for the past several nights leading up to our outing to Dollywood. I do feel much better now.

We spent today at Mom and Dad's with most of the family. No one from Bonnie's crew was able to make it and they were very much missed. But everyone else was in attendence. We ate two meals together and enjoyed visiting. The kids seemed to have a good time together and Cris started teaching me about JSJ. I would talk more about it if I could come up with a good way to explain it. But basically, it is a form of healing/meditation/relaxation. Cris needs to be the one to explain it. Anyway, it is very interesting and I hope to learn more.

Back to the main purpose for our visit today...just getting to see everyone and visiting. Patrick had a good time playing with Bella and Alex showed me how well he can hula hoop. I tried to hula but failed miserably. I must be getting old. Oh well, that's life.

As it is now 11 pm and I am getting very sleepy, I will have to end this post. We will get one more chance to see Tag and Cris and the kids tomorrow, so I would like to be rested. I look forward to the day when they live closer and we can see them more than once a year. Someday.