Catching Up...

Hi everyone! Contrary to popular belief, we are still alive and kicking!! We've had a CRAZY couple of weeks... I'll try to give a quick run-down of the last week and a half... Since I tend to get carried away, I'd suggest you get comfortable with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine (whatever suits you), and hunker down... Here goes nothing....


:::MONDAY, DECEMBER 15:::

Maddy, Nash and I loaded up the car in Abilene and drove to the airport to pick Grandmom up. Her plane was about 30 minutes late, but once we hit the road for day one of our grand cross country adventure, the GPS said that we should arrive at Little Rock Air Force Base around 10 PM. TOTALLY do-able, right?!?! Would be, but... Shortly after passing through Dallas, Texas, the weather began to turn sour. Our 8 hour drive turned into 13 hours of trecherous driving conditions. I've never driven on ice before, and I'd be happy if I never had to do it again. On more than one occasion, we sat with the car in park for over an hour on the interstate for crews to clean up accidents. We passed over a couple of bridges that were so icy that we couldn't even consider touching the gas pedal without losing control. We finally arrived at the base around 3:30 AM. Unfortunately, the GPS took us to the back gate where you can not get a visitors' pass. The "kind" gentleman at the gate offered us a map showing us how to get to the front gate. Thanks, pal. By the time we got to the hotel room and got everyone settled in, it was 4:30 AM. UGH. What a day!!!

:::TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16:::

We woke up on this day to see how bad the roads really were in the daylight. We're still not sure how we made it in one piece, but we're VERY thankful that we did!! Upon seeing how bad the roads in Little Rock were, we called the front desk of the hotel to inquire about staying an extra day. They let us know that our room was still available, so we were allowed to stay another day. We ordered a large pizza and cheese sticks for lunch and ate the leftovers for dinner. After the drive on Monday, we really needed a day off. Poor Nash was going stir crazy in the hotel, but he and Maddy were both troopers during our delay. We found out later that the bridge over the Mississippi river was closed, so we would not have made it into Tennessee this day even if we'd left the hotel. THAT would have been a disaster!!!

::: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17:::

We got up this morning and started packing the car. I got one load out to the car and organized. Just as I was entering the hotel again to retrieve the second load, the fire alarm went off. REALLY?!?! So, we had to evacuate. Grandmom, Maddy, Nash and I sat in the car for almost an hour while the rescue crews checked the building. I'm assuming there was nothing to speak of because they eventually let us back in. We hit the road, FINALLY, and made it to Nashville around dinner time. We went to Bryan's parents' house (Grandpa Jay and Gi Gi) for a visit. Bryan's Granny, his sister and brother in law were there to visit with us as well. We had a very nice visit. Maddy and Nash had been through the ringer by this point, so around 9:00 PM, our little troopers were fading... FAST... We loaded everyone into the car and headed south to Columbia, TN to stay with Chris and April. Once I finally got Maddy to sleep, I hit the hay. I think my mom and Chris stayed up chatting well into the night. I knew that I had another long day of driving ahead of me, so I had to settle in for the night.

:::THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18:::

Happy birthday Mom!! Yep. We had planned to be at my mom's house in time for her birthday. Instead, we were STILL DRIVING. Maddy woke us up around 4:45 AM, and didn't seem to want to fall back asleep. I was trying to get her quiet by bouncing her and walking around the bedroom with her. Maddy was so upset that she dropper her pacifier. I, naturally, squatted down to pick it up for her. When I tried to stand back up, however, I could not straighten my leg!! UGH!! Remember that torn meniscus I had a couple of years ago?!?! IT'S BAAAAACK!!! So, now, we've been on the road for DAYS. We've driven in some of the worst weather I've seen in years. We're TOTALLY exhausted. And, now I'm out of commission!!! My poor mom. Happy birthday, I tell ya! She was now left to schlep everything to the car (with a little help from Chris. THANK YOU!), get the dog in the car, carry Maddy's car seat. I couldn't do ANYTHING to help! We stopped at a CVS on the way out of town to get a knee brace for me. It did a little, but I was still in quite a bit of pain!!! We hit the road to Lancaster, and made it here about 8 or 9 hours later. Boy were we all ready to be at our destination!!

:::FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19:::

But, wait... There's more!! We got up this morning, and headed to the ER!! Yep... That's right!! I woke up this morning and my knee was KILLING ME!! Our trip to the ER was in and out in about an hour, which I think is pretty good. After a couple of X-rays, a prescription for Tylenol with Codine, an immobilizer leg brace and crutches, I was told that there was nothing that they could do for me. The best they could do was to tell me to see an orthopedist. Oh boy!! That's exactly what I wanted to hear!! Now, it was time to load poor little Maddy back into the car and head to Atlanta for Christmas there!! We drove straight to my dad's parents' house, and had a nice visit. On our way down, we got a phone call from my aunt who suggested that we could go visit Dr. Levengood at his house (he's an orthopedic surgeon and a family friend). We JUMPED at that opportunity!! Dr. Feelgood... er... I mean... Dr. Levengood gave me a pretty stout shot of Lydocane (sp?) and some form of cortizone. He told me that I could do no additional damage to my knee, so walking on it was A-OK as long as I could tolerate the pain. Once the shot kicked in, I was feeling quite a bit better. THANKS FOR THE HELP AUNT DO!!!

:::SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20:::

We got up this morning and hung out with my dad's parents for a bit longer. Later in the afternoon, we went to my mom's parents' house. We just hung out there for the evening, and turned in early... FINALLY... an early night!!!



:::SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21:::

We got up and went to church. Later in the afternoon, it was time for the annual Towhey Christmas Extravaganza!!! We had a BLAST!!! Everyone, as far as I could tell, LOVED meeting Maddy. I think she learned a lot that day about her family. I don't think we scarred her for life or anything, but she was pretty overwhelmed by the time we left. I'm so glad we got to be a part of that this year. I believe there were 27 of us there in all. Bryan was the ONLY one who missed out this year... Hence the sign!! Once the extravaganza came to an end, we piled everyone back in the car to head back to Lancaster. Maddy had a bit of a rough time settling in the car (go figure, right?), but once she settled down, she was down for the count!! She was such a trooper through all of this!!




:::THIS WEEK:::

This week, we've tried to just stay a little low key. Maddy and Nash are recovering nicely from their cross country excursion. We've been relaxing quite a bit. Maddy took quite a nap today, which was GREAT. She's been getting to sleep a little easier every night, and seems to be adapting well to staying at Grandmom and Grandpop's house for a while. We're hoping to have another couple of quiet days. We all need to relax.

:::TODAY:::

Today we got up and had a little breakfast then got ready for church. After church, we came home and got the turkey in the oven. My mom let me do most of the cooking this year since I've never prepared a holiday meal start-to-finish on my own. She babysat while I did most of the cooking. I think it all turned out pretty good... if I say so myself. Of course, I had a GREAT teacher, and a pretty supportive audience!! :) After the turkey was in the oven, the adults opened their gifts (Maddy was napping). I think everyone was pretty satisfied with their "loot". My mom got a beautiful necklace from my dad. Dad got some pretty kewl tools, and I got a sewing machine... among other things. Once Maddy woke up from her nap and had a little snack, she opened her gifts. Now, everyone other than myself and my mom have gone to bed (even the dogs). Once I post this, I think I'll head to bed, too. I'm exhausted just recapping the last week and half... which, by the way, was 2000+ miles!!! WHOA!!







I hope that all of you had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I know that we did. We miss Bryan like crazy, but he'll be home soon enough. When he gets home, we'll do the Williams family Christmas in Abilene!!!

Love you guys!!