Kati & Marshall - August 20th, 2011

There are special times when we are privileged to witness the best and happiest moments of a person’s life... a person who we love. This past weekend was one of those times for me.

When my friend, Donda had her little boy, I called him my little Pudro. There were many Sunday afternoons that we spent together when he was little and I have such happy memories of us coloring with bright new crayons, riding around in my RX7 on ice-cream reconnoiters and watching Mr. Rogers on the TV together.

Pudro still has the same impish little grin and playful spirit. I don’t get to see him as often as I would like these days, but have been happy to see that the wonderful young woman who is occupying all of his time is the same best friend who he married in a beautiful Gatlinburg lodge atop a lush and fragrant mountaintop with friends and family gathered around them. The new Mrs. Pudro is sweet, kind and graceful… and she made a perfectly lovely bride on this past Saturday afternoon.

Donda – of course – was in her element and in fine party-planning mode. She worked tirelessly all summer pulling plans together for the rehearsal dinner and other wedding preparations and everything unfolded this weekend without a hitch. White linens and pale snowy silk blossoms graced table tops beneath arched log eves. Refrigerators were packed to the bursting point with savory meats, creamy desserts and snacks beyond counting. There were laughing voices everywhere and feet running up and down the three stories of stairs.

It is obviously a happy blending of two congenial families. I am very pleased to see what a kind and welcoming family Mrs. Pudro has. They are good people and it warms my heart to see them lovingly enfold Pudro into their midst.

But this weekend was special to me in another way. I got to have some good fellowship time with Donda – the type of visiting that involves sitting out in early morning mountain air sharing a cup of coffee and observations on the celebrations, on life and on the Lord. It meant so much to me to share this important time for her and feel a part of the happiness surrounding this event. And to spend some time with Donda’s mom, Lizzie, was also a treat! I never get to see her often enough and it was wonderful to sit and listen to her happy laugh and genial teasing of the people that she loves. It pleased me that many of Mrs. Pudro’s relatives and friends thought that I was Pudro’s aunt because that’s the way I feel toward him.

I pray that the Lord will bless this young couple in every way. He is so kind to meet us where we are, love us so completely and bring us together in loving groups. And I’m so thankful for Pudro and Donna and the new friends that I made through them this past weekend.

Love to my Pamela’s Girls! I’ll try to get posts in more often that I have lately. Sorry!!!

Auntie J.

Baby B's Last Week as an Only Child

Well, I have survived 38 weeks of pregnancy with one more week to go until we finally get to meet the infamous Baby M. Thank you to Pamela's Girls for all of your prayers and wishes as I've struggled through this last trimester. It does seem like a VERY long time ago when we made that exciting announcement on Christmas Eve. It seems like so much has happened since then... A move to a wonderful new house, Easter, July 4th, a fun beach trip, a miserably HOT summer, and an ever-growing Baby B.
Baby B has grown up SO much since he turned 2. I've been trying to think of another Pamela's Girls name for him, because he is not so much of a Baby B anymore. All I could come up with is Bo. I have a feeling that is what Baby M might call him one day:) What do you think Pamela's Girls?
When we put on his bathing suit the other day, he decided he needed a hat to wear outside. I told him that he looked like Dada, and he immediately went to Daddy L's closet and attempted to wear Daddy L's shoes around the house.

Not only is his vocabulary growing, but he is learning so many new concepts. He is quite obsessed with Sesame Street, Elmo, the ABC's and numbers these days. I'm not complaining though, because being a mom and a teacher, I am so proud of how interested he is in learning new things. He especially loves to show off his alphabet skills infront of others. When we were at Hobby Lobby last week, he really wanted some wooden letters. I got them for him, but he had to open them before we made it to the checkout. The cashier insultingly asked Bo if he was using those as chew toys. When I told her that he loved reciting the alphabet, she said that he was too little to know his ABC's. Bo immediately started holding up letters to her and telling her what they were. After about 5 letters, she said, "Ok, I understand. You really do know the alphabet." Everyone in line, including me, was chuckling. Here is a video of his new skills:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwXKcrLyrII

It is hard to believe that this time next week, Bo may almost be a big brother. I really hope he is going to adjust okay to this wonderful new addition to our family. Although I used to tease SanFran S about the "original family," I honestly don't remember a time when she wasn't in our lives, and I hope it will be the same for Bo. I hope that after a month or so, it will be like he was always here with us. As we were eating dinner at church a few months ago, someone said to Bo, "Get ready because you're getting ready to have to share everything you ever had." Then, a friend of our with 2 boys of his own said, "No, get ready to meet the best friend you'll ever have." I thought that was so sweet, and it made me really happy to be having another boy for him to play with and share his life with, just like I have with Sanfran S, and Cici did with Auntie J.

Thank you again for all of your prayers Pamela's Girls! My next blog should be full of photos of Bo and Baby M!

Love,

~Mommy M

Tribute to Mommy M

I know we have all had Mommy M in our prayers the last few months, but we all need to lift her up especially this next week and few days while we wait for Baby M to make his debut. Mommy M has been AMAZING. Every day when I’ve talked with her she has sounded upbeat and cheerful, and it is not until the next day she will admit what a struggle she has had. Not only has Baby M been exercising, stretching and kicking, causing a good bit of pain and discomfort; but we have suffered through one of the hottest summers ever! I was glad to get this picture of her today, and as you can see, she looks beautiful!

As far as I know, I had only one picture taken while I was pregnant. This one was taken 2 weeks before San Fran S was born. The Bible verse I claimed especially during the difficult times of pregnancy and during the delivery was Isaiah 26:3:

“You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You

Because he trusts in You.”

So be strong, Mommy M - only 10 more days to go!!

Remember how much all of the Pamela's Girls love you !!!

CiCi

Ready and Waiting on Baby M...

I went to the doctor for my 36 week checkup yesterday. I'm progressing normally, but not as fast as I'd like to because I feel very ready to have Baby M right now... as long as he's healthy of course. I'm still having contractions and I think he's going to be longe because he I'm constantly feeling sharp jabs in my rib cage, which I do not remember having with Baby B. All in all, I am getting pretty uncomfortable, but I know it will be worth it once I get to hold Baby M and see his face and tiny toes and fingers.

I've been working on his baby book. In the process, I came up with this family tree explaining where his names came from since his names aren't quite as self explanatory as Baby B's. I enjoyed looking through Papa's handwritten family tree records as I searched for where the name Foster originally derived.



I've got our bags all packed and the baby clothes all washed as I anxiously await Baby M's arrival. Through the anxiousness and discomfort, it reassures me to know that God has Baby M's birthday all picked out along with the perfect moment for him to arrive.

Happy Tuesday Pamela's Girls!

Love,

~Mommy M

Nana's Birthday

Since I'm not a very good traveler these days, Nana came to Darlington so we could celebrate her birthday. Auntie J just happened to send out an email about Redneck Turtle Burgers made with hamburger, hotdogs and bacon the week of Nana's birthday. I thought it was funny (but not appetizing) so I forwarded it on to Nana, and she seemed VERY interested in having a Turtle Burger, so we ended up making them for her birthday lunch. They were the hit of the party for Nana and all the guys. Baby B thought they were hilarious and enjoyed eating the turtle legs... Ummm, I mean hotdogs:) Sorry SanFran S...



I thought these photos of Baby B and Nana were adorable!

Love to Pamela's Girls!

~Mommy M

A New Addition to the Family

Today we welcomed a new addition to the family. No, not Baby M! He hasn’t decided to make his appearance yet. No, this was a 2010 Honda CR-V, a pretty pale silvery green with tan interior. I have so enjoyed driving San Fran S’s VW Beetle while she’s been in San Francisco. It’s made me feel closer to her, scooting around town in her yellow Bug, with Coastal Carolina parking stickers, graduation tassel hanging from the rearview mirror and yellow sunflower twirling around in the flower vase – I didn’t change a thing from the way she had it. But alas, I needed to not only be able to carry Baby B in his car seat, but now pretty soon, Baby M. So today SS was so wonderful to buy me this CR-V. Mommy M says it looks like me. I like it because it’s not too big(like the Yukon) and not too small(like the Bug), but just right for me.

We don’t know what we’ll do with the ole Granny Galant yet. She’s been through a lot. She started out as a company car for SS until he got a truck. Mommy M learned to drive with it and drove it(into a ditch once) until she got her red Mitsubishi. Then it was San Fran S’s turn to learn to drive with it until she got a little Toyota before getting the VW for graduation. So the ole girl’s been through a lot, and now it’s time for her to retire. I’ll miss her, but I’m looking forward to “circulating” (as Mommas would say) around town in my little green SUV.

So Farewell Faithful Galant, and Welcome Little Honda – I look forward to travelling many happy miles together.

Love to all of Pamela’s Girls from CiCi

Banana Nut Waffles

As I was lying in bed enjoying a leisurely wake-up Saturday morning, I was thinking about what I would fix for breakfast. On Saturdays, as you Pamela’s Girls know, it has been a tradition since SS and I got married to have something with syrup on Saturday – waffles, pancakes or French Toast. This was a waffles-morning. As I lay there though, I remembered the ripe bananas that I had forgotten to put in the trash Friday morning. I had thought I could make some banana nut bread, but I suddenly remembered how much SS had enjoyed banana nut waffles with a dollop of whipped cream at the Marriott this summer. So I immediately came downstairs, went to the laptop, and googled “banana nut waf…” Several possibilities popped up and there was the one I wanted – Banana Nut Waffles from Bisquick. In less than 30 seconds, I had my recipe! Can we appreciate how amazing that is – to have information that we want in seconds!

I remember when San Fran S wanted some information one time several years ago- I think what movies were playing -and she made the comment – "What did people ever do without the internet?" Well, when I was in school a lot of our education consisted of learning HOW to research and find information – not the information itself, but how to acquire it. You would go to the library and search through whole books searching for information. There were huge books – Guides to Periodical Literature – where you would search for magazine articles on the topic you were researching. Then you would go pull the magazines and make notes-they couldn’t be checked out. Every family had to have a 20 volume set of World Book encyclopedias, with an updated volume every year. We had to have a dictionary, Atlas, Thesaurus, and many other different kind of reference books. Twenty years ago, we had no idea really of what the Internet was. Now, how could we live without it – the world of knowledge at our fingertips. A recipe in the blink of an eye. Isn't that a miracle!

Now here is the recipe that prompted this revelation:

Banana-Nut Waffles

13 Ratings

INGREDIENTS

2	cups Original Bisquick® mix
1	cup mashed very ripe banana (2 medium)
1	cup milk
1/4	cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
2	tablespoons vegetable oil
1	egg

1. Heat waffle iron; grease with vegetable oil or shortening.
2. Stir ingredients until blended. Pour onto center of hot waffle iron. Close lid of waffle iron.
3. Bake about 5 minutes or until steaming stops. Carefully remove waffle.

Wishing all my Pamela's Girls a wonderful week as we eagerly await the arrival of Baby M
Love to you all, CiCi