Put yourself in my shoes for a day

It's a very nice place to be these days! For my 38th birthday my husband mom and friends planned a surprise party for me that was actually a total surprise - how often does that work out??? Jessie and I had met up with Lisa and the kids and went on a really fun Easter Egg hunt. It seems that my kid finds crinkly blue bags way more intriguing than any toys he might see. He also seems to have taken umbrage with the cute little goat.

I'll pet the goat, but I am not particularly thrilled about it!

Genius Number 1

Genius Number 2


Nicky and Alli go for a horsey ride

After the egg hunt we went back to the house where Mark called to me to bring the camera to see the unbearably cute thing Nicky was doing. Nicky was standing by the GoKart picking his nose. I kept waiting for something cute to start happening but it was a trick! Nearly all of my favorite people came honking their way down my driveway in a giant caravan for my surprise party and I was definitely surprised. Not that I am all that hard to put one over on but I truly had no idea-hence the reason I am standing in my yard with no makeup on taking pictures of my kid picking his nose and wondering why my husband finds that so thrilling. I had the most wonderful birthday ever and I am so thankful to all my family and friends for the surprise and their time and their company. Thanks to Mom,Mark, Jules, Nicky, Granny, Emmie, Jessie, Illy, Wendi, Rick, Ricky, Brendon, Cameron, Claude, Cole, Cyndi, Elaine, Jason, Jeanette, Jim, Lindsay, Lisa, Marta, Mike, Monique, Polo, Renee, Sandie, Tom, Tomkat, and Toshia.

Mommy, why are all those people here, and why are they honking?!?
(Nicky was so surprised he left his nose and the GoKart alone for a minute)

Most of the Gang!

Continuing the good news and great week, Rick, Ricky and Wendi made it down and are now official Georgia residents!! Here is Ricky in his Big Boy clothes to go to Wendi's office and meet everyone. Isn't he the cutest thing ever?!?

How cute am I??

Additionally, Mark and Nicky and I have adopted a new member of the family - our new puppy Pivo! Pivo is, of course, the cutest and sweetest dog in the whole wide world (besides Bear) and is already sleeping through the night and has had surprisingly few accidents. Bear hates him with a passion and the cats are on strike, but Nicky is in love and every boy needs a dog, right?

As far as the loved ones in other locales, Unka Ed came through his surgery well and is recovering, well but not too comfortably. Luckily, he has the world's best nurse, Deana, at his side and I am sure she is cooking him food that would make the rest of us drive 8 hours to show up on her doorstep.

Nicky has been with his Babcia all week on his first trip away from home without mom and dad. I don't really think he has even noticed we are not there, but he has definitely noticed that Pivo has been missing. When we get on the camera phone we get "Hi Mommy, Hi Daddy, HEY PIVO!!!!!!!!!!!!" It has only been a week but he already looks different on the web phone. We are driving out tonight to spend the night and pick up Shorty and we can't wait! Mark and I had crazy visions of how we would spend our free week. We were going to go out every night and hit a nightclub or two and fool around and clean the house and..........but instead we spent most of the week on the porch enjoying the weather and staring at each other and wondering how on earth we got to the point that life without Nicky just feels so incredibly weird. This morning Mark looked at me and said "It's time for him to come home - Now." I couldn't agree more.

So, it has been a wonderful roller coaster week, all good with just the right dash of melancholy to remind us how good we have it and to always be thankful for all that we have. So, if you put yourself in my shoes for a day, I would definitely choose this day, when all is right with the world and I am feeling like the blessings are raining down on my head from above.
Love,
Alli

My Angel

My kid is having a blast at a birthday party with one of his favorite girls in the whole world. It's funny, I always think of how free of responsibility I will feel, just coming home with no kid to tend to. I can take a bath, clean up the house, watch T.V., read a book! Then I actually get home, no husband and no kid---and I am bereft. I want my boys back and I want them now. I think of a friend of mine who has lost her mother and mother in law in a very short span, and another friend who has lost her mother and whose father had a stroke a month later and I realize, there is nothing in life better than spending your life loving and arguing with your loved ones and how lucky I am that I have Mark and Nicky and Mom and Granny here to love me and aggravate me and to make sure that I never go to the bathroom alone. I can't wait til my boys get home! I hope they had a wonderful time and missed me as much as I have missed them.

Communists!

The Gruesome Twosome! Ricky and Nicky

Playing at Jump Time!

Alli and Jeanette come over to play!

Miss Jeanette looking cute as a button!

I am so very lucky. My family and my husband and mom are all incredibly lucky and I hope we always remember that. We have a wonderful, remarkable family. Everyone pitches in where and when they can. My neighbors have become my family. My cousins are like my siblings, helping and hanging out together and being the brothers and sisters that few of us have. My friends are my family, a tight group of people who have loved and helped one another for well over a decade. We have been through loss, disappointment, divorce, birth, depression, joy and new love and make the time for one another that everyone needs. We know and love one another's families and kids and I know that I can always count on them. My neighbors take care of my child like he is one of their own, Lisa takes care of my grandma and I love having their kids over at my house. We have developed a communist society at the compound that works for everyone, each according to need. The usual downfall of communism - greed- doesn't really apply here. Everyone who comes into the circle is welcomed and cherished. Our newest additions, Wendi, Rick and Ricky, are eagerly anticipated and will be sorely missed when they move on to their new life and we have to schedule weekend visits. If I could, I would buy 100 acres and move everyone I care about within a mile of me. The Compound has been one of the great blessings of my life. Thank you to all the wonderful people that have blessed my life.