Mount Piperstuff Shall Wait

Sometimes you just have to live in the moment. This evening Jeni and I had every intention of inventorying Mount Piperstuff which now encompasses our mud room (aside from the area set aside for the recyclables, Maggie's giant dog food canister, our friend, "Uncle" Aaron's oscillating fan, and, of course the "battering ram" stroller). Luckily for us, Mount Piperstuff will rapidly erode into the back of a Salvation Army truck Monday morning. Moreover, we also added lots to the pile in order to make room for necessary forthcoming great plains of "Hope & Gracie Stuff."

We had a long day today chock-full with loving company who were in town from far away and wanted to spend some time with us. Check out the pictures of some of our visitors near and far from today. With all the company, Jeni and I had devoted this evening to getting everything in the giant heap onto our spreadsheet and all ready to be included in a neat document, suitable for next year's taxes. The Brewers game was over early (and the Brewers won), so I didn't even have that to distract me. This plan sounded fantastic, right?

Except we had one little person who really didn't want Mom and Dad to go and work after their dinner. Hope wasn't in the mood to sleep- she was up for some good ol' fun with her 'rents. Sensing arrival of her sister coming soon, Hope wanted to cherish some quality one-on-one time with each of her parents. While Mom went to Target to purchase a second basinette, Hope squealed and grunted whenever her daddy walked past her. While he needed to get some work done, she used her wide eyed power of persuasion to let her dad pick her up, rock her, and sing her funny songs. Looking sleepy after a while, Dad put her pack in her pack 'n play. Jeni had returned at this time and was gung ho on getting that pile inventoried. However, when she past the pack 'n play, she heard some soft squeaks, and the power of the wide eyes entranced her, and sent her on a bee line to the couch to snuggle up with Hope. The two amigas currently reside there as her daddy gets some "writing time."

I remember a quote from Mark Twain that my 9th grade geography teacher, Mr. Bruemmer, taught me many years ago... "Don't let school get in the way of your education." This same principle applies to having babies in the house. Sometimes, like our blogger friend Laurie from Cleveland commented a few days ago, you just need to leave the household tasks and rest. Tonight, it wasn't so much about rest but rather about delighting in the moment. Mount Piperstuff will be there tomorrow. Hope needed to be held tonight.




Our good friend, "Uncle" Jon held Hope for the first time last evening. I was later told that he had only held one other baby previously. He did a good job. Hope and her mom and dad give him a thumbs up!




"Uncle" Jeff and "Aunt" Jill, our good friends from the Twin Cities were in town this weekend and spent the morning enjoying sweet rolls on our patio and visiting with their new friend, Miss Hope. They can't wait to meet Gracie Girl too, hopefully during their next visit to town for "Uncle" Steve's wedding in a couple of months.



Aunt Pat, who is really my aunt by blood relation, and who is now Hope and Gracie's Great Aunt, enjoys a moment smiling at her great niece. It was so great to see her, my Uncle Tom, my Uncle Dennis and Aunt Teri. Tom and Pat were in town from Seattle and Dennis and Teri from Chicago. We had a wonderful visit together. What a blessing to see all of them! This was the first time we were able to all get together since Jeni and my wedding 2+ years ago.


"You want to get work done," smirks Hope peering out of her hooded sea-animal themed towel after she got her first bath at home, "I don't think so :)" C'mon, who could say no to Hope's beautiful wide eyes?