Lots of Sweet, No Bitter

We have been blessed by lots of time with family these past two weeks. As our school years come to a close and we begin to say goodbye to dear students and colleagues, we also revel in the extra time we are getting with my side of the family (now if only we can find a way to get to Texas...:-)).

It all began two weeks ago when my parents and Clay plotted behind my back to get my parents to Chattanooga...I was so surprised and SO happy!! And you know who else was happy? Mr. Will! So happy, in fact, that he stuck a straw in his mouth and did a little dance:

In the short but sweet 48 hours that Mom and Dad were here, we went to the lake, where Will LOVED the fountain in the baby pool.

Will is VERY serious about his lake time.

There's the smile!

Love the shots we got of Will and Poppy.

We also walked across the walking bridge and ate lunch at Rembrandt's

This is one of my new favorite pictures: love this one of my parents.

We're not all looking at the same camera, but hey, we tried :-)

Mom and Dad had to leave Saturday afternoon, but it was only hours later that AUNT B arrived! HOORAY! WE LOVE AUNT B!

Will just HAD to show Aunt B the fountain.

Two of my favorite faces in the whole world. Sweet sweet sweet.

Will said, "I'll take your glasses, Aunt B, thank you very much."

Will loves his neighbor and friend, Ellie

Brittany was SUCH a rockstar. She took care of Will during the day for an entire week while Clay and I finished up classes (woot! woot! We're done with classes! Now just one week of exams to go and we are DONE with this school year!). When I got home in the afternoon, she would shift to packer-extraordinaire mode, helping up pack and store our books, dishes, and frames. She also helped me sort and organize the items we are going to sell in the neighborhood yard sale next weekend. I am pumped for that post!

Will loved being with Brittany all week. I am sure it wasn't a glamorous job, especially for my amazing sister who is rocking business school and dedicating her efforts to helping people around the world, but it meant the world to this little Chattafamily.

This face cracks us up.

Then we went to Louisville for a family reunion! YAY!

Brittany and my parents went to a wedding on Saturday night, so Clay, Will, and I drove up with Brittany for the weekend. As always, we had a ball and were royally spoiled in the process.

Will met awesome Blair and Jurgen, two amazingly talented actors who also happen to be great friends and an adorable couple. They came down from Chicago for the weekend--how lucky were we to get to see them?

Ooh la la! Off to the wedding!

While they were at the wedding, Clay, Will, and I enjoyed a super fun dinner with Gege and Lynne. They both sweetly gave Will his first birthday presents! He amazed us when he read the card to us (oh, a parent can dream, right?)

He was pretty interested in the wrapping and ribbon...

...and he loved the precious outfit Gege gave him! He is "ready to rumble!"

Gege, Will, and Lynne

I love the mornings in Lousville, when we are all still in our pajamas and we hang out around the kitchen counter eating breakfast and reading the paper--but usually just talking and catching up. Here Will is playing with the awesome new blocks Lynne gave him!

Nonna invited us over for a yummy lunch today before Clay, Will, and I got on the road, so we got a few more pics.

"Ahh! I love Brittany!"

Great Grandmother and Great Grandchild. Can you believe it? I hope I look like Nonna at her age. Impressive. Such a sweet moment.

Now we are home and ready to go into our last week of work. I will be teaching the first half of a summer New Testament course (I know, right? Why am I teaching this??), so school will continue for me next week, but things are wrapping up, packing up, and looking up. Our year of adventure has already begun...