Saying Goodbye

The IHM Music Ministry held a very nice going-away party at the rectory before we left Atlanta. Having to say goodbye before you move is one way to highlight what great friends you have made. Here are some of our friends from church, specifically Michael's fellow 5 PM choir members.


Michael (and Annabelle), Colleen (with Brady), and Jodie (with Jackson)

Gabi was the only kid for awhile, and then three of the women got pregnant around the same time we were expecting Annabelle. It's a small world. Colleen went to Notre Dame and lived in my dorm (Farley). Jodie and her family also moved away this summer, but they win the distance award as they're in Zambia now.


Tricia, Griffin, Melissa, and Annabelle


Gabi laughing at Father Schillinger


The other Michael (who directs the 5 PM choir)


Jeff (liturgical music director) and Tommy

Not only did Tommy play guitar for the IHM 5 PM choir, but he was also Michael's high school classmate and they were in Jr ROTC together.


Us with Julie and Sean

One day Bella woke up just as Gabi and I were starting to make sandwiches for lunch. I ran upstairs to pick up Bella and came back to find this:


Gabi standing where she does to help fix lunch, but...


she had eaten the middle out of every piece of bread!

Callaway Gardens

One positive effect of the serious drought in Georgia is more comfortable air than this extreme Arkansas humidity. Fortunately, our new neighborhood has a pool (with zero entry!), and swimming is a great way to enjoy the hot weather. We've been swimming twice a week over the three weeks that we've lived here.

Before we left Atlanta, we took a nice weekend trip to Callaway Gardens. It was ridiculously hot outside, but what else should I expect from a Southern summer? Our first adventure was a hike on a trail that was supposed to be in bloom this time of year, but I suppose the drought and the heat prevented much color from adorning our path. The "attractions" we later discovered turned out to be much more interesting than the hiking trails.


Daddy and Annabelle hiking by the lake


This rock served as a great bench


Not a particularly "garden"-worthy trail...


but there were plenty of interesting things to find.


Gabi in a large tree


Gabi and Daddy in a tree by the lake

After our hike, we were all exhausted and needed a rest in the hotel room. Then we went swimming to cool off. There was a beach area for swimming that we could have gone to, but instead we just walked to the hotel pool.


Annabelle loves the water


Kicking and Splashing


Laughing together at bedtime in the large, comfy, white beds (that I didn't have to make)


Worn out


I had to take a picture before I rescued Bella's poor leg

On Sunday, we went to the Butterfly Garden, where we learned all sorts of things about butterflies. Did you know that butterflies taste with their feet? Good thing we don't taste with our feet, or the previous day's hike would have been much less enjoyable! I also was surprised to learn that caterpillars liquefy inside the chrysalis during metamorphosis.


Daddy, Gabi, and Annabelle peeking through little doors


Annabelle and Mommy outside the Butterfly Center


Bella and Daddy watching for butterflies


Our happy baby clapping her hands


The butterflies in the conservatory are from tropical areas such as the Philippines


Annabelle trying to touch a butterfly


An art display of real preserved butterflies


More butterfly art


Bella Butterfly

I was so excited to find all these fun things to do at Callaway Gardens after our disappointing hike, but we couldn't see everything. We stopped by some old pioneer log cabins and an enormous vegetable garden on the way out.


The girls in a cabin from one of Georgia's first settlers

Emory Graduation

This post (of pictures from the end of Michael's tenure at Emory) is in celebration of our now-working (finally!) Internet access at our new home.

Michael's Graduation Banquet
We got all dressed up for the formal dinner celebrating Michael's program completion. The house was gorgeous and the grounds would have been a wonderful place for a picture session if we could have gone earlier in the day.


At the Emory Governor's Hall


Annabelle outside the banquet hall


Michael receiving his diploma


Daddy and Annabelle clapping for other diploma recipients


Kourtney and Melissa


Us with Jennifer and Tom


Victor and Lay with us (and a sleeping Bella)

Lay and Victor got married on Annabelle's birthdate, but Lay decided not to change her last name to Sze (pronounced "Zee"). For similar reasons, she rejected Ada as a possible daughter's name. If you can't tell, Victor is about as goofy as Michael is. (Their first baby is going to be a boy, anyway.)

Gabi's First Sleepover
The banquet was a formal adult affair, so we arranged for Gabi to spend the night with her best friend, Martin. This was Gabi's first sleepover! When I went to pick Gabi up the next morning, she and Martin were sitting in this little kid-sized chair with an attached sleeping bag, all tucked in and reading a book together.


Gabi and Martin playing trains before bed


Martin and Gabi in Martin's sleeping bag chair

Stone Mountain Retreat
We had a wonderful family day at Stone Mountain for Michael's third year retreat. Peggy came to watch the girls so that Michael and I could do the new Sky Hike, which was definitely fun.


Daddy and the girls at Stone Mountain


Choo-choo!


Bella climbing on the kid-sized ropes course.


Even the kids' version was too scary for Gabi girl


In the background (up high) is the new Sky Hike

Bella's Day at the Zoo

Before we left Georgia, Annabelle started cruising and climbing stairs. She's definitely on the move! She is also experimenting with making other sounds in addition to babbling, such as raspberries, buzzing lips, and blowing on her arm (like when you blow on a kid's belly).


Two little birdies

The last week of May, while Gabi and Martin were at a Wildlife Habitat Summer Camp, we went to Zoo Atlanta with Martin's brother, Aaron. (The birds' nest has been a favorite photo location since big sister was little -- see Gabi in the nest with her friends at 7 months and 14 months and 18 months.)


Aaron and Annabelle by the Willie B statue


Mommy and Bella with the orangutans


Bella and a panda eating sticks


Annabelle turned backwards in the stroller


Bella standing up any time she's not strapped in


Annabelle enthralled by the Golden Lion Tamarins
as the tiny monkeys run across the ropes in the open air


"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree..."