new nephew

 My favorite text from the family group chat last night:

I only heard the nurse say 8 lbs. I couldn't hear the rest because there was a baby crying in the room.

Welcome to our family Anderson Jeremiah White!!!

My parents got to visit at the hospital this afternoon.

My brother Andy got to give him his first bottle.

So thankful for this photo...for so many reasons.

My sister-in-law Amie is such a trooper. So thankful for her and happy for her.

Wow

 Today I opened the portal (that reads as strange as it sounds) for my elections assignment.  It lists how many elections each Chief Judge (the person in charge of the polling place) has worked for my zone, then it listed how many elections I have worked. 

37

That's an awful lot of elections. It sounds larger than it seems.

Another wow that happened today was that we stopped at Crumbl cookies. I have heard so many positive things from so many people about these amazing, but very expensive cookies. For the first time in my life, I didn't finish a cookie. Bobby says he prefers the cookies from KFC to those. I'm not sure they're THAT bad, but they don't surpass Chik-fil-A's cookies or the Lofthouse brand in the deli at FoodLion. For the price of four cookies, I could have gotten a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I can't decide if I'm more bothered that I didn't LOVE them, or that I paid so much for something that's just meh. Live and learn.

Today is my sister's birthday, and I'm also keeping my cell by me for updates from my brother. Hopefully little Anderson will arrive safe and sound today. Many prayers are going up. Maybe there will be pictures to post tonight.

April

 My brain still cannot wrap around the fact April is quickly marching by.

The last week of March/first of April we were in Alabama trying to help my brother get ready for the move. The first day I unpacked a few boxes and did a little cleaning. There was one box labeled Kitchen: plastics. I was surprised at its weight, and even more shocked when I saw how packaged it was. I opened it to find an eagle. (My brother is an Auburn fan; my sister-in-law an Alabama grad.) Bobby said it needed to be visible. I was more concerned about it getting broken with all the work going on. Andy laughed at its placement and said he liked it, but he doubted Amie would.

Is it still on its perch?

 

Days two and three were spent mudding, sanding, and painting baseboards.

Day 2 of the baseboards

Dad and Andy worked on the living room and started the dining room on day two.
Day three, our last day, my sister and brother-in-law came to help as well. Dad alternated between helping me with baseboards and helping lay out boards for the flooring. Jamie and Andy made a great team and by the end of day three had finished all the hardwood flooring.

Bobby supervising. If an end piece was cut wrong, they would laugh and say "Bobby cut this one!"

Andy rearranging the boards I placed...haha

Jamie trimming down an edge piece.

 

The day after I left they got most of the baseboards back in place and moved a lot of the work equipment to the basement so they could begin moving furniture to the house.

This past weekend, my niece told me she was at the house helping and they got most of their stuff moved in. I'm so thankful. I was beginning to be concerned they wouldn't be ready in time. Unless something unexpected happens tomorrow, they will go to the hospital Monday night and Anderson will arrive either the 12th (my older sister's birthday) or the 13th. I can't wait to see pictures of the little guy, as well as find out if he's truly as big as the doctors are thinking. His original due date was the end of this month, but the doctor's are saying he's already at 8 lbs and needs to come on now. The remainder of the things and the rest of things that need doing in the house (kitchen floor, hallway floor and overhaul of the master bathroom) will wait until after the baby comes. 

Meanwhile election training classes are moving along. Wake county has some controversial races on the ballot in May, so that should bring out the voters. There's nothing I hate worse than a slow election day. 

Quilts of Valor has resumed the monthly meetings, though I'm not sure how often it will continue. I'm very behind on quilting some of the tops, but I am determined that I am going to finish some of my projects. If that means volunteer work has to be put on hold, so be it.

And that is where life stands at the moment.