Thank heaven for Moms!

I was so happy that Mom was able to come visit over the holiday weekend. She drove down on Wednesday... by herself. (I know, Dad and I told her not to. Dad had a work conflict and couldn't make it, so Mom braved the 9 1/2 hours alone!) When she arrived in the early evening Wednesday, we grilled out shrimp and chicken for dinner just as a huge thunderstorm moved in. I don't like rain, but I did like the dip in temperature it brought.

The weather was beautiful on Thursday, so Mom and I did some shopping and then Mike joined us for dinner at a Key West-style dining place called Manatees. So good!

Friday morning, we headed toward the beach. It was another gorgeous day. Our first stop was at Surf Burger. It's a cute little hotdog/burger restaurant overlooking the bay. We ate juicy hotdogs and the best fries in the world as we sat outside in the warm breeze. Once we arrived at at the beach, Mom got us one of those nice sets of chairs with the huge umbrella that you can rent from one of the beachside restaurants. It felt great to lay in the shade looking out at the ocean. I ventured out into the sun for a little while to try to get somewhat tan, but I didn't last too long. For one thing, I now resemble Sea World's main attraction, and I didn't want to scare the children and have them say, "Mommy, look there's Shamu!" I wore my regular bikini instead of my maternity one because I hate it. Not a pretty site. And second, I just got too hot. My thoughtful mom went to get us some gigantic snowcones which helped a lot. It was very relaxing. We ate sub sandwiches for dinner and went over to visit the Tuckers for a little bit that evening.

Saturday morning, Mike and I woke early at 5:30 to set up for our yard sale. We had cleaned out all of our closets to make more room for the baby. We put a 7 a.m. start time in the paper, but several people showed up at 6:15! We didn't even have prices on most of the stuff at that point, so we just made it up as we went. We ended up with a great turnout and pocketed over $300. I was amazed at some of the junk people bought from us. That night we headed into Pensacola. We browsed in a few of the shops on the boardwalk, listening to music as we passed the Jamaican festival. Then Mom treated us to dinner at Hemmingway's. DELISH!!!

After a wonderful 4-day visit with Mom, we said goodbye this morning both realizing that the next time we see each other, we'll be in the hospital welcoming a new life and gazing at Abby Kate. That's so exciting, I have to catch my breath when I think of it! I can't believe the next time I see my mom, I'll be a mom myself!!! Only a little over six weeks left until my due date, and only three before I'm considered full term. WOW!

Mom, thank you SO, SO much for coming down to visit. I had a wonderful time with you as always. I'm looking forward to seeing you and Dad in a few weeks and introducing you to your granddaughter! I love you!!!