showered

to borrow a cheesy (yet true) phrase that actually never came up this past weekend, we were "showered with blessings."

we traveled 1600 miles between Friday and Monday (for an average of about 14 miles per hour). the travel went quite well -- much better than we had expected in fact. many thanks to those who were praying, and to God for answering them.

the shower itself was great. our moms and families worked very hard on all the details and it turned out quite nice. it was so good to see old friends and family and celebrate with them. it was humbling and a little overwhelming to open all those cool gifts, from the tiny little socks to the stroller and carseat. we have pretty much all the essentials now (and then some, of course), so we feel very blessed. many many thanks to mom and mom and all those who came.

a few more random observations on this whirlwind roadtrip:
- when overly exhausted on the road, Michelle gets very giggly. it's quite fun and easy to make her laugh.
- it takes at least 8 pillows to make Michelle comfortable enough to sleep in the car. really.
- I-81 in VA is a very good road. most PA roads are not. and the best bathroom we found was easily the TN welcome center.
- the dog took exception to our absence. she pooped quite a bit in the house even though she was let out often enough by neighbors. this led to a fly infestation, so we killed over 100 flies for the first 30 minutes we were home. fun. so she wins. no more leaving her on her own.

pictures coming soon.