The past month was a whirlwind of excitment and change and transition. The packers came to our house in LA on February 9. It took four people about 5 hours to pack all of our belongings in boxes and label them. That weekend we lived in our house amidst more than 100 boxes. The movers came on February 12 and loaded everything onto a big moving truck. As the truck pulled away, I mostly felt relief. We were halfway through the journey. All of the boxes and furniture and STUFF stayed in a storage unit in Brandon, MS for the next month. During that time, Mason and I stayed in Grosse Tete with Mason's PawPaw and MawMaw. Everyday was an adventure . . . Mason picked strawberries from PawPaw's garden, fed MawMaw's koi fish, rode on the four wheeler, saw the flashing lights on Mr. Mike's fire truck. We also made a visit to GA to see Mason's Pop and Mimi. As you can imagine, I think Mason had more fun in a month than he had in his entire lifetime of 20 months. I mean, who wouldn't? PawPaw's and MawMaw's and Pop's and Mimi's love to spoil little boys rotten!
Every night after supper, PawPaw would prop his feet up on the table. Of course, Mason had to follow along and do everything that PawPaw did.
We moved in the midst of carnival season - Mardi Gras - which culminates on Fat Tuesday. I'd actually never even been to a parade in the almost seven years I'd lived in LA, but we got to go to a boat parade on the bayou in Grosse Tete. Let's just say it was probably nothing like a parade is "supposed" to be, but we did get some beads out of the experience. Mason didn't much care for wearing the beads though.
If you were to ask Mason, he would tell you that one of his favorite things about staying in Grosse Tete was that Abbie came to play nearly everyday! He loved taking rides in her jeep. Every morning, Abbie was the first person he asked for, and he usually never stopped asking until she came over. And then Beau came from Houston and stayed for awhile. And then Beau and Avery and Aunt April came and stayed for a few days.
There's lots to do in PawPaw's big shop, and Mason thought he could do it all. His favorite tool is definitely the hammer.
It's crawfish season again . . . I guess Mason may be a little Cajun after all. I don't know that he actually ate a crawfish, but he was sucking the heads. Yes, it sounds gross, and it is gross. Let's just say he had many unpleasant diapers during the next few days. Some called it a "stomach virus" . . . but I don't know about that.And now, finally, we have moved to our new house in MS. Mason has done so well making the transition to his new home. He asks for Abbie and Beau and PawPaw and MawMaw everyday so I'm trying to teach him how to say Houston, TX and Grosse Tete, LA. He's already made friends with the little girl across the street, and there are several other children on our street that we haven't met yet. Mason loves his new room! It's a lot bigger than his other room was so there is room for all of his toys and plenty of space left over in which to play. I like it because now we don't have to have a lot of toys in the living room. The weather has been beautiful so we play outside everyday. We have done a lot to make our new house a home, but there is still a lot left to do. The one thing I learned during the past month was that it's not the place you live that you call home --- it's the people you are with. Even though we were "homeless" for awhile, I was always at home because Mason and Seth were with me (okay, so Seth was in a hotel in MS, but he did come home on the weekends!).