An Eggs-tra Special Weekend

We've just returned home from a very full weekend spent in the mountains of East Tennessee. Hubs family gathered to celebrate his mama's 80th birthday (yes we do know how to make a birthday last around here!) along with the Easter holiday.

We missed our west coasters (Daughter1 and her hubs), but the rest of the crew was present and accounted for, and combined to create one great big family gathering.

We drove over the mountain and through the woods (literally) late Friday afternoon, arriving just in time to indulge in our favorite BBQ (Buddy's for you local peeps reading here) with the parents and my sister-in-law's family.

Daughter2 and her sweet pup rode over from SC with us, and her boyfriend drove in to join the party Saturday morning. Hubs declares any weekend with a daughter in the house a win.

We spent Saturday morning prepping the food for that evening's birthday dinner, and also Easter lunch. Nobody went hungry, that's for certain!

My sister-in-law is the only girl child in the family, and we all know the girl child is the designated family event organizer, right? She did a fabulous job with the gift and cake and I know my mother in law felt very well loved.

Because she is.

My mother-in-law's four children, their spouses, and her grandchildren may reside in six different states, but we managed to make great use of technology and create a cute birthday video message in her honor.

We also each contributed several pages filled with photographs, hand-written messages, and memories that were pressed into a scrapbook, which she will absolutely treasure.

The cake was gorgeous. Made by a local baker with a 'tag' at the bottom that reads, 'Thanks to you, we bloom'. So, so pretty! It weighed about a thousand pounds, and was delicious.

Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful, and I had baskets for my girl and her sweetie before church. You're never too old for an Easter basket, but you are sometimes too old to remember to photograph it.

Probably the highlight of the weekend for my mother-in-law was sitting in a church pew surrounded by her children and grandchildren. We're spread hither and yon, so it's not something that happens very often, and I know it was a bright spot for her in an already brilliant weekend.

After church we shared the traditional meal of baked ham and pineapple stuffing and then a few folks headed to the couch for a nap, and a few of us headed to one of our absolute favorite places in the Smoky Mountains-the Y.

It's good for the soul y'all.

Hubs drove me, Daughter2, and her boyfriend around the Cades Cove loop at dusk, and while we didn't see any bear this trip we did spy lots of deer, a coyote, and as always God's amazing handiwork. This place has His signature all over it.

"Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!"~Albert Einstein

Sweet Southern Comfort

My blogging is off kilter. Getting sick right after the New Year rolled in really threw me off, both here and in real life. Mostly in real life of course, but my blog is a reflection of that so its all felt like a mess.  I am really hoping I can pull it together before the April A-Z challenge, and will begin by catching up on what we did six days ago. Hey ya gotta start somewhere, right?  

We spent last weekend in Tennessee. Hubs and I had plans to visit his parents over the long weekend and daughter2 said she'd love to drive over from South Carolina. She asked if it would be okay if her boyfriend came too, because they are living many states apart and Tennessee is sort of the middle. Daughter1 was supposed to have a friend coming to DC for the weekend, but when that fell through she decided to take a vacation day on Friday and meet us there too.    

Be still my heart.

We rented a cabin in a favorite spot in the Smokies, and I absolutely fell in love with the house. Oftentimes rental properties have 'livable' furniture, but this one was furnished so beautifully I was ready to move right in.  The view was not bad either.

We had every kind of weather while we were there, but Friday afternoon was glorious. Sunny skies and not too cold so we spent some time sitting right here-

Mountain air. 

There is nothing like it.  

Temperatures dropped and a few flakes fell on Saturday, but we could still enjoy the breathtaking views from inside the comfort of our cozy cabin.

I had daughter2 and her boyfriend step outside for a picture in the snow.  It's possible I overwhelmed him with my photography, but he was polite and didn't let on.  

I promise the Smokies are still there, right behind them in fact.  The mountains begged all weekend to have their picture taken. I love that they are ever changing depending on the light and weather, and what's the point of having beautiful daughters with you in a magnificent setting if you can't snap a picture or ten?

The girls really enjoyed spending some time with their grandparents while we were in town.  fyi-Grandparents don't mind at all if you take a thousand pictures.

We also played some Dominoes-

...and we gabbed more than a little bit. You might say we have the gift.  

Saturday we relaxed, napped, read, played games, and grilled steaks for dinner.  A cabin in the Smokies with a stunning view does not require much activity on your part.

It's a place to breathe deeply, put your feet up, and count your blessings.

On Sunday we bundled up and headed just a few miles down the road to the Y.  This is one of our favorite spots in all of Tennessee, and it's here the river splits to form what looks like a 'y'. A little slice of heaven on earth, made for skipping stones and clearing the cobwebs from your head.

Some of us get super excited when the rock actually skips instead of kerplunks...

We went a little further into the park and rode around the Cades Cove loop.

The deer were out in herds and we stopped several times for a closer look.

He wanted his picture taken.  

Just sayin'.  

As always Monday morning came too soon, too fast.  We were greeted with a watercolor sunrise  which made leaving all the more bittersweet.  As your children grow up it becomes something of a challenge to land all of you in the same place at the same time. When you succeed-

...it is a very precious thing.