welcome to spiceland.

I sprained my ankle somehow. I don’t remember what I did, but apparently, I did it twice. This morning, I noticed after getting up off the floor after changing Heidi’s diaper that my ankle was stiff and sore, but walking around on it seemed to loosen it up, and the pain stopped. A couple of hours later, after changing Heidi’s diaper again, I noticed that the pain was back and much worse. I can’t point my toe up without being in very bad pain, so I’ve got my ankle wrapped up in an ace bandage. It’s not easy to hobble after a 9 month old with only one good leg!

Several developments today! Tru recently got very frustrated on several different occasions when Mike or I tried to teach her how to ride her tricycle or drive her Barbie Jeep. Today, she figured out both of them! We rode all the way around the block with Tru riding her RadioFlyer tricycle, and when we got back, she drove her Barbie Jeep around in the yard for about 30 minutes. Toward the end, I popped Heidi into it, taking care to buckle her in very securely with the seat belt. Heidi had a blast, and Tru loved driving her around. We’ve got pictures (the “Kerri Visit 2009″ album) and videos!

Get the Flash Player to see this video. If you are seeing this from facebook or some other site, click on the link to watch the video on our site.

The first half of the Christmas pictures are up! The rest will be put up on 12/31 after Christmas with my family in Atlanta.

New pictures of Thanksgiving and Tru writing and playing in the bathtub.

Tru got ahold of some scissors today and hacked her hair up. She cut it in about 4 different places, but didn’t cut it to the scalp, at least. I had to cut 3-6 inches off in different spots, and I may have to do some more shaping tomorrow, depending on how I feel about it in the morning. The pictures are here.

New photos up! It’s so easy to publish photos with our new photo program that I have forgotten I still need to announce them here! Halloween pictures here. Tru was Little Red Riding Hood to Seiko’s Hungry Wolf, and Heidi was a baby dinosaur. So cute! Touch-a-Truck pictures here, VeggieTales Live pictures here, and the most recent pictures of the kids, starting at the bottom of that page and continuing into page three of that album.

I just wanted to follow up that we are back in Madison now. It was a nice visit, but two weeks is too long to be away from the love of my life! It’s good to be back. We drove Saturday night to Atlanta and spent the night at my sister Ally’s apartment. We got home on Sunday at about 2 PM.

My grandmother passed away about 30 minutes ago. We expected that it would be tonight or tomorrow, and we are relieved that she went sooner rather than later. I’m so glad that she is not suffering anymore. I know that she is praising God with the population of Heaven as we speak, and I like to think that my mom is welcoming her to Heaven and showing her the ropes!

Granny was an amazing woman. She was incredibly intelligent and a gifted musician. She taught piano and voice for years and served God her whole life. She raised four amazing children and has nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren to tell her story. She was always cheerful and pleasant. I will always remember her dedication to her family and the wonderful times we all had at her house. Whether it was a huge pot of macaroni and cheese, heaping bowls of “Magic Soup” when we were sick, or her famous caramel popcorn and spiced pecans, we always gathered at her house around a table overflowing with food and fellowship. She was adored by everyone who knew her, and we will all miss her dearly.

Shirla Shaw Pinder, 14 January 1930 – 10 September 2008

Hi, all! I’m in Jesup for a while with the kids. My grandmother is doing quite poorly and is not expected to be with us much longer. I would appreciate any prayers, thoughts, or karma, or whatever type of wishes your particular situation inclines you to give. Please pray for health and comfort for Granny and strength, peace, and wisdom for the rest of us.

I will be continually uploading new pictures here.

EDIT: Erin’s aunt and sister met her in Macon. She stopped calling with hourly updates so I stopped updating the map. I bet I was the only person tracking her progress anyways

Erin’s grandmother is sick so she is traveling to go see her. She didn’t want to be constrained by my work schedule so she left me at home. She brought both girls with her. She has a (probably) 10 hour drive ahead of her.

She just left (its 5AM). She is going to call every hour and give me new GPS coordinates. I’m making a map of her progress:

Map with Erin’s current location

Pray for her and the girls. Its a long journey and a long time for the kids to behave.