We made it to Mom's house on Sunday night, Dec. 21. It had been a couple years since we'd been back to Paragould. Everyone else was already there and working hard packing up the house. A huge highlight was getting to meet Amanda for the first time. We had moments of laughter and reliving memories mixed with the reality of how hard it was going to be getting everything done in a few days. Mom sat in her recliner as we had a "fashion show" with her closet and another. Amanda tried on the interesting ones like prom dresses and this mumu styled one. The boys and their cousins Cameron and Sydney roamed around the house relatively unsupervised. It helped finding a couple costumes and other toys. John and I got chicken fingers and salad for dinner, and I enjoyed having a few minutes to talk with him. Later that night we checked into the hotel, and I went to Walmart for supplies. I was surprised by all the camo clad families walking around at 10:30 pm. It was really windy and only 15 F with no snow. The hotel was $59/night which included breakfast and had a pool the boys don't know about yet. Gas was $1.49. A rusty truck came by and took the old waterbed pieces. The next day we realized 15+ trash bags had disappeared from the huge pile that night as well. I was surprised by what stuff people would haul away.
