the new bloggers!

Angelia & Brent left at 4 this morning & are staying in SC tonight. They will be at their new home by tomorrow! They already made a blog for themselves. PLEASE add it to your list of blogs & send them some good luck wishes. We all know how it feels when you start your blog. You want EVERYONE to comment. They are anxious to hear from all of you! Their new blog is http://iloveangelia.blogspot.com Wonder who came up with that! :)

The big day

WOW....what a day. My little girl is Mrs. Bartholomew now. I can barely believe it. I will post more on the wedding later, but this picture is one of my favorites, & one of the few I have so far. I knew so many other people would be taking pics so I didn't take my camera anywhere except to the girls room where they were getting ready for the wedding. This picture was taken when Lonnie came to check on Angelia & give her a hug before the wedding started. I LOVE IT!!! I can't wait to see the pics that other people took (especially you Lucy!) I saw her with her camera & I am so excited to see her pics. Anyone else take pics? Your friends sometimes get better pics than the photographer because they "catch" the moments that others don't see. I have three beautiful black & whites of my wedding hanging in my home. All three of those photos were taken from my AWESOME friend, Dottie, not from the photographer that we paid. Thank you Dottie.

I love you Angelia, & I can't wait to get more pics for my blog.

Summer fun

Ah....the pool, one of the highlights of summer. It's been a while since I posted about the other kiddos. We have been having fun with them this summer. Every season is a new experience for us this year since they are here. Some of our summer fun so far has been going to the carnival , swimming every day it's hot, & going to Codorus. I have some fun pics of the carnival & Codorus that I still have to post. Josh also went to Peace Camp again. The Milams went this year as well & he loved that. He missed that the Eylers weren't there this year though. I'm glad we had him go to all those camps last summer because we won't be doing all that this year. Josh has never had siblings he could play with. Most days he really enjoys it. Unstructured play is a healthy thing.

The pool was quite the experience with the little ones at first. Kirsten was hesitant, but by the third day was swimming like a fish. Aaron, on the other hand, has not ventured by the side yet. I pick him up & take him out to the middle, but he's scared to death. He's so proud of himself JUST for getting in the pool. The picture of Aaron pointing to himself is him saying "Me pool." Look how excited he is! His language is slowly improving. He knows much of the alphabet & is working on the numbers. It's amazing how kids can learn so much from the front porch & some chalk. It's seems like fun & they don't realize they're actually learning. Josh loves the pool because he sees all the kids he's playing different sports with all year long. Friends he really only sees during the summer start yelling the first day we get there, "JOSH!" He also makes new friends every year too.

Once the wedding is over we'll be able to do more, but for at least the next few days it's our main focus. Then once Saturday comes......BOOM! It's all over. I'm imaging the feeling will be like Christmas. There is soooomuch excitement up till the big day & then it's over. The next day you're like.....blah. Thank goodness we have the beach to look forward to. We really will miss Leah & Brent. I also realized how much we're going to miss Leah's friends. Her best friend Sam is like a part of the family to us. Leah's friends Ben & Brandon are such wonderful young men. I'm going to miss those young people & all their laughter at the house. Leah & Brent don't realize how much they're taking with them. I know, I know, it's a part of life. Josh loves Leah's friends, & they always treat him so well. They don't realize how much I appreciate that. They've been great role models for him. Thanks guys!

What to do, what to do........

We FINALLY booked our vacation for the beach. We ALWAYS do this in the winter, but for some reason just kept putting it off. We would find a place & then not book it. Stop thinking about it. Remember, oh we need to book our vacation. Find a place, not book it. This went on & on for months. God pays much more attention to our calendar than we do. It turns out that Josh has football the entire month of August this year, & we can't go when we normally would have. Had we booked our vacation when we normally do, Josh would have missed football. Um....we're Grofts...........we DON'T miss football. Ha! We don't miss any sports. Our biggest predicament at this point is that Josh's bb team is undefeated, & he plays again this Thursday. If their team wins then they will play the championship game the next night: WEDDING REHEARSAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh. I know you might be thinking that baseball does not rate with a wedding, but to a 9-year-old who is on an undefeated team it's EVERYTHING. Should I be embarrassed to say I don't want to miss his game? Almost everyone who would be at Josh's game will be at the rehearsal. Who will cheer him on?? How do I go to the rehearsal & to my son's game? Leah's trying to move the rehearsal to 5 & the game's at 6. Hmm...... How do I do this? Can I go to both? HELP!!!!!!!!

6 days till the wedding

I am WAY behind in blogging again. So much has been going on around here, and I am hoping to catch up this week. WHY THIS WEEK?? Maybe it will help me to ignore the fact that Leah with all her drama is leaving. She has made me so upset lately. A dear friend said to me, "This is life's way of making it not so hard to let her go." Lonnie said, "Honey, no matter how much she makes you mad now, I am fully prepared for how you are going to be after she is gone. It is going to be very hard on you." My dear husband knows me so well. Sometimes he knows me better than I know myself. Other parts of me, God bless him, he just doesn't get. I'm hoping on this one though, that he is wrong. Some moms have no problem sending their kids on the bus the first day, sending them back to school after summer is over, sending them to camp, watching them graduate, blah, blah, blah. Not me! Major waterworks baby! If my history is any indicator of my future I will be a MESS after this. There will be a breath of relief that the drama is over (sorry Leah), but a missing piece all the same. So..........June 30, 2 days after the wedding............she leaves in the wee hours of the morning for Florida, I'm calling on my girlfriends to bring the double chocolate Dunkin Donuts & milk so I can cry in my cup. And poor Josh, he's been so sad about his sister leaving. Make sure you bring a double chocolate donut for him too! He'll be crying in his cup too. Who's coming over?

15 days till the wedding!!!!!!!

Here are a few more shower pics. I wish I would have gotten better pics of the food though. If you know me at all you know how much I love food. My sister had this gorgeous cake make, & it was sooooo yummy. Thanks Amy!



We had all kinds of yummy treats thanks to Maren's creativity & elbow grease. My mom & my visiting teachers, Diane & Amy R. added elbow grease & giggles of their own to our food prep. (elbow grease sounds gross when you're talking about food-sorry!) Anyway, Maren diligently prepared this AWESOME fruit kabob thingy! It was to look like a pineapple but was really a watermelon because Leah is allergic to pineapple. We wanted a Florida flair at our party since Leah & Brent are moving there. Thank you to everyone who helped with the shower.

Josh's baseball season!

My Josh has me smiling all over. Another baseball season is well on it's way. Josh is playing for the Pirates again & is loving it. He loves baseball, his friends, & his new found independence. Since the baseball field is just a few blocks up the street we decided that Josh could ride his scooter or bike to the field by HIMSELF! Ok, you may be saying this is not a big deal, and for some of you it may not be. BUT...this is my baby people!!! He is leaving home alone without us! What!!! When did this happen??? In reality, how this all started was when I WASN'T home. I was out & Lonnie was home w/ the kids. I THINK the two of them conspired to start this when I wouldn't be home to protest with a list of completely appropriate objections. Josh could be:

1. hit by a car
2. bit by a dog
3. injured from falling off his bike or scooter
   
4. STOLEN by a weirdo
5. kidnapped by aliens
6. confronted by drug dealers
   

Ok, well the last two are a stretch but I had to add some humor to my list. Lonnie knew that if Josh went when I wasn't home I would realize that Josh would live through the experience. It was just mind-boggling to me to be driving down the street & see my son riding down the sidewalk to practice by himself. It brought tears to my eyes. Up to this point we just haven't let him ride away from home or the neighbors parking lot. I know, I know....I'm overprotective. Funniest part though was when I saw Leah later in the evening & she says, "MOM, did you see Josh riding to practice by HIMSELF? I was in the car with Brent & I started crying when I saw it." WHAT???? Miss Independence is not READY for her brother to grow up EITHER!!!!!!!!!! Who would have thought??? Anyway, Josh is very careful, leaves VERY EARLY (this did not come from my gene pool), & feels like the big man on campus. He cracks me up.

Josh's Papaw always kept track of Lonnie & his brother's stats, newspaper articles, photos etc. so it was very exciting to have him bring over Josh's first newspaper clipping. Josh had played a GREAT game, & had won the game ball! My personal favorite was the next game he played when he had his first opportunity to pitch. I was never so nervous for him in my life. He normally plays 1st or 3rd, but on this particular night he also got to pitch. He pitched several innings & did so well. Their team is undefeated this year. I know "winning" is not supposed to be important, but I am so grateful that Josh is trying his best to play hard for his team. After that game when he pitched, he found out that he would be playing on the All-Star team. He was so tickled. We went to that game yesterday in the boiling hot sun!

Here's Josh playing 1st base. He brought in the last 2 outs to win the game! His All-Star team won but Josh was so hot I don't even know if he cared. He just wanted to "go to the pool!" All the boys received another game ball at the game. Josh was thrilled!

Good game boys!

23 days to go

Oh my do the days seem to be getting shorter & shorter. I told my good friend Maren today, "Please don't let me unravel." There is a saying that goes, "If success is in the systems, the devil is in the details." This means that it's the little unfinished details in a project or event that can kill you. These little things are starting to add up now, & I'm trying to stay calm. People get married every day & go through these things. Honestly, that's not very comforting at this point when you just want things to be perfect & as CALM as possible & you thought everything was ready, but then you realize ..............there not. Breathe, Lori, breathe. Of course, Angelia is also having some "bridezilla" moments which are difficult to endure, but I'm trying. My mom said something today like, "You need to lock her up & don't let her out till the day of the wedding." This isn't her actual quote, but pretty close & still pretty funny. Sorry Leah. I was a bridezilla too.



Anyway, back to the shower. I thought I would show some pics of the guests at the shower. Sorry to any of you who I missed because who were not seated when I was taking the pics.








Leah & Sam, her maid of honor.











Grammy & Leah










Aunt Amy (also a bridesmaid) & Pat, a family friend























TJ, my nephew, the only "little person" at the wedding. Isn't he gorgeous?




















The dance moms!









Leah's dance friends & some of her
bridesmaids!









Church friends, Gwenda, April & Diane (Brent's mom).











My friend Rita, Aunt Rosie, dance teacher & studio owner, Lauren, & her mom, Karen.











Friends, Vicki & Antonia















Maren, nephew TJ & my sister Amy















Friends: Cathy, Charmaine & Amy











Diane & Leah












Of course, we invited Brent to stop in as well !!!

26 days to go

The shower went off with a bang. Leah was completely surprised! I couldn't believe it. We had a wonderful turn out despite the fact that some people NEVER even got their invitations. Don't embarrass me by announcing yourself. The MAID OF HONOR did NOT even get one or two of Leah's other bridesmaids! Thank God I had to talk to them about decorating & games or they might not have even been there!!!!!!! Can we just say I had some address problems & leave it at that. At least I can't hear all of you sighing or laughing. I PREFER laughter please!

I will post a few pics at a time so I don't just skip it all together. I have, unfortunately, found that when I have too many pics I don't post ANY!!! It's terrible. So I am going to try this instead. Wish me luck. The first two pics are when Leah first arrived.


This third pic is after she changed into her extra clothes. Jamie, Marissa's mom, brought Leah the cute crown & veil, pin & sash. Leah was smiling all over. There was even a pin for Sam, the Maid of Honor. How cute. The last pic is the two of them showing off their pins. I love those girls. (If you look in the left background of this last picture you can see Leah's silly Grandma -of course, my mom- trying to conspicuously give them bunny ears. You are SO busted mom. The mirror never lies.