Meetin' MckMama

Yep, that's right...

I MET MckMAMA YESTERDAY!!!



I heard she was coming to Atlanta, and I wasn't about to miss an opportunity to meet her in person. It was a little over an hour drive, but I didn't care. The weather didn't stop me either. It was damp, rainy, cold and the thermometer on my dashboard said it was 43 degrees. It took quite a while last night for my toes to warm up, but it was well worth it!

And to think, I almost missed it! I would have been MOST unhappy! I misread her instructions when she threw out the idea for an Atlanta meeting and just left a comment on her blog. Then, in one of her tweets, she said she was emailing people back about the Atlanta gathering. I emailed her on Friday to ask about details and when she responded, I literally said "WHAT?!" out loud to my computer screen. It was planned for two days later.

My small group was gracious enough to delay our Thanksgiving dinner by 30 minutes. It was at our house this week, and there was no way I could get to the gathering at 3pm and back home by 5:30. Everyone agreed to meet at 6 instead. Which doesn't sound like a lot of extra time, but it was just what I needed.

Gib was wonderful to help me get the house ready. I just couldn't get into the cleaning groove Saturday, so he picked up the slack for me on Sunday. Emma Grace dusted and wiped down the table. Jessica cleaned the guest bathroom. Gib vacuumed, changed the table cloth and washed dishes. And it all came together beautifully.

Back to meetin' MckMama...

My friend, Jenny, and I braved the cold weather and headed down to Grant Park, which is just outside the gates of Zoo Atlanta. (It's also where I ended the second day of my breast cancer walk in October) We got there early around 2pm. We were instructed to look for orange balloons. We circled the park and didn't see one orange balloon. I started to get a little worried. Finally, we decided to get out and just start walking. We found MckMama in a photo shoot with a family of four, and they were just starting to blow up the balloons.

I'm so glad that we got there early because we had a few minutes to chat with her before everyone else got there. She is such a genuine person and very easy to talk to. And I can honestly say that I loved her just as much in person (even more so) as I do on her blog. I was disappointed not to see Prince Charming and her MSC anywhere. But we quickly found out that he had taken the kids around the zoo while she was doing photo shoots.

Not too much later, the rest of the MckFamily arrived. It was an honor and pleasure to meet each one of them. Prince Charming was extremely nice, and I have to say that their *MSC* (many small children) are absolutely, gorgeously beautiful and sweet! But you already knew that didn't you?! I am not the expert photographer, nor do I know how to use Photoshop to enhance pictures, but here are a few pictures that I took.

Small Fry with her Mama...



And enjoying a snack...



Big Mac willingly posed, while also eating a snack...



And enjoyed a game of peek-a-boo under his Mama's shirt...



Nuggey did NOT want his picture taken...




And the highlight of the day was Stellan...



Yes. You're seeing that photo right...

I HELD HIM!



He was not nearly as smitten with me as I was with him. The only thing he found interesting about me was my furry black jacket. In fact, when I hugged MckMama goodbye, he grabbed my sleeve and put it in his mouth (apparently he sleeps with a blanket of a similar texture). I cannot tell you what an honor and privilege it was to hold such a miracle in my arms. I didn't take it lightly, not for one second!

But for those of you who are new to my blog, you have to also understand what a huge step this was for me personally. I have only held one baby since I held Grady in the hospital. (You can read about it here) But the difference with Stellan is that he was born only two weeks before Grady. I always look at pictures of him and read what MckMama is writing about him, and I wonder if Grady would be that big or doing those same things? (Sara, I thought about you SO much yesterday!)

It was the first time that I've even thought about holding a baby so close in age to Grady. There was a lady holding Stellan (the blogger who gave MckMama the idea to name him Stellan in fact, which I know she will blog about!) and this overwhelming urge to have him in my arms came over me. She handed him to me and it made my heart SO happy! I really can't articulate it right now. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to...

It was a great time overall, despite the cold wet weather. I met some new blog friends, local ones at that! I even recognized a lady, and we discovered that she works at the church where we used to attend. I am so grateful to MckMama and Prince Charming for making the time to meet some of their blogging friends here in the south. Meeting their family was a wonderful experience and definitely one that I'll never forget!

Love,
Tonya