During Jillian's spring break, we had the honor and priviledge of a week long visit by Grandma Locke, known to me and my circle of friends as Mama Locke. :) While she stayed with relatives, the (Bruce and Judy) Duncans, she came to our house everyday and had long visits with Jillian and Elliott, and made delicious meals.
We are so grateful and thankful for Mama Locke's visit and all the yummy favorites she made for dinner. Our dinners together allowed us to share our highs and lows of the day (sometimes, Elliott was both! ;) All in all, while we kept anticipating that Mama Locke would have to leave us early to return home, only to prepare to leave for Langhorne. (Grandpa "babysitting" and Elliott as papoose or joey and me as the kangaroo mommy)
On Friday, April 4th, Brooks came home from work and Mama Locke got "the call". Grandpa Locke finally went home to be with his Lord. After a few calls to Grandma Locke in PA, we determined that Dad Locke had time to come out to IL for Elliott's dedication, then he and Mama Locke were off to help prepare for the funeral services on Friday, the 11th.
It was a really nice service--all of the Lockes (besides Grandma) got involved. Dad Locke shared his memories, Brooks led prayer at the end, and Mama Locke and I provided music. I sang "In Christ Alone", a song that was actually a congregational hymn at our wedding, while Mama Locke played keyboard. It was beautiful, emotional, and I think it was a wonderful way to remember Grandpa Locke.
We had a very nice visit with Grandma Locke, and she simply adored Elliott!!! Hope you like the pictures of her with him. I also made sure that we got a picture of four generations of the Locke family. :) You don't see that every day! (Jillian stayed home so she wouldn't miss school and get behind.)
Elliott was great on the plane both ways, even though Southwest decided to become an airline that I choose to avoid--again. FYI--Southwest Airlines does NOT pre-board families traveling with infants anymore--they have to wait until all of the "A" boarding group (60 people) boards, then you get to drag all of your stuff to the back of the plane if you plan to sit with your family. So, if you have to fly with a small child, save yourself the hassle and DON'T FLY SOUTHWEST!!!
Here are a couple of really cute pictures to show you Jillian, the sweet big sister, and Elliott's beautiful big blue eyes up close and adorable. :) He's so sweet, and I love him very much, even though he's still working on how to sleep without someone holding him. He is getting better, but I expect this to be a longer-term project, especially getting him to sleep through the night. I recently got Elliott to space out his nursing schedule to every 2 1/2 to 3 hours instead of every 2 hours, which is very helpful. My friend, Jessica Sanders, introduced me to Babywise, a book to help parents teach their babies to eat and sleep in a way that allows mom some time to breathe. I'll have to post more about that another day. All I have to time to say now is that I wish I had read this sooner (all you expectant mommy friends, are you reading this???) even though I'm not new to parenting, and that I am looking forward to the day that Elliott starts sleeping through the night on top of him spacing out his feedings. I'm starting to feel more like myself again. :) YAY! Thank you, Jesus!!!
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