We are empty nesters again

 After nine months my son and his family have moved to their own place.  It is bittersweet.  We will miss the littles so very much, and I know my DIL is so ready to be the woman of her own space and to be honest I am ready to have my house back. Living with family can be hard and we've had our moments, but when they look back I hope they know how much we love them and have done our best to be helpful to them on their journey of life. I hope the grandchildren realize the joy they have brought to our lives these nine months.  I couldn't have asked for a better grandpa than my husband. These are not his biological grandchildren but he loves them as if they were his flesh and blood.  He is the best! Always taking time to play with them and thinking of things they would like to do.  The house sure is a lot quieter.  Thankfully they are only about five minutes away.  Not like across the ocean like they've been the last six years.  

A couple of weeks before their move they got their first pets - two precious kitties.

I am in love with the little white one.  His name is Apollo and he is the most laid back, gentle little soul.  My grandson, Haddon, can carry him around like a baby (on his back) and sing him to sleep.  It is something to see.....

Artemis is the grey tabby, and a feisty one is she!  Like my granddaughter.  

My Emma found her first four leaf clover the other day. What excitement in that little toothless grin - she also had just lost her second top tooth.

There was a little accident on their moving day.  Poor Jesse, our 13 year old cat, accidentally got his tail slammed in the door.  Off to the emergency vet we went.  They bandaged it up but said most likely it was broken and that part needed to be amputated.  Little Haddon did it and when he realized Jesse was bleeding and hurt he was hysterical, "Oh Mamaw, I'm so sorry!  I made Jesse bleed. It was an accident. Oh Mamaw, I'm so sorry."  It was the most pitiful thing I've ever seen.  This little four year old boy, who has a heart of gold was absolutely heartbroken he had hurt the cat.  That broke my heart so bad.  He was shaking uncontrollably. I had to get down in his face and tell him "You are more important than Jesse. It was an accident. I know you didn't mean to do it...."  Jesse really didn't even act like it bothered him today.  His bandage had fallen off and he went about as usual. He will be fine I'm sure.  They amputated it today and we pick him up tomorrow.

So, after they got almost all their stuff moved, I've spent the last couple of days washing bedding, quilts, rearranging and even doing some purging.  It has felt so good. I absolutely love dressing up the twins (the twin beds) in quilts. These were the ones I settled on today, a couple of my pandemic scrap quilts from 2020.

And the empty room upstairs where my son and his wife have lived the last nine months. All cleaned up and bare.  But -- I do have some plans for this room and can't wait to decorate it.

These pics will serve as my "before" shots.  :)

I feel like this blog post is a catch up from the last few months.......good for you if you've read to the end!