A Party for Grandma

Since my last post, right after Christmas, I have been super busy.
Nick decided that he wanted to embrace some of the old Army traditions that we've moved away from since we've been fighting all these wars. He wanted to host a New Year's Reception. At our house.  I have never thrown a party of this size in my home.
Granted, it's not every Soldier in the brigade, but a lot of them.
So, we sent out invitations, figured out the time frame (they come in rotations because of the size of the group) and I started making lists.
On Sunday, Jan 8, we hosted 80-100 people in three rotations at our house. I think it went very well because of the amazing help I had. My friend Carla came over and manned the kitchen, my daughter Callie was here to do whatever needed, and the boy helped out with hat and coat check and trash duty. It was truly a team effort.

The highlight of my day, however, was a text message I got about five minutes before the first group arrived. I knew my daughter in Hawaii was in labor and about to give birth to my first grandbaby, and I was checking my phone every few minutes.
Like I said, right before the first group, I got this from my son-in-law:
"Congratulations you are now a grandmother!!  At 0924 we had Jackson. He came out 6 lbs 20 oz, and 18 1/2 inches long. 
I started crying!
Then I got this:

The water works really started flowing. Nick walked in the kitchen to see if I was ready to greet our guests, and I'm sobbing!  He said, "Seriously?  You're crying?  You're going to mess up your face!" 

Needless to say, everyone at our reception Sunday got to see a photo of my new grandbaby.

We had a wonderful day, and at every break I was texting or calling my daughter until she asked me to stop because she needed to rest.

My flight to Hawaii has been booked. I am leaving on Feburary 1 to go see the little angel. I absolutely can't wait. I love him so much already.

A picture of mama and baby. Aren't they beautiful?

I guess I need to get hopping and finish the little man's quilt now. Oy.. it's always a project hanging over me!!