My baby grand (That's not a typo, folks. That's what I call him. Get right on over it, thank you very much.) turned ONE recently! What, what?!?!
The good Lord saw to it that Ella, Jacob, and I were going to venture safely to and from Oklahoma to celebrate that glorious occasion with them. He's good to us, like that, y'all! My anxiety has a tendency to be bigger than my faith. I'm forever a work in progress and I'm thankful God loves me despite my many flaws and iniquities.
I've since made a road trippin' bucket list for future ventures there!
Our drive took us from Georgia, through Alabama, Mississippi, a tiny portion of Tennessee, Arkansas, and then into Oklahoma. After a very early morning stop in Leeds, Alabama, for a fuel top-off and breakfast prepared for us by the fine folks at Buc-ee's, we headed down the road and were blessed to watch the morning sky filled with color as the sun rose over Tuscaloosa. The symbolism was not lost on me, as my sweet MawMaw was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. That woman loved us somethin fierce and I miss her dearly. How fitting to watch the sun rise there on our journey to see my firstborn. I love you endlessly, Maw.
As it turned out, we would watch the sun set just as we made our way into Oklahoma, later that day. It was a magnificently beautiful display of colors across the horizon as I drove that last stretch of road to get to my brown-eyed girl. I don't know about you, but I see and feel God in the colors that transpire in the sky during a sunrise and again during the set. He is a masterful artist and I constantly stand amazed.
But...I'm hopping all over the place. God gets me excitable that way, y'all!
We ran up and down those stairs, several times, after being cooped up in the car for five hours by the time we made it to Mississippi. Our legs thanked us for the exercise and our lungs for the fresh air!
One of the several stops we made was in Tupelo, Mississippi to visit the birthplace, museum, AND childhood church of the one and only King of Rock and Roll, y'all! That's right! Elvis Presley himself! When I say I'm a history geek, I mean that in all aspects of the manner. Music included! I could barely contain my excitement as we pulled onto Elvis Presley Drive. I swiftly leapt out of the car in anticipation of indulging in that kitschy lil ole tourist trap. After all these years, folks are still BANKING off that fella! And let me just tell you...that money-making trap did not disappoint, y'all! Even my kids, who aren't fans of "the King", enjoyed that two hour history lesson and not just because it offered a reprieve from the confines of mama's packed vehicle nor because Austin Butler wow'd them in that one Elvis movie. It was an enjoyable experience and we met some kind folks, while touring the place, including a couple who were visiting from a city that neighbors that of our very own. The church guide reminded us of Dolly Parton with her thick-as-molasses sweet Southern accent (She pronounced the word guitar like ghee-tarr) and hospitable disposition. Decked out in an Elvis t-shirt and fun dangly Elvis earrings, she oozed knowledge in the field of all things pertaining to him, as well as the history of Tupelo. She filled our spongy brains to the brim and I indulged in every second of it!
Speaking of Southern accents, the house guide asked me where we were from, and when I told her that we were from Georgia she replied, "I knew I detected a thick Southern accent!" Blink, blink, blink, was my reply to that. Followed by a questionable giggle. I do, in fact, have a thick Southern accent and undeniably so, y'all! But, unless I'm simply oblivious to just how thick it actually is, I thought that their accents were slightly thicker?! While I ADORE the way the church guide said "Ghee-tarr" and I fully embrace my own Southern accent, I pronounce the word "guitar" with a short i, is all I'm saying. :) In any case, it was neat experiencing a new Southern accent when meeting the fine folks in Mississippi. They were all quite friendly and welcoming and gifted us a lovely experience there.
Later that night and about an hour into Oklahoma, we went through a hail storm that seemed to come from nowhere at all. I've experienced hail storms before, but nothing like that. There was no indication that one would even take place, and I'd never been in one with hail quite that large. I half expected the windshield to crack.We exited the interstate at the nearest off-ramp, behind fellow motorists who were seeking the same refuge as we. We found it under the awning of an expansive gas station just beside a massive casino. The fella to the left of me looked at me, wide-eyed, when he jumped out of his car to check for damage. My nurturing instinct kicked in and I quickly asked him if he was okay. "I don't know! I'm still suffering PTSD from the last hail storm. That one totaled my car. I just got this one!" I told him that this was our first time to Oklahoma and asked if hail storms were common. "Way too common!", was his reply before he retrieved his phone from his pocket to show me a photo of a ball of hail that he was holding in the palm of his hand, from the storm before. It was larger than a softball. I can't imagine. The man to the right of me drove a luxury sports car. It was cherry red. I thought he was going to cry as he accessed his vehicle. For the record, I surprisingly found zero damage to my vehicle...nor did I see any on the cherry red beside me. Also for the record, I was far less concerned about hail damage than the man in said cherry red (understandably so). Bless his heart for having such a luxury in a place that grants wicked hail storms like that. Yikes! The storm ended just as quickly as it began and we were soon back on the road.
Lindsey and her little family met us at the hotel, despite the late hour of our arrival. That made this mama deliriously ecstatic!
They helped us carry our things to our hotel room and spent a little time with us before we all called it a night. Blessed my soul completely to be with them again. I'm fairly certain that I fell asleep the instant my head hit the pillow that night.
The second day was spent with them bowling, where I was CLOBBERED completely, but I cared none. I was content simply holding that sweet baby for as long as he'd allow. Afterwards, we had dinner and went back to the hotel to swim. 
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And my Lindsey girl found a bowling ball branded with her nickname!
Dinner and our first time at Raising Cane's. I get the hype, y'all. Yum!
On the third day, we celebrated Luca's first birthday! The theme was SpiderMan. My Lindsey girl has always been a SpiderMan geek so this didn't come as a surprise. It was a fun theme! They did an AMAZING job at making their very own pinata, too! Jesus' (I've dubbed him Jey-Sauce-So-Leese) mom made the food for the party and it was, hands down, the best Mexican food we've ever had! A good time was had by all, and we were incredibly thankful to have been there to celebrate.
On the fourth day we had lunch at a local favorite called Granny's. From the hospitality to the quirky menu, it was easy to see why the diner was a fan favorite. I ordered "The Fat Granny". I'd give "The Fat Granny" a six out of ten. Their coffee, however, was on point! 10/10! Also, bonus points to Granny's for surprising all of their first time guests a free homemade cinnamon roll!! Our waitress thanked us for our visit and placed a plate with three fresh-out-of-the-oven oooey gooey cinnamon rolls down in the middle of our table before our food made its way out. The six of us split those big ole buns and danced in satisfaction with each bite. This may be the contributing factor for "The Fat Granny" rating of a six. I was too full to eat more than a bite of it! Those cinnamon rolls rocked my world, y'all!
Afterwards we walked off all that food while doing some shopping! More specifically, we went thrifting! We shopped at two separate places and we racked up, y'all! The prices were incredibly cheap and we left with more than we needed. BUT, the farmhouse is going to look adorable with all my new thrifty finds! Eeek!
We went back to our hotel and watched Beetlejuice in our jammies, ordered pizza for dinner, and finished the night off swimming and hot tub relaxing, once again. We LOVE being in the water!
Our final full day was spent at the zoo. That was such a neat experience for us to get to share with Lindsey and the baby.
After a nice long afternoon at the zoo, we met Jey-Sauce-So-Leese for our last dinner out together.
We made the collective decision to say our goodbyes that night, because we are an emotional lil bunch and we knew saying goodbye was going to be no easy feat. I couldn't have done that before hitting the road again early the next morning. It proved to be an emotional goodbye, indeed.
The next morning, we hit the road just as the sun was making its appearance and said goodbye to Oklahoma. 
With every new mile that took us farther away from my first-born and her little family, the ache in my heart continued to grow exponentially. That ache carried me through mile markers too many and across bridges over muddy waters until we were home again.
This is slightly unrelated but, I felt the pull to share with those of you who may suffer from anxiety like I do. The me before losing my husband suffered debilitating anxiety. That me would have NEVER imagined doing a drive/trip like that, without Darrell or another adult. One of the best things about coming home from that long journey was simply the feeling of accomplishment. Before Darrell passed away, there were MANY days where I couldn't fathom leaving my house to go to the store. I was completely dependent upon him. If someone like me can conquer fear and extremely debilitating anxiety, you can, too. Granted, I had no choice in the beginning. I was thrust into widowhood and left to manage our little world without my crutch and partner. HOWEVER, I still very much so suffer from anxiety and panic disorder. It's a daily struggle, in fact. Therefore, I am insanely proud of myself for planning, prepping, and driving those long miles that took me away from my comfort. That was a huge accomplishment for me. These last three plus years, since Darrell's passing, have been a series of one accomplishment after another, in fact.
If I can...you can.
Many thanks to Lindsey and Jesus for showing us around their lil portion of Oklahoma. We had the best time! Love and miss you guys so, so much and can't wait to come back!!!
Random photo dump from our trip:
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So, so blessed to be his Grammy.
Relishing in HIS goodness...
Christy
