Toadfrogs and Elephants

We’ve had some crazy happenings the last few weeks in the Burch household. I was approached by two of the VP’s at TTi. They asked me if Wade might be interested in coming back. I know my jaw dropped. I told them I had no idea – we definitely never discussed this. They called Wade a few days later and discussed the new position they were creating. Wade decided the job in Milwaukee still suited him better and told them so. A few hours later he gets another email from another VP at TTi asking if he would be interested in a different job opening. I don’t know what is going on, but what a nice compliment to Wade. We did discuss the idea of staying in Anderson and parts of it would be nice, but we ultimately decided the best place for us is in Milwaukee. Now it just better snow when I get there!

I forgot the joys of working inhouse at a company’s legal firm and having an outside law firm. The outside law firm gives Christmas presents. Debra and I both received the tins of chocolate from our outside law firm. Yumm! Now I just have to decide if I eat it all or share it with coworkers…

I got a call from Michelle this morning. Bryson arrived at 2:02 am (on his due date). Bryson was 8 lbs 8 ozs. and 21 inches long. I went after work for a quick visit and got a picture of the new mom and sweet baby.

Sunday and today were spent in the car. I drove from Milwaukee to Paducah (and saw some snow!) and arrived just in time to pick up Madison from being boarded. She was a little worn out.

I got up early the next morning, loaded Madison and Taylor in the car, and headed to Nashville. I spent an hour at Melissa’s house checking out all of her updates and letting Madison run around in the backyard. Then we drove to Atlanta where I made a few returns before driving the last leg to Anderson. I have never been so glad to see my house!

Wade has spent some of his free time in Milwaukee looking for house. I do my part on the internet from the comfort of my couch. Wade had narrowed down our house selection to a few houses and I wanted to see them. Below is one of the ones we ranked second.

However, my favorite is the house below. It’s the closest to our house in Anderson in both size and style. Moving to a bigger city makes it a little difficult to move into a house comparable to ours in Anderson.

Wade and I have a busy weekend planned. We got up early this morning and ran a few errands (shopping, boarding Madison, dropping of Christmas presents) before taking time for a few quick pictures.

Next up was a visit with Kate and her family. Taylor is a bundle of energy and into everything. Anna was sweet and just slept while I held her. It was good to catch up with Kate and Scott. I hate that we don’t live closer.

We rushed from the visit with Kate to Chong’s for a quick buffet lunch at the best Chinese restaurant (Wade and I actually agree on this) with my mom. Then Wade and I hit the road for our drive to Milwaukee. We are spending a few days up there looking for a house. Wade did all of the driving and I caught up on my Smallville episodes.

The last few years we have had all holidays in Paducah. This is perfect for Wade and I – we always get to see both families. This year we stayed with my mom, but had Thanksgiving dinner with Wade’s family. Wade made apple crisp and I made corn pudding. We stayed at my mom’s house long enough to say hi to all of my family and then arrived at Granny and Papa’s just in time for food.

After the Thanksgiving meal, there was the necessary nap and then a game of uno. Papa got his normal “special” rules. He has trouble telling the difference between green and blue so we let him play either – which he does use to his advantage. We spent the evening with my mother and helped her put up her tree and begin the Christmas decorating.

Today was the longest drive. I was in the car for over 11 hours. I left work around 2 pm, stopped quick to pick up Madison, and got on the road. My normal route is I-85 South to Atlanta, I-75 North to Chattanooga, and then I-24 West to Paducah. I decided to avoid Atlanta and take back roads due to the inevitable traffic. As I was getting ready to rejoin my normal route in Chattanooga, I heard on the radio about the hour long backups on all interstates. At this point I decided to avoid Chattanooga – probably the wrong move. At this point I was far off my mapquest directions and relying on my nav system. I wasn’t paying close enough attention – rain, cell phone, dark, etc – and ended up on I-75 North to Knoxville.

The key to my master plan was to arrive in Nashville in time to pick up Wade from his flight. I was actually going to arrive on time, amazing when you look at my route, when I get a call from Wade 20 minutes before he was supposed to land. His plane was diverted to Little Rock because of the storms. At this point he assumed he would be lucky to get to Memphis but would never catch is connecting flight to Nashville. He planned to get a cab to his parents’ house and borrow a car to drive to Paducah. I stopped at a mall in Nashville until I knew for sure Wade had taken off for Memphis. I was about an hour out of Nashville when Wade called and had me turn around. He was coming into Nashville after all. I picked him up and gladly turned the wheel over to Wade. Did I mention it rained and poured the entire drive? I was so glad to get to Paducah and my bed!

Below you see my normal route in blue and the actual route in red (the thick line is where I had to backtrack and drive the same part twice).