Expectations

The big arrival day came-- my parents are coming to visit! I planned to have the house ship-shape, and I planned to have a tasty Rachael Ray double dumpling stoup meal waiting for them after their long trip.

Well, to make a long story short, we got the most important things accomplished. The house was cleaned, my parents arrived safely and we had the tasty meal. But it wasn't as I'd expected. I've contracted some kind of stomach ailment, and it had me in bed all day. Just lots of yucky cramps, but not many visits to the bathroom (thankfully).

So JH did the cleaning I'd planned on doing, and my MOTHER made the dinner! AAA!! Not a hostess's dream, so have her guests start working the minute they walk in the door. But mom wanted to do it, and she enjoyed working in the kitchen with Matthew to make the meal. Here's a picture of them making up the meatball dumplings for the stoup:



Aside from my pitiful, horizontal state, it was a wonderful evening, hanging out with my folks and getting them acquainted with our new life here. I wish I could have been a better, more perky hostess, but that's not the most important thing. They're here safely and we're thrilled to have them!