A very special gift.

Let's see if I can explain this one correctly.

My mom's sister's mother-in-law is a very lovely woman. I haven't seen her in a really, really long time, but I always send her a Christmas card, and we stay in touch that way. My aunt doesn't particularly get along with her, but as she's gotten older, my aunt has been looking out for her a bit more. They now live within five minutes of each other and the mother-in-law is lucky to have two great-grandchildren, born in the last six months.

Yesterday, we got a box from my aunt in the mail. Inside was the most gorgeous, hand-knitted baby blanket from the mother-in-law, with a lovely card of congratulations on the birth of Turtle. She made similar blankets for her great-grandchildren and I am so touched that she thought enough of us to devote so much time on such a thoughtful gift.

I just can't get over the detail, and while you can't tell from the photos, it's amazingly soft. What a talented woman.

It was a nice Friday. We took Turtle to a local Mexican restaurant for lunch. DH thought ordering the pitcher of margaritas would be more cost-effective, but we ended up abandoning hafl the pitcher. It was painful to do so, but my tolerance is nowhere near where it used to be. Maybe next time!

DH got a break to go to the pool today. I'm glad - he needed it. We took the baby for a really nice walk before dinner and one of our neighbors dropped over a cute little outfit for him, too. The seem really nice, and hopefully we'll see more of them.

One of my dear friends is flying up for a business meeting this week and she is going to stay an extra night so that she can visit us. I'm so excited to see her and introduce her to her new "nephew."

We have to get an early start tomorrow, so it's off to shower and bedtime. We're looking forward to a fun weekend.

Oh, and I almost forgot the best news of all! Dad is home! He has to be back at the hospital at 8am for a blood draw and to get his meds figured out (they were screwed up on his discharge papers), but he will be spending the night in his own bed. Mom is so exhausted - I know she didn't sleep at all this week - and I'm thrilled that she will finally get some rest. They have a big day tomorrow - Dad's granddaughter's 2nd birthday party - but he's ready for it! Yay!