Huge Praise

I was able to make all the reservations needed for our trip today!! This is a big deal because it's really not that easy to make reservations anywhere near Yellowstone (and even not that close to it!) only a month before you want to be there. I was so incredibly discouraged this afternoon, and by the time Bob got home from work, I was thinking we'd have to call the whole thing off. But God somehow opened up a room at a Comfort Inn in West Yellowstone, right by the gate of the park, this evening (I mean that literally--the room wasn't there when I was looking this afternoon), so I booked it. And then I booked a room near Mt. Rushmore, and another one near Des Moines for the way back home (actually Bob booked that one over the phone, getting a better rate than the internet offered). This is all such a huge relief for me. Now I can start thinking about what I actually want to do in those places!

In a totally unrelated matter, I can now officially say that Grace has started walking! She took a few steps starting Friday, but yesterday before dinner she walked all the way from our kitchen table over to the refrigerator. If she wants to get somewhere fast, she still drops down and crawls, but more and more, walking is becoming her first choice until she falls on her bum. Then she continues on by crawling. I love watching new walkers--the stiff legs, the teetering gait, the moon steps. Grace has taken a page from Dumbo's book and is much more confident if she is holding something in her hands. So cute! If we had a digital video camera, I'd post a clip, but we don't, so you all will just have to use your imaginations . . .