Nola Marie Voelkel

"Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, 
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little.
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up,
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple."
[taylor.swift]

I was an awkward 18 year old senior in high school when I had the privilege to attend my "big sister's" wedding. After five years of marriage they decided to bring a new addition into the family. Nine months later, little Nola Marie arrived in this place we call earth. Here begins our story.

Nola's original due date was suppose to be July 5th - which happened to be the day before the due date for the Royal baby. Once we realized that baby Nola was quite adement about not joining the world, all Hope wanted was to have her baby before Princess Kate. Well, it was July 17th and there was no Royal baby. But on the other side of the pond, baby Nola made her grand entrance.

Thirty-three years ago my mom was at the hospital when Hope was born. Twenty-three years ago Hope, her mom, and the rest of her siblings were at the hospital with my mom when I was born. And now, we have come full circle. Mom and I travelled 2 1/2 hours down to Charlottesville, ended up going to where the hospital used to be thanks to our GPS directions, but finally got to the right hospital to meet this new little bundle of joy. She wasn't even born for 24 hours yet, and she seemed to be the star of attention.

Before you could get to the labor and delivery hallway you had to check in with the front desk so they could "announce you" to the room. When mom and I got there the bearded old man asked if we were princesses, so he dialed the room number and said "Hi, I have Princess Andi and Princess Deby here to see you. Can I send them back?" It became comical when we heard the front desk say "Mrs. Voelkel, your dad is here. Is it okay if I send him back?"

Throughout the whole afternoon family members and close friends came to visit and celebrate the life of baby Nola. We joked about how having a baby was better than a wedding. You spend many hours working to bring this new life into the world but then in the end you have this new creation. And really everyone just comes to see the baby anyways. After 23 hours of labor you would think that Hope and Sam would be exhausted. Well, deep down they probably were, but Hope and Sam were so relaxed.

Three weeks ago when Sam was packing his hospital bag he didn't really know what he would need, but the top thing on his list of things to bring were his Bose speakers. "Yeah. Pandora is great. You get a wide selection of music and don't have to rely on your playlist. We had a little Led Zeppelin during contractions and when it came time to push we turned it to Metallica."

Those weren't the only jokes made that day. When Hope and Sam's boss came to visit he was giving Sam a hard time because he was telling people that maternity leave was like being on a vacation. "I would say that watching 3 whole seasons of Downton Abbey in one day would be considered a vacation." 

In talking with Hope I learned that we were similar when it came to both of our bed rest time. When I was sick I enjoyed watching a lot of television, movies, Netflix, tv shows, and basically anything that made me laugh. It seemed to make the days go by quicker. Hope, on the other hand, liked to watch sappy movies that made her cry. "So that way I had a reason to cry, instead of pouring a glass of water and having tears roll down my face for no reason."

Some of us were more comfortable holding baby Nola than others - "I would be happy to give her to you, but I just don't know how to." [uncle joseph] - but it was clear that this little baby was going to be ridiculously loved and cared for by her grandparents, uncles and aunts.

Nola Marie - I can't tell you how happy your parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts are for your arrival. They have anticipated and prayed for this joyous day for a long time. Remember that your family will always be there to support you. Remember that even though your uncle may have been hesitant in holding you when you were first born, he will always have your back [and beat up any boys that try and break your heart]. Remember that this world is not your true home, and that your heavenly Father loves you more than any family member could. Finally, remember that even though you'll want to, please try and never grow up.

Louisville (part 1)

“If you live to be a hundred, I want 
to live to be a hundred minus one day, 
so I never have to live without you.” 
[A.A. Milne - Winnie the Pooh]

Well. My best friend had fallen in love with the man of her dreams and recently got engaged to that man. They made us wait 5 long months before we could celebrate with them at their wedding. The wedding weekend finally came, and it was slightly more than amazing. The last time I went to Louisville I travelled by myself, but this time around I was able to share the weekend with my parents. 

Our weekend adventure began by us travelling in extremely tiny planes that didn't even have real wings which made us feel like we were in an episode of Wings, and seeing a sea of cotton ball type clouds. During any trip we go on we make it a point to go to places and restaurants that we don't have back home. While in Louisville for the weekend we learned a few important lessons.

Plan your day around food

It has become evident that I am like a new born child and need to eat every 3 to 4 hours. Good thing Louisville knows how to do food. When I came to Louisville back in November DJ took me to a breakfast place called Wild Eggs. The food was fabulous and ever since my introduction I dreamt about the next time I would eat there. So I knew that this was somewhere I needed to take my parents. And again, it was far from disappointing.

Next on the food agenda was The Comfy Cow. Otherwise known as the "comfy utter", this was probably the best ice cream place I have been too. They have the traditional flavors - Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Mint Chocolate Chip, Coffee, Chocolate Chip - but they also have crazy, untraditional flavors like: Cow Tracks, Bourbon Ball, Candy Cane Lane, Coo Coo for Coconut, Dulce De Leche De Salte (Salty Caramel), and Vermont Maple Walnut.

The two times that we went there - within 24 hours - I travelled from the North Pole with a Candy Cane Lane milkshake to the Caribbean with a small scoop of Coo Coo for Coconut ice cream.

candy cane milkshake: christmas in a cup

new life motto

Another food gem we found on one of the day's adventure was a little diner called One Nineteen West Main located a little north of Louisville in a town called La Grange. The menu was cleverly written with humor and the food was simple, southern and satisfying. And I can even say that I tried a deep fried pickle. Despite how horrible that sounds, it actually was quite good - speaking from someone who absolutely hates pickles.

We heard from friends that in this town there were train tracks that literally came through the middle of town. While driving around before dinner we saw the train tracks but never thought we would have dinner AND a show.

The train literally came several feet away from the cars parallel parked next to the sidewalk. According to our waiter, these tracks are one of few main lines that run through the middle of a town and sometimes they can experience 40 trains coming through a day!!

Enjoy the Scenery

I don't know how to describe the scenery, except for the fact that Louisville has the most amazing clouds, storms and sunsets.

la grange

breathtaking, right?

Make Memories, Laugh Often, Repeat

No adventure is complete if memories aren't made and you don't laugh until your stomach hurts. This weekend there were many "memory made" opportunities and there was certainly an abundance of laughs. We explored the downtown parts of Louisville and helped to support a local coffee shop called Quills.

We visited the so called "boat people" at a restaurant called Captain's Quarter's and enjoyed sitting next to the Ohio River with dear friends while we saw cargo boats travel down river and delighted in the picture perfect clouds above in the sky.

Other adventures along the way included ice cream scoops accidentally falling off cones [names will be withheld for the protection of the guilty], galavanting through historical parks and coming across a group of actors rehearsing Pride and Prejudice - only in Kentucky, right? - and one of our airline stewards not doing his job and sitting behind us looking out the window and taking pictures with his iPhone.

Lastly, no trip could end without an exciting trip to a mall. But not just any mall. A mall that had a 2-story Forever 21. I had experienced the beauty of this store back in November and I raved to my parents about how huge this store actually was and strongly emphasized that we needed to visit it again. I knew they were doing this just for me because my mother hates shopping "for fun" and my dad isn't really a shopper, but he actually enjoyed himself and had fun.

These 5 days in Louisville were some of the best days in the past few months. The food was fabulous, the company was grand, the sky was incredible and was a reminder of our awesome Creator, and the laughter was abundant. But the best was yet to come, because this weekend was the first time I was a bridesmaid, and it just happened to be for the wedding of my best friend.

bachelorette party prep

(to be continued...)