Life In A Small Town

Happy Anniversary!

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today Artie and I celebrate 4 years of a marriage.

Instead of celebrating at a fancy restaurant dressed to the nines-we will dine in our kitchen most likely in our pajamas with this little monkey.

And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Thank you Lord for the blessing of our marriage!

First Hair Cut

2011-12-27T16:55:00.002-05:00

I have not been through the Christmas pictures yet so the first hair cut is going up first! I promise I will come back and fill you in on all the holiday fun!

Grayson had his first hair cut today! It is a day I have been putting off and rescheduling for months. I just wasn't ready to let go of all that baby hair. Plus- how the heck would she cut it? Would I like it? Would he sit still? It just made my stomach hurt thinking about it so I didn't! Until everyone started calling him a girl...I could have put the child in all blue with a shirt that said "I'm a boy" and people would still call him a girl. So my dear husband suggested that it was time! With a knot in my stomach we took him this morning to the lady that cuts Artie's hair. We packed a couple of lollipops and prayed for the best.

He did such a good job! He liked that he could see himself in the mirror. We did give him a lollipop which I was a little scare about but he did a good job with it. Artie was sitting with him just in case he did pull the top off. He was a sticky MESS when we left but he was able to get his hair cut!!!

The before picture

That lollipop was our saving grace!

Keeping a close eye on Miss Rachael...

There were mirrors all around and he kept looking at himself haha!

He needed to tell her something!

All Done!! (looking at himself haha!)

Sweet boy!

Just a shorter version of the old style! I was so very proud of him!!!

Christmas Cards Carousel!!

2011-12-08T09:47:00.001-05:00

Today I am linking up with my sweet, lovely and dear friend Faith for her Christmas Card Carousel!

I love Christmas Cards! I love going to my mail box and seeing new ones everyday eeek! This Christmas Card link up is awesome because you can see so many cards in one place! So without further ado.....

Our Christmas Cards for 2011

(front)

(back)

For the record...these have not been sent out yet! Our pictures had to be rescheduled a few times because of rain. We took a trip to Charlotte a few weeks ago and Faith actually took a few for us! The cards are being addressed today and will be send out tomorrow!

So go check out The Christmas Card Carousel with Faith!

Where we have been

2011-11-14T14:42:00.001-05:00

Sorry I have been gone so long! The past few weeks have been busy and really not terribly exciting to blog about haha. So here is a small recap!

Gray had a doctors appointment a few days after Halloween and he is a normal, perfect little boy! He is 50% for weight and 75% for height. The doctor actually commented that he is an amazingly healthy boy (foreshadowing). He did have to get some shots but he was quickly calmed by a gold fish cracker.

At the doctor's office

Ashley, our friend Melissa and I went to a holiday market in Abingdon, VA a few Saturdays ago. It was ok-I was hoping for more cute things but not so much. The only thing I bought was lunch and the most delicious cookie ever made! (which I will be trying to recreate very soon!) While we were at the market, we ran across a booth that sold gourmet olive oils and balsamic vinegar! We loved it so much we went to their store in downtown Abingdon. IT IS AMAZING!!! The whole store is actually a tasting gallery! If anyone is in the area I highly recommend visiting the Abingdon Olive Oil Company. I wanted to buy one of everything but what does a person need with that many olive oil/balsamic vinegars? Ha They even had a dark chocolate balsamic vinegar. Sooo yummy! It is definitely a great place to find gifts for a foodie or a special treat for yourself.

I recently auditioned for another show with the Jonesborough Repertory Theater called S'Wonderful. It is based on the music of George and Ira Gershwin. It is amazing! The show opens in February and will run for 2 weeks. My friend Logan auditioned as well but she did not make it :(

Logan and I at auditions the first night

How adorable is this child?

This is MacKenzie- one of my friend's granddaughter.

She always wants me to teach her dance moves haha!

*Back to the foreshadowing*

Saturday night Gray started running a terrible fever. This was the first time he has ever had a fever over 100 degrees. It was not fun. He and I were up all night together. Finally at 4am the fever broke and we both got a little sleep. Sunday morning he woke up in not the best mood as you could imagine....

See?

He also woke up with some sort of rash! We called the nurse and she said if it did not go away to come in on Monday. Well through out the day on Sunday Gray started feeling better but the rash was getting worse! We kept calling him the polka dotted puppy haha!

This was taken Sunday afternoon and

you can kind of see his "spots"!

Well the rash looked horrible this morning and so to the doctor we went. It turns out that 2% of children have a reaction to their MMR vaccine...remember when we had to get some shots at his last appointment? Yea- the MMR was one of them. So now we have a baby with some extra decorations haha!

This whole month reminds me to be thankful but it also reminds me that I am not thankful enough ALL year. I am going to try to do better. I read a post written by my dear friend Faith today that jolted me into reality. Go here and read it.

I hope you all have a great week!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T09:40:00.000-04:00

Can I please start off this post with a good cry? Please look...

Where did my baby go?

Our Halloween was indeed happy! It started off by sleeping in cute Halloween jammies of course!

He did not mind his costume one bit...I was a little worried about the ears!

Please let me note that I NEVER have any good pictures with Gray...

Second try....

We decided Gray was going to be a dog this year because his favorite word is "gog". He says it all day long haha! I really wanted him to be a cow but all of the cow faces were either too girly or kinda weird. He was the cutest little puppy in the land!

He wanted to crawl in the bushes...obviously that was a no. This little puppy was not happy about being removed from them.

After pictures, we were off to see Artie's Great Aunt and Uncle. They are both in their 80's and just LOVED seeing Grayson. We did not stay long because, of course, their house is not baby proof. Grayson wanted to pick everything up and was even licking their storm door haha! It was so cute because they told Artie that he was never that wild. Oh dear...

By this point it was dinner time so we drove to my MIL's house to eat. Once dinner was finished we let Gray walk down the driveway to the house across the street. I thought he looked so BIG!

The across the street neighbors were so sweet even though Gray was OVER IT! He was mad because he could not get down and run amuck.

(amuck! amuck! amuck!- name that movie)

It was rapidly approaching bedtime and Gray needed a bottle! He was half asleep when Artie loaded him in the car. On the way home we stopped at his Aya's house for 2 seconds. She had a sweet Halloween gift for him- Thanks Aya!

Once we got home it was straight to bed for the little puppy. He was more than ready! It was a great Halloween...I can't believe that he has already had 2 of them! Where has the time gone? Now it is time to gear up for Thanksgiving and Christmas! I love this time of year but it goes by too fast. I am going to soak in every moment of this holiday season.

Have a blessed All Saints Day!

15 Months Old

2011-10-29T13:13:00.000-04:00

Dear Grayson,

You are 15 months old! You seem more like a toddler every day and it makes me a little sad. But just a little! I love the little boy you are becoming. You are so curious about everything and I LOVE watching your face when you figure something new out.

You are into everything! If you swipe something you think you are not allowed to have- you RUN with it! It is the cutest thing ever. Since you have gotten taller, you can reach things more easily now. If you can not reach them, you climb up to reach them. (Lots of oh dear moments through out the day)

(this is the mischievous look)

You went to your first GHS game this month and LOVED IT!

You love the spice door in the kitchen...we finally got a baby proofing thing that worked on it.

These are all of the confiscated things haha!

Your favorite word is gog (dog) and you say this all. day. long. When you wake up, the first thing you say is "HI GOG GOG!"- no hi momma or hi dada...

Anytime we say "AWWWW" you snuggle what ever is near. It is adorable...but most of the time you run to find one of the gogs to snuggle haha!

You like to take our keys and touch them to the door knob. I think this is hilarious because I never use my keys to come in the house (i park in the garage)...you pick up on things very quickly.

You love to be outside. Everyday we walk to check the mail and you scream when we have to come inside.

You also have stopped smiling for the camera...

You now have 7 teeth!

You do not like toys that talk or make noise (PRAISE THE LORD!!!). They scare you to pieces!

You love to drink from a straw and will still only drink milk or water.

You weigh about 29 pounds- you have a doctors appointment next week.

You still take 2 naps a day that last 1 hour each.

You have a temper!!! Whew weee. I am learning to pick my battles with you...and also to hold your head if you get upset. (you love to throw yourself backwards)

You are positively funny...Daddy and I just laugh all the time!

You get called a girl anytime we are out. I told Daddy I am going to get you a shirt that says "I'm A Boy!" I could dress you in blue head to toe and people would still call you a girl haha! It is because you are the most beautiful child I have ever seen.

Daddy and I are so excited about the upcoming holidays! This year is going to be so much fun. We love you so much. Sometimes it is hard to believe that we get to be your parents! A friend on facebook posted this the other day and I thought it was so true-

"Sometimes we dont get what we want, but what we get is sometimes so much better than what we ever wanted"

I hope you always remember that.

Love, Momma

Friday Phone Dump

2011-10-28T15:58:00.000-04:00

We have had a busy week and I am behind on Gray's 15 month post! Hopefully I get it up tomorrow...so until then here is a little photo dump from my phone.

1. Saturday we had a bonfire with some of our friends to celebrate Artie's birthday.

2.Gray looking cute drinking from a straw cup.

3.Our "baby" class got their costumes in this week! They are going to be monkeys and have a tulle "tail"- a pair of cute monkey ears will complete their outfit! Sassy girls!

4.On Artie's actual birthday we went to a pumpkin patch and then to dinner. Gray was so hungry he was stuffing chips in his mouth!

5. Gray's Halloween costume came in the mail- he was going to be a cow but Artie did not like any of the cow faces so now he is a puppy!

6.We met some blog friends for lunch this week and he was worn out on the way home.

7.Grayson's first piece of art- and you better believe it is hanging on our fridge!

8.Gray was so in such a good mood the other day! He has been cutting teeth this week and has been a bit grumpy.

Well I hope you have had a fabulous week! I am enjoying the fall weather and looking forward to some fun fall things this weekend!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

Artie and I were SO excited to take Gray to a pumpkin patch this year! There is a corn maze/pumpkin patch nearby and so we hopped in the car and headed over. It made it an extra special day because it was also Artie's birthday!! Gray was not so sure at first but once he saw the animals- he was so excited! (you can not tell by any of these pictures because he would not smile for the camera haha!)

On the hay ride

Mom....stop.

He called all of the animals gogs (dogs) ha!

He found a little guy

Too big to pick up...

So I will just eat it

Uh oh...she is going to tell me "no no"

Hey! Why didn't we get that big one?

If I sit my little one on top of the big one they will have to buy that one too!

Despite the look on his face he did have a great time! Isn't that shirt adorable? My dear friend Rebecca made it! The day at the pumpkin patch a success. We can not wait to go back next year!

I LOVE FALL!!!

Happy Birthday Artie!

2011-10-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to the best daddy and husband in the whole world!

Gray and I love you very much!!

New Friends

2011-10-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

When I started writing a blog, I never thought I would read about people I did not know in real life. One blog that I stumbled upon was Faith's and she was (is) such an encouragement to me. She was going through infertility and I could relate with her. I had begun a journey that no one in my real life was walking. I did not know a single person who was struggling to have a child and I felt alone. Once I read her blog, I felt validated. She was uplifting and just what I needed!

Last week she was visiting some friends in Gatlinburg and I knew it was the perfect time to meet! We met at this adorable restaurant in Pigeon Forge called The Partridge and Pear. I was a little nervous but that immediately went away. I felt like we were old friends! We literally did not stop talking the whole time Ha! Poor Chad! I was so embarrassed at the table because Gray acted like a maniac the whole time...he did not act like himself AT ALL. Isn't it like that with all children though? Yes. Once we were ~~forced to finish~~ finished with lunch we wanted to talk more! We sat outside and just talked and talked. Of course I had to snap a few pictures! I really wanted to take more but Gray was not having it!

And yes- she is as beautiful in real life as she is in pictures!

Can I just say what a blessing she and Chad are to me? Seeing them with Grayson solidifies what wonderful parents they will be. (Not that I had any doubt ha!) They were so helpful at lunch trying to wrangle Gray (I promise he never acts like that!!).

It was such a great day and I wished they lived closer. I am so thankful for this crazy little blog world!

Band Competition

2011-10-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago the Greeneville High School Band competed in the Foothills Classic band contest. This time of year is my absolute favorite! I love love love going to band contests and Ashley feels the same way. We like to go to the contest a little earlier and see the other bands performing. The girls did an amazing job- we were so proud! Unfortunately, this contest did not have a majorette judge!

Ashley and I

It takes us a minute to get serious...

OK. That's better!!!

I love these girls! Luckily we will have one more year with all of them. I am so thankful to be able to continue to part of this sport!

Text Message

2011-10-06T10:00:00.000-04:00

A text between Artie and I...

True Story. He is worth every penny...and so is that giraffe these day!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T09:48:00.000-04:00

*Explanation*- I must have dropped a piece of food behind the trash can and the poodle was trying hard to get it. Gray thought this was the funniest sight ever!

14 Months Old!

2011-09-27T16:53:00.000-04:00

Dear Grayson,

You are 14 months old!! This month you have been a busy boy! Everyday you show us something new you have learned....like climbing on the dishwasher...

or feeding your self with a spoon.

You do not sit still. Ever.

(ps- Don't you think he looks kinda like Tyler, Rebecca?)

You LOVE LOVE LOVE taking a bath in the kitchen sink!

You adore you Ada (Daddy)!

You love to play outside and will cry when we bring you in.

(I took these today on his birthday)

This picture is out of focus but the look on his face I LOVE! He is rolling down the hill!

You can say Mamma, Ada (Daddy), Gog (dog), Kiki (kitty kitty), Hi, Bye, Coco (cracker/cookie), Nah (no), yeah (yes), and go. You jibber jabber all the time- most is unrecognizable!

You love to play with a ball and have learned to throw it to the dogs!

Your nap schedule is wonderful!! You will lay down around 11am and then again around 3pm-both naps last an hour and half. I keep trying to push them together for one loooong nap but you will not have it. MELT.DOWN.CITY!!! My most favorite time of day is right when you wake up from your nap. We snuggle in your rocking chair and those are the most precious moments of my day!!

You go to bed at 7pm every night.

You are still working on those 4 top teeth coming all the way in. You short little teeth melt my heart.

Grayson Kelly you are the light in my life! I love you so very much! It is such a joy being your Momma!!

Happy Birthday Devyn!

2011-09-17T11:08:00.000-04:00

Every year Ashley and I get asked to decorate for her niece's birthday party. This year she wanted a "horse" theme and it turned out completely adorable! Ashley and I had a lot of fun putting all of the cute things together. Devyn LOVED it! We had to jet over to the football game after the party was decorated so we did not get to see all of her little friends enjoying everything. :( But we got the report from her mom that everyone was having a great time! Here are some pictures of the sweet party!

Happy Birthday sweet Devyn! It is hard to believe you are already 7 years old!

Pajamas

2011-09-07T04:00:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite times of the day is the hour or so before Gray goes to bed. I don't know if it is the intoxicating smell of a clean baby or the fact that in a short while I will have 5 minutes to myself but I LOVE IT! It helps that Gray is extra sweet during that time too. Here are some before bedtime pictures of my sweet boy in his pajamas.

Here comes trouble....

Big Bubba carrying his toy!

I think it is adorable when he does this!

Thank you Lord for precious nights with this sweet boy!

Go Big Orange!

2011-09-06T04:00:00.000-04:00

Saturday was Tennessee's first home game! Since Gray is still a little young to go, I decided to put him in a cute UT outfit and take some pictures!!

Down. Set. Hike!

It's Football Time In Tennessee!!!!

Go Vols!!!

Gray's Special Birthday

2011-09-05T04:00:00.000-04:00

On Grayson's actual birthday (his party was the Saturday after) he had some special friends come up for a visit. We met them for lunch at Chili's and then headed over to Wallabie's (our local bounce play place). It was so much fun! Once we left Wallabie's, we went to a cupcake bakery for a snack. Poor Gray fell asleep and missed his birthday cupcake haha! A good time was had by all.

These are the sweet girls that came to visit!

He would get to the bottom of the slide and clap haha!

Crawling all around!

He always keeps his mouth open when we are there haha!

Aww!

Trying to make him smile

Gray LOVES to push these red chairs around!

I would like to introduce you to someone special.

This is Kamile, Grayson's birth mother.

Isn't she adorable...

I was so excited that she was able to come and spend Grayson's birthday with us. It was a special day for all of us. I am so thankful of our relationship with her and her wonderful family! We love you guys!

Father's Day Weekend

2011-09-04T12:52:00.000-04:00

I will be playing catch up for a few fun things that happened over the summer that I never blogged about!!

Father's Day weekend was a blast this year! Artie, Gray and I headed up to Nashville to see Audra. She came in from Germany and I was not going to miss my chance to see her!!! We stayed in the Opryland Hotel and had such a wonderful time together. This was the first time I met Maggie and the first time she met Gray!!! We met at the hotel and went right out for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

2nd most adorable baby in the world! ;)

The First

During dinner the babies were just munching away on bread when Audra and I started to smell something. You know the smell...the smell of trouble. Audra picked Maggie up and found that she had pooped all over her clothes! Luckily we were at a mall and so Maggie got to ride around Green Hills Mall in the buff. Let me just paint this picture for you. Green Hills Mall has a Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's and every other high end boutique you can think of. It is a VERY nice mall to say the least. We kept getting the funniest looks with our naked baby! Ha! We drove her right down to the Gymboree to pick out a cute new outfit!

Sweet Maggie at the hotel

Gray was just a bit jealous...

We walked around Opryland all night long and just talked and talked. I miss her so much! The next morning we headed down for breakfast. It was so good! Once we got done with breakfast it was time to go :( I bawled when I had to leave her but I was so excited for the next part of the trip.

Artie picked us up at the hotel and we headed to Chattanooga for the night. Artie wanted to take Gray to the aquarium for Father's Day! We got to the hotel and then headed out to dinner. Here is Gray with his "My Dad Rocks" shirt!

Little monkey LOVED climbing all over the bed!

He was so cute!!

The next day we got up and headed to the aquarium! We were so excited for G to see it and to spend some time together as a family.

Ready to go to the aquarium in his octopus jon jon!

Happy boy!!

Gray made it about 15 minutes in the aquarium and then he fell asleep. It is was so quiet, dark and peaceful he slept the entire time!

I loved the butterfly area! It was so beautiful.

I loved these sweet little guys!

Blogger is being weird and is not uploading it but- I have a picture of the super cute penguins as well!

We had such a great trip. I am so glad we were able to go and spend some time together.

Happy Father's Day Arthur!

13 Months Old!

2011-09-01T00:30:00.001-04:00

*Better late than never!*

This has been a busy month for you little guy! On your 1st birthday you learned to walk and now you are practically running all over the house. It really is the cutest little run too-you are on your tippy toes the whole time!

This was taken at the beach where you practiced your new skill!

You took your first trip to the beach and LOVED it! You were so adorable crawling all over the sand.

You now have more teeth!!! The problem is that they all wanted to come in at the same time. Not fun. You are now the proud owner of 4 shiny top teeth! I wish I could say I have a picture of them but that would take some kind of crazy voodoo to get you to sit still long enough for that!

You still take a bottle 3 times a day. You turned into a ferocious grizzly bear when I cut back to 2. Momma can only handle so much at one time sweet boy. Also- I really really really love feeding you in the rocking chair and will miss it so much when there are no more bottles to be given. So no hurry on my part.

You love to eat and let us know real quick that it is meal time. Daddy says that your Momma is the same way but I disagree! This month we gave you goldfish crackers for the first time and now you scream when you see the box. I found you one day trying to dump out the box!

You love the dogs. You squeal with delight when you see them in the morning. You run and chase after them. You even try to climb on the big one. You say "gog" all day long! To be honest...we are not encouraging you to say "dog" because "gog" is so darn cute.

You are a ham! We will ask you a question and instead of saying "No" you will say "Nah"! Haha

You love to play peek a boo and love when we jump out and scare you. You will just cackle!

You are a bit more of a little boy and a little less of a baby. Each day gets better and better sweet boy.

GHS vs Science Hill

2011-08-23T12:06:00.000-04:00

I LOVE high school football! Friday night our Greeneville Green Devils took on the Hill Toppers from Science Hill. The weather was perfect and it was such a great game! The majorettes did a great job as well! It was a close game but the Green Devils won!! Here are some pictures from the night.

Before pregame

The principal Dr. Stroud giving her annual speech!

Ash and I before the game

Sweet girls

traditional jumping picture

Right before halftime!

What a GREAT way to kick off football season!!!

Random Stuff

2011-08-17T23:55:00.000-04:00

A list.

1. We got back from the beach over a week ago and I have still not blogged about our trip!

2. Gray's schedule has been all kinds of crazy since we got back. He has been waking up at 4am to eat!

3. Weaning a VERY strong willed one year old from the bottle is HARD!!! It makes me want to crawl under the bed and hide until it is over.

4. Gray was really crabby the few days leading up to our trip. We finally figured out what was going on. He is teething 4 top teeth all at one time! Add that on top of trying to wean off the bottle and you can see why I want to hide under the bed.

5. Oh! While we were on vacation Gray got a little cold. Add that on top of weaning and teething and you can see why I really want to hide under the bed.

6. My friend Amber is hiking the WHOLE Appalachian Trail. She started in Georgia and will end in Maine! I think she began in March and her projected finish is in October. The whole trail is 2108.5 miles and she has just under 700 miles to go! She ROCKS!!!

7. High school football starts this Friday and I could not be more excited!!

8. We are planning a fun bonfire party for Artie's birthday this year! October will be so fun!

Ok. That is all. I hope you have a good week!!

Beach!

2011-08-07T21:53:00.000-04:00

Gray's first time at the beach!

Gray had a fabulous time! He loved playing in the sand and splashing in the water. All was going well until he got hot and had a meltdown. Nice. It was at that point we decided it was time to go.

Which by the way-

What is with the terrible two's come early? Any other mom's of one year olds having a problem with tantrums? He will get mad and hit his head on the ground. Then he will bawl because hitting your head on the ground hurts!! HELP!!!

A true story..

2011-08-05T22:05:00.000-04:00

A real conversation between Artie and I...

Artie and I were watching the Braves game tonight when a player with the last name "Duda" (pronounced Doo Da) came up to bat for the Mets.

Artie: Would you like our last name to be Duda?

Me: Why yes, I think we should go change it immediately.

Artie: We can not change our last name!

Heather: We can do whatever we want-this is America! We can change our name to Macaroni and Cheese if we want too! Gray can be Baby Mac, I can be Medium Mac and you can be Big Mac! Haha!

Artie: No I want to be Mac Daddy!

Heather: *eye roll* *face palm*

The difference a year makes!

2011-08-03T20:28:00.000-04:00

One year ago today

Today

What a difference a year makes!

Birthday Beach Bash!!

2011-08-02T13:51:00.000-04:00

Saturday was Grayson's First Birthday Party! The theme was a beach bash and was too cute! We held the party outside but rented some canopies to help protect from the heat. The colors of the party were turquoise, orange and lime green. I normally like to make a lot of the decorations because it makes the party special and more cost effective. However, this month has been so very crazy and I did not want to be super stressed leading up to the party. I purchased a lot more than I normally would. The whole idea started when I found sand buckets at Micheals for $1 in the exact colors I loved! So I bought them to go down the center of the tables with picks and ribbon coming out of the top.

The favor table- for some reason I did not get a picture of the favors!

We gave out Rayban look alike sunglasses that were adorable!!

Gray's monthly pictures

Above the cake table

For some reason the balloons look lighter than what they really were

Birthday hat!!

The cake! It was so yummy!!

Time for cake!!!

He ripped off the decorations on his high chair ha!

DONE!!!

No really...I'm done!!!

Off to the bath!

Time for presents!!

Tyler is the best helper!!

Yes...he does have his finger in his nose

Sweet birthday boy

Sweet babies playing with chalk!!

Gray was a little grumpy the whole time I did not get a good picture of his outfit!!! I need to because my friend Rebecca made it and I LOVED it! It matched perfectly!!!

What a great way to celebrate being a whole year old!!! We are so thankful for everyone's love and support over the past year! It was a great day!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAYSON!!!!

2011-07-27T00:13:00.000-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAYSON!!!

__________________________________________________

Dear Grayson,

I can not even fathom that you are a year old. This year has passed with a blink of the eye. It seems like your Daddy and I just met you.

This month you have just exploded in personality! You talk all the time. Sometimes we know what you are talking about but most of the time it is your own language. You do say ki ki (kitty kitty), A-da (Daddy), Mama (Mommy), tickum (tickle), nah nah (no no) and gog (dog). You crack us up all day long.

You keep Mommy on her toes-you are constantly on the move. You took you first step last week and now can take up to 4 steps at a time!!!

This month you went to your first play! You came to see Mommy in her USO show and
you did great! Daddy said the people around him got worried when he sat down with a baby but came up to him at the end to say how amazing you had been!

(this was taken at lunch in between shows)

Daddy kept you for 5 days in a row while Momma was at band camp. I think you had a lot of fun during Daddy Week. So much fun that Daddy was worn out when I got home!

You are a very happy boy! (unless you are having a melt dow) You are always smiling at anyone you meet. However- you do not like for other people to hold you. At. All. In fact- you had a babysitter a few times while Momma was at play practice and you would not let her take you out of your stroller. You are friends now...but it definitely took a while!

We took your cake smash pictures this week so I could have them for your birthday party. It was terrible! I put a bite of cake in your mouth and you gagged then ran away! You do not like sweets that much.

You go to the doctor next week which is good because I have no idea what you weigh.
You wear a size 4 diaper
You are still in 12 month clothes
You rarely wear shoes...but when you do they are size 5
You have 3 almost 4 teeth now!!!!
You are very tall!
You love to eat! Anything we put in front of you, you like. Especially meat!
You still have a bad temper and meltdown when we take anything out of your hand! OH MY DEAR SWEET MERCY!!! My most favorite is the way you throw your whole body backwards...it is awesome.
You love to play ball with Daddy. This month you have learned how to throw it back! (Kinda)
You love it when we say "YAY!!!" to you! You get so excited and start clapping your hands!
You found the holes in your nose...and you like for your fingers to be inserted in said holes all day.

You truly are our pride and joy Grayson! You are such a blessing to us and we are so thankful that God chose us to be your parents.

Love,

Momma

Spaghetti

2011-07-18T22:25:00.001-04:00

Gray tried spaghetti for the first time tonight and he LOVED it! He was stuffing it in his mouth by the fistfuls. Needless to say- at the end of dinner Gray was hosed off outside with the dogs. Just kidding- but he did go directly to the bathtub! He was a MESS!!! It is so fun to watch him learn new things!!

In the beginning it was not so bad

Then it got a little worse

Then he started rubbing the plate on his face...

This video was taken with a phone but he decided to rub food on his face!

Hope you are having a great week!!

The USO Show

2011-07-03T23:10:00.000-04:00

Hello friends! I have been such a terrible blogger..I am working on Grayson's 11 month post. The show has kept me so very busy!!! We had rehearsals everyday leading up to the opening of the show. This past week we have performed it 9 times..including 4 on Saturday. I am worn out! We are performing again this coming up weekend as well. Last week we had a show strictly for the press to come and here are some of the photos they took.

*Please note that these photos were taken by The Johnson City Press Photographer

I can not say enough good things about this show. I wish all of ya'll could see it! I might post the video when the show is over!

11 Months Old!!!!

2011-06-27T22:27:00.000-04:00

Dear Grayson,

You are 11 months old!! This past month you have seemed so BIG! You crawl so fast in circles around the living room. The past week you have started to pull away from the couch and stand on your own!! I think we are in the beginning stages of walking!

You LOVE LOVE LOVE to eat. Anything we put in front of you, you gobble down. You are going to eat us out of house and home soon and I am quit scared for the teenage years. You stayed in a hotel for the first time this month and did great! You have started calling us by name (Mama and Dada) and it is adorable. You still jibber jabber but not really saying many words. This month we celebrated Father's Day at an aquarium and you slept through half of it.

This month you met your future wife Maggie. (Is it wrong to betroth at birth?) You are going to have to learn to share with her. Every time she played with your toys you would go over and grab them from her. You are definitely a wild man! I knew it before but Aunt Audra confirmed the theory while we were visiting her.

Here is what you have been up to this month.

You wear a size 4 diaper
You wear a size 12 month in clothing
You still only have 2 teeth
You wear a size 5 shoe
You have a terrible temper! I hope this does not continue until you are 3!

Daddy and I have been planning a big birthday party for you, next month! We can not wait for you to be ONE YEAR OLD!!!!

It amazes me everyday that you have only been in my life for 11 months, it feels like you have always been a part of our family.

Love,
Momma

Swimming!

2011-06-11T08:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Grayson got to try out his new baby pool! He was so cute- I am sure he was thinking the whole time "Why am I taking a bath outside now?" HA! He kept trying to get out so the whole thing lasted 10 minutes. I am hoping to take him to a local water park soon. Artie and I LOVE to swim, I hope he does too!

Doesn't he look cute in his little hat?

I am working hard on getting everything together for his first birthday! I have the cake ordered, invitations made, and have started on several other things. July is a crazy month and I want to be PREPARED! Plus- I don't want to spend his birthday week stressed out about it. That is a time to celebrate! Let's hope I can keep on the ball-I am so excited to show you everything!!

I hope you have a great weekend! I am off to rehearsal....oh guess what?!? Audra is back in the country for a visit and I get to see her next weekend!! Best of all- I GET TO SQUISH MAGGIE!!!! WAHHOOOO!!!

10 Months Old!

2011-06-01T21:30:00.000-04:00

Grayson,
You are 10 months old! I can hardly believe that in in 2 months you will be a year old. Telling you to slow down is NOT working. So I suppose I better just embrace the fact that you will be 15 soon. This month you have been wild! You can crawl so very fast and do a million laps around the living room everyday. You are a MESS!

This month you attended your first graduation and lost a pet.

You have a wonderful imagination which Mommy is so thankful for. You can sit for an hour playing and talking to yourself. It is adorable.

You can clap! I will say "YAY!" and you start clapping.

You love to eat! You will even do a little dance while you do. I sing the "Yummy To My Tummy" song and you just dance away.

You have kinda learned what it means to give kisses. One out of 10 times you will actually do it, the rest of the time you just head butt me!

You think it is so fun to ride on your Daddy's shoulders around the house.

Your theme song should be "Don't Bite Your Friends" from Yo Gabba Gabba. You bite everyone..including the dog. I walked in the living room the other day and caught you chewing one the dog's food! WHAT IN THE WORLD!??!!

You want to feed yourself and will refuse to eat unless we give you the spoon. Of course your motor skills are not ready for this and the food ends up everywhere!

Here is what you have been up too!

You wear a size 4 diaper
You wear 12 month clothes
You have 2 teeth
You wear a size 5 shoe (cute chubby feet!)
You are a great eater
You say a lot of things but mostly just jibberish. We can pick out Mama and Dada (still your favorite word) In fact- the cutest thing in the world is when you say "tickum" I think you are trying to say tickle...but I'm not sure.

The pictures that follow are my attempts at your 10 month pictures. It took 3 tantrums and 4 days to get one!

I took away a hanger you were chewing on

This picture is so pitiful!

2 seconds later....all better

I had to finally bribe him with puffs!

You are growing up before my eyes. I love the little person you are becoming, it makes me proud to be your Mom. Lots of preparations are going on for your big birthday bash little boy! I can't wait!!

Love,

Momma

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-01T18:25:00.000-04:00

Almost...

Ten month birthday and my birthday posts are forthcoming!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-05-29T18:27:00.001-04:00

My 29th birthday celebration started on Friday with dinner with his parents (my Daddy was not feeling well). We went to a yummy smokehouse restaurant in Greeneville called The Butcher's Block. I ate until I was stuffed!

Poor Gray slept through the entire thing, which I am glad he did because once he woke up he was GRUMPY!

(isn't that a lovely face?)

Saturday I had a FULL schedule. Artie told me to go get my favorite breakfast CHIC-FIL-A! Oh how I love those little minis. I had a rehearsal all day for the USO Show. The cast made me feel very special by bringing me flowers and serenading me! I feel so blessed to be a part of this show, the people are just amazing. I am so glad for all the new friendships I have formed. Once I got home it was time to get ready for dinner!

taken with my phone before dinner

My friends and their husbands joined us for dinner and then a movie! Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the group! I was going to take one before the movie but I got sick! Ugh..it was so annoying. I was feeling a little better after it happened and decided to still go to the movie. I really did have a great time even though there was a little incident!

It was a wonderful day and a great way to celebrate my last birthday in my 20's!!

Happy Birthday!!

2011-05-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

Via

Hi guys. This is Artie- Heather's husband.

I snuck on her blog so I could wish her a

Happy Birthday today!

Gray and I love you very much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

HEATHER!!!

Hard Day

2011-05-20T12:48:00.001-04:00

Today we had to put our dog Kasey to sleep. It was the hardest decision I have ever made.

(please note that the words that follow are for my memory-I want remember today exactly as it happened)

In November Kasey started coughing a lot. The vet decided to try some antibiotics to see if that would help. It didn't. She was on and off of them for 3 months getting higher/stronger doses each time. Early this year we took her back in for a chest scan and they found a lump in her lungs. It was decided that it would be too hard on her to biopsy. We left the vet that day knowing that it was probably the worst case scenario but praying for a miracle. She started dropping weight and then stopped eating her dog food. She had even begun to cough up blood. This week she started taking on fluid and lasixs was not helping.

When we woke up this morning we knew it was time.

Artie called to make arrangements at the vet and we took some time to say our goodbyes. That was one of the most precious hours of my life. All the dogs were piled in the bed with us while Artie and I took turns loving on her.

Finally it was time to go. We wrapped her in a blanket and headed to the vet. Artie carried her as we were ushered into a side door. It was very quick and she did not fight. She went right to sleep as we were stroking her head.

Artie and I left there with a broken heart but having peace about our decision. Once we got home we just held each other and sobbed.

If you could pray for peace that would be much appreciated. She was a part of our lives for 10 years.

Kasey you will be so greatly missed.

2001-2011

The Window

2011-05-13T18:48:00.003-04:00

Sweet boy is getting so big.

He discovered his window and the world that is on the other side.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

John 8:12

Long Lost Friends

2011-05-09T16:32:00.000-04:00

Hello my long lost friends! Life has been so BUSY!!! Where do I begin?

A few weeks ago I auditioned for a local theater company's 1940's USO Show and made it! Wahoo! The practice schedule is CRAZY. The show will be the first 2 weeks of July and I could not be more excited.

Baton practices have started and the girls are so excited about the show this year. The band director is doing a combination of The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz and Wicked! It will be a fun year!

This past weekend I was in a wedding and so last week was hectic with all of the parties going on. The bride was so pretty and the wedding was lovely! Oh and the food was good too! Haha! Would you believe I did not take one photo all weekend??? Ugh.

Yesterday was my very first Mother's Day! It was a special day with my boy. Artie had to work so he and Gray gave me my gift on Saturday morning. Artie said that Gray picked it out! They got me a beautiful pearl bracelet from Brighton- it is so special! I just love it! Gray and I just hung out all day until Artie got off- very low key. Which was great to me after such a busy weekend.

I took some pictures of Gray for a special Mother's Day project that we sent to his birth family. I think they turned out so cute! (there are totally a lot)

I think that catches everyone up on our life. I will be doing Grayson's nine month post and back dating it so be sure to check that out! He is a WILD man!! I hope you have had a great weekend!

9 Months Old!!

2011-04-27T11:55:00.000-04:00

Grayson,

You are 9 months old! What a month it has been! This month we say your first real sickness. You got a terrible stomach virus that lasted 6 days. We called you Skinny Pete because you lost about 2 pounds during that time. Once you were feeling good again, your appetite came back stronger than ever. You have started eating things that you would not before! This month you also started crawling!! This took a lot of practice and roughed up knees. On Easter Sunday you took your first "crawl" as everyone watched! Your family all cheered for you and you seemed very proud.

You have decided you like to head butt things...especially people who are holding you. Every time we ask for a kiss you head butt instead! You, of course, think it is hilarious!

You are cruising and pulling up on everything that will stand still. I told Daddy that I was going to buy you a bicycle helmut and follow you around with a pillow. Falling happens a million times and day. I am getting very good practice at kissing boo boos!

Every morning you lay in our bed and drink a bottle. This is my favorite time of the day because you are super snuggly!

This month was definitely the hardest month to photograph! WILD MAN!!!!! It took several tries to get these.

Here is what you have been up too!

You weigh 21 pounds and are getting a new car seat!!
You are in a size 4 diaper
You are mostly in all 12 month clothes
You wear a size 5 shoes. WHAT?!? (you could fit in a 4 but you have super chubby feet)
You will eat anything we put in front of you including spinach and broccoli
You now have a nap schedule! You take one in the morning and one in the afternoon!
You still have just 2 teeth
Your favorite word is Dada. All day long you say Dada Dada Dada Dada.
You now love bath time and will splash around which is good because Mommy and Daddy love to swim!!

You are such a sweet boy Grayson. The past 9 months have been a dream come true! I am so excited to start planning your birthday party!

Love, Mommy

Easter Weekend 2011

2011-04-25T08:56:00.000-04:00

This past week was crazy! We had majorette tryouts, dress rehearsal, dance recital, Easter egg hunt and then Easter. There were lots of pictures taken so I will try to keep it to the minimums haha!

Ashley and I were super busy during the dance recital on Friday so this was the only picture we got of the 2 of us. We were getting ready for the "Devil Went Down to Georgia" number- hence why we are dressed in country style clothing.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to our church's Easter egg hunt with Gray. He looked so very cute in his bunny smocked romper.

Sunday we got up and got ready for church. Gray normally sleeps during church, but there was a lot going on during service and so he decided screaming would be better. I actually had to go down and sit with him in the nursery! I have never had to do that. He was wound up! Sweet boy did not want to miss one thing.

Before we left for church

After church

This is what happens when he doesn't nap-

he was having a little temper tantrum

and 2 minutes later he was fine..what is in here?

It was a wonderful 1st Easter celebration. I can not wait until Gray can understand the true meaning of Easter. That will be a truly special day!

Hallelujah!! Christ Has Risen!!!

Catch Up

2011-04-05T09:40:00.000-04:00

Wow- I have been terrible about blogging ah! We have been so busy, even when we are just at home. So this post is dedicated to playing catch up.

We have all kinds of new fun Easter and spring things at the shop right now. It is so fun decorating displays! Here is Gray with bunny ears! Doesn't he look so sweet?

A few weeks ago my good friend Rebecca's grandmother passed away. I was so sad for her family- it has only been 3 years since my sweet Mammaw passed. I was glad I got to go to the service for her. While I was in Knoxville, I had my first bloggy meet up! Morgan and I have been trying to meet since the fall. She is as adorable in real life as she is on her blog. Gray just LOVED her! Morgan we can not wait to have lunch again! Today is actually her BIRTHDAY!- Happy Birthday Morgan!

Artie's Great-Aunt Margie had a birthday and we celebrated at our favorite hometown restaurant. She wanted to sit by Grayson and just love on him.

Wild man is almost on the move. He does not sit still one bit..ever. I wanted to get a picture of this cute outfit and this is the best picture I could get.

Ashley and I have a BUSY few weeks coming up. Majorette tryouts were moved up 2 weeks and the girls have been scrambling trying to get ready. We also have been working with the dance company getting the recital choreography finalized. Everything gets insane this time of year-add in Easter and a wedding SHEW! We will be some tired ladies. I am so thankful Artie is so understanding of our busy time of year. Majorette tryouts, dance recital, and Easter are all on the same week this year. Then the week after that we have a bachelorette party and a wedding! Ahhhh!

As if I was not busy enough, I have auditions this weekend for a show at a local theater! It is for a USO show and I am excited/nervous. I will let you know next week how it goes!

I like to be busy haha! I am sure I will have lots of pictures to post! Wahoo!

You are now officially caught up on our lives! I hope you are having a great week!

ADOPTION DAY!!!!

2011-03-30T22:53:00.001-04:00

Second best day ever.

The BEST day ever can be found here.

On Monday March 28th 2011 our adoption of Grayson was official. There are really no words that could convey our joy on that day. So I will just show you the pictures.

Our family of three

Our wonderful lawyer Mr. Nunnally

Artie's Stepdad

The women in Artie and Grayson's life

Artie with his parents

Me and my Momma- Daddy had to work :(

In the Judge's Chambers

With the sweet Judge

Isn't he cute?

He kept giving him kisses!

This photo is out of focus but it conveys the emotion of that day.

With our lawyer and the Judge

Grayson,
Even though this day made our family "official"-you have always been ours. From the beginning of time, you were to be our son. I am so glad God chose us to be your parents. We love you so much!
Love- Mom and Dad

8 Months Old!!!

2011-03-27T11:07:00.001-04:00

Dear Grayson,

You are 8 months old! Mommy and Daddy can hardly believe it. I say this every month but this age is so fun!! You are almost crawling and it scares the living daylights out of me. You are already a busy boy and now you will be a busy boy on the move eek! The cutest part is that you can only go backwards right now haha. You talk all the time. Your favorite word is Dada and it is so sweet. You can also say Mama, Baba, Gaga, Nini, Yaya, Pop pop-the list goes on and on. You love music and will dance anytime you hear it. My new favorite thing is your temper...you are very strong willed. (I am told you get his from your birth mom haha) Trying to get you dressed and in your car seat is a work out. I am seriously sweating by the time we leave the house. You arch your back and scream at the top of your lungs. It really is adorable and I just laugh. We love you so much! Here is what you have been up to these days.

You have 2 teeth!
I am not sure what you weigh but I imagine around 20 pounds
You are still in a size 3
You are wearing a 12 month pant and 6-9 month top - it seems you have thinned out the past few months
You go to bed about 7pm and sleep through the night.
You are can somewhat feed yourself with a spoon
You are becoming more aware of when I leave the room and do not like it.
You can almost hold your bottle and are doing great with a sippy cup.
You love fruit and vegis but are still not sure about meat.
You are now bathing in the big boy bath tub and not so sure about it.
You are not crawling but roll everywhere you go! You get stuck under the coffee table 100 times a day.
You can *almost* pull up on your learn and grow table.

You make this new noise that sounds like a car and it is absolutely hilarious!!

(this is you making the noise ha!)

You give us this look when you are not sure about what we are doing haha.

"You want me to do what?"

Sweet boy each day gets better and better. I wish you were a tiny baby so we could do it all again. You are just amazing.

Love,
Mommy

Bath Time

2011-03-09T22:09:00.001-05:00

Gray had his first bath in the sink today. He was not a fan at all! I really thought he would love splashing around but he just sat there like "What am I suppose to do in this thing?". He started splashing one time but it got in his eye and he was done. We have not upgraded his bath tub from the infant one (he is finally too long for it now). I have been in denial with how big he is ha!

I am so excited to get my hair cut tomorrow! Once it gets hard to style, I know it is time for a cut. Well it was hard to style a month ago! Super excited that I get to see my colorist Kelly and my stylist Kara too! They are so fun to catch up with. I am really looking forward to it.

Ok. Seriously. Has anyone noticed how those Girl Scouts like to make you feel bad for eating their cookies? Think about it. A whole box of cookies only has like 12 total. Then you go and eat a whole dang box...who doesn't feel bad about eating a whole box of cookies? All the while these little Girl Scouts are laughing. Laughing because they win. What do I do when I feel bad about myself? Eat cookies. So I end up buying more...it is a vicious cycle! Does anyone else feel this way? No?

Tons of good news going around the bloggy world recently! It melts my heart!
I hope you are having a great week!

Videos

2011-03-08T22:51:00.000-05:00

Here are some sweet videos of Grayson that I took with my phone. I love watching how much he has changed in just few short weeks!

Soon after Grayson started saying "Dada", he switched the letters and started saying "Ada". He said this for about 2 weeks and then stopped! I am so glad I got it on video because it was completely adorable. We try everyday to get him to say it but he won't!

This video is just cute of him laughing!

I hope you had a great day!

Long Week

2011-03-07T22:23:00.007-05:00

Y'all. I have never been so glad to see a Monday come. Last week was rough- really rough.

*Warning- this post contains talk of my child's poo.

Gray and I were stuck at home all last week due to teething/diarrhea. This soy formula momma is not used to soft stool! Soy tends to make very firm BMs. So muddy diapers at our house are not so bad...until last week. It has been terrible...I have felt so bad for the little guy. He also has been pretty restless and naptime has gone out the window. A grumpy, tired, 7 month old having diarrhea tends to scream. A lot. How many more teeth have to come in?

Can I just say now how hard being a mom is? I feel so helpless sometimes. Some days I tell Ashley that I have no idea what I am doing. I guess every mom feels that at some point. Just when I get the hang of one stage, he grows out of it! And when did he get so big...was I taking a nap? A friend and I were talking on facebook last week and I was commenting on how big her son was. He will be 3 this year and he was just born yesterday! She said "Don't blink". I said "I did! And now he is 7 months old!"

{Gray laughing at Kasey before bedtime}

Then at the end of a week where I questioned if I was doing everything wrong, I receive this text message:

{This was sent from Grayson's birth family}

"Just wanted to tell you- we are so thankful that God brought you and Artie into our lives. You are wonderful parents to Grayson and we can't imagine anyone else loving him like you two do. Thank You!"

Are you crying yet? I was...I couldn't even respond right away because it made me so emotional. There is not a day that does not go by that I do not think about their sacrifice.

We were able to spend some time with them recently and had a ball! I love seeing them with him. I love being able to have photographs to show him. I just love them in general! We have such a special relationship and I would not have it any other way.

So far this week has started off much better than last. Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday and I am excited to go eat some pancakes!!

I hope you have a great week!

7 months old!

2011-03-01T18:09:00.000-05:00

Dear Grayson,

You are are 7 months old! I want to tell you how FUN you are! You would probably win the award for happiest baby ever. When you are at the shop with me- you make people buy stuff. Not.Even.Kidding. You flash that (somewhat) toothless smile and they are smitten. I must say that we are too. Although- you do get a tad angry when we are not doing what you want. Aunt BeBe said that you are our puppet master...and I would have to agree. You just have to do that happy dance and you can have whatever you want. Here is what you are up to these days!

You almost weigh 20 pounds
You wear a size 3 diaper
You wear a 12 month pant and 6-9 month top! You are very tall
You have the cutest chubby feet that do not fit in shoes!
You have a second tooth that poked through- but the first one is not all the way in yet.
You can sit up on your own now
You are trying really hard to crawl- but I am not encouraging it! (just kidding) (kinda)
You eat more than any baby I know- Aya told me the baby she nannies for only eats every 4 hours WHAT?!? You eat almost every 2-3 hours.
You go to bed about 7pm.
YOU BITE!!!! I hope this is just a product of the teething.
You still say Dada and Mama but also like to scream!
You can now show us the sign for milk! You are so very smart.
You love music.
You think the dogs are the funniest things on the planet.

You LOVE the ceiling fan

and looking at yourself in the mirror

and kicking your legs!

I could never imagine loving anyone as much as I love you. It makes me think about the love God has for me. Mommy and Daddy can not wait to see what the next month will bring!

Love,

Mommy

Baby Shower for Avery

2011-02-22T09:13:00.000-05:00

Thanks everyone for sharing in our adoption story! I hope I can encourage people going through adoption. If you have any questions or would just like some support please email me!

A few Saturdays ago I helped host a baby shower for my sweet friend Michelle. She is expecting little Miss Avery in April. Can you believe I did not take one picture the whole time? Grayson was teething badly and he was a bit on the grumpy side. So I was trying to keep him happy during the shower!
Michelle received so many wonderful things that were so very pink!

These pictures are from Michelle's camera!

Sweet friends with the Momma to be

Yummy snacks that Michelle craved during her pregnancy

Beautiful cupcakes that Angela made and

Ashley's homemade chocolate covered cherries!

Ashley and I made a joint gift- I made Avery some bows, onesie lollipops

and burp clothes...they just happen to be in the shower theme!

Melissa, Grayson and Me-

Gray loves to watch his hands open and close ha!

Miss Avery we can not wait to meet you!

The story

2011-02-21T17:01:00.000-05:00

Check out Lyndsie's blog today-I am sharing our adoption story!

A Love Worth Waiting For

Thanks Lyndsie for letting me share about our miracle!

Mirror

2011-02-20T21:20:00.000-05:00

Can I just tell you how much I love this age? Grayson is such a hoot. Anytime he finds a mirror he just stares at himself. It is the funniest thing ever! He really likes it when you make him "disappear" and "re-appear" in it ha! Gray recently discovered that his jumper has a mirror and so he watches himself jump all the time. Artie took this picture today of him...he is jumping so it is a bit blurry.

I wish he would stay at this age forever, how fun would that be? I just want to eat him up all day long! Man I love this kid!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-16T21:59:00.000-05:00

Actually a few words. Starting him early...

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T20:43:00.000-05:00

Today was Gray's first Valentine's Day! We had a wonderful day at home resting. Artie has to work over nights the next few days, so he was asleep most of the day. He is so wonderful and surprised me with flowers and candy! I was really surprised because I told him not to do anything like that!

I decked out my mantle for the holiday. With all these sweet boys in the house, I need a little pink somewhere!

We are now on tooth watch 2011 around our house! One has poked through the surface and we are waiting on it to get bigger. He will not let you look in his mouth at all...so photographing it is IMPOSSIBLE!! I did manage to get this though and if you squint, you can see it! You have to look for the sliver of white on his gum.

True story- I can not find our fingernail clippers! You know how some people lose socks? Well we lose fingernail clippers. I tried to use Grayson's last night but they do not work very well. If I do not find them soon, I will have to buy bigger shoes!

Another true story- I am totally loving The Shark Steam Mop that Artie bought for me! (I asked for it before anyone gets upset) We have 3 dogs coming in and out of the house all day-everyday. It is awesome because you do not have to use chemical cleaners which is great for Gray and great for the dogs! (Audra- you totally need one Miss Go Green herself) It is quick and gets up everything.

Will you say a prayer for our adoption lawyer? His wife was diagnosed with a Stage 4 tumor in her brain. She is going downhill quickly and he is devastated. We are praying for a miracle.

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Sweet Boy

2011-02-08T21:21:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of the sweetest little boy in the whole wide world!

{shameless way to make up for yesterday's grumpy post}

My root canal went great today! Thanks for all the prayers...I told the Dr. that I hoped we never had to meet like this again! I am in a bit of pain tonight but I think it is from holding my mouth open so long. Glad it is over now and ready to feel better. Today was long and now Gray and I are off to bed!

I hope you had a wonderful day!

Rough Week

2011-02-07T20:57:00.000-05:00

Please say a prayer for my little family this week if you get the chance. It has been a rough one. Wednesday we found out that our oldest dog has a mass in her lungs. Unfortunately, the vet doesn't want to biopsy it because it would cause her too much stress. So we just have to wait and see...the good news is that her white blood cell count was not elevated.

Thursday we took Gray for his 6 month appointment and his doctor told us that we need to take him to physical therapy. It makes me so very sad...but lucky at the same time because it is not for anything big. Gray only wants to turn his head one direction. {stubborn} So they want us to learn some exercises for him to do.

At his appointment my teeth started hurting terribly. I called the dentist but the only appointment they had was for today. It hurt so bad that I went to urgent care for some pain control. Well...it helps for about 2 hours and then makes me feel loopy. No more pain medicine for me...so I have been popping tylenol and motrin for 4 days. Last night it actually made me sick...so on top of extreme pain I am now throwing up. Awesome. Sorry- I get a little sassy when I do not feel good. I went to the dentist this afternoon and I need a root canal!!!! I have never had one but this pain has to go away. I told Artie that he was going to have to drop me off at psych ward if it did not get fixed soon. Last night was terrible...the worst pain I have ever felt.

So. I am hoping that after tomorrow this week will turn around. No pictures today.

6 months old!

2011-01-27T19:18:00.000-05:00

Dear Grayson,

Wow. Half of a year. I can hardly swallow that you are 6 months old today. I am reduced to a puddle of tears thinking of how big you are getting. It does not help one bit that you are sitting beside like a little boy and not laying on my lap like a baby. {gulp} I am just a complete mess about this half birthday!!

This month we have enjoyed watching you learn and grow! You have now moved out of the baby phase and into the on the move stage. You roll all over the floor and are even trying to crawl. You love love love your bouncer and Daddy says someday you will bounce through the floor! You talk all the time and have also learned to scream. Mommy had to go away for 4 days this month and it made me so sad. Daddy said you all had a great time together though. I know he did a great job but I did not like being gone one bit!

You are the happiest baby in the world, you rarely have bad days. You do the CUTEST happy dance when you get excited! Daddy and I just sit and watch you all the time.

Here is what you have been up to:

I have no idea what you weigh- but you go to doctor this week!
You are finally a consistent napper! You will take one in the morning, one in the afternoon and sometimes one in the evening.
You are eating more real food now and prefer it over your formula ha!
You still only take your paci to fall asleep and I am ok with that.
You are in a size 3 diaper
You are wearing 6-9m tops and 12 month bottoms. You are VERY tall!
Your bedtime routine starts at 7pm but you sometimes like to stay up late!
You are saying Dada and Mama all the time...you don't know that is what you are saying but it is still adorable.
You can roll front to back and back to front and are starting to sit up on your own.
You are very curious about the world around you.

We love you so very much. You are such a good boy and we thank the Lord for you EVERYDAY. Life would not be the same without you.

Love, Momma

Valentine's Day Wreath

2011-01-18T23:12:00.001-05:00

I already blogged about this but I wanted to link this to a few Show and Tells this week!

I am loving my new Valentine's Wreath and it was so very simple to do!

I took a cue from The Blue Cricket and hung a frame on the door. I found the frame at big lots and spray painted it red.

Supplies- felt (I used 20 sheets because I wanted a big wreath)

wire

scissors

*Cut each sheet of felt into 3 pieces lengthwise.

*All the way down each strip, cut slits that are about 1 inch apart. This does not have to be exact, you just need to be able to slide it onto the wire.

*Form your wire into a round wreath shape and form a hook at the end. This way your felt will not escape!

*Slide the felt stripes onto the wire accordion style.

*Attach the open end of the wire to the hook end to complete the circle.

*Add embellishment of your choice! (The red felt always looks weird in photos)

*Tie on with a ribbon.

That is it! Stand back and be the envy of your neighbors...just kidding!

A cute ruffled wreath!

I am linking to:

Blue Cricket Design

Snow...

2011-01-12T22:26:00.000-05:00

Anyone else tired of snow? It is so pretty to look at but it sure messes up the roads! Suzan and I were scheduled to leave for market in Atlanta bright and early this morning. We are now heading down tomorrow morning and hoping to fit everything in. In the mean time we have been keeping ourselves occupied with moving the shop! It will still be in downtown Jonesborough....just across the street! An amazing space became available and we decided it would be the perfect spot for The Christmas Shop. Moving with the snow/ice has us a little stressed- it is so hard to move heavy things with it so slick. Hopefully it will be sunny and 60 degrees by the time we get back on Monday!?! *please please* Ok. Maybe not. Well maybe all the snow will be melted.

The new shop was looking a little boring without a tree up. the day we got the key, this little cutie went up. There are some super cute things that will come in for this tree during the summer!

I am so excited to have my Valentine's decor up! I was on the ball this year. Here is my front door all decked out.

I took a cue from The Blue Cricket and hung a frame on the door. I found the frame at big lots and spray painted it red.

I love how it turned out! I saw this idea on a website and decided to try it.

IT WAS SO VERY EASY!!

Supplies- felt (I used 20 sheets because I wanted a big wreath)

wire

scissors

*Cut each sheet of felt into 3 pieces lengthwise.

*All the way down each strip, cut slits that are about 1 inch apart. This does not have to be exact, you just need to be able to slide it onto the wire.

*Form your wire into a round wreath shape and form a hook at the end. This way your felt will not escape!

*Slide the felt stripes onto the wire accordion style.
*Attach the open end of the wire to the hook end.

*Add embellishment of your choice! (The red felt always looks weird in photos)

That is it! A cute ruffled wreath!

Here is a picture of the sweet boy for the Grandparents!

I am excited to go to Atlanta to buy cute things for the shop but I DO NOT like having to leave this sweet face. He is learning all sorts of new things everyday and I do not want to miss ANY of it.

In fact...

It looks like we have a talker! He now says it all the time "Dada Dada Dada" in the sweetest little voice. Good grief I am going to miss him.

Well I will check in from my phone -wifi is $15 a day at the hotel (nothankyou)- So I am not taking my computer.

Have a great rest of the week and a great weekend!

One Year Ago

2011-01-11T08:00:00.002-05:00

One year ago today I received the call that would change our lives forever. Thank you Kelly. Nothing I do or say could ever convey my gratefulness. Today will always be a special day in our lives. One year ago today, we received the call that started the journey to adopting our son.

New Year's Day

2011-01-02T17:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the most wonderful day. Our family who lives in Georgia came for a visit and we had such a great time. The BEST part is that I got a chance to see my niece and nephews. Sylvie, Parker and Alex are completely adorable and smoosh-able. I just could not get enough...the day went by too fast. Here are some sweet pictures from our time together.

I was so excited to meet Baby Sylvie and Parker. Sylvie was born 2 weeks after Grayson and is the tiniest, itty-bitty-ist, little sweetheart ever. She only weighs 11 pounds! Grayson weighs 17 pounds haha. They were so wiggly, it was hard to get a good picture of them.

Gray with Baby Sylvie

They were holding hands! How cute!!

Sweet face

Mr. Parker...Gray fits right in with his chubby cheeks!

Alex was being a bit stubborn on the picture front. He is 3 so it is understandable! It was so great to visit with our family. I can not wait to see them all again!

Do you ever feel such happiness that it brings tears to your eyes? My heart is so full!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T00:00:00.001-05:00

May 2011 bring many blessings to your family!

WOW! 3 Years!

2010-12-29T08:24:00.000-05:00

Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband.

Three years has flown by!

I love you more and more each day.

*I have posted these before but since it is our anniversary I thought I would again!

Audra said her hair would not curl...it did. Ha!

It was the perfect day.

5 Months Old!

2010-12-27T11:22:00.000-05:00

Dear Grayson,

You are 5 months old! Where in the world did all of that time go? It seems like we just met you! I look at pictures of you from your birthday and am amazed how different you are. I still see you as that little newborn baby. I told Daddy that it makes me sad because what if you are our only baby? Boy have you been busy this month! You rolled over, you have started eating real food, celebrated your first Christmas, met another baby, got your first cold, and visited The Christmas Shop for the first time.

You laugh and smile all of time. That makes Daddy and I very happy...between 3 and 4 months you hit stage that we could not make you happy. We were worried something was wrong! There would be periods of 5-10 minutes of happiness but then angry baby would come back. We finally decided it was a communication error...you see, we speak English and you must speak a form of Swahili. Since then we have worked it out.

I love to just sit and watch you. You really are a hoot! Santa brought you a Jumparoo for Christmas and you love it. You are very active and now you have a place to exert that energy. Along with the energy comes a temper! We also have started seeing that temper more and more these days...YIKES! If it is something you do not want to do, you will arch your back and give us the mean beam. Especially getting in the carseat!

(this was one of those times- you did not want to sit back in the chair!)

You are growing and learning everyday. Here are some stats from this last month....

You weigh 17 or 18 pounds now. That is just above the 50th percentile for kids your age.
You are a great sleeper and are finally a great napper! Wahoo!
You love food. You like a variety of fruits and vegetables. But you still are on a 90% formula diet.
You like a paci at times...more than you ever have but still not a staple. You like to go to sleep with it.
You are in a size 3 diaper.
You wear 6-9 month but they are kind of short on your legs ha!
Your sleeping schedule has been weird this month and you want to stay up until 10pm! I think it is because you are actually napping now!

We love you so much! You make us so happy. Daddy and I are starting the finalization process for your adoption. That will be my second favorite day ever.

Love,
Momma and Daddy

First Christmas

2010-12-26T15:25:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a whirlwind of wrapping paper, food and family. I would not have it any other way. We had a wonderful Christmas as a family of three. However on Christmas Eve Gray was so sick. He woke up that morning congested and it progressively got worse through out the day. It took him forever to go to sleep and then he woke up several times in the night just screaming. I felt terrible for him. We even had to miss Christmas Eve service at church. When he woke up yesterday morning I was prepared for the worst but he was not that bad! Artie and I were so relieved, he still was congested but was in better mood. I can not believe his first Christmas is already over...it went too fast! Here are some pictures from the day.

The days started out with Artie, Grayson and myself exchanging presents. Here is Gray with his big gift from Santa- A Jumparoo! He also loved his new Elmo toy that we got him!

Looking cute in his Christmas jammies

Opening gifts from Momma and Daddy

Once we exchanged out gifts, we got busy in the kitchen. Artie and I host our family for breakfast every year. It is my favorite part of the day. After breakfast we all sat down in the living room to exchange gifts. First we had to try out the jumparoo! The family decided to only buy for Gray this year...we all have so much and do not need one darn thing. It was so fun to watch him with the gifts!

He did not know what to do with it as first...so he chewed on it!

He finally figured it all out!

We all rested for a bit and then headed to my in law's house for dinner. We were so surprised but the whole day it snowed! It was the first time in 17 years that our area had a white Christmas! The snow was so beautiful and made it really feel festive.

There was a full house at dinner- Artie's great aunt and uncle, my parents, his parents and Devin and Ashley! It was so much fun spending time with everyone and the food was delicious. I ate way too much. But can I help it that there were so many choices? I think not.

Aunt Margie and Uncle Homer with Grayson

Ashley and Gray

Once we were all stuffed and full of good cheer it was time to go home. Artie and I put Gray to bed and fell into ours as well. It is hard to believe it is over. Today, life goes...there are dishes to be done and laundry to be folded. At least the feeling of yesterday will stay with us for a while.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T12:05:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from my family to yours.

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;

      And the government will be upon His shoulder.
      And His name will be called
      Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
      Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

2010-12-21T22:37:00.000-05:00

On the 12th my oldest (haha not in age) and dearest friend turned 30! It is hard to believe we are entering this season of our lives. It seems like we were just 12 years old!

The birthday girl!

Saturday I went to celebrate with her and had a blast! It was at a beautiful loft in downtown Knoxville. She went all out! I was happy that I was able to go...although I never thought I would make it-I was stuck on the interstate for hours!!

Hello gorgeous cake!

And this is where my camera died...boo! Everyone had such a good time and the food was delicious. Just imagine a really cute loft decorated in lime green and black ok? OK.

Can I just say I love party food? Does it's small size make it more appealing? Maybe the size inhibits my guilt for eating so much? Not sure...all I know is that i consumed my fair share of the following Chic fil a nuggets, baby carrots, sausage balls, cubed cheese, various hot and cold dips with crackers and chips, and cake. Remember the cake? Oh my. I had to roll myself out of the party. This time of year is a hard one on the ole waist line.

Anyway.

Rebecca I love you dearly and hope the next 30 years are just as wonderful as the last! Thanks for letting me share in your special day!!

Still Here

2010-12-18T09:08:00.000-05:00

I have been terrible at blogging the past few months. Every time I sit down to blog I get distracted!

We are having a busy Christmas season! I am so sad that Christmas is almost here. I really love this time of year and it goes by so quickly! Artie and I are soaking up every minute we can of Grayson's first Christmas season. I have a question for mom's who have had a young baby during Christmas. What did you do with their gifts? Santa is coming with his gifts, but what about the gift's from Artie and myself? Do you wrap them even though you will just be unwrapping them yourself? I think I will wrap a few at least.

We had a snow storm this week followed by an ice storm. It was pretty scary for a few days. The kids have had an extended Christmas break though, so they are super happy! All of their finals have been rescheduled for after the first of the year.

I had ALL intentions of putting up pictures this week of all the Christmas decor...isn't there a saying about the best laid plans?

Look how cute Gray looks in his moose pajamas...is there anything sweeter than a baby in pajamas? I think not!

I hope you are having a great holiday season!

Gray Eats!

2010-12-09T15:35:00.000-05:00

Soon after Gray turned 4 months old, Artie and I decided to let Grayson eat something solid. We did our research and consulted our physician about which food was best to start with. We had decided against starting with rice cereal instead we choose bananas. He loved them!

Not sure what the heck to do

What in the world was that Mom?

Try again

I might have the hang of it

Hey where did that spoon thing go?

Sweet messy face

I like this stuff!

I LOVE THIS!!

Well if you are not going to give me anymore I will just eat this!

He has now had carrots as well and is doing great. It is so fun to watch him eat! He gets so excited and happy about the food.

I hope you have a had a great week! I am trying to get ready for The Nester's and Kelly's Christmas Tour on Monday. I am so excited!

76 trombones led the big parade

2010-12-05T22:38:00.000-05:00

Ok maybe not...but 5 majorettes did! Today was the Greeneville Christmas Parade and it was adorable like always. Only made better by the fact that it was snowing and our football team won the state championship last night!! The girls were a little sad because that was the last time they twirled together. They did a great job and looked extra super cute!

This is the boy named Mr. Football for Tennessee!

We were super excited to have our picture with him and

so proud that he is on our football team!

(We are a little obsessed with him!)

On a side note- I love small town parades. As I was walking the parade route I saw so many people I know and gave out about one hundred hugs! It was adorable.

It was a fun and busy weekend. I am so happy to be home snuggling with this sweet boy-

This was taken at the beach last week- I think he looks so grown up in this picture. Sad.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

The Dog

2010-12-03T06:47:00.000-05:00

*Warning- this post contains discussion of my dogs digestive system (if you catch my drift)

Oh the dog. He is the kind of dog that needs constant supervision.

Last night I was busy doing things around the house waiting on Artie to get home from work. I had been hearing noises in the kitchen but did not think one thing of it. We have papers on the table (this is where things pile up in our house) and thought the kitty had jumped up there, thus the noise. For my sake, it did sound like paper rustling. I was busy and forgot all about it. A few hours later I went in to unload the dish washer and found it. Artie had bought a loaf of bread for his lunches and it was no where to be found. Except for the plastic remnants of the bag that contained it.

MY DOG ATE A WHOLE LOAF OF BREAD.

The darn thing had not even been opened. His belly must have been hurting afterwards because the smell that came from the dog's behind was lethal. Poor Jack kept having to go outside all night long. At first we thought he acted alone- I am now believing that he had a cohort in crime considering the smell that is also coming from the poodle.

I think this dog was a goat in another life. Especially after the unfortunate incident with a baby wipe that ended with me having to assist him in using the restroom. It was awful.

Please tell me these things happen with your dogs?

4 months old!!

2010-11-27T20:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Grayson,

I am so excited about your first holiday season! Your first Thanksgiving was a little un-traditional, as we celebrated at the beach. Oh the fun we are starting to have little boy! You laugh and giggle and smile all the time. What a sweet, sweet sound! I could just eat you up everyday, you are that cute. I know someone else who could as well- Hi Aya! What have you been up to recently?

I have no idea what you weigh but we go to the Dr. next week! I have a feeling you are a little chubby, people always think you are older.
You are still sleeping through the night and still sleep in our room. I am not ready for you to sleep upstairs. Maybe when you're 12 ok?
You like to eat so we are going to try a solid soon!
We are learning more about your habits everyday. You are like a puzzle!
You will take your paci as you are going to sleep but spit it out once you are asleep.
You are in a size 2 diaper.
You are wearing 3-6 and 6-9 clothes.
You have started napping during the day but not for long. I will take it though!
Between 5-7pm everyday you hit angry baby mode. MELT DOWN CITY!! We know it is time for bed once this happen.
(this is terrible) You LOVE TV. HA! If there is a TV on you try to find it. Sesame Street is your favorite but you also love Dora, Yo Gabby Gabba* and some Spider Corner show on Nick Jr.
You visited the beach for the first time this month!

*side note- Have you ever seen Yo Gabba Gabba? Oh dear. That is the weirdest show I have ever seen. Luckily I can change it when it gets annoying.

Mommy and Daddy love you so much. There really are no words that adequately describe the love. You change everyday and make me want to turn back time to those sleepless nights. You bring joy to everyone's life. You are what I am most thankful for.

Done with the picture taking!

I am I am Thankful!

2010-11-24T22:35:00.000-05:00

Well we are packed up and ready to go! The sooner we get on the road the faster I will feel the sand between my toes- cold sand- but sand none the less. I just wanted to wish all of my bloggy friends a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you travels are safe and your tummy's are full. I pray for those whose tummy's will never know the joy of the Thanksgiving Meal.

I am so thankful for this little man.

And his drool...

And his chubby belly.

That does not fit in his pants anymore...

And his sweet little fingers.

That he uses instead of a paci...

Update

2010-11-22T18:00:00.001-05:00

Time goes by so quickly these days. I look up and a week has gone by.

Well our football team won again! We played Gibbs out of Knoxville and beat them 42-3...every game we have played this year (except the first one) has had the mercy rule called. That means that if you are 35 points ahead of the other team, the clock does not stop. It makes for very quick football game! The majorettes were so excited because the other band came and they have 5 majorettes as well. Of course they are super cute!

It is hard to believe Thanksgiving is this week! Artie and I are headed to the beach for a long weekend and I am thrilled. We have decided to drive through the night so Grayson will sleep and not need to stop. I hope it works! Since we will not be with my family for the holiday we celebrated on Saturday. Artie fixed ham, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and dressing. I made The Pioneer Woman's Creamy Pumpkin Pie. Oh my- we ate like little piggies! Everything was so very delicious!

Before our Thanksgiving meal I took some photos of a little boy for his birthday invitation. His name is also Grayson! He is a ham..so very sweet. Grayson loved the camera and he was not shy about doing silly things! Here is the picture for the invitation..his birthday is in December and will be a snowman birthday party.

Here are some sweet pictures of my Grayson! I am so excited about his first holiday season. He loves music so everyday I turn on Christmas music and dance around him. He just smiles and giggles! I love his little laugh...it is so very sweet.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. And if you are one of the crazies who gets up to hit all the sales on Friday -I will pray for you while I am warm and snuggly in my bed.

Hello!

2010-11-17T00:04:00.000-05:00

*Fair warning-this post is random.

Well HELLO my long lost friends! Sorry for being a bad blogger...I have no excuse! Actually I do and he is wonderful. Life has been very busy. Since we have such a good football team, we play all the way through November. Once football is over, life will slow down a good bit. I am still excited to make it to state championships though.

I am just so excited about the holiday season this year. Last year was a really low time for me. We had just been through 2 failed adoptions and I did not want to celebrate anything (to be perfectly honest). I did not put our tree up until the week before Christmas. This year I the tree is up and being decorated as I speak! I have my Christmas candles lit and singing holiday tunes in my head...Artie is in the same room watching the first UT basketball game of the season. I am going big and gaudy this year for Christmas. Next year Gray will be walking and can guarantee he will be into everything! I imagine the tree will only be decorated from about 3 feet and up.

Artie, Gray and I are headed to the beach next week. I can not wait! I love all of the yummy restaurants and the relaxation to be had. It is a great time to go because the tourists are gone. The only thing I am worried about is packing Grayson. That is a lot of stuff for such a little person.

Grayson is still sleeping through the night consistently. Every now and then (like this morning) he wakes up really early. He is a kicking machine when he lays on the floor but is pretty content to not rolling over. When did your babies roll over? I'm not too worried...just not sure when to look for it. I will do a full update on the 27th!

That is it for now. Sorry for the lack of pictures this month...I do not know what I have been thinking!! Here is a funny picture from my phone!

He is one of the cutest baby I have ever seen...but I think I am a bit biassed.

Oh! Did you see The Pioneer Woman's Creamy Pumpkin Pie today. YUMMY!!
OK...That really is it now.

Hope you are having a fabulous week!

Thankfulness!

2010-11-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

I can not believe it is November already! Where in the world did the year go? The next time I blink it will be Christmas ha! I really love this time of year and especially November because it reminds everyone to be thankful. Unfortunately, most of us get caught up in everyday life to thank the Lord for everything we have. Sometimes it is easy to take for granted what we have because we are envious of what others are getting. So November helps us remember that we have a lot, even if we just have a little. This year, Artie and I have a lot to be thankful for. Grayson is the most precious gift we have ever received. Everyday I thank God that he made Gray for us. We are VERY thankful. I really wanted a way to share with our friends and family how thankful we are. What better way than with a card?!

Look what I found!! Shutterfly has some really beautiful Thanksgiving Cards this year. When I saw them, I was super excited about them. I normally do not send Thanksgiving cards but this year is really special. We just have so much to be thankful for. Now just to pick one! Help me out-which one do you like best?

Photo Credit

Last year I bought the majorettes photo books from Shutterfly for Christmas and really loved how they turned out. So I know these will be just right. They also have some BEAUTIFUL Christmas cards,

Party Invitations, and precious gift tags! Go check out all of the cute designs for 2010.

So what are you thankful for?

Maybe if our friends and family see our card on their fridge (at least that is where I keep mine ha!) they will remember what they are thankful for everyday.

*This post was sponsored by a Shutterfly Blogger Promotion. Go here to check it out!

Gray's First Halloween!

2010-11-02T07:44:00.001-04:00

What a fun weekend we had! It actually started on Wednesday with our annual Harvest Festival at church. I love watching the kids get hyped up on candy haha!

Oh Barry!

Austin and I in our festive shirts

I thought this was a funny face ha

Gray during his first cakewalk with his BeBe

Friday night we had a football game which we won. We are un-defeated wahoo!!! We are actually first in the state (in our division). Saturday, Artie had to work, so Gray and I had a relaxing day at home. When Artie got home we carved pumpkins after Gray went to bed! It was nice to spend some time together working on something festive. I would have pictures of our cute pumpkins but they shriveled up overnight and were ruined! Ha!

Sunday Artie had to work and I loaded up Gray for church. October 31st is a special day for the Lutheran church! It is Reformation Day! It is the day 493 years ago that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the Wittenburg church door. He wanted to reform the Roman Catholic church. The Roman Catholic church had made people believe (at the time) that they were the gatekeepers (if you will) to salvation. Luther understood that it is "by grace alone though faith alone in Christ alone". Every Lutheran wears red on this day and it is a BIG celebration! Here we are before church in our red. I tried to take it myself and it turned out really fuzzy!

We did not take Gray trick or treating because of all of the church festivities on Sunday but we did get some CUTE pictures!!

I hope you had a fun and safe Halloween weekend!