Blue Ridge and Other Things

Happy Thanksgiving week!  I am sure everyone is gearing up to cook and/or eat lots of food here in a day or two.  I, for one, am super excited about spending Thanksgiving with my family!  I haven't spent Thanksgiving in Florence since I got married so I cannot wait to see a lot of relatives I haven't seen since my wedding and introduce Mason to everyone.  I am also very much looking forward to my Aunt Marva's macaroni and cheese and my mom's seven layer salad and my grandmother's (Mamaw) chicken and dressing, fried okra, and potato salad!!!!! I am so pumped! (Big Fat Fatty)  Notice I only mentioned the food and nothing about the thankfulness.  I am very thankful for so many things, but I will save that for a future post, Lord willing I have time to do another one soon.  

Now, let me wrap up the Blue Ridge vacation with these pics from the last full day we had at the cabin...

Here we have Ben's artistic photography capturing his "perfect s'more."

Ben and Mason are going to kill me for putting this one on the blog, but I love it!!! Mason doesn't favor us in many ways physically (the bright blue eyes and blonde hair), but he has so many of our other characteristics.  I love their sleepy head looks early this morning.  We didn't get much sleep on the trip because Mason had a hard time sleeping through the night for some reason.  Special thanks to mom and dad for staying up with him a couple of nights.

Ahh, I am so sneaky capturing this picture of Matt.  Cara brought her cool travel hammock and I think I need one of those as well... maybe for Christmas.

Cara was forcing Matt to share the hammock with her.  

Not exactly the correct focus, but I think this picture of Berkley is hilarious.

Mason is always thrilled to walk around.  I am learning to shoot on Manual and I forget I have the camera set to manual and just start shooting.  This pic is over exposed and unedited but I love the expression captured on Mason's little face.

Berkley Boo my mountain dog.  He is such a rugged poodle.

The sun made the leaves light up like they were glowing!  I love fall because of all the beautiful colors!

It was all in all, a wonderful trip and we had so much fun! I definitely recommend Blue Ridge as a fall vacation spot for any family.  I wish I had captured a few shots of down town Blue Ridge because it is such a quaint little town.  I also need to share our experience at the store "Gypsy Eyes, Mystical Shop." Yes, didn't know that was the name of the shop until after we went in there.  You can just imagine....

I would also like to share this link with you.  It is from Women's Bible Cafe which I stumbled upon while searching for a good Bible study.  The Women's Bible Cafe offers several on-line Bible studies that you can follow along with every week.  I did Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and I loved it! I highly recommend this website if you don't have time to meet weekly with a group or another individual but would like to participate in a study.  It was a blessing to me even though I did struggle to keep up with the reading.  The link I shared is a really uplifting article about gifts that we can all share with others such as Joy, Strength, and Peace.  It reminds me that "small" things, as simple as praying for someone or just being there for a friend going through a tough time can have such an impact on another person.  Check it out if you have time!

A Fall Update

Hi Friends!  I am on vacation and now I have time to do a little bit of documenting! We have had a lot off fun this fall and I have a lot to catch up on.  Mason is SIX MONTHS OLD! What in the world?

I can't believe how fast the time goes.  All Mason wants to do these days is get to where he wants to go by himself and immediately.  However, he doesn't know how to crawl or walk yet, so this presents a bit of a problem.  I don't think it will be long before he figures out how to get around, but I am not sure if that will be good or bad for me.  This little man is into everything already!  

We were lucky enough to get away with the family for a few days to Elijay, GA where we visit every year. There is something about a cabin in the mountains that just brings a sense of calm and relaxation. Here are a few pictures I have taken so far.... 

Mom and Dad bought Mason that little blue bear suit and we just had a fit over it.  I probably took 50 pictures of Mason in the bear suit.  Ok, I would've probably taken 50 pictures of him anyway, but I did love the bear suit!  We got out early this morning and watched the dogs play in the creek behind the cabin.  The leaves have all changed colors hear and they all fall down when the wind blows like it is snowing leaves. It was beautiful!

                                 

    

The dogs love to play in the creek and they are so much fun to watch!  Berkley was too fast for me to get any good pictures of him but I will try to get some good ones before we go home.  

My mom is the one who always finds the awesome cabins.  She is extremely picky about the cabin and it usually takes her many hours of searching to find the perfect one.  She hasn't failed us yet! 

Little Punkin loves the outdoors and he loves playing with the leaves.  He sometimes tries to eat them so you have to watch him closely!

Speaking of Punkin, we got to take him to a pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago and we had the best time! I will try to do a post on that and Halloween a little later.  Here is Mason playing in the corn box which I thought was so neat.  I just knew that he would try to eat the corn, but to my surprise, he just played in it.  I can't wait to get him a sand box!  Oh, and does this child need a hair cut?  Yes he does.  Did I mention that he had his first hair cut at 4 months old?  Out of control.... our friends say he has a comb over and I think that is pretty funny.  Most of his hair is concentrated on the very top.  What color is it?  Not sure, but it isn't the same color as mine!  Some people think it is blonde, some think it is red, some think it is brown.... I think it is more brownish blonde.  My hair was light like that when I was a baby and has gotten darker as I have gotten older.

I am really happy to have a few good pictures of Mason and me together.  Since I am always behind the camera, I realized that I have very few pictures of him with me.  I prefer to be behind the camera, but I want him to look back and see pictures of us together one of these days. 

My sister-in-law, Tori, took the picture below a couple of weeks ago.  Tori is very talented and I was glad that she was able to take some family pictures for us!  I will post more as soon as I get the other proofs.  

We are loving this fall weather and we spend as much time outside as possible.  Mason is more content to just sit and play on a blanket when we are outside.  Indoors, he is always grunting in frustration trying to get somewhere else.  However, the dogs provide a lot of entertainment for him wherever we go! Mason LOVES Pete and Berkley and always smiles and laughs at them when he sees them.  He tries to crawl or walk over to them and touch them.  The dogs leave him alone for the most part, walking up to lick him occasionally.  They don't mind him pulling on their fur.  Berkley, however, could be a little more aware that there is a baby in the room; he thinks he is the baby.  When Mason and I are playing on the floor, Berkley tries to sit in my lap and lay on me.  I love them, but sometimes they are a lot to handle on top of taking care of a 6 month old.

Here are some of my favorite shots from playing outside. I took these a week or so ago when Matt and I were outside doing some yard work.  Ok, Matt was doing yard work and I was instructing him on what to dig up and where to plant.  I love yard work. :)

This is Mason doing his "dance."  It is actually his, "I am moving my arms and legs and hoping I go somewhere" dance and I think it is hilarious!

We have the privilege of hosting my little brother (I always call him my little brother even though he is about to be 23), Matt, for a little while as he takes some time off from school to get a little work experience.  He has been extremely helpful, especially since Ben has been working extra, and it has been fun getting to spend time with him. Matt and I haven't really lived in the same place since I left for college when he was 12.  Can't believe it has been that long.... Oh yeah, Matt hates it when I take pictures of him so I have to be sneaky and do it when he isn't looking... like above where he is carrying the hundred pound root ball of the tree that was previously in my flower bed. Thanks Matt.

So, Halloween was hilarious!  My friend Haley let me borrow her son, Sam's, costumes that he wasn't going to use this year.  We got so many comments and compliments on our little octopus. Thanks Haley! Mason and Ben are posing with our friends Adam and Caden (who is a monkey).  I think this picture is too funny and will probably end up coming back to haunt Caden and Mason many years down the road.

 We really enjoyed a visit from Aunt Sissy this past weekend.  She got lots of quality time with Mason and says that he is "her baby" since he looks more like her.  I have to say, I can't claim those pretty blue eyes!

And hopefully it won't be another month before I get to post again!  I just discovered that I can upload big pictures to my blog strait from my computer instead of uploading them to the internet!! What a time saver. 

I am off to start The Hunger Games.  I have heard good things about it but have no idea what it is about.  Hope it isn't too scary! (It sure is nice to have round the clock in home baby-sitters!)

The Lame House and Other Things

Happy Halloween from the house who got 5 trick-or-treaters. Seriously. Ben and I bought 3 huge bags of candy because we had high hopes of handing out lots of it. However, a huge bowl now sits before me filled to the brim with Snickers, a variety of Reese's, and Sweet Tarts. I looked out the window of the front door and literally saw kids walking down the street past our house without even giving it a second glance. Is our lawn that unkept? Is it because I didn't carve a pumpkin this year? WHY ARE WE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU PEOPLE?!!!!

Next year I am going all out with fake spider webs, lifelike vampires, coffins, tombstones, etc. all over our pristinely manicured lawn. Then I'll bring back out this years candy and be like "There ya go suckers." I'm not bitter.

Moving on... FALL!! I love fall so much. I wish it would stay fall until December 20th and then it can be winter for 2 weeks and then fall can come back until Spring. I shall start praying this request now. Ok, check out this S'more....ahhhhh (that is a chorus of children (not snobby trick-or-treating children) singing in the background)

One of the lovely things that comes with this time of year is S'mores along with fires in the fire pit on our back porch. I love S'mores so much that I have been known to make them in the microwave when there is no fire around. It is easy... you just heat the mallow up for 10 seconds and when you take it out of the microwave, sandwich it between the other S'more parts and you are good to go. And, if you have never watched a marshmallow in the microwave then I suggest you do it now just for kicks. Except heat it for like 30 seconds. For an even bigger thrill, use Peeps.

Another Fall must have is Apple Cider. I have tweaked and perfected my own recipe from others and it goes something like this:

1 half gallon of apple cider

1-2 cups orange juice

the juice of 1/2 a lemon

4 cinnamon sticks

8 whole cloves

a squeeze of honey to taste

A few thinly sliced lemons and or oranges (for looks mainly)

Bring all ingredients to a boil (I am guessing on the quantities here... I just throw it all in there so you can add more or less as you like) and then let simmer for about 30 minutes. Store left overs in the fridge.

So, the news is pretty much out now that Ben and I are having a baby in April!! I mean, it is on facebook so that basically makes it official. Anyway, we are really excited! However, I think my parents are more excited. The week after we told them the news I found a beautiful bouquet of flowers on my front porch steps with this card attached....

I think mom and dad actually meant for the card to say "ThankS for making us grandparents," but apparently this was the last card the florist shop had. :) Their flower arranging skills far outweighed their card-writing skills. Anyway, Ben's parents are excited too even though this baby will be grand baby #5 on their side. The newest addition, Neely, was born just over a month ago! I am ashamed that the only pictures I have of her are on my cell phone but she is such a cutie! She and our baby may end up being in the same grade!

Here is my first "pregnancy" picture. I finally bit the bullet to pose for it. I am 13 weeks here.

Ben and I actually made it to Auburn for a ball game last weekend! Our friends Josh and Shelley came and stayed with us for the game and they inspired us to make the long 45 minute drive to campus. I am sad to say that we have only been to 1 game since we graduated! This past weekend we didn't actually go to the game because we didn't have tickets, but we did go and hang out on campus for tailgating. We had the best time and all of the new additions on campus have made it even more beautiful!

Before we came back to Montgomery to watch the game from the comfort of our couch, we grabbed lunch at one of my favorite Auburn places, Pita Pit. I love it!!!! While I was there I found this hanging on the cork board near the coke machine:

If you can't tell what that is, it is little pieces "strips" of paper with pictures of chickens on them. I laughed out loud for like 5 minutes when I saw it. It was sort of awkward because the game was starting so the only people in Pita Pit were me and Ben and the people making the pitas. The pita guy did not acknowledge me but I was laughing so hard AND taking pictures of the sign. I went to take my own chicken strip but then I saw what looked like a spot of blood on one of the strips and I changed my mind.

So, Auburn killed LSU which was AWESOME because the LSU fans are possibly the rudest and most obnoxious I have ever encountered. They were yelling at Ben and me all day long (on our own campus!) and it got old fast. We would just smile and wave or ignore them. (I'm sure there are some very sweet LSU fans somewhere out there.)

In other news...

I traveled to Mobile a couple of weekends ago for a baby shower for my friend and old roommate, Allison. The shower was great and it was fun to get to spend time with Allison. She is going to be a wonderful mom! I am very excited that our children will be close to the same age!

Ben and I got to keep our nieces Adalyn and Bentley for a little while one Saturday night while their parents went out. They are so good and we had a great time getting to play with them. They are just growing up so fast!

And lastly I leave you with a picture of my silly poodle. He is always into something! Lately he has been digging in the yard, not only with his paws, but also with his face, as you can tell from the picture. I open the door to let him back inside and this is how he greets me. I don't know what I'm going to do with him. He is going to be so jealous when the baby gets here!

Disclaimers:

1. I am not seriously praying "please let us only have 2 weeks of winter."

2. I am not really handing out this year's Halloween candy next year. That was a joke.

3. I have no intention of spending more than 50 dollars on Halloween lawn decorations such as coffins, tombstones, fake lifesize vampires, etc. Ever.

4. My lawn will likely never be pristinely manicured.

5. I am not responsible if you try to heat a Peep or marshmallow of any kind in your microwave and it explodes. (The marshmallow, not the microwave is at risk of exploding.)