Hooky

After a long weekend celebrating and dealing with the stomach bug, Avery was still puny on Monday. I let her stay home from school. We were running some errands that morning and one of the kids mentioned they wanted a Pongo stuffed animal to go with the Perdita we have. That gave me an idea...let's go to the Disney Store in Nashville! We quickly finished our errands and headed toward Music City.

I have been dying to go to Marcy Jo's Mealhouse near Columbia for months! It's only open Thursday-Saturday, but we got off the interstate to find it anyway. It is the cutest, smallest little restaurant ever! We looked like major tourists, but I had to get pictures!

Even more excited to go now that we've seen it! We got back on the interstate and made our way to the Opry Mills Mall. As we were trying to find the Disney Store, we passed the carousel and took a little ride. I always forget they make me sick until it's too late. Oh, well...the kids liked it.

 

We found our store, and lucky me...their stuffed animals were buy one get one for $1! They didn't quite have what we were looking for. Avery got Lucky from 101 Dalmatians and Colt got Pluto. We left there and I lost my mind in Boot Barn. I have been wanting to get the kids some cowboy boots. Well, once you are there and the kids are with you, you can't leave empty handed. So I paid a ridiculous amount of money for some boots for the kids. YOLO, right?!

 

Here's our loot outside our favorite spot, Rocket Fizz. Had to end the day with some sugar.

 

This made my day. Rocket Fizz is across the street from a parking lot that costs like $11. I found this spot on the road, and only paid a couple quarters! And we got to see the stadium where the Titans play! Now that Derrick Henry is playing here, we gotta go!!

 

 



And one last stop on our way home. Just down the road from Marcy Jo's is Joey and Rory's house. Sorry, Rory, for being a little stalkerish and driving by your house three times very slowly taking pictures. At least we didn't go knock on their door like Avery wanted to do.

 

What a fun, spontaneous day we had! I love living near new places to explore, and I can't wait to take advantage of this come summer!! Sorry, Daniel, our gasoline bill is about to go up!!

Birthday Girl

In December 2010 I was twenty weeks pregnant with our first baby. We anxiously waited to see if we were to have a boy or a girl. My sister had two boys, so I just knew it was a boy, even though I wanted a girl more than I cared to admit. We had the ultrasound technician put the gender in an envelope and gave it to my sister. She made a cake with the gender color in the middle. That was probably the longest day of my life! That night we all gathered for dinner. Then it was the moment I had been waiting for. I cut into the cake...

And couldn't believe my eyes! I immediately started crying and asking if we were really having a girl. Obviously all I wanted was a healthy baby, but a healthy girl? Double score.

I mean, can you get any sweeter?!

Fast forward to April 26, 2016, and our precious Avery is five years old. Where did the time go? We have been so blessed by this girl, and we couldn't imagine what we ever did without her. She has the best laugh ever, and wakes up smiling (on most days). She is funny and smart, asks a million questions, loves to play no matter where we are, has a sweet tooth like her mama, and loves with all her heart. She loves listening to Joey+Rory and makes me melt when she sings "I'll Fly Away" with everything she has. She loves hearing me tell her stories of people from the Bible (although I think the one about Samson was a little much for a four year old). She has brought us so much joy these past five years, and we can't wait to see what the future holds for this girl.

Avery's birthday party was on Saturday, and we had been planning forever. We had a bounce house, and we invited her girlfriends from school plus her other friends and family. We got everything ready Friday night, and at 2am Avery woke up throwing up. We couldn't believe it. She rested and rehydrated Saturday morning, and luckily she quit throwing up. She still felt horrible, and spent most of the party curled up in a chair outside while everyone else had fun playing. She was the most pitiful birthday girl I've ever seen.

Just a few shots I got. I'm horrible about taking pictures. Mamaw came after the party, and I guess Avery started feeling better. I don't know who took that last picture. Her sweet friend from school, Alexa, came and that cheered Avery a little. It was cloudy tornado weather that day, and her candles blew out before we finished singing. The party ended just in time for a few funnel clouds to go through our area. So thankful the weather held out for the party. We are so thankful for everyone who drove out to the boonies to celebrate our sweet Avery.

 

Meme got Avery the best gift. Avery loves listening to CDs in her room, but Meme got her a record player! She brought some good records from her house and we all learned how to use it. The kids are having a blast with it! That middle picture cracks me up. We've got 101 Dalmatians on in the background while they are listening to Wham. Definitely retro in Avery's room these days. We are hoping to find her Joey+Rory favorites on records.

 

Even though our birthday girl was hit with the stomach bug for her party it turned out to be a fun weekend celebrating the light of our life. Happy Birthday, Avery!

Sweet Molly

Growing up my parents didn't let my sister and me have pets. I don't really know why, but I don't remember us begging them for a dog like most kids do. We just aren't pet people. Daniel apparently didn't know that...for Christmas my senior year of college he got me a puppy. I remember him bringing this big box into my mom's house. When I went to open it, the top moved! I couldn't believe there was a puppy in that box! My mom wasn't too thrilled about having a dog in her house, and I didn't really know what to think. I didn't know anything about dogs...I was scared of most dogs that came my way. She was a tri-colored beagle, and she was the cutest thing I had ever seen. We took her outside and played all afternoon.

 

I still can't believe how small she was! I remember taking her to my aunt's house and putting her in the front yard at the bottom of a hill and how funny she looked running up that hill.

 

We had already planned to visit my sister and brother-in-law in St. Simon's Island for New Year's, so here's Molly on her first road trip.

 

Less than a year after Molly was born, she had four puppies. Two of them made it, and the trio was formed. Molly, Shorty, and Winnebago had a good life together for many, many years.

 

While we were in Indianapolis the dogs were staying with Papaw in Illinois. One day Papaw found Winnebago dead in the yard. We were very sad, but happy to see the other pups when we got home.

 

The kids love playing with the pups...they are just their size.

 

The past month or so we had noticed Molly was walking funny, like she had arthritis. We could just tell she was getting old. She was twelve and a half, after all. One day last week I went to let them out, and Molly couldn't move. She just looked at me, and I could tell something was wrong. Luckily Daniel was home and we immediately took her to the vet. We left her there and got a call later that Molly essentially had no blood. It looked like she had gotten into rat poison, but we didn't know how. The vet said she recommended putting her down, but she died before we had the chance to make that decision.

 

We are so sad. Molly was my first pet, and she was a good one. But the saddest part is watching Shorty. She's all by herself, and is just sad. She's so used to having another dog around, and she doesn't know what to do with herself.

 

Hopefully we will get Shorty a friend soon. Right now we are just remembering how special Molly was and how much we miss her. We hope our Susannah is playing with her in heaven and has a little piece of us with her.

Music City

My sister was on Spring Break last week, and she wanted to take a girls' trip with my mom and me. Our original plan was New Orleans, but we changed our minds and went to Nashville. I was super excited because I've never been, and we live so close now.

Meme came Wednesday and we had fun hanging around and playing outside. Thursday morning we met Beth at the interstate and made our way to Music City. It was close to lunch time when we got there, so we parked downtown and went to eat at Acme. It was right next to the stadium where the Titans play. I got fried catfish and it was delicious!

It was supposed to be stormy that day in Nashville, and we were so worried about walking around in the rain. It turned out to be a beautiful day! It was sunny and warm, and we walked around and looked at the touristy parts of Nashville.

 

We saw the Ryman,, browsed through Ernest Tubb's (learned something new), and stopped in some of its shops. That's what I love to do in big cities...just walk around and explore. They even have a Rocket Fizz, and you know I love that place!

 

Then we drove toward Vanderbilt. Beth and I went to an Alabama football game there several years ago, and I don't remember what it looked like at all.

 

We drove by the stadium, and I told Beth to go slowly so I could get a picture. This was the best I could get. We stopped by the Barnes and Noble and we got a surprise. Bill Nye was there signing books. Not quite the celebrity I thought I'd see in Nashville, but it was still exciting.

 

My mom and I have become fans of Joey + Rory, and we knew that they met at the Bluebird Café in Nashville. Joey saw Rory sing at a songwriters' night, and she said she knew then he was the one she would spend the rest of her life with. We were surprised at how small and out of the way the café was.

 

 

 

 The next morning we got up and went to breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. I had seen this place on Pinterest. We got there and the line was out the door, around the building. I texted my cousin to see if this was normal. Apparently it happens most days. She said it was worth the wait, so we patiently waited for our pancakes.

 

Definitely worth the wait. I got banana nut pancakes, and they were so delicious!! Can't wait to go again and try another flavor.

 

After we were rolled out of Pancake Pantry we set out to find Reese Witherspoon's boutique, Draper James. It's in this cute little area called 12 South.

 

Oh my, at the cute things! So many cute clothes, which I obviously can't afford. But it's fun to look anyway. I about died over a handbag that said, "Totes y'all." I almost pulled the, "we just got our tax refund" and splurged, but I just couldn't. No Reese sighting either...bummer.

 

Next we drove to the Grand Ole Opry. We were going to do a tour and just assumed you could buy tickets the day of. They were booked through the weekend. Oh well.

 

The Grand Ole Opry is right next to a big mall, so we went shopping for a while before heading home. What a fun trip we had, and I can't wait to go back! I want to go and just hop around to different venues all night listening to music. Sans kids, of course.

 

Speaking of music, I had never heard of Joey+Rory until Joey got sick. I listen to country music, and I don't know how I missed them. A couple weeks before she died I happened on a special on the Gaither Network where Joey and Rory were singing old hymns and talking about their life. I fell in love. I bought that cd plus another with hymns and other inspirational songs. I recently got a country album of theirs and am enjoying that too.

 

I highly recommend all of these cds. Avery and Colt are equally in love with this couple, and we pretty much listen to them exclusively. Avery loves Jesus Loves Me and I'll Fly Away and Colt loves "the one that says blood" aka Are You Washed in the Blood. My heart melts when they sing these hymns so passionately and ask for them by name. When I picked Avery up from school today her teacher, Ms. Michelle, said Avery was teaching them Are You Washed in the Blood today. I love that, and I hope that will begin her ministry of sharing the Gospel.

 

This girl loves her some Joey, and she often asks me what I think Joey is singing in heaven right then. Unfortunately, this little girl is well versed in heaven, and she is so happy Joey has a new body and is able to sing for Jesus and Baby Susannah. If there's one Joey+Rory song I would say you must listen to, it's this one...Leave it There

On one of the Gaither specials they tell the sweet story of how they came upon this song. It's a hard thing to do, but it's what God wants.

 

Take your burden to the Lord, leave it there...

 





Spring Break and a Risen Savior

This year was our first spring break. Avery was excited to sleep in everyday, but she was sad to leave her favorite teacher, Ms. Cathy, for a whole week. I tried to get Ms. Cathy to take Avery home with her, but no luck. Daniel took Avery to the movies to see Zootopia on Tuesday. They both loved it. They also came home with a treat...a new trampoline! We had an interesting time putting it together, and the kids are having a blast on it. No clue why I don't have any pictures.

On Wednesday we headed down to Birmingham for a few days. On our way in we met Meme and Anne at the Galleria to get the kids' picture taken with the Easter Bunny. We spent way too much money on pictures that weren't very cute, and then Meme lost her mind (love you, Meme!!). It wasn't her fault, though. It was the inventor of the ride-on animals at the mall. It started out a hot mess, but they got the hang of it and loved it. Meme was a trooper!



Tate spent the night and missed school on Thursday because it was his birthday and we were going to the McWane Center.

Happy 7th Birthday, Tate!!

 

 

We stayed in the one area called Itty Bitty Magic City. There is an endless amount of things to do. Colt soaked his shirt at the water area. They climbed and ran on the ramps. They were firefighers, chefs, farmers, and builders. We had so much fun! We went to Dave's in Homewood for pizza afterward. Then, because we didn't have a big enough lunch, we went to Moe's for Tate's birthday. What a fun day.

 

Beth's neighbor, Lucy, had an Easter egg hunt at her house Friday afternoon. She is so sweet and always includes my kids in everything. They have a huge backyard, and Avery and Colt had fun hunting eggs. Jack and Meme also hid eggs in Meme's yard that day. Doubling up on the candy...

 

 

 

They both found a golden egg. Smart Meme...

 

On our way home from Birmingham we stopped at Chick-fil-a to eat some lunch and play outside in the play area. They might pick at their lunch, but they can tear up an ice cream cone.

 

Avery, Colt, and I love doing crafts, and Easter is the perfect time to get out the paint and smocks. We started on Palm Sunday with this cute donkey and palm branches. Avery painted Hosanna all by herself. She could remember the word because it sounds like Susannah. I was also told this looks like a giraffe, not a donkey. Avery also loves the Cricut, so we made this banner. I enjoyed sharing the story of Jesus's last week with my girl.

 

We woke up Easter morning and immediately went into sugar shock. Luckily, Papaw was here and cooked us a big breakfast to balance it out.

 

We feel so blessed to live in God's presence and under His grace. I think one of my favorite parts of the Easter story is when Jesus died and the curtain that separated God from the people was ripped in half. Jesus came and died so that we could have a one-on-one relationship with him. A lot of times I have to stop and remind myself of that. He's always there. He wants me to come to Him. Our preacher gave a good Easter sermon about how God is Jesus's father. We say that Jesus is God's son, but we don't really think about it in a father/son relationship kind of way. Brother Van is always good at making you think.

 

After lunch the kids and I dyed some eggs before it started raining. I thought doing it on the porch was a great idea. Then I was paranoid all that dye would spill on our brand new porch. We did good...no stains this year. I usually just throw the eggs away after a few days. This year I found Mamaw and the kids eating the eggs. Yay for no waste...I guess.

 

After Easter it was back to school for a few more weeks until summer. We can't wait!

 

"It is finished."

John 19:30