5 years and counting...

Can't believe that 5 years ago I was getting to do this:
Seems like just yesterday. I'd do it all again, and I'd do it all the same. Same friendship, courtship, holding zone-ship, falling in love long distance-ship. I've known my husband of 5 years through a 9.5 year journey, and I would not trade my best friend in the world for anything in the world...

Our journey has been an adventure with peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows, and lots and lots of love. I am thankful to partner with a servant-leader, and man of character and integrity, and a sweet sweet Daddy.

As we anticipate welcoming a new child into our family in less than 2 weeks, we celebrate all that the Lord has taught us and all of the blessings He has bestowed on us. Can't wait to see what the next 5 years hold...

Here is a picture of us from the early days. I think this was during my last semester at Auburn, Fall 2002 when we went to ATL to celebrate Cortney's birthday...
I think we might have been in the courtship phase at this point... or maybe still the holding zone phase... but we were DEFINITELY in the kissing phase at this point! :) And, boy, was that kissing phase a fun one.

We have a special date planned for tomorrow night, so I'll post an updated NOW picture afterwards. :)

Can't believe that 5 years ago I was getting to do this:
Seems like just yesterday. I'd do it all again, and I'd do it all the same. Same friendship, courtship, holding zone-ship, falling in love long distance-ship. I've known my husband of 5 years through a 9.5 year journey, and I would not trade my best friend in the world for anything in the world...

Our journey has been an adventure with peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows, and lots and lots of love. I am thankful to partner with a servant-leader, and man of character and integrity, and a sweet sweet Daddy.

As we anticipate welcoming a new child into our family in less than 2 weeks, we celebrate all that the Lord has taught us and all of the blessings He has bestowed on us. Can't wait to see what the next 5 years hold...

Here is a picture of us from the early days. I think this was during my last semester at Auburn, Fall 2002 when we went to ATL to celebrate Cortney's birthday...
I think we might have been in the courtship phase at this point... or maybe still the holding zone phase... but we were DEFINITELY in the kissing phase at this point! :) And, boy, was that kissing phase a fun one.

We have a special date planned for tomorrow night, so I'll post an updated NOW picture afterwards. :)

Pumpkin Patches and adventures to Leiper's Fork

[I've been on a roll; check out the new posts below.]

A present for her little sister
Some of our fall fun!
Pickles and Ice Cream

Today we woke up with a mission. After a yummy breakfast of bacon, eggs, and blueberry muffins prepared by Patrick, we headed out to Gentry Farm's pumpkin patch.

We ran into Lindsay, Daniel, Savannah, and Sawyer, and Addison and Savannah had an absolute ball. Then we found Wren, Travis, Olivia, and Baby Molly. Gentry's was the place to be! We rode the hayride, moo'ed at some new baby cows, went through the maze, played on the playground, petted the animals, gathered some corn, and picked some pumpkins.


Then we headed to Leiper's Fork for their fall festival, walked around the hot spots, and ate at the original Puckett's grocery. People were mulling about in droves, and I enjoyed catching up with another high school friend and her family. Needless to say, we tuckered our little girl (and her mommy) out, and we needed some time to recoup before we could cheer on our Tigers and Tide.

[I've been on a roll; check out the new posts below.]

A present for her little sister
Some of our fall fun!
Pickles and Ice Cream

Today we woke up with a mission. After a yummy breakfast of bacon, eggs, and blueberry muffins prepared by Patrick, we headed out to Gentry Farm's pumpkin patch.

We ran into Lindsay, Daniel, Savannah, and Sawyer, and Addison and Savannah had an absolute ball. Then we found Wren, Travis, Olivia, and Baby Molly. Gentry's was the place to be! We rode the hayride, moo'ed at some new baby cows, went through the maze, played on the playground, petted the animals, gathered some corn, and picked some pumpkins.


Then we headed to Leiper's Fork for their fall festival, walked around the hot spots, and ate at the original Puckett's grocery. People were mulling about in droves, and I enjoyed catching up with another high school friend and her family. Needless to say, we tuckered our little girl (and her mommy) out, and we needed some time to recoup before we could cheer on our Tigers and Tide.

A present for her little sister

Last night we took a family trip to Build-A-Bear so that Addison could make a special present for Baby Ansley. She picked out everything and participated in each step of the process. (Meanwhile, Patrick and I took turns sneaking off to make a bear for Addison "from Ansley.")

Here is our picture story board of our adventure.
Picking out the heart
warming it up
putting it in little A's bear
checking to see if it is full enough
We did it!
Giving the bear a bath...

She picked out a baby sleeper to dress Ansley's bear in, and then we wrapped her neatly in her box. We look forward to having our girls exchange their bears when they get to meet in less than 3 weeks!

Last night we took a family trip to Build-A-Bear so that Addison could make a special present for Baby Ansley. She picked out everything and participated in each step of the process. (Meanwhile, Patrick and I took turns sneaking off to make a bear for Addison "from Ansley.")

Here is our picture story board of our adventure.
Picking out the heart
warming it up
putting it in little A's bear
checking to see if it is full enough
We did it!
Giving the bear a bath...

She picked out a baby sleeper to dress Ansley's bear in, and then we wrapped her neatly in her box. We look forward to having our girls exchange their bears when they get to meet in less than 3 weeks!

Some of our fall fun!

Fall has been so eventful for our family--it seems like we have been trying to squeeze in as many memories as we can as a family of 3 before we hibernate this winter with our new addition. Fall has been a season of Birthdays! Addison's friends Olivia and Avery just celebrated theirs. (And next we'll have Ansley, Savannah, Dad, Patrick, and Granddaddy--what a wild time!)

Wren and I have become such good friends as our oldest girls are a month a part and our youngest will also be about a month apart. When she was a month away from having Molly, she pulled off the cutest Dora-themed party for Olivia's second birthday--complete with party stations with each major character's water activity.
A week after Addison's party, we went to celebrate Avery's 4th birthday at Pump it Up. It was our first experience here, and Addison absolutely loved it!
We got to meet Poppy Mae Blackburn, and Addison got to play with her buddy Oliver! Kevin and Brit had 2 family reunions up our way, and we enjoyed spending the free moments of their weekend with them staying with us!
Patrick and I celebrated with our friends Lauren and Paschall as they celebrated their new marriage on 10.10.10 with a wedding feast. They are both organic farmers who met when Paschall came to check out Lauren's farm and have enjoyed a whirlwind romance grounded in their down-to-earth foundations. In addition to selling to Cisco, they also have a booth at the Franklin Farmer's Market called "A Tale of Two Farms." Everything about their wedding farm feast was classy, organic, and sophisticated. The exquisite organic dishes messed with Patrick's and my digestive systems, but it was a night we will talk about for quite some time!
Us on a date--me 36.5 weeks pregnant
My Bunco girls as we were eating hors d'oeuvres before the big feast
the entrance

the buffet that lead to finding our table assignments
the dinner tent
another shot of my friends
the wedding favor that was left in our cars. How cool is that???

Last week my sweet friends at work showered Ansley with more diapers, wipes, tutus, and monogramming. I love my friends and their thoughtfulness.
our after school snacks
Some of the girls--with Addison and Jack pillow-fighting off to the side...
Addison helping me open some presents.

It has been a fun time for celebrating where we are and preparing for all that is to come! God is blessing us in special ways.

Fall has been so eventful for our family--it seems like we have been trying to squeeze in as many memories as we can as a family of 3 before we hibernate this winter with our new addition. Fall has been a season of Birthdays! Addison's friends Olivia and Avery just celebrated theirs. (And next we'll have Ansley, Savannah, Dad, Patrick, and Granddaddy--what a wild time!)

Wren and I have become such good friends as our oldest girls are a month a part and our youngest will also be about a month apart. When she was a month away from having Molly, she pulled off the cutest Dora-themed party for Olivia's second birthday--complete with party stations with each major character's water activity.
A week after Addison's party, we went to celebrate Avery's 4th birthday at Pump it Up. It was our first experience here, and Addison absolutely loved it!
We got to meet Poppy Mae Blackburn, and Addison got to play with her buddy Oliver! Kevin and Brit had 2 family reunions up our way, and we enjoyed spending the free moments of their weekend with them staying with us!
Patrick and I celebrated with our friends Lauren and Paschall as they celebrated their new marriage on 10.10.10 with a wedding feast. They are both organic farmers who met when Paschall came to check out Lauren's farm and have enjoyed a whirlwind romance grounded in their down-to-earth foundations. In addition to selling to Cisco, they also have a booth at the Franklin Farmer's Market called "A Tale of Two Farms." Everything about their wedding farm feast was classy, organic, and sophisticated. The exquisite organic dishes messed with Patrick's and my digestive systems, but it was a night we will talk about for quite some time!
Us on a date--me 36.5 weeks pregnant
My Bunco girls as we were eating hors d'oeuvres before the big feast
the entrance

the buffet that lead to finding our table assignments
the dinner tent
another shot of my friends
the wedding favor that was left in our cars. How cool is that???

Last week my sweet friends at work showered Ansley with more diapers, wipes, tutus, and monogramming. I love my friends and their thoughtfulness.
our after school snacks
Some of the girls--with Addison and Jack pillow-fighting off to the side...
Addison helping me open some presents.

It has been a fun time for celebrating where we are and preparing for all that is to come! God is blessing us in special ways.

Pickles and Ice Cream

Our peers' current obsession with DSLR cameras has inspired many to try their hand at side photography businesses. Patrick's and my friend Amy (Martin) Conner is up and running with her new venture, and in developing her portfolio, she asked our family to pose for some maternity shots. I was excited and flattered because I would have never chosen to do this otherwise.

Check her out at http://www.amylauren-photography.com/

If you want to see our fun pictures, go here, click on "clients" at the top, and type in "ansley" for the password. This gallery will be up for a month.

I especially loved the one with pickles and ice cream, the one with the "ansley" blocks, and some of our family shots. What a special memory we will have to share with our Ansley-girl!

Our peers' current obsession with DSLR cameras has inspired many to try their hand at side photography businesses. Patrick's and my friend Amy (Martin) Conner is up and running with her new venture, and in developing her portfolio, she asked our family to pose for some maternity shots. I was excited and flattered because I would have never chosen to do this otherwise.

Check her out at http://www.amylauren-photography.com/

If you want to see our fun pictures, go here, click on "clients" at the top, and type in "ansley" for the password. This gallery will be up for a month.

I especially loved the one with pickles and ice cream, the one with the "ansley" blocks, and some of our family shots. What a special memory we will have to share with our Ansley-girl!