Black Friday

In anticipation of Black Friday Coco got busy checking out the newspaper for the best deals. Who knows if it was the thought of "shopping til she dropped" or all of that yummy turkey - either way she zonked out before she even got out the door!

Happy Turkey Day!

What a wonderful day! My husby, beautiful baby boy and my brother enjoyed a delicious meal consisting of ham, spice rubbed turkey breast, mom's "got to have" cornbread dressing, cranberry salad, frozen strawberry salad, peas and yummy yeast rolls. Dessert was a wonderful cinnamon streusel pound cake - a recipe given to me by a dear friend. We had lots of great conversation and a few laughs along the way. Mom and Dad were not able to come. Dad was a little under the weather. They were greatly missed. Jax loves his Mema and Granddaddy so much. He was looking forward to blowing bubbles with Granddaddy but I'm sure that we will visit with him very soon.

I love Thanksgiving. It is such a warm holiday. It's nice to relax and enjoy time with family and to reflect on our many blessings. God has blessed my life in so many ways. I have a husband that I adore more and more each day and a sweet baby boy that gets sweeter every day. I have a loving family and wonderful friends. I also have a furry mutt that greets me with love every time I walk in the door. I have a warm home and plenty of food. My husband provides for my child and me. I have no worries. Yes - I am truly blessed.

To each and every one of you I wish a very Happy Thanksgiving. I am grateful for you.

Girls' Weekend

I had the most fun this weekend. My 17 year old niece stayed with us this weekend while her mom and dad enjoyed time with friends at a retreat. Friday night we made brownies and just hung out. Saturday we had a girls day out to the mall. I loved watching my sweet niece check out the latest trends. I learned what's in and what's not. I really enjoyed spending the afternoon with her. She is such a busy girl. I'm very proud of the wonderful young lady she has become.

Thanks for a fun weekend - Savannah! We'll have to do it again soon.

Aloha with Love

A few days ago a group of ladies gathered to celebrate a wonderful event in the life of a wonderful friend. Two friends and I hosted a Hawaiian themed bridal shower for our dear friend who married the love of her life on the beautiful island of Maui just last month. It was a fun afternoon filled with lots of laughter and a few delightful goodies. It was an afternoon that will be remembered for many years.

Here Comes Santa Clause.......

Santa arrived on Saturday along with The Grinch and the Radio City Rockettes. We enjoyed the excitement of their arrival at Cool Springs Galleria. Jax loved "dancing" to the music and watching the Rockettes.

After seeing Santa we made a quick trip to Mema and Granddaddy's house. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. We took a brisk walk on a beautiful fall day. What a wonderful time of the year!

Our weekend concluded with another relaxing day on Sunday. We went to church in the morning and watched a few football games in the afternoon.

A Scary (but very cute) Lion

Ready to ROAR!!!!!

Spookin' with Aunt Julie!

For me?

Trick or Treat - Uncle Jay!

I'm very scary - don't you think?

Jax was filled with delight as he went trick or treating this year. Halloween began on Wednesday as we went to trunk or treat at Southern Hills Church of Christ where my brother, sister-in-law and niece attend. Jax loved seeing all of the other trick or treaters.

On Friday we went to a couple of houses in our neighborhood as well as to Uncle Jay's for a little spookin' fun. Uncle Jay always finds the cutest toys for Jax. This year he got a singing dog with crazy ears that dance to the music. So Fun!

We had so many trick or treaters knock on our door - we actually gave out all of the candy we had - a great thing! Mom and Dad came over for an impromptu hot dog dinner. Jax loves seeing his Mema and Granddaddy. It was a great Halloween!

Family Fun

Umm...maybe my name will be on that ballot one day.....

President Jax Dooner - I like it!

A very happy and blessed family!

My boys - I'm a very lucky lady!

Wow, mommy! That would make a lot of pumpkin pies.
What a beautiful fall day we enjoyed on Saturday! Our adventure began at The Factory as we cast early votes for our favorite candidates. Jax got an "I Voted" sticker and wore it proudly.Our next stop was downtown Franklin for the annual Pumpkinfest. We saw a giant pumpkin, lots of ghosts and goblins and had a delicious lunch at Mellow Mushroom.

Sometimes It's Just the Little Things

I put out my adorable scarecrows a few weeks ago. Everyday since I put them out my smallest one would topple over at least once. I was always saying as I looked out my front door, "Oh no! My scarecrow has fallen again." This went on for about two weeks. One afternoon my wonderful "husby" appeared with wood and glue. He made stands for my scarecrows. A few days later he painted them. Isn't he the sweetest?

Moments like these make me realize that sometimes it's just the little things that make a difference. Thank you, honey! I am very blessed to have such a loving and talented "husby"!

A Hawaiian Wedding

A dear friend of mine is getting married today in Maui. She has been on my mind all day. I'm so happy for her. She is a true friend that is always truly happy when wonderful things happen in the lives of others. I look forward to seeing pictures from her happy day. I know she made a beautiful and stunning bride.

Thinking of Robbie on her special day brought back memories of my "husby" and I celebrating our first anniversary in Hawaii. We had a fantastic trip and hope to go back one day with sweet baby Jax.

Birthday Fun

Hey Mommy! That cake looks yummy!

Enjoying lunch with my sweet baby!

This week has been my week. I believe in celebrating the entire week of my birthday. Tuesday night we had a family birthday celebration. Mom brought my favorite cake from The Flour Shop decorated with pink roses. Beautiful and delicious! Jax enjoyed a few bites of cake. Of course, he also enjoyed all of the attention! He has a habit of stealing the spotlight.

Yesterday - my actual birthday was a great day. My husby surprised me by taking the day off. My boys took me to lunch - mexican - yummy! After lunch I went for a pedi and did a little shopping with my birthday money. It was such a fun day.

What I've Been Doing

This week has been busy for me. I took on the challenge of reorganizing and clearing out our storage room. We have a large space just off of our guest bedroom that is great for keeping seasonal decorations, wrapping supplies, teaching materials, etc. We had accumulated several empty boxes -you know - "just in case we have to return it." Unfortunately, we kept adding to the mix and didn't take the time to recycle those that we knew we didn't need anymore. I spent Wednesday night making trip after trip to the garage with those empty boxes. This morning I broke them down and took them to the recycling center. My husby even let go of his XBox 360 box - I'm proud of you, honey! I still have some work to do. My goal for the month of November is to sort through my Christmas decorations and keep only what I know I will use. I feel a great since of accomplishment for what I've done so far. Of course, there's always more to be done.

Breakfast at Puffy

Saturday morning I enjoyed breakfast with my wonderful friends, Erin and Ann Marie at Puffy Muffin. We share a love of their famous Ginger Tea. We talked and laughed for about two hours. I always enjoy these breakfast outings with my girlfriends. I wish we could get together more often but both are very busy girls. We are planning a bridal shower for a dear friend of ours so we discussed all of the fun details for that. Such a fun morning - thanks girls!

CoCo

Last summer (before Jax arrived), CoCo and I spent a lot of time on our couch. We ate popsicles (it was a hot summer) and napped most afternoons. I think CoCo misses that time with her Mommy!

Am I adorable or what?

Three years ago today, John and I travelled to the small town of Smithville on a beautiful Saturday morning to see a little pup named BeBe. I had gotten the notion that I wanted a dog - a Newfoundland to be exact. John found a "newfie" mix on petfinder.com. John contacted the Dekalb Humane Society and the journey began. The Humane Society was having adoption day at the local Food Lion. When I first saw her I doubted that she was any part Newfoundland but after looking into those big brown eyes I had to bring her home. John signed the adoption papers and we were on our way. I immediately changed her name to CoCo just because I loved the name. She lived with me until John and I were married in February of the next year. We had lots of good times together as "single girls."

CoCo is such a special part of our family. Jax loves her and she is very sweet with him. I know they are going to be the best of friends as Jax grows up. She is a gentle and sweet-natured dog (although she has quite a loud bark.) When I look at her I can't imagine how anyone could have left her on the side of the road when she was just days old. I'm thankful that she is part of our lives. She brings great joy to our family and we love her very much.

Jungle Fun

Jax, Uncle Jay and I enjoyed a fun day at the Nashville Zoo. Jax loved the giraffes. We were almost close enough to touch one of them. He also liked the meerkats. It was the perfect day for a stroll around the zoo. All of the animals were out and enjoying a lazy day. We are so glad that Uncle Jay could go with us. We look forward to going again soon.

September 12

Before John and I tucked sweet baby Jax in last night, we read the book September 12th - We Knew Everything Would Be All Right. It's a precious book that was written and illustrated by first-grade students of H. Byron Masterson Elementary School in Kennett, Missouri the day after September 11, 2001. It's a book that I read to my second graders each year as we remembered that tragic day in our country's history. Although Jax is too young to understand I wanted to begin a tradition of reading it as a family each year on September 11 because one day Jax will understand. I want Jax to grow up being grateful for the great country in which we live. I watched much of the coverage yesterday of the memorial services for the victims of that sad day. Of course I remember where I was. I actually did not learn of the attacks until I took my class to lunch that Tuesday. The first thing I did after returning to my classroom was call my mom. I just wanted to hear my mom's voice because then I knew it would be okay. I recall hearing our first lady, Laura Bush say the exact thing. She called her mom just to hear her voice. There's just something about moms.

I'm so grateful that our country is safe and has not been attacked since that day - something that we may not always remember. For the many criticisms that President Bush has received, I believe that he deserves a thank you for doing all he has to make our nation a safer place.

Meet Tyler

Meet Tyler my new "nephew". Isn't he adorable? My brother Jay adopted him on Monday from Happy Tales. He is three years old and just precious. Jay surprised me on Tuesday when he came to visit. Jax loves him and CoCo is happy to have another "cousin." Jay has another dog, Scruffy that I simply adore. CoCo and Scruffy love to have play dates. Tyler is going to love them, too. Welcome to our family - Tyler!

Special Day - Special People

Happy Grandparent's Day - Mema and Granddaddy!

Jax took Mema and Granddaddy to lunch on Monday to celebrate Grandparent's Day. We went to Logan's Roadhouse - one of our favorite places! As always we had lots of fun and Jax ate lots of cheese. He's not ready for peanuts just yet! Thanks for being such wonderful and loving grandparents. We love you!

Precious Moment

Mema and Granddaddy gave Jax a Mickey Mouse several months ago and he has grown very fond of The Mouse. He bites his nose and carries him around with him. A few days ago Jax and I were playing our "get cozy" game so I tucked him and Mickey in a cozy blanket and captured this precious moment. I'm so glad my camera was close by. Priceless!

A Little "ME" Time

What a wonderful day! I took a little time for me today. My first stop - a long awaited pedicure. It was so relaxing. I read a magazine without being interrupted - once! After my pedi - I walked through the mall making a few stops to pick up some things. It was so strange not pushing a stroller with my sweet baby. I always miss Jax when I am away but it was nice just to take my time and not worry about his schedule. I appreciate my wonderful "husby" taking care of Jax while I took a little time for myself.

This afternoon John, Jax and I went to the Franklin library to pick up a couple of books that I had requested. It was John's first time to visit our library and he was very impressed. In a few months, Jax and I will be going to Toddler Story time. I'm looking forward to those mornings.

Tonight has been a quiet evening at home. Jax is asleep, John is playing his "favorite" computer game, CoCo is.... actually I'm not sure where CoCo is but she's probably snoozing in "one" of her favorite places and I am getting ready to watch a special report on FOX NEWS about our next vice president Sarah Palin!

I feel very blessed!

Crossing the Finish Line

We did it - both with record times! Jay crossed the finish line with a time of 28:52 and I came in a few minutes later with a time of 36:35.

I ran a little faster knowing that my boys were waiting for me at the finish line. Jax loved the bracelet I received for finishing the race.