A Sad Goodbye

Today we had to say goodbye to one of our dear friends, Jeremy "Bull" Bullington. He was such a great guy and we will miss him terribly. We did kind of lose touch during the past several years. He got married and moved away to Hazel Green (I think) and everyone just got caught up with their own lives. Which I know is going to happen. Everybody gets older and then there just comes a time when you realize we're not in high school anymore. There were times I can remember vividly like when Bull came over to the house just about everyday, but he was always welcome. He was good company. He was a groomsman in our wedding. He was there at the hospital when Alyson was born. Bull would've been 30 on March 1. Please just remember his family in your prayers. Specifically his wife (Shannon), his dad & step-mom, his mom & his brother.

What A Weekend!!

We had such a great weekend. During this time of year I always try to cram as much as I can into the weekends. Why, I don't know-but it's my absolute favorite time of the year. Friday night we went to a church in Decatur for "Christmas Now & Then" and out to eat with our friends. It was GREAT!! (Thanks Patti for the invite.) Saturday Greg had to work until 12:00 and as soon as he got home the girls and I took off to the movies. We saw Enchanted, which was a really good movie. The girls had such a good time. We spent the rest of the day shopping which is always fun for me. A lot of people you couldn't pay to get out in the mall this time of the year but I'm all about it!! After our loaded day of shopping, we went to the hospital to visit my friend who just had her 3rd little baby girl. She's absolutely precious. Sunday we all went to the "Living Christmas Tree". We went to the special shorter version that's especially for kids. I loved watching it, it's so pretty. It kept Bryson's attention pretty well too.

I also wanted to show off our newest pictures. My mom decided a few weeks ago to have the whole family's pictures made. I think they turned out pretty good. Yes, all the guys have matching shirts-awwww!! Me, my mom & Jason have not had a picture made together since like 1987!! I think it was time to have one made.

Basketball Girl

Alyson is playing basketball for the first time this year. She's pretty good at it, too. She could be a little more aggresive, but she's having fun at it.

Can We Have A...

...Moment Of Silence? The gingerbread house that is in these pictures is no more. Apparently mama did not "cement" the thing down well enough and therefore it totally fell apart about 5 minutes after these pictures were taken. The kids did have a great time decorating it. Bryson was just eating the candy, but participating, nonetheless.

Girls' Christmas Pictures

These were taken at school, therefore, I was not there to "direct" them!! :) They're pretty cute though.

My Boy Is Two!!

I just cannot believe my baby has turned two. What a mess he is. He's into absolutely everything and is definately ALL boy. We love our little blonde haired tot and feel so blessed to have him. Here are some pictures from his b-day party. He got lots of boy toys including tools, which he loves.

Only My Abby

I had to post these pics of Abby. The other afternoon I heard her hollering "MAMA" with just a little bit of whimpering in it. Well, I went into the bathroom and this is what I saw:

She had somehow gotten her pants leg stuck on the cabinet door knob. She wasn't in any pain so of course instead of helping her right away, I said "stay right there, I have to go get my camera!". (like she was going anywhere)

In case you are wondering, yes we have some major renovations to do in our 1975ish bathroom!!

Happy Birthday Abby!!

Abby celebrated her 5th birthday by going to "Libby Lu". She took 2 of her friends along and they all had so much fun and were so cute getting all dolled up. I really can't believe she is 5 already! She is something else-I'm telling ya'll. She's so funny and definately keeps us entertained. Here are some pictures from her birthday and a couple of her bobbing for apples for the first time at a Fall Festival. I thought they turned out cute.

Miss Ella (rock star), Miss Abby (punk rocker?) & Miss Elizabeth (princess)

Latest Pictures

Well, I've finally taken advantage of the great portrait package I won from Target Studios. We spent a whole day taking pictures of the whole family. I am so thrilled with the results. Here are a couple to sample:

My Big Girl Turned 7!

Alyson turned 7 on September 22. It's so hard to believe because seriously it just seemed like I gave birth to her not too long ago. Gosh, the years fly by. She's such a caring, smart and loving little girl and I'm proud to call her my daughter. Here are a few pictures from her big day. We took her to Build-A-Bear Workshop for the first time. She absolutely loved it. Afterward, we took her for pizza and then came back home for cake with a few friends and family. It was a special day for her.

Here's one of Abby cheesin'.
Bryson's ooooohhhh'n and aaaaahhhhh'n.

Abby and her teacher, Mrs. Cothren. She was also Alyson's teacher and will hopefully be Bryson's when he gets to Pre-K. We love her!!

Our Little Artist

I know all of the blogs I've written lately are all about Alyson, but she's been the only one with "news". And I've still got to blog about her b-day. I promise I don't have a favorite child!!

We are so proud of Alyson, she has won the drawing contest for the whole 1st grade. Her drawing goes on all of the class t-shirts for the whole grade. She got her shirt for free, but I of course had to order myself one to proudly show off. We're not quite sure where she got her drawing ability, definately not from me or her Daddy. Enjoy the picture. (I had kind of a hard time scanning a shirt.)

Already????

Alyson came home the other day with her first "love" card. It's from a little boy named Blake in her class. I couldn't believe it. I figured all little boys this age thought little girls were yucky!! Here's what the card looked like-it is kind of sweet.

N-H-H-S

The girls participated in the New Hope High School mini cheer camp this past week. They had a great time learning cheers and dances. They got to perform what they had learned at Fri. night's ball game. It's just so cute to watch them. This was Abby's 1st year, Alyson has been doing it every year for about 3 years now.

Student Of The Week

This past week, Alyson got the honor of being "Student Of The Week". She is enjoying school so much and absolutely loves her teacher. This is a big homework year. In kindergarten, they really didn't have any, so this is definately a change for us. Every night she has to read a book, practice her spelling words and practice her reading words for the week plus she has homework sheets that have to be turned in every Fri.

Here's her little survey she turned in for SOTW:

My Favorite Hobby: Drawing

The Best Thing About Me: I can swim

My Favorite Food: Carrots

My Favorite Color: Orange

My Favorite Book: Tinkerbell

My Favorite Number: 10

When I Grow Up I Want To Be A: Doctor

My Favorite Animal: Puppies

My Favorite Subject: Art

Flashback To My Wedding

O.k., so I was reading this article in a magazine about this woman who got married really young and just told how she looked at life and her marriage. I thought some of the quotes were exactly how I felt. Greg and I were married in December 1997. I was 18 and he was 20. We knew we were going to be married eventually so I guess we just figured "why wait". Anyway, here's an excerpt from the article that just says exactly what I would say - if I was good with words. :)

"It wasn't until recently that I realized my engagement ring-two tiny jewels riding a golden wave-is a child's ring, and how appropriate that was a the time. I had no clue about marriage. I had no idea about the storms lurking out at sea, the rocks, how desire could rise and fall like the tide. And I'm glad I just blithely plunged in. Had I really thought about it, I might have bolted back to the singles jungle with my life list in hand. In a way, we've grown up together. We helped make each other-for better or worse. Getting married wasn't about settling down or having stability; it was about joining forces for an adventure neither of us could have alone. It was like standing at the edge of a cliff with rushing water beneath us. We were happy, terrified-and against all expectations, we jumped. But we were holding hands, and even if we were falling fast, we were together. ARE together."

Sweet, huh? We've been through so many good times (and some bad) over the past 9 1/2 years, but I would not have chosen another road or anybody else to go down it with. Get ready.....here's a picture on our wedding day. We look like babies!! Greg doesn't even look the same to me.

The Girls Have Bunkbeds

O.k., are we crazy or what?? But we have decided to put the girl's bunkbeds together. They've had the beds for like 2 years now, but were using them as twin beds. Of course, they were super excited about it. Alyson has the top-that's the safest solution!! Abby would be swinging from the fan I'm sure. We're not even letting Abby go to the top bunk at all-if we can help it. The bed looks really cute and now they have so much more room to play. Which, at their age, is really all they care about. Oh, speaking of swinging from the fan, they did decide to rig up a couple of barbies and send them on a ride around the fan. Enjoy the pic!! If you look down in the lower right hand corner, you'll see Bryson on his way up the steps-yeah, that's another issue alltogether.

P.S. I know I've blogged like 3 times this week, don't worry, I'm sure the "new " will wear off and my blogs will dwindle down to maybe 2 times a year!! :) Just Kidding.

Alyson Swam For Babies

Alyson and a group of her friends participated in the "Swim For Melissa" event that took place last Sat. All profits went to help the NICU at Huntsville Hospital. They exceeded their goal which was wonderful. Here are a couple of pics from the day.

New Hope's On The Map!!

I don't know if you're heard, but there's a show on the Style Network where hairdressers swap places with another hairdresser for a week. Well, a guy from New Hope got to do it. He's a hairdresser/bus driver/foral designer. He swapped salons with a guy from California. I went to my friend's house last night to watch it. Of course, at the beginning of the show, they have to show all of the most hideous, redneck, junky houses they can find. That was wonderful to look at. I guess that's my biggest complaint about it. New Hope wasn't completely made fun of. It was exciting just to see some people I knew on T.V. :)