This past weekend, Patrick, Mallory, Cayman and I went to go visit my folks down in Elberton, GA. It had been several months since we had visited. My sister got the ball rolling on having us all gather on this weekend to celebrate my mom's birthday and my brother-in-law's birthday, which both happen to fall on the same day. Mallory was a happy little girl who was gladly passed from one set of arms to another. We spent the majority of the day on Saturday watching football (Go Gators! Go USC!), eating good food, and playing some competitive games of Texas Hold 'Em. Congrats to Aunt Amanda and Uncle David for the victories!

We look forward to us all being together again at the end of the year for our Christmas celebration together. Family is so special and I'm blessed by the Lord for the family he's given to me. My mom and dad are so wonderful and my sister and I both feel so special when we go there. Mom always has our favorite treats on hand and makes our husband's favorite meals. We spend hours talking about our lives, memories, extended family, football, etc. We relaxed a lot and just enjoyed each other’s company.I also wanted to share another wonderful heirloom that my mom gave Mallory. As you may or may not know, my mom is an incredible seamstress. She's made Mallory some cute little things so far, but what she recently made tops a lot of them! I have wood floors in my home and I don't have any rugs to cover them. I haven't wanted to purchase any, since we're only going to be in this house for another few months. So, I've been laying out blankets on the floor for Mallory to play on. It's still not a lot of padding for her and it's been a pain for me to lay the blankets out a few times a day. So, my mom designed and made a beautiful butterfly play mat for Mallory to play and enjoy her toys on. Mom was very creative in the way she designed it; the material has different textures for her to feel (flannel material; terry cloth from an old, soft towel; quilted material). It's also easy for me to remove the cover to wash it. It’s comfortable for Mallory and it’s SOOO easy for me to put down on and pick up from the floor. It's beautiful and it's something that she'll cherish for a LONG time.

We’re looking forward to gathering again soon when Christmas rolls around! 

Visit from Gram and Pops

Patrick's folks came to visit us two weekends ago (yes, I'm behind in my blogging!). We had a nice time together. We walked around downtown Jonesborough, which was the first established town in Tennessee. Jonesborough is about 15 minutes from our house and has a quaint Main Street for antique shopping and gift finding. We had lunch at a little cafe and enjoyed fried green tomatoes, which you don't see regularly on restaurant menus. Gram and Pops watched Mallory for us while we had a date night, which we greatly needed and thoroughly enjoyed! We miss them very much and look forward to visiting them on the first weekend of December!

 

6 months!

Mallory was 6 months old on the 19th. It's hard to believe how quickly she's growing up, but I say that all the time. She's a delight and I'm so thankful for her.

It's FINALLY here!

Patrick finally received his license to practice PT in Tennessee! He applied on August 7th and 11 weeks later he got word today from the TN state board that he now has a license number and can see patients. It's been a difficult 5 weeks for him at work without being able to do what he came up here for. He's been finding odd jobs around the office, catching up on some educational reading, and killing time. He actually has a patient today and is excited he can actually start work now. Praise God!

The Mission of Motherhood...

I really am enjoying this book The Mission of Motherhood I'm reading by Sally Clarkson. I just finished a chapter on building loving relationships with our children. The book is so rich with godly advice, scriptures, and ideas of how to apply the principles she writes about in real life. At the end of each chapter, she asks questions for the reader to meditate on as well as suggested actions we should attempt with our children. The actions in this particular chapter were so good that I wanted to share them with you.

~Make a list of tangible ways you can show your children your love - a surprise picnic in front of the fireplace, an "I Love You" card under their pillow, a back-scratching or a foot rub, or even a long-stemmed rose for a romantically inclined teenage girl. Try to pick items that would speak to each child's spirit. Then make a commitment to act at least one item from your list for each child in the next few weeks.

~Mark your calendar for one-on-one time with each of your kids this month - an early morning restaurant breakfast, an ice cream date, a walk or run, or just a quiet cup of hot chocolate alone in your bedroom. I have found that it is when I am alone with my children that they are more likely to share what is in their hearts and allow their friendship with me to blossom.

Fall in the mountains...

I think this next week will bear forth the peak colors of the autumn leaves. It sure is beautiful now, but we still have a lot of green amidst the reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. I took this picture at a local park about 10 minutes from our house. It's a great park with paved walking trails, which allows us stoller-pushers to have an easier time managing our precious cargo while enjoying the scenic beauty!

We're are anticipating more company this weekend, too! Patrick's folks are coming up for a visit tomorrow and we'll be able to enjoy a few days with them. We're very excited about showing off our beautiful surroundings in addition to having some good "Gram and Pops" time with Mallory. I love having guests. I'm going grocery shopping today to purchase ingredients for my meal plans. Plus, Patrick took Cayman to the groomers today, so I'm dog-free for several hours!!! Today should be a perfect eve for a fun weekend!

Giggles

Mallory was giggling yesterday. She doesn't giggle that much and I thought it was really cute!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

This past Wednesday was Patrick's birthday (Oct 11). Mallory and I made him some Sausage Gravy for breakfast, which he really enjoyed. We also made him an Oreo dessert, since Oreos are his favorite cookie. We met Patrick for lunch at Chili's and then shared the dessert with his co-workers. After he got off work, we went to church together, which was a nice ending to a good celebration. Happy Birthday, Patrick. We love you SOOO much!

GO GATORS!

We also enjoyed watching the Gator game on Saturday with my dad. Grandpa loves his Gator Girl! Go Gators!

Weekend with Grandma and Grandpa

My parents came up for a visit this past weekend, which was SOO nice! We went to the Erwin Apple Festival on Saturday, which was SOO crowded that it wasn't really that fun.

We had a lot of fun hanging out together, though. My mom brought Mallory a new toy and a new diaper bag for me. She also made a few burp cloths to add to Mallory's collection. It was fun to receive the gifts, but it was SOO much more fun to just have them here! Patrick and I even had a chance to go have a cup of coffee by ourselves, which is definitely a rare occasion!

My mom and I spent some time on Sunday driving around the city and taking in a few open houses. It was nice to get out with just mom. As you can see from just a few of the pics that were taken this weekend, we had a great time.

Spitting out food!

OK...I have a question for the solid-food-feeding moms! Mallory has this pesky little habbit of spitting out food. It's like she's "blowing bubbles" with the food in her mouth. I pretty sure it's her sign of being done (I have been signing "all done" with her), but sometimes she just does it to play. I'd like to break her of this, but she's only 6 months and I don't know if it's just a phase or what. She's been doing it for over a week now. Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Company this weekend!

I'm so excited to host my parents this weekend! I've been piddling around my house hanging pictures up, cleaning, preparing the guest bedroom, meal planning (which is SO fun!), and sharing with Mallory the excitement of her grandparents arriving tomorrow morning! I'm going to the grocery store this afternoon to pick up the food. I'm planning on preparing 3 recipes off of my friend Beth's blog (Peach Cake, Cream Cheese Peppers, and Jalapeno Syrup), which are perfect since my dad and Patrick enjoy hot peppers. We just bought a brand new queen-sized bed for the guest room and it arrived yesterday. We now have a comfy place for guests to stay (hint hint) instead of an air mattress on the floor.

I'm just so excited!

The Mission of Motherhood

As Mallory is getting older, the weight of the responsibility I have as her mom is beginning to weigh heavily on my shoulders. I feel that she's at an easy stage right now; she doesn't know how to reason between right and wrong, her favorite toys are her feet, and she's content knowing that mommy and daddy will play and feed her. Through my time at Desiring God Community Church, I have been so thankful to the Lord for putting godly mothers around me so I could have current examples of how moms rear their children in Christ. I've gleaned so many ideas from Kelly, Nicole, Beth, Joy, and others and I thank you all for sharing your lives with me!

In addition to their examples, I've enjoyed reading The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. This book has been such an encouragement to me and impresses the truth that the role I have in laying a Christ-centered foundation in my child's life is my greatest mission right now. I am over half way done with the book and I'm looking forward to finishing it soon! I found this book at a bargain sale in Pigeon Forge, TN when I was about 7 months pregnant. I knew nothing about the book and bought it because it was a great price and I didn't have any sort of parenting book. I'm glad I bought it!

I struggle with selfish motives daily when it comes to my time and actions. I find myself getting frustrated when Mallory wakes up from a nap and I'm doing something else I haven't finished yet that I need to get done. I also find myself grumbling over laundry, cooking, cleaning, and running errands. I have also noticed a "what's in it for me" attitude. I'm ashamed of how selfish I've become! The Lord reminds me of His blessings, though. What a joy it is to be able to stay at home with my child! What a joy it is to prepare my home for my husband! What a joy it is to serve the Lord through being a mother and wife without the distraction of a corporate job! God is good and I'm so thankful for this mission He's given me.

Peaches?!?!?!

Fall is here!

Northeast Tennessee is so beautiful in the fall! We've enjoyed the cool weather and bright sunshine over these last few days and the leaves are starting to get a little color in them. It's going to be a beautiful month! It seems as though every weekend from now until the holidays has some kind of festival or event for the public to attend. This past weekend, we went to a Harvest Festival hosted by a Methodist church. They had a huge "flee market", which was really an oversized garage sale. They had TONS of clothes, knick knacks, shoes, toys, etc for the treasure hunters to sort through. I think I found a couple of gems...I got an old Fisher Price clock toy and the original Memory game (from like the '80s!!!) that were both in great condition. I also got a book and some old French card game I had never heard of, but it came with some directions on how to play. My side of the family loves to play cards, so I figured I'd have to bring it home and we'll all have something new to try! Anyway, the UM church had a silent auction and a HUGE BBQ dinner. Patrick and I ate our fill (much to Patrick's chagrin!). There was also horse rides given to the kids. One of Patrick's co-workers had a horse up there, so we walked over to meet her and she offered to let Mallory "ride" the horse. It was so cute! Mallory may take after her cousin Skye in being a horse lover!














After our Harvest Festival adventure, we drove around the area and found a great kid consignment shop. It was a dumpy looking building; it looked like a place you would drive by on your way up to some deserted mountain town that sold hubcaps and old Pepsi signs. But, it had a couple of kid toys in the front instead and I asked Patrick to stop. When I peaked inside the door, there was a gold mine of clothes, shoes, and other accessories! I spent about an hour in there sifting through the clothes and found many warm clothes for Mallory to adorn this winter. I asked the lady at the counter what shop was next door and she told me that it was a salon and saddle shop. I thought that was a strange collection of retailers...a kids store, salon, and tack shop. Odd. But, I will be going back!

We've enjoyed our time in the hills so far and have been spending a lot of time looking around at the different housing developments, which are so different that Charlotte. There are only a handful of large neighborhoods; the majority of neighborhoods have approx. 15-20 homes, which is nice!

This weekend, my parents are coming for a visit, which we're ALL looking forward too! I have a lot to do before they come, but it will be fun preparing my house for company. We'll be attending an Apple festival this weekend in a neighboring city, which is supposed to draw some 90,000 visitors! I'm hoping to squeeze in the Storytelling festival in another town as well! With the FL/LSU game at 3:30, I'm hoping we'll be able to do everything!!! BUT, playing with Mallory is priority for Grandma and Grandpa! 

5 months old!

I'm a little late with the 5 months pictures. Mallory turned 5 months on September 19th. I took this pics on Sept 27. It's just taken me a while to catch up on pics! I've still got a TON to go through. We had a fun weekend with Mallory and I hope to blog it sometime soon. She's growing so fast and is getting more beautiful every day!