Monroeville

Okay Blogger friends... My friends from the band Monroeville will be singing the National Anthem in Bristol prior to the Ford EcoBoost 300.../Widow Wax 125 this Saturday, March 17 @2pm.  

Fox and ESPN networks cary the Saturday race at 2pm EST.  Watch them live on National Television!  

I can't even tell you how excited I am for these guys!  They are such a talented group of young men! I'm so proud of all of them!  I'm especially proud of my long time pal Travis Houck! (front left) You may remember him from playing at our wedding!

(photo from Monroeville)

Check out their music video for Pot of Gold here!

Check out their website: http://monroevilleband.com/
Like them on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/monroevilleband

If you're lucky, you can also catch them playing at the Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery on the strip in Gatlinburg, TN.  (They play most nights that they don't have a show scheduled.)

Good luck at Bristol, fellas!

Hidden Treasure in My Purse

This morning I dove into my large tote filled with my old purses looking for a missing bag.  One of the purses I came across had a lot of stuff still in it, so I pulled everything out to see what I have been storing for who knows how long.

Here's what was inside...

• 3 pens and 2 sharpies (I have a crazy amount of pens from working at Financial Aid)
• pack of tissues, powder compact, and a nail file
• 2 nail polishes, lip gloss, 2 empty burts bees tubes, and 2 bottles of lotion
• toothbrush kit from an airplane
• comb, contact case, and mints
• keychain from the movie Lincoln Lawyer
• pack of unknown pills and a tylonal sample
• 7 used gift cards (wonder if there's anything left on them?!)
• used movie gift card
• business card from Anthony at eLearning (my old place of employment)
• $5 coupon to Chili's, $10off coupon to Victoria's Secret, and coupon for a free container of juice
• discount list from Welmont
• strawberry jelly pack from Cracker Barrel
• tootsie pop, cinnimon candy, and fireball (seriously, these have to be a couple years old- gross!)
• Best Buy rewards cards
• 2011 ETSU calendar
• stack of Tacobell napkins
• store list (on the list: pen storage-- for all those pens from Financial Aid?)
• my old checkbook (that account has been closed for a while.)
• pictures from my old wallet.
• and last but not least... the receipt to an adventure me and Brad took in 2008. (that's the treasure)

This precious item brought a smile to my face



This is from a late night, Mcdonald's ice cream cone run Brad and I went on a few years ago.
We got our cones and went to park in Downtown Elizabethton to eat them.  We did that all the time. While we were eating our ice cream, we decided to take a little adventure. We didn't have a cable at the time and it had been months since we had watch TV and we REALLY wanted to watch TV.  So after we finished our cones, we decided to keep driving until we ended up in Bristol and we got a hotel for the night so we could watch TV.  (After we did that, we realized we could have paid for a months worth of cable for what we paid for a hotel room for the night.)  But then we wouldn't have had an adventure!  Check out the awesome, classy, comfortable hotel linens we were blessed to sleep under...

When we woke up the next morning, we decided to take our adventure even farther.  So we skipped the first day of classes at ETSU (who goes to the first day, anyway?)  We drove like 4 hours to see one of the (once) seven wonders of the world-- The Natural Bridge in Virginia.  It was totally random.  And honestly, I was a bit disappointed.  I mean, it's cool and all but one of the seven wonders of the world? I expected it to be more awesome. 

We also toured the caverns.  And I was scared.  I don't like to be 34 stories under the earth.  Especially when they told us that earthquakes have happened there.  Doesn't make ya feel too safe.

After our day at Natural Bridge, we headed back home.  Got stuck in traffic.  And had lots of laughs.

It's a great memory I share with my sweet hubby.  And I'm glad that I was reminded of it today while purse diving.  

Blessed. That's Me!

Well, we did it!  We signed the contract to our new house!  Now we just have to wait til closing day.  I feel like that day will come very slowly. 

It's smaller than we were wanting,  but it has everything else on our wish list!  It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a view, and the biggie- a garage for Brad.  AND it's already painted inside to match our color schemes!  Well, except the nursery is pink and brown... we will have to change that for our little guy, ha!  Most importantly, it will be OURS!  No more renting! 

Here's our future home.

Other good news (for me) is that after three and a half years and a baby later, I still fit into my size zero wedding dress!  It's a bit more snug, but it still fits!  Talk about a confidence booster, ha! 

And just so you know, I don't just go around putting on my wedding dress for no reason {laughs}. A friend of mine is opening up a wedding venue in Sevierville and she asked me to be her model for pictures so they can start getting the word out about the barn.  It's still under construction, but it is turning out great!  It's going to be beautiful.  It is a rustic barn (once owned by Dolly Parton and her family).  It will hold about 125-150 people.  It is planned to have an outdoor patio off the back of the barn that leads out into a cove. I am honored to be the face of their venue!  I'll share pictures when I get them! 

The greatest thing in my life right now, though, is this little booger.

 He gives the BEST hugs!

I am beyond blessed!  I have so much to be thankful for!

Have a great night!

Love is in the Air

LOVE.  It's such a wonderful thing.  Seeing people in love makes my heart happy. 

Tonight, my heart is REALLY happy! 

My sister-in-law, Bethanny, got engaged to her sweetie, Dillon, today!! 

I am seriously so excited about this.  Really, REALLY excited!

I was there the day they started dating (like 4 years ago!) and we've been waiting for this moment for a long time!  Dillon was one of the groomsman in Our wedding and we are just so excited to have him join the family. 

(Is it bad that I might be just as excited about their engagement as I was my own?!) 

Congratulations Bethanny and Dillon!!!  I love you guys!  (I'll start training Liam to walk down the aisle with your rings first thing tomorrow *wink, wink!*)

Take one look at these pictures and tell me it doesn't make your heart happy too.  I dare ya!

These are all candid shots of them by the way.

True love?  I think so!

God's Plan. Not Mine.

Life is funny.  Or should I say, God is funny?!  I've always had plans for my life.  They were my plans.  I made them, and I just knew life would play out the way I wanted it to.  Some of my plans have gone my way, like... Go to ETSU and graduate, marry a Godly man, do mission work, sponsor a child.  All of these plans were conquered.  Now, my life is going in the very opposite direction of the plans I had for myself. 

• I did not want kids for at least 5 years after I got married- We were married for 3.  But I would NOT change it for the world!
• I swore I would never move back to Campbell County.  We are buying a house there!  It's where we feel led for the time being.
• Being a stay-at-home mom... Yeah right!!!  That is the last thing I ever thought I would do!  But here I am.  Stay-at-home mama.  For now, anyways.

God obviously has bigger plans for me, than I have for myself.

I'm learning to be a super mom, but seriously I don't know how some mama's do it!  I need training.  I love staying home with Liam, though.  Would I like to get dressed up and communicate with adults at a paid job? YES!  But would I be miserable being away from my pride and joy?  Absolutly!  So, for now, I'll work my hardest at being the best mama I can be. 

I'm so excited to see where God is taking us in the journey. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

You Stole My Heart

I haven't blogged in six months.  But I have a good excuse.  His name is Liam.  And he's awesome. 

World, meet Liam.... Liam, meet the world.

To my baby boy...

• Your laughter melts my heart.  It's the best sound I've ever heard.
• I love when you smile in your sleep.
• I could just squeeze you when you learn something new.
• I'm sorry that you get scared when Macie barks.
• Your cough is a little dramatic AND I love it.
• I laugh when you cry and I cry when you laugh.  Motherhood is full of emotions.
• You love to pull my hair... and that's okay.
• I LOVE when you take a break from eating to look up and smile at me... Seriously, do you know how precious you are?!
• Why is the word "Really" so funny to you? 
• Your happy place is your changing table... Naked. 
• I'm sorry that you have reflux.  I'm sorry it hurts you so bad after you eat.
• Your favorite toy is my hands... Sorry I don't have more of them!
• You giggle when I put your pants on.  Every. Time.  Never. Fails.
• You own 20 pairs of shoes and you won't wear not one pair of them. 
• I love when you bounce in your bouncy seat... It's hilarious.  And loud. Very loud.
• How is it possible that your legs are stronger than my arms? 
• Thank you for sleeping through the night.
• You are a momma's boy.  I love that.  And I love you.

Whoa Baby!

I've been a busy little bee lately.  Preparing for the arrival of a baby is hard work, shew!  I thought I would update you on how things are going... I've been slacking with keeping my friends up to date- sorry!

I'm 33 weeks pregnant today!  I can't believe how time has flown.  A lot of things have changed since my last post...
*For starters, I'm huge!!  Uncomfortably, huge.  It's a chore just to get out of bed.  And I still have 49 days(give or take) to grow more!  O.M.G. 
*I feel like I've been punched in the ribs... Oh wait, I have. 
*The baby is still breech.  The little booger doesn't want to flip apparently.  He's been in the same position (on my left side) the entire pregnancy.  He found a comfy spot and don't want to leave it.  He takes after me in that aspect. 
*My belly is bigger on my left side and it makes me look funny.  Liam's a jokester like his dad.
*The worst part about my entire day is going to bed at night.  I literally dread bedtime.  My hips hurt when I lay down so it's very uncomfortable and hard to sleep. Not to mention the 4-6 times I get up during the night to go to the bathroom.  Did I say how hard it is to get out of bed???
*I haven't been able to see my toes for weeks now.
*I've become an expert at picking things up with my toes.  It's easier than bending over.  
*Swimming is hard when you're carrying 30 extra pounds!  Treading water = impossible.
*The baby is most active when I'm laying in bed.  He must think it's funny.  He usually starts partying around 10pm-11pm.  He also moves a lot when he hears music. 
* You can see Liam move and I think it's really weird, but I love it.  Brad always says, Oh my gosh! 
*It's hard for me to take deep breaths or yawn because the baby is up so high.  I hate to yawn cause it hurts.
*I love when Brad talks and Liam moves to Brad's voice. 
*I'm starting the "Nesting" mode.  Some days I get the strongest urge to just clean and I can't stop myself. I wish I was always like that! 
*Every time I see a baby, it makes me want to meet Liam right away.  I can't wait to see his sweet little face! 
*I hate the way I look, but it's every bit worth it.  I'm soooo excited about what's to come.  I love my little baby boy and can't wait to hold him in my arms!