Fall is finally here!

We have the house decorated for fall. We made some fall baskets for the teachers at school. We went on a hayride last weekend with Mike, Nicole and Addyson. I love this time of year!!

Happy Hour at The Brownstone

Starla moved back to TX from TN over the summer for an amazing opportunity to work with Kasey Thompson (from Top Chef) at her new restaurant that she opened in Ft Worth. She has put a lot of ward work into opening this restaurant and I finally got to go check it out. She invited my co-workers and I to a happy hour in their lounge area. It was so nice and the food and drinks were awesome. I think a good time was had by all and I can't wait to go back!

Hudson and the Tractors

When Nolan was three years old he LOVED John Deere tractors and all farming and construction equipment. He knew the names a specifications of all of the different models of John Deere. Seriously, we had a ton of the actual JD brochures that he would make us read to him at bedtime. We have never been to the petting zoo when visiting the stock show - we are always in the exhibition halls looking at the tractors on display and talking to the salesmen about them. He also LOVED the tractor trader magazine (just like auto-trader but for tractors obviously!) Anyways, the point of that little trip down memory lane was to tell you that I think Hudson is going to be just the opposite. He loves fast cars and "old timey" cars. He doesn't care to learn about the names and types of construction equipment and tractors. But he does love his big brother and that is something they actually like to do together - play with tractors and construction toys out in the dirt or in the sand box. A few years ago we stopped at a construction site that had a big JD tractor so that Nolan could see it. It was like a magical moment for him. He couldn't believe how big it was and of course it made for the cutest pictures. There is a construction spot by my work that I pass all the time - when I see all the red tractors lined up I think about how much the boys would like to see it. Even Hudson who isn't in love with tractors would still appreciate a dirt pit and the huge machines. (Isn't that every little boy's dream?) I think that it's just something about the shear size of these things that make boys like them. Anyways a few weeks ago Nolan spent the night with MiMi and it was just us and Hud for the evening. We decided to go eat Al's Hamburgers. While we were there I mentioned to Scott that I had always wanted to take the boys over to that construction site. he said we should take Hudson over there after dinner, so we did! Hud thought it was the coolest thing ever! He especially liked the fact that there was so much dirt for him to jump through - ugh! I snapped a few pictures attached below for your viewing pleasure...

Krystal's Baby Shower

I should have posted about this a month ago but I just haven't had a chance! Krystal and Roy are expecting their first sweet baby any day now. They are having a little boy and plan to name him Hayden. Her shower was at Stevi's new house and was a cute Friday night happy hour/girls night themed shower. Can't wait to meet their sweet little baby!!

Ugh!

Here is a typical conversation with Nolan after school:

Nolan, how was school?

"Good."

What did you learn about today?

“I don't remember."

Can you remember anything about your day?

"I DO remember that after snack Mrs. Ware told us to go read. And at recess I played Star Wars with Cole, Carter and Ryan. Ryan got out of line today and got in trouble.”

Did you ever get out of line?

“Uh…(pause)…I just went crooked.”

Crooked? Did you get in trouble for going crooked?

“No. She just told us to get back in line. She’s nice.”

Introducing Roxy!

Well I guess last Friday will go down as one of the most unexpected days of my life! A friend at work was looking on Craigslist under "pets" and the first post listed was for a Boxer that needed a good home. We looked at the link and thought the pictures of the sweet girl were cute so I forwarded it to Scott just because they had a picture of the dog in a tutu. He responded back in about half a second that he was on the phone with the owner and would call me in a minute. When he called he started telling me how perfect she sounded, "she's sounds just like Daisy" he said. He wanted me to call the lady and talk to her. I started crying. I told Scott that I was just sending him the link because I thought it was a hilarious picture. Scot was was adamant that if I called and spoke to this lady I would want to at least go see the dog. I thought about it for a little while and decided to call. The woman's name was Stephanie and she was so excited that I called back. She said that just since Scott had called that two other people had called and they both asked right off the bat if the dog had papers and was she fixed - she said it made her think about all the people who might just be looking for dogs to go to those puppy mills and have a million litters. So sad!! Well she is fixed and she doesn't have papers and so that wouldn't matter in the least to Scott and I. If she wasn't fixed we would have just taken her straight to our vet to have it done anyways. After talking to the lady for about 15 minutes I knew that we had to go meet the dog and see if she was a good fit for our family. It was a sad story - the family moved here from Ohio and did all their leasing and pet deposits online. They got a notice on their door after only living here for three weeks saying that they weren't allowed to have dogs over 35 pounds. :( Stephanie freaked out and fought with the leasing office but there was nothing that could be done unless they just wanted to pay the huge re letting fee and get out of their lease. She said that she is great with her kids, has never shown one ounce of agression, loves everyone, potty trained, loves to snuggle and loves to play. She's 5 and half years old so she is already way out of the "puppy" phase. Since they are so far from home they didn't have any friends or family to give her to. So she decided to put a post on Craigslist to see if she could find her a good home. I guess that's when God stepped in and knew this sweet girl needed a good family! It was so random - one minute I'm talking about how I don't know that I could ever love another dog, the next I'm in the car driving to Bedford to meet Roxy. She is sooooo calm and soooo sweet. Instantly I knew she was a sweetheart and I could feel the tug at my heart saying you can do this. We decided to give it a trial run and just take her home for the weekend to make sure that she was a good fit with our family. It took about 5 minutes of being home with her and the boys to know it was perfect. It's like Daisy sent her to us! She acts a lot like Daisy yet even a bit calmer and a little more low maintenance than Dasiy ever was. She LOVES the boys and is happy to follow directions from them and love on anyone who wants to give her attention. She is funny at nighttime because she switches from room to room all night like she can't decide who to sleep with so she takes turns. She is great on a leash so every morning we walk Nolan to school and every afternoon we walk her to go pick him up. I am so glad that Scott called the lady and that we took a chance on doggie love again. The boys are having so much fun with "their" dog - Nolan has made it very clear that she is not "our" dog. I think she loves her new family as much as we already love her!







I love this pic because I walked in the back yard and Hudson had a little snack cake in his hand and was eating a bite and then giving Roxy a bite. Um SICK! I walked out just as they were finishing their snack. Right!!



I also thought I would post a few pictures of where we burried sweet Daisy. Scott and I found this perfect little metal Daisy at Canton a few weeks ago and then this cross for sale in the bookstore of our church. I think it's a perfect place and it makes me feel happy just to know she's close. I miss her everyday.

Nolan and Hudson's Church Dedication

We had a long talk a few weeks ago with Nolan about how we officially became members of Rush Creek. Nolan wanted to know if he was a "member" and we told him yes. He wanted to know what that meant and so we tried our best to explain it to him. We also told him that we were going to be baptized and that we were going to dedicate him and Hudson to the church. We explained to him that meant we were making a promise to the church that we would raise him in a Christian home and rely on the church to help us teach him about the Bible and about Jesus. He was pretty excited about it. :) This past Sunday was the big day. All our family and a bunch of friends were there to support us. I can not tell you how much it meant to me to walk onto that stage and see 20 smiling faces! I feel a difference everyday in my family, my marriage and my day to day life with the commitments we have made to be more involved in church and really make God the focus. We were blessed to be able to stand up and show our dedication to our friends, family and our church.