weekend of sweetness...

Yes, I got a suh-weet dose of Cora Beth this weekend! I went to Lexington Friday mid-morning and tore myself away Sunday afternoon about 4pm.

She has changed so much in the last 2 months since I've seen her! She was 3 months old on Friday (Oct 25) and her little personality is starting to show. She's smiling a lot now, especially when you talk to her. Daniel (my brother) says she recognizes a smile on someone's face and usually will smile at you if you smile at her. I tested that theory. :) And that will absolutely melt your heart when they smile at you! What a connection you feel! At least I did.

I have to admit I was such a "hog" with her but I tried to give everyone a chance to hold her -- my family is so great about letting me have her to myself when I'm there because they know they can see her whenever. I know my mom & dad don't get to see her as much as they'd like and they're still so good about letting me have her. And that's not to mention how great my brother & sister-in-law are about being around whenever I'm in town so I can see her just as much as I can before I have to head back. They're absolutely wonderful.

I've been kind of undecided as to who she looked more like, my brother or Brandi. I was sort of leaning more toward my brother's features until I saw baby pictures of Brandi -- spitting.image. Looking at Brandi's baby pictures, and even her toddler pictures, is like looking at a photo of Cora Beth. I never would've guessed. But she's too stinkin' cute no matter who she looks like! :)

Our next trip will be in a month for Thanksgiving and I'm sure she will have changed even more by then. Counting the days...

little sweetheart...

I'm taking a road trip to Lexington (aka L-town) to see my little sweetheart of a niece, Cora Beth, this weekend! Leaving tomorrow between 10am and 11am with my good friend and former coworker, Cheryl (aka my mom's heart sister -- they really could BE sisters...) and I.can't.wait.

I've been one other time to see her since she was born and that was for Labor Day weekend at the beginning of September so it's been 2 months since I've seen her. But my dad & brother, God bless'em, have been pretty good about sending photos. This is one my dad took a couple weeks ago when he & my mom (aka Grandpa & Grammy) kept the little munchkin on Columbus Day. You know they loved that! :)

Do you know that this child will be 3 months in 2 days (10/25)?? That just blows me away...

Hope you guys have a great weekend...I KNOW I WILL! :D

new pinestraw...

This weekend we had absolutely beautiful weather -- sunny skies, a nice breeze, mid-70s for the high...it was a great time to work out in the yard. We weren't planning to work in the yard but it seemed like a good idea. I was sitting out on the porch with my bible study when Jeff got home from mentoring and the men's breakfast at church and we just got to talking and looking around at our neighbors' houses/yards (and feeling the gorgeous weather). Our neighbors to our left had just gotten brand new pinestraw laid down which made ours look really (REALLY) bad...

Pinestraw is not the ultimate goal in our yard (we'd like some sort of wood mulch or stone), but it's cheap and that works for now. We picked up 6 bales at a local hardware store and got to work. First, we had to weed and spray the weeds we couldn't pull. That wasn't too bad. Then we pulled the bales out of the back of the truck and started spreading. It actually went down pretty quickly. It still took us a few hours and we were bushed afterward, but the end result was very satisfying -- it makes my tight back & sore legs worth it! :)

Before & afters:

the big 3-0...

So I've lived for 3 decades...so what? I don't FEEL like I've lived that long. It's hard to believe I'm actually to this point in my life (I used to think 30 was so.far.away.). But your 30th birthday should really be celebrated in a big way...and celebrate, I did! Jeff and our sweet friends threw me a surprise party this past Saturday night in the youth building of our church, the Cross Point Center. I had no idea but was so pleased when I found out!

Jeff told me we were going to have dinner at a friend's house so that's where I thought we were headed. But we had to make a "pit stop" on the way at the Cross Point Center so Jeff could "help Adam lift something" before we went on to their house. Uh, huh. We get to the CPC and I ask Jeff, "Do I need to come in?" Ever so nonchalantly he says, "Yeah, why don't you come in?".

SURPRISE!!! Almost 50 people were there to wish me a happy birthday and help me celebrate. It was awesome -- the best birthday party I've had so far! And the CPC was a great place to throw a party. As you'll see in the photos, the kids were pretty well taken care of with video games, arcade games, air hockey, pool tables, a basketball court. And of course, we ate good! Jeff stepped outside his mind when he went to buy hot dogs & hamburgers (& buns) for this party -- we brought TONS of food home with us. But we had enough for everyone to eat hearty and that's the important thing. Our friends helped with setup and also brought side dishes like mac & cheese & scalloped potatoes, chips & condiments for the burgers & dogs, as well as brownies & such.

Then Jeff brought out this beautiful cake in my absolute favorite colors -- I bet he didn't even try to do that (I don't think he even knows what my favorite colors are! :). And it was sooo good! We took lots of that home, too. That's okay -- it just spreads the birthday celebration out a little longer (not so good for the diet, but waddya gonna do??).

It was a wonderful night of celebration and I'd like to thank everyone who was able to make it to my party to help me celebrate this milestone in my life. I love you all and call myself blessed to have you as my friends. I especially want to thank my heaven-sent husband who I'm so proud to call mine! You done good, babe! :)