Kate, what does the cow say?

Kate loves her PawPaw's cows. She got to feed the calf in the pen at the barn this weekend . . . well, she threw several handfuls of oats inside the pen!

A Birthday and a Proposal!

What a wonderful weekend as we gathered the family together to celebrate Stacy's mother's 80th birthday! And then on Monday, Anna called with the exciting news that Zach had proposed -- and she said "yes," of course!

We're so happy to add a new son to the family -- but really we feel like he's been part of the family for several years now. Zach is so good to Anna, and we certainly wish them a lifetime of happiness!

Evidently the roomies were in on the surprise, and they ended the evening with an impromptu party with friends!

She hasn't set a date yet, but they're thinking late summer or early fall -- and maybe a destination wedding! I better start saving my pennies -- and going shopping!

We held the birthday party in our new barn which had lots of room for everyone, even though the walls still look a little rough! Becky Watson made the delicious cake -- and the food was catered by the new bakery in town, Heavenly Delights. If you haven't tried it yet, their chicken salad is so good!


Thanks to each and every family member and friend who helped make this a special day for Mary! Happy birthday, MawMaw!

Little Kate's Second Birthday

We were priviledged to host Kate's second birthday party last weekend. She was in a fantastic mood all weekend and had so much fun! (Really, we all did) And we broke in the new barn!

Hunting duck in Arizona . . . and winning a National Championship

Although our purpose in going to Phoenix, Arizona, was to go to the BCS National Championship game with Auburn vs. Oregon -- we flew out on Friday before to get to sight-see some of the area since neither of us had been there before. And it was a good thing too since Alabama froze over on Sunday, preventing many from arriving after purchasing pricey tickets in the thousands of dollars. Reports were that this was the highest priced sporting event of all time with tickets game day (if you could find them) of over $5,000 each!



I'll write more about our trip later, but I wanted to get my photos uploaded. And since I haven't had any sleep for over 24 hours . . . that will come later! But War Eagle! We did it -- and it's still so hard to believe!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas weekend beginning in Madison with Casey, John, Kate, Anna, my mom and Stacy's mom. We were so surprised and excited to wake up Christmas morning to snow on the ground and flurries still in the air! Had to be careful with the great-grandmas -- and they were worried about the cold -- but it was a wonderful Christmas. We went to Christmas Eve service at Casey & John's church. On Christmas day, John's parents Kaye and Mitchell came up from Wadley to spend the day -- and we all watched Kate enjoy her multitude of gifts!



Anna cooked Christmas breakfast of egg casserole and a special coffee cake that Zach's family makes. And Casey cooked Christmas dinner of ham, sweet potato caserole, green bean casserole and rolls. W had plenty of desserts with MawMaw's red velvet cake and tea cakes -- and candy that Casey and Anna had made.

On Sunday, we headed down to Birmingham to Gary and Carolyn's (Stacy's brother) in Trussville. Their son Brian and Amanda came over and Greg and Jessi came up from Hartford to enjoy a wonderful Christmas lunch. Once again, we ate too much! We are so blessed to be able to celebrate with our families!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love Christmas time! I love the lights . . . and decorations . . . and the feel-good spirit of the season. No matter how tough things get, there's always the hope and joy of Christmas that lifts me up. And I love goofy Christmas movies! I've set the tivo to record every one on ABC Family Channel and Hallmark and Lifetime! And doesn't our little Kate look so precious in her Christmas photo by Casey?

So I've finally finished decorating my tree and the front of the house is all lit up. Stacy said, "Don't do that much this year!" That's because I tend to keep adding lights! One year, when I was still using colored lights for the kids, one of his students at school told him our house was "lit up like a juke joint!"

Anna has designed several Christmas cards, stickers and address labels that can be ordered from PaperStyle. Check out her blog and portfolio for what she's been working on lately.

And check out Casey's blog for what she's been doing lately with her photography. I'm always amazed by my talented daughters and how creative they are!

I do love Christmas! It is the most wonderful time of the year!

Footprints In The Sand

Every year for one certain conference I get to attend, the girls and I make it the "Girls' Conference." And Stacy isn't allowed! The first year we went, it was only me and Casey because Anna was working. Now that Anna can work from almost anywhere, she is able to go. We didn't get to go last year -- which disappointed the girls tremendously! And this year we added our newest girl, Kate!



What fun to spend three days with my favorite girls! They get to have fun while I'm in meetings during the day, and then we get to eat some great seafood and shop at the outlets in the evenings. And I sure did feel good when they told me Kate asked for CiCi when she woke up!

Kate loves the sand -- but this time she kept saying, "Ocean get you." We tried to tell her it wouldn't, but it was in her head and we don't know where she got that from!

When we got home Friday, they wanted to visit the Peanut Festival. The only way we could get Stacy to go was to tell him Kate wanted PawPaw to take her! She had to sit on every tractor there -- and of course PawPaw was happy to accommodate her! I told her to tell him she wanted a Gator!

And she loved all the animals. We fed and laughed at the goats and chickens -- ate corn dogs, elephant ears and roasted corn (my fav) -- watched the tiger show -- and waved at the big Peanut! She kept wanting to go back and see the peanut!

We ended the visit with a birthday party for Casey with MawMaw, Nanny and Jessi -- and it tugged at my heart as Kate waved to us when they drove out. At least we'll get to see them all again in a couple of weeks for Thanksgiving!