"Tullahoma" Thanksgiving

This year, our family traveled to Tullahoma for Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving in Ttown because I get to see my cousins and their kids. It is hard to get together as often now that we are all grown up with children. I also love Thanksgiving b/c of our family's menu! I failed to get a picture of all the food, but there was plenty. It was Delicious!! My personal favs were the hashbrown casserole, the pineapple casserole, cranberry salad, squash casserole, the rolls, pecan pie, and the sweet potatoe casserole. I won't tell you how many pounds I gained in the 72 hours I was in Ttown.

From noon until 10pm, things were happenin'. I captured a few pictures to give you a glimpse of what was like.

Madeline arrived first giving Catherine a playmate. They instantly paired up and disappeared. It wasn't long before we found them upstairs in

Grandmommy's magazines. A little later we found them in Anna
Lea's barbie dolls and accessories. They had a blast. Cousins
Kathryn and Molly were unable to join these two this year. I
decided that they will make a little "possy" that will need to be
watched. I was thankful that Catherine and Madeline didn't find
Gmommy's make-up!!




There was also some football. Tyler holding Lincoln, and bro/sis combo Reagan and Riley played football. Lincoln got his first taste of "tackle" football and had a blast. He actually threw a lateral pass to Tyler who scored a touchdown. His first assist!! The older kids were SO patient and helpful with the younger ones, for which I was thankful.

Gmommy ordered crafts from Oriental Trading company in case the weather was bad. We
were thankful the rain was finished, but the kids enjoyed the
crafts none-the-less.










Thanksgiving would not be Thanksgiving if there weren't snoozers during the day. Dad and Brad at least made it to the evening before passing out. They will LOVE this picture being included! :)

I can never format my pictures the way that I want to on this blog, but we also had games. They started after Coleman went to bed. Some of us played Phase 10 while Gmommy and the boys played on the computer. At 10:30 pm, we decided it was time for the kids to go to bed. Catherine fell asleep on Brad around 9:30 and Lincoln's eyelids were going to need toothpicks to hold them up if had been up much longer. I wish I could say that Lincoln slept in the next morning, but he was up by 7 am. He crawled into bed with Brad and I. See the blog below titled "Sweet Nothings from Lincoln".

I did play Hide and Seek outside after dark with the 5-9 year olds. I learned a couple things about myself. Running around my parents yard as a 32 year old was not the same as running around it as a 13 year old. As I chased kids or ran from them, I was constantly wondering where the next bump/hole would be, and I wondered if I leapt for any reason would my knees hold. That takes a little of the fun out of the game. It did make me feel a little better that I was still pretty quick in chasing the kids. I chased Anna Lea around the house once at high speed and decided quickly, however, that I wouldn't do that again. I needed to catch my breath after that one. I think playing Hide-N-Seek was one of the highlights of the day! I got to know Riley and Reagan a little more too. I told my cousin Sandy that they were both great team players!!

Thank you God for our parents and grandparents who taught us from the beginning that being with family was important!

Oh, I almost forgot this picture- Here is a picture of all the "kids"- big and little.

Sweet Nothings from Lincoln

Friday morning in Tullahoma, Lincoln woke up early and crawled into bed with Brad and me. I love these moments with him. As he has grown older, they have become few and far between. As we were snuggling Lincoln says,

"Mommy, I love your heart."

me- "Thank you Lincoln, I love you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes."

"Mommy, I love your whole body"

(that got a soft chuckle) "Thank you, Lincoln"

"Mommy, I will never love any other girl. Just you."

I squeezed him tight- my heart was overflowing. Words were no longer needed!

The Candy Wrapper Speaks

Something funny just happened to me and I wanted to share it. Last night at Walmart, I convinced myself that I needed Dove chocolate candy with almonds. Having never purchased them, I was somewhat delighted today that each piece had a different saying written inside the wrapper. So delighted that I kept eating them (it was only 4, okay, maybe 5) just to see what they said. Finally, I told myself- "Okay, one last piece. Then I will put them away!". The last wrapper said "Keep the promises you make to yourself." I didn't think much of it until a little later when, before I knew it, I had another piece open. As I put the candy in my mouth I noticed the wrapper, "Keep the promises you make to yourself"- AGAIN. I couldn't help laugh aloud, it got my attention. This time, I will stop eating the candy!! I am afraid to see what the next piece might say- ha!!

It's a brisk morning here in Cookeville, and my favorite time of day. Lincoln and Catherine, especially, show that they do love each other by sharing hugs and kisses and even sharing the "big" rocking chair. Just moments after this picture, however, was their first arguement of the day. It was over who would hold Coleman in their lap first. I interferred quickly before they thought to play tug-of-war with Coleman's arms. Coleman was placed on the floor to play, with strict directions to L. and Cat. to "leave him alone". (Catherine is the one who plays tackle and steamroller on him. Coleman is only 3 lbs away from being as "heavy" as she is. Once he begins to walk, it will be on!!)

Funny Catherine Story
(I know, I go 2 months without posting and I do 2 in one night. I am on a roll!)

Tonight we had a meal before church. After we eat, the kids run around the gym and get all wound up before class. At some point, Catherine left the gym, and went to the bathroom. And because we are such great parents, we had no idea that she had left the gym. Anyway, this is what we were told:

2 men were taking care of business in the men's bathroom- of course. To their great surprise, the door opened and in walked Catherine all alone. She cruised right by them, making eye contact, and turned into the stall. Without closing the door, she pulled down her pants, hopped on the toilet, and began to go to the bathroom. One of the men quickly exited the bathroom and alerted Brad to Catherine's location. Brad walked in to find her still sitting on the toilet. She looked at him and said "I go poop."

Can you imagine the surprise those men felt? Of course, Catherine doesn't know boy vs girl bathroom or that it is a private affair. Who cares that those men are there. When she has to go, she takes herself. Always has. Lincoln wanted me right there with a book. Catherine says "You go!" and points past me out the door. Lincoln still wishes I helped him clean up, Catherine takes care of herself which you might think is great, but let your mind think on that just a little. At least once a day, it isn't so great! :)

Here's a Halloween pic. This was taken at their Mother's Day Out party.

Our trip to Washington D.C.

Brad ran his first marathon 2 weeks ago in our nation's capital. We flew north on Friday, with our friends Chris and Alison, and came home on Monday. My parents kept the kids, so we had a nice, needed vacation. As you scroll down, you will see that we visited some of our favorite attractions. We also visited the Lincoln memorial but I didn't include Mr. Lincoln's picture.

Yes, this is Mr. John McCain. We saw him at the DC airport on our way out. Even though we aren't HUGE McCain fans presidential wise, he is a good guy. Couldn't pass up the opportunity. I actually shied out (can you believe it?) and was watching our stuff?

This (above) is the WWII memorial.


I was SO very proud of Brad. This was his first running experience except for sprints in basketball. Brad and Chris have been training since January. It was an awesome experience for him. He hasn't been running since, but I did hear him say that he and Chris were eyeing the Music City Marathon in the spring. Woo hoo! It is fun traveling along! :)

There was something funny that shows that I am in mommy land 24/7- I was awakened in the middle of the night by a thud above us at the hotel. In that second, I had thrown off the covers, and had a foot out of bed before I really awoke and realized that what I heard WAS NOT Lincoln or Catherine falling out of bed. I was in a hotel, the kids were in Tullahoma. So, I crawled back in the covers and went back to sleep. Brad and I got a laugh out of it the next morning.