New Family Photos!

Y'all! I am so excited about our new family photos taken by the fabulous Jody Lynn Williams! She is a very talented photographer, and she is building up her business, so definitely check her out. You won't be sorry!

We just had our photo session on Sunday afternoon, and Jody already has a sneak peek up on her photo blog. I have been stalking her blog hoping that she'd post a few soon, and I wasn't disappointed. However, if she can tell how many times I hit her site (even though she e-mailed me when the photos were up), she may be taking out a restraining order on me soon. LOL! Just kidding! I knew they would be worth the "wait," and I was right!

Here are just a few of the photos--you can see more of the sneak peek here.

Thanks, Jody! We will treasure these images!
I can't wait to see the rest!

Speaking of My Friend Jennifer ...

I got to see her weekend before last when I was in Tennessee. And it happened to be on her birthday! We went out to eat, and my sister came, too. We had a blast catching up on the latest and reminiscing about old times, old friends, etc. Jennifer and I met in high school, and we worked on the school paper together. We also went to the senior prom together--well, I mean ... we went to the prom together ... with our dates. We double-dated. And we had a lot of fun in college together, too. We were in each other's weddings, and we threw baby showers for each other. I could go on and on! We've had a lot of great times! Jennifer is one of those friends--you know the type. We can talk every day for a week or go a couple of months without talking ... but we just pick up right where left off. Jennifer loves to run--she and her hubby, Shane, just ran their first marathon earlier this year in Nashville. How cool is that? I am so proud of her! She's got two very adorable and well-behaved kids--not to mention a gorgeous home. Did I mention she majored in interior design? Anyway, here are a few photos of us from the archives. I hope you get a good laugh out of these!

circa 1992

Jennifer's wedding rehearsal--don't you love my mushroom hair?

P.S. Stay tuned for more on our fun night out ... and an interesting restaurant review!

You Won't Believe This!

Gladys Hardy, Ellen, Jeanie & Jennifer

This is a true story, folks. I don't make this stuff up!

OK. So my friend Jennifer lives in Kingsport, Tennessee--part of the Tri-Cities, where I grew up. Her job entails driving to different retail outlets, and this morning she found herself in the Kingsport Kmart for work.

There is Jennifer, in the local Kmart, when this old lady comes up to her and asks her if she would help her find something. The lady says she is looking for a CD, but it would be in the religious section. The lady goes on to tell her that it's a CD by Gladys Hardy. The name of it is "I Love Jesus, But I Drink a Little."

I don't believe Kmart carried it, but Jennifer soon realized who she was talking to, and she couldn't believe it! You see, just last week, she had watched the Ellen video (posted above) that Whittaker Woman had posted on her site. She thought she heard Gladys--who lives in Austin, Texas, but is originally from Tennessee--mention someone in Kingsport (where she lives), but she wasn't sure if she heard correctly.

Well, she DID hear correctly, and it turns out that she met Jeanie (sp?) in person TODAY in Kmart of all places! How random and small-world is that?! That's the power of the Internets.

And speaking of computers, if you have one, be sure to check out Gladys Hardy's CD!

Jennifer, you need to start a blog so you can write about all the details that I couldn't remember! OK? OK!

Three More Scrapbook Pages

OK, so the deadline for my scrapbooking goal this month is quickly approaching. I just completed three pages on How Fast They Grow and took advantage of the free-shipping offer (which expires today). If you haven't registered on the site, do so today! You'll receive lots of special offers and news of the latest happenings (such as new page designs, etc.).

Here they are:







More pages to come sooooon!

Page Count: 13
September Goal: 30

A Little Girl's Prayers Answered

Riley and Kate--December 2007

For many months now (maybe even a year or close to it), during her bedtime routine, Riley has been praying for Kate to walk and for Anna-Claire to grow some hair. LOL! Yes, she came up with his on her own when she was only 4 years old.

Her Dado, Steven, asked me recently if Kate was mostly just walking now--which she is. That girl wants to walk everywhere! When I told him this, he said that Riley could probably change her prayers now--at least her request for Kate to walk. She can now change it to a prayer of thanksgiving. Anna-Claire has a lot more hair than she used to, but I'm sure her Mom would like for her to have some more. :o) She's a cutie either way, though!

Thank you, God, for answered prayer. He hears all of our prayers!


Riley holding Kate as a newborn


Riley holding Anna-Claire as a newborn


Riley holding A-C back in May
(A-C was not into the photoshoot--LOL!)

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." --Matthew 7:7-8

Holly's Baby Shower

We are so excited for our friends Steve and Holly--they're expecting their first son in a matter of weeks! They are going to be fabulous parents--they're already head-over-heels in love with their little guy. "Little Pea," as he has been nicknamed, has quite a fan club already. Many of those fans gathered yesterday up in Kennesaw to shower his Mom with gifts. The shower was quite lovely. Holly is an interior designer, so naturally many of her friends are interior designers. Her designer friend Sally hosted the event in her gorgeous home. Kate and I had a great time and met some new friends. We can't wait to meet Little Pea and to hold him soon!


Holly and Steve's Mom
It was so great to see them both!


OK. These chocolate chip cookes were simply DIVINE!
Don't tell anyone, but I think I ate four! I would have gotten more if I didn't think people were watching me. LOL!


Kate did very well--I was so proud of her. She sat in her stroller for a long time without being fussy. (I was afraid she would destroy the house.)


I eventually got her out--she had a ball climbing the stairs.


As part of their gift, Kate got Steve and Holly some squirrel-themed items. She was so excited about these. You see, there is a joke about squirrels between Steve and me that goes back to college. In feature-writing class, he wrote about "squirrels with question-mark tails" that our beloved journalism professor, Mr. Kelly, used as an example. Steve had to be honest with Mr. Kelly and tell him that he hadn't come up with the "question-mark tails" description himself--he had read it somewhere and used it in his story. So for years, I have bought Steve--and later, Holly--squirrel items.

So you know I had to find some squirrel things for Little Pea. It is actually more difficult than it might seem, but this is a good time of year to find squirrel baby things, so that's good. We found a bodysuit at Baby Gap as well as a book called "Earl The Squirrel" by Don Freeman (the same man who wrote Corduroy). I couldn't believe it because Earl is the name of Steve's late father. When we were visiting Knoxville last month, I saw "Earl The Squirrel" on a book-sale flyer for Ameila's daycare and knew we had to get it for Steve and Holly. We were able to find it in hardcover via Amazon (where else, right?).

And the blanket. A few years ago, I found this white baby blanket with an embroidered blue squirrel on it and bought it. I figured Steve and Holly would be starting a family sooner or later. Kate was thrilled to finally give it to Holly yesterday! We can't wait to see Little Pea all wrapped up in it.

Congratulations, Steve and Holly!


September 2007--What a difference a year makes!
Here are Steve and Holly with Kate at last year's East Atlanta Strut.

Funtastic Friday!

Yesterday was a very full and a very fun day! Here's our day in photos ...

This is my first attempt at getting Kate to eat a "toaster pastry." Guess what? It didn't go well. Tanna got her to eat some today, though, and he was sure to rub it in! LOL!


After breakfast, we had to get ready for music class, which we attend on Friday mornings.


We saw some friends there!


Kate enjoys running around the room. Yesterday, she kept trying to get into Jennifer's bag. We think she spotted Liam's paci in there. LOL!


We were meeting some friends for lunch, so we got to the restaurant early so I could feed Kate before everyone got there. The weather was great, so we sat outside. She enjoyed watching the traffic on Peachtree.


Soon, Susan showed up! She drove all the way down from Alpharetta. I couldn't believe it was the first time Kate had met her. Speaking of Susan, she's got some photos from yesterday up on her blog as well. :o)


We were celebrating a new chapter in John's life. John was our fearless leader at our former place of business. He just finished his novel, so remember his name--you met him here first!


Kate was excited to see her friend Trey and his Mommy, Luann. Trey sure likes spaghetti. Can you tell?


Sharing his fries--what a gentleman.


I can't get over how big they are getting!


It's good to get together with old friends!


The old warehouse gang, minus Eric. We missed him yesterday.


After an afternoon nap and dinner for Kate, we dropped her off at church for "Date Night." Our church offers a sitting service once a month for a small fee so parents can enjoy a night out.


We went out to dinner.


We had a splendid time!


After dinner, we stopped at Atlantic Station to look @ H&M. This isn't a photo of Atlantic Station or H&M, but we were kind of close.


OK, so this photo is bad and you can't really tell ... but this is a drive-by snap of a looooong line at a gas station in the ATL. It went way on down the street and around a corner to a side street! This gas shortage is CRAZY! Most stations are OUT. The stations that do have gas do not have it for very long--and the lines and waiting times are outrageous. Not to mention people are on edge. Tanna took my car out the other night to try to find me some gas becuase I had driven to some stations earlier in the day and had no luck. He was able to find some and fill up. :o) YAY! I told him that he is my hero!

There you have it--another day in the life.

Celebrity Saturday--Rhonda Anderson

2005--I think in April or May

Rhonda Anderson is one of the founders of Creative Memories. I have met her twice--both times at Atlanta-area churches when she was in town for business meetings and such. I was so excited to hear her speak. The first time she shared some of her personal testimony as well as the story behind Creative Memories. Very interesting--she's had a really neat life. The second time, she talked more about scrapbooking and preserving memories and Creative Memories products. She is a great speaker--and you know I was very interested in the topics! She also is very approachable and friendly. Oh yeah, it was neat to see her interviewed in "Scrapped," Wes Craven's documentary about scrapbooking. She discussed faithbooking, which entails documenting your faith journey and sharing what God has done in your life. All very cool stuff!

April 2007--I am 6 months pregnant here.

P.S. "Scrapped" is hilarious, by the way!

Support Your Local Volunteer Fire Department

Last weekend, we stopped by an event for kids put on by a local business in Piney Flats. The Piney Flats Volunteer Fire Department was there with a truck for the kids to see. The girls enjoyed climbing in for a photo! There is actually a photo of me in the driver's seat of a fire engine with a helmet on from when I was a little girl. Who knows where that picture is now ... haha!













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Guess what?! My BIL Steven--who is a volunteer firefighter in Bluff City, Tennessee--is famous! He is featured on these posters that promote volunteerism in Sullivan County. His photo also will be featured on a billboard close to where he lives! How exciting! Congratulations, Steven!



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My sister decorated her downstairs bathroom with a firefighter theme. I thought I'd share a few photos--but these pictures are not the best. I was in a hurry and kept getting a glare. But you get the general idea. It really turned out cute--though she did this a few years ago. Unlike me, my sister has a great eye for decorating and always keeps her house looking nice.










This is a newspaper clipping from when my BIL's photo was in the newspaper after a local fire. The girls call him "Dado," which explains the title for the frame.