All Bundled Up!

We braved the weather to join in on some sledding today. We did a little yesterday, but Ellie wasn't feeling the best. Today, she woke up talking so we knew she would enjoy it more than she did yesterday. We joined some friends for some good sledding down a huge hill toward the Mason Hall bottom. It was great! This is my first sledding experience. I know, it's sad, but I am usually at work & I cannot remember a snow like this in a while. Now, to call the chiropractor for a back realignment. Uncle Todd & Ellie Grace being the "taxi service." 4 wheelers would go get the sledders from the bottom of the hill.
Ellie out in our yard.

Daddy & Ellie ready to tackle the hill. She loved the sledding!

Ellie & I taking a little break. She just fell back on me - she was give out!

Snow Bunny Ellie ready to brave the winter weather.

Oh, the weather outside ...

Let it SNOW! Only in West Tennessee can it feel like spring one week & have snow the next. Today, "Old Man Winter" decided to pay us a visit. At times, it was snowing so hard with such big flakes it made visability difficult. You can barely see the fence row across the field from our house. I was excited just to get a partial snow day from work, plus the weekend to enjoy it and habernate. We can't wait to get out in it!

The BIG 40!

her High School table
here Jr. High table. Love the hair cut.

Here is Jennifer coming in! She was began crying on us!

Photo of her cake & cupcakes. I must say that all of the ones that helped with this were awfully nice not to put the black decorations.

A wall dedicated to some of her favorite treasures. It was quite funny!

Recently, I helped with a surprise party for Jennifer (Jamie's aunt). She turned the milestone age of 40 & of course her family (mainly husband & kids) wouldn't let it go unnoticed. I had fun digging through her childhood treasures - including looking (& a little laughing) of the many hairstyles of Jennifer! Instead of doing the all black and "over the hill", we decided to dedicate a table to each phase/stage of her life from birth to now & include anything that was associated w/ it. There was a "birthday table" that had baby pics, her baby blanket, etc,; school tables that included Elem., High School, college mementos,; marriage, a teacher table (she is an Elem school teacher) a table for each of her kiddos, and then an "Over the Hill" table. It was a lot of work getting all the stuff together, but it was worth it! Here are a few pics of her party -- & yes, she was surprised!

this hardly ever happens!!!

You realize that you have reached a new stage in your life when excitement comes from conquering the laundry. Yes, this is a picture of our dirty clothes hamper - completely empty (at least for a few hours anyway). Notice I took a picture of where the clothes use to be & not the pile of clean clothes to be folded. Hey, you can't win them all!

Julia is turning 7!

Our niece, Julia, is turning 7! Though her official birthday isn't until the last part of January, she celebrated with a pre-birthday with her friends and cousins at the local movie theater. "Alvin & the Chimpunk - the Squeakel" was the venue and it is hard to beat popcorn and birthday cake in one party! Happy Birthday Julia! We love you!

Ellie the architech

Ellie has fallen in love with these wood foam blocks. She played with Max's on a recent visit to Nashville, and has since wanted some of her own. They really are the neatest things -they are foam, so they float and are bathtub friendly. She loves building with them & has made her bathtime more enjoyable. She loves to show off her new buildings, castles, and whatever else her imagination comes up with.

Ellie the Enchilada

The other night Ellie was complaining that she was cold. So, her daddy wrapped her up "as snug as a bug in a rug", but she ended up looking more like an enchilada or burrito. She was warm & for a few brief moments, she was still...well, except her talking. :)