to my littlest sister

Annalee,

Today marks the day YOU graced the world with your presence. I can't say I remember too much about July 31st 1992, but what I do remember is getting a mermaid Barbie among other toys. I guess Mama and Daddy were trying to bribe Katie and I to like you. Unfortunately, it didn't work on me.

Up until you were born it was just me and Katie. It's hard to believe now but Katie was very quite, shy, and did pretty much whatever I wanted. I was THE boss (Sorry, Katie. It's made you a stronger person!). Then you show up, with your blonde hair and chubby cheeks. Let's just say you stole the spotlight that I thought was trained on me. All the attention suddenly was on you, which is totally understandable... now. Unfortunately, my childish brain could not see reason. I took on a personal vendetta against you.You did nothing to provoke it but be adorable. For the next 18 (probably more like 19) years I was MEAN to you. Seriously, I was terrible. I was critical, I pulled pranks on you, the list goes on and on. Through it all you were always so sweet. You took everything I gave and more with grace. That alone should have tipped me off that you were something special. In all likelihood, it did and fueled my jealousy more.

All I can say now is that I'm glad with age comes wisdom. Our relationship has been on the mend for several years now.  I'm sorry it wasn't sooner. I missed out on so many years of sisterly friendship because of my selfish jealousy. What's even more incredible is that you were open to my friendship after years of abuse. No, anger or resentment, you just took me as a friend without question. Again, it's a testament of what special person you are. I want you to know that I regret those years but I'm so thankful that God mended and changed my heart towards you. I treasure you, sweet sister.

You are a beautiful, kind, faithful, forgiving, spontaneous, Jesus loving woman, and that just scraps the surface. You are so many things I am not and I love you for it. Thank you for all you have taught me through the years. Thanks for loving me. Oh, and have a Happy Birthday.

Love you, littlest sister.

P.S. Congrats on being legal! I owe you a drink when you get back.

a new addition {part 2}

Here is Lucas Allen's debut! He is a beautiful boy and big to boot! The nurse doing all of his measurements kinda had this mime/charades thing going on. She would make gestures like her arms were tired from holding him or that he was going to be a big strong guy! It was pretty funny. It was such a joyous occasion and so cool that, not only were both Lucas' grandmothers there, but his great-grandmother was too. I think this makes 9 great-grands for my grandparents!

Congratulations to Becca and Brian!

a new addition {part 1}

My mom, sister, and I went down to Georgia this past weekend. We didn't go for any old reason though. We made the 8 hour trek to help celebrate a new life coming into the world! My sweet cousin, Becca, and her husband, Brian, had their second little boy on Friday, May 24th. As with anything in my family, waiting for Lucas Allen to make his debut was a family affair. Below are a few pics I took in the waiting room. 

I have to admit, I'm a little jealous of my cousin! Whenever the day comes for me to have a little one, I highly doubt I'll be close enough in location for my (extended) family to be sitting in the waiting room, or have all my aunts, cousins, & grandmother descend on my hospital room with hugs, kisses, and advice. I know Becca enjoyed every minute of it and will treasure those memories.

Next post, baby Lucas. Wait until you see him! My cousin and her husband make some beautiful babies!

i mustache you

Scott turned 27 almost two month ago. (I'm a little behind) He is one year closer to the big 3-0! Anywho, I decided to throw him a party this year. I had tried to include him in planning a get together for his birthday in the past and they NEVER came to fruition! I totally blame it on him and his modesty. He didn't want to be the center of attention. This year I took matters into my own hands. Mwahahahahaha! I took Scott out of the equation. His party would be a surprise! I mean who doesn't like a surprise party? Probably Scott but too bad.

My next step, after deciding to exclude him from the planning, was what kind of party should I throw. Scott is a kid a heart so a themed party was a must. I thought about a western theme for awhile and then it hit me. A MUSTACHE PARTY! Scott loves facial hair, especially mustaches. If I let him he would sport a stache at all times. I knew it was perfect for him. Thankfully, everyone and their brother loves mustaches and mustache parties so there were lots of resources. Pinterest was my friend to say the least. I got a lot of ideas from The Story of Pat and Lindsay.

A few things we did at Scott's party

• Everyone wore a stick on mustache - I got them from this site. (I was totally freaked out about ordering them from China. I know, I know, everything comes from there but i don't generally give them my credit card info. The above blog I linked ordered them from the same place so that made me feel better.)
• I had a game called "Name that 'Stache"  I downloaded the pdf from the blog above. I didn't think to buy a prize which was a fail. Sorry friends!
• I got Scott's mom to find me pictures of him through the years. I scanned them onto my computer and added mustaches to the pictures with Microsoft paint. (Thank goodness for Google!) I bought frames from the dollar store and spray painted them. I put them on the tables and I hung the extra with clothes pins on string. 
• We ate pulled pork bbq with cole slaw, potato salad, salad, and chips. 
• We had carrot cake for birthday cake, chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing, and sugar cookies with icing. 

It was a blast celebrating my hubby's birthday. Everyone looked hilarious with their mustaches on and it was fun just hanging out. Check out some pictures below courtesy of my friend, Whitney! 

It's not a party without Diet Coke. 

Yes. I cut all those staches out. 

Mason jars for cups!

Scott's favorite - carrot cake!

I used vases from our wedding and roses on clearance from Kroger. (Yes you can tell they were a few days old but it was WAY cheaper) 

Along with Diet Coke we had water and sweet tea! 

Some more birthday decorations....My friend, Sarah, and I made these. 

My Microsoft Paint skills

Got him! 

Surprise Birthday Party hugs

Our lovely friends and family! 

Thank you so much to Hudson and Whitney for hosting the party at their house and taking pictures, to my friend, Sarah, for helping me get everything together at the last minute, my mom and dad for making the food,  my mother in law, Judi, and sister in law, Whitney, for helping me setup, and for all our awesome friends and family for coming! You guys rock.

Photo credit: Whitney McGinnis 

beachy-keen

A couple of months ago I posted about our summer fun list.  First thing on our list was go to the beach. We definitely made that happen! We headed down to Folly Beach, SC and spent a week with my family. We had not been on a family vacation since I was around ten years old! We had a great time and spent a lot of time on the beach. We went into Charleston a few days and celebrated Independence Day. Sadly, we could not see the fireworks because we chose a bad spot on the beach. Someone gigantic house blocked the view! Oh well. Some highlights were:
-We flew kites. That was my dad's favorite part of the week.
-My mom and dad ate at Poogan's Porch where they ate on their honeymoon almost 28 years ago.
-I went out in the ocean. Like really out there. Which is huge, because usually I go to my knees at the most and I'm done!
-We ate watermelon... another check on our list.
-Katie tried her hand at sangria. It was delicious.
-Not sure if this is a highlight but we slept a lot!

To sum it up,  we made lots of memories and had a wonderful time together.

As for the rest of our summer fun list.We kind of sucked at it. But hey summer isn't officially over until September 22, 2012. We've got a few days to squeeze some summer fun in!

ladies of the road

A couple of weekends ago my sisters and I had a little road trip down to Bristol, TN/VA. If you don't know much about Bristol here's what you need to know.

First, the state line goes through the city.
Second, it's the birthplace of country music.

The whole reason we went to Bristol was to see Mumford & Sons in concert. Their tour was called Gentlemen of the Road, hence my title. If you don't know who they are you should check them out!  They were amazing live. The concert was called a stopover which meant they had other bands playing all day. Basically a music festival and it turned into a city wide festival. Bristol closed down the main street, there were local bands playing on the sidewalk, and lots of food. Businesses had signs in their windows welcoming Mumford & Sons and there were banners up around the downtown area. Mustaches were EVERYWHERE! (They are a signature of the band.) It was pretty cool to see a whole city excited about this band coming.

Some interesting things that happened were:
- we were honked at and had more catcalls shouted our way then I think I have ever experienced. (I guess that's what happens when I walk around with my pretty sisters.)
- Annalee and I almost suffocated from all the second had smoke from cigarettes and, a hem, less legal substances. We probably would have failed a drug test. Katie, on the other hand, had no ideas because she was sick and her nose was so stopped up she couldn't smell.
- I also decided that concerts would be much more enjoyable if women were not allowed to scream. I think I lost a good deal of hearing thanks to a girl behind me. She was screaming like a banshee.
- Also, I wished I had videotaped a group in front of us. They were absolutely ridiculous. They pantomimed the words out to every song. It was kind of funny.

All in all, we had a grand ole time. 

Patriotic Fruit Tart... better late than never

For all my devoted readers (aka my mom), I apologize for not sticking to my word and posting recipes.



I meant to post this recipe for Independence Day but, alas, I did not get around to it. Even though I put a patriotic spin on it, its great for anytime in the summer!

Fruit Tart (aka Fruit Pizza)

1 roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
Fruit of choice -  I used blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and red grapes.
1/2 cup white chocolate morsels, melted

Preheat oven as per the instructions on the cookie dough.
Flatten the cookie dough onto a pizza pan, thus making the crust. Bake until firm, let cool.
Meanwhile, combine cream cheese and sugar in bowl, mix well.
Cover the baked cookie with cream cheese mixture and decorate with fruit how you wish.
Melt white chocolate according to instructions on package and drizzle over fruit. (This is what makes it so good!)

Voila! You have a yummy fruit pizza (or tart if you want to sound fancy)!

(This recipe is a combination of a few I found online. I just took what I liked from a couple and made into my own.)

{ three years }

Today marks the beginning of our journey together as man and wife. It's funny to look back three years and see how much we've changed. We were just kids! I know, I know, it's only been three years not thirty but seriously. We had no idea what we were really getting into, and I mean that in the best way possible. When you get married you hear all these things like, you are marrying your best friend, your soul mate, but you really have no idea what that means until you get in there. I thought I knew how it would look but I was wrong. In the most awesome way possible! My best friend is the guy that farts in his sleep (I'm sure I do too), loves male genitalia (in a strictly medical sense, of course.), picking me and slamming me on the bed yelling "WELCOME TO VIRGINIA TECH FOOTBALL!", loves drinking an inordinate amount of Diet Coke, gives the best hugs and kisses, does the dishes when I cook (and even when I don't), plays hide and go seek with our kitten, works harder than I know to reach his dream, is the BEST snuggler, makes me laugh, and loves Jesus. That is just the tip of the iceberg! He is literally the man of my dreams, everything I hoped and prayed for. Well, maybe I didn't pray for a Diet Coke addicted aspiring Urologist but God, in his infinite wisdom, gave him to me!

Happy Anniversary Scott! You are my rock, my clown, my teddy bear. Here's to infinity and beyond!

Here are few pictures of what went down three years ago today...

Photography by Dennis King (no relation! haha)