Friendsgiving and Santa Arrives!

This past weekend, we had two fun highlights. Patrick was away hunting for opening weekend of duck season. Thomas and I bundled up early on Saturday morning and ventured out to watch Santa Claus arrive at the Pink Palace via a helicopter. Thomas talked about this all week...he was so excited to see Santa. He really understands Christmas this year, so Santa is, of course, a very big deal.

Mimi was brave enough to come with us and bear the brutal cold....when I say cold, it was 30 degrees before the helicopter landed and nearly blew us away.

 

Here comes the helicopter!

 

Now, we aren't so sure....

 

There is Santa Claus!

 

Freezing our tails off!

 

 

On Sunday night, we hosted "Friendsgiving" for our friends. The Campbells, Bowies, Stines, and Watson (poor Helene was at home sick) came over to celebrate with us. It was so nice to be able to celebrate with our friends. All of the kids had so much fun playing!

 

I made Patrick's grandmother's dressing. It is a yummy recipe and always a hit!

Privilege

A close friend of mine and fellow boy-Mama once told me that she considered it a “privilege” to raise a boy. I have thought about this a lot. I think that raising both genders is equally important and difficult, but I also think that there is just something different about raising a boy. I had not been able to put my finger on what it was until I thought about her comment.

One of the definitions of the word “privilege” is a special opportunity to do something that makes you proud. Maybe I think of raising a boy as a privilege since I am a girl and the inner-workings of boys are truly foreign, so I feel like I have the added extra responsibility to get it right? Maybe I always imagined I would have girls since I come from a family of girls? Or maybe I just love that little boy more than I could ever imagine so being his Mama has to be a privilege? Or maybe it is all of the above and more.

Every parent has hopes and dreams for their children…lessons they strive to instill in them from a young age. As parents, we are shaping hearts, souls and minds (no minor responsibility there, my friends!). Raising a boy, I am always aware that one day he will be the head of his household, responsible for his own family’s well-being. I want him to be strong, compassionate, loyal, responsible, generous, respectful, passionate and godly. That is tall order for a little boy, but what a wonderful man he will become if he has a foundation that emphasizes the importance of these traits and can apply them as a father, husband and citizen!

There are plenty of days when I’m certain that I am a complete failure when it comes to raising a little boy. There are other days where I am flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants and lucky that it worked out okay. Then there are other days when I think I have this whole “boy-thing” down. Let’s hope that there are more days to come when I feel like I’m acing the “boy-Mama” role because we have been given another precious and perfect gift from God. I have the “privilege” of being the Mama to another little BOY in May. Can you believe it? May Walker, a mother of ALL BOYS! My friends and family are in complete disbelief!

We found out the gender last week and are over the moon excited! I secretly (okay, not so secretly) wanted another little boy. It is the perfect addition to complete our little family. I am most excited that we get to “keep-on keeping-on.” I won’t be pulled in different directions from ballet to football and art to lacrosse. We will be in boy-mode 100% of the time…so much easier for the planner in me. ;) Patrick jokingly said I will be outnumbered and out-voted, but I think he knows better….

The baby is healthy and growing perfectly. I have felt worse with this second pregnancy but the second trimester seems to be bringing a little relief. Thank goodness! They will monitor me more closely this time after my first pregnancy. Dr. Sullivant and I are both optimistic that not having tax season will help remove a lot of the stress that may have contributed to my low fluid levels. Bed rest with a 2 year old would be an absolute nightmare, so I keep saying my prayers hoping to avoid that.

Thomas is very excited about the baby in Mama's belly. This is how he looked when we first told him! 

                                  

Then he realized that he would have to share his toys with his baby brother and gave me some attitude. Just kidding about Thomas's reactions. These are just some great shots that we got from Thomas's photo shoot. Couldn't resist because the captions just matched the storyline so well. More on the pictures in another post.

       

Lots to do before our new little man arrives and the nesting is in high gear! Luckily, it is duck season, so I can “piddle” on my little projects while Patrick is off hunting. One day, all three of my guys will be off to spend the weekends duck hunting!

A Trip to Auburn

 

Last weekend, we went to visit BooBoo at Auburn. All of the driving was so worth our visit. We loved getting to see the campus and town and meet some of Lisa's friends.

 

After a yummy breakfast, we spent the rest of Saturday morning touring the campus, shopping downtown and playing a little football on old campus. All Thomas wanted was a football, so we bought him an Auburn one. The ONLY Auburn thing I would let him have. Lisa was begging me to get him a t-shirt but I finally convinced her it would be a waste of money because he would NEVER wear it.

 

Funny story to show just how much of a UGA fan Thomas is....we were eating ice cream at Toomer's corner diner, when Thomas decides to belt out one of his favorite songs, "It's great to be a Georgia Bulldog!" Personally, I was proud, but I thought Patrick and Lisa were going to crawl in a hole.

 

 

 

On Saturday night, we had dinner at Hamilton's with two of Lisa's friends, Susie and Nell. Such cute girls....Thomas thought so too!

 

 

After Auburn's win over Arkansas, we saw the student's rolling Toomer's Corner. A fun tradition, but a little sad since the famous trees are gone.

 

 

 

We had a great weekend with BooBoo. We loved getting to see her new life in Auburn and are very proud of how well she is doing. We sure do miss her back at home though...and I think she especially misses this little boy!

 

 

Halloween and Pumpkin Patch

We celebrated Halloween to the fullest this year! Thomas was really excited to go trick-or-treating this year but was especially excited about his costume. He decided all by himself to be a baseball player about 2 months ago and never waivered! 

Thomas also told Mimi and Tino that they needed to dress up like a witch and a ghost.....so they did! He was so excited to see their costumes!

Patiently waiting at the door.

Thomas and our neighbor, Sam.

The Stines joined us for some of Halloween. Harris was the cutest elephant I have ever seen!

A year makes a big difference now but give Harris another year and these two will be rolling around playing together.

Harris liked to drive the tractor.

Last Saturday, we went to Cedar Hill Farms. This is the first time we have gone, and it was amazing! So many fun things to do and we were lucky to have a beautiful day. The Bowie's were there and the Joys came with us. Thomas and Charlie had fun running around together. 

The HUGE sandbox was a big hit with Thomas. He would have stayed there all day if I let him.

We dragged him away from the digging and he and Charlie chased each other through the corn maze. This one was geared for toddlers and more like a hay stack maze but they had fun!

These two are getting so big. 

Thomas rode a pony for the first time. He was so excited and love every minute of it. His pony was Oreo. I foresee a saddle on Jingles and hot Shot next time we visit Georgia.

Waiting for the pig races to start. Yep, you read that correctly...pig races. I have never heard of such but they had 3 little pigs run around a track. It was hysterical!

Posing for a picture by the petting zoo. The petting zoo was amazing...every animal you could imagine:  cows, mules, donkeys, peacocks, turkeys, chickens, pigs, and goats.

At the end of our visit, we took a hayride to the pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin.

Such a fun day. Can't wait to go back next year, or maybe even sooner. They have lots of fun things throughout the year!

Catch Up

It has been a while since I updated the blog...we have been busy and time just slipped away. Here is a quick update on what we have been up to lately!

We celebrated Harris's first birthday with a fun fall fest. It turned out to be a beautiful day even though it threatened rain. Thomas had a great time playing with Elizabeth and he loved getting his picture taken on the tractor. So cute!

            

The next week, we celebrated Dorothy Bowie's 2nd birthday! All of the kids had fun jumping in the bouncy house...Thomas got really into it this time. 

            

It is almost impossible to get a good picture of all of the kids, but it is cute nonetheless!

That same weekend we went to the Crafts Fair. Thomas loves the train and petting zoo. This year he really got into the cutout figures and kept wanting me to take his picture.

                

               

Thomas has learned out to pedal his own bicycle now which is great. Just took him a little while to figure it out.

              

Thomas got a yummy treat one afternoon....iced cookies. These are one of my favorite treats! Thomas likes to lick the icing off of the cookie which results in a blue mess on a happy kid!

              

We spent last weekend in Nashville to celebrate Patrick's birthday and to see UGA play Vandy. I will post more pictures from the weekend later but these are two of my favorites!

Thomas loves birthdays as much as his Mama does, even when they aren't his own. He was happy to help Daddy blow out the candles!

All ready for the game. Can you believe how big he looks?

Last week was my last week at DHG. I am off this week playing and crossing things off my list. Looking forward to another fun weekend with Cedar Hill on Saturday and Art on Fire that night.

Happy Fall!

Change

Change. I'm not usually a fan of change. I like my routine and don't really like to make changes if possible. Well, I've decided to become a fan of change...maybe even embrace it. :)

 

I start a new job at the end of the month. MAJOR change for me. Quite frankly, I thought I would be in public accounting forever. I have a great job and work with great people but an opportunity literally fell into my lap that I cannot turn down. I will be going to work at Bryce Corporation doing "all things financial." Technical title, right? I'm not sure there is a perfect title for what I will be doing. I will be working with the CFO and helping our friends, Sean and Stephen, with anything "financial" they need. I am very excited...this will be a good change!

 

When Sean and I first discussed the opportunity over dinner, I was cautious. I prayed really hard that the Lord would help me to make the right decision. I prayed that he would make it so clear what He wanted me to do that even I couldn't miss it. I wanted it to be the right change for my family and honestly, I wanted to feel like I was following God's path for my life. Every time I began to second guess a particular aspect of this decision, I would wake up the next morning and the issue would be resolved....time after time after time. Finally, I just looked up and said, "Okay, God. I hear you. Loud and clear!" - and "loud and clear" is exactly the type of answer I had prayed for.

 

This "change" is good for me in so many different ways. I get to work even less hours and I don't have a busy season that will upset our routine. When I told my current job, I would first get the shock and sadness and then every single person told me what a fabulous opportunity this was and what I great company Bryce was. I already knew all of this, but it was nice to hear it reaffirmed from my co-workers - people I have the utmost respect for professionally. They all said that I would learn so much from the CFO, Ramon Marus, and I look forward to soaking it all up. Sometimes, I cannot believe that I won't be working with taxes anymore. I have spent the last seven years trying to "master" that field, but now it is time for something a little different. I feel lucky to have worked at DHG for the majority of my career because I was able to get such a great foundation in "business." We help our clients with so much more than just "taxes."

 

As I start to embrace change, life has still been moving along.

 

Thomas loved bubble baths. One night, he said,"Mommy take my picture" and I was able to capture this precious face amongst the bubbles.

 

 

On Saturday morning, Thomas and I met the Biddles and the Bowies at My Big Backyard. This is such a fun place for the kids. Henry and Thomas would have played in the sandbox all day if we let them. Poor Dorothy wanted to play with the boys but really didn't want to get sand on her!

 

 

Smiling for Mama before he slid down that big slide behind him all by himself...over and over and over.

 

That afternoon, the Bulldogs played the game of their life and beat LSU. You didn't have to be a fan of either team to appreciate the insane level of football those guys were playing. Thankfully we won and as a bonus, my house was spotless because I clean when I'm nervous and I was REALLY nervous.

 

Tino came over to help us cheer. He and Thomas both love popcorn.

 

We get to celebrate Harris's first birthday this weekend. I cannot believe he is already a year old! Happy Weekend!