Brian and Lindsey's Wedding

Patrick's brother, Brian, got married this past weekend in Chattanooga. It was a beautiful rehearsal and wedding. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

 

Friday morning, Papa and I took the boys to the Incline Railway. Can you believe these views or a steepness of the tracks? The train had stadium seating.

 

 

On the way down the mountain!

 

Bridesmaid's luncheon

 

 

Deep in conversation in the yard with Mimi.

 

 

Family picture at the rehearsal.

 

Hugs for uncle Brian.

 

 

The happy couple with her Home Depot made apron.

 

 

Four cousins at the Rehearsal Dinner.

 

We visited with Grandmother and the Pittmans on Saturday. We finally go to meet baby Eli too!

 

 

On Saturday morning, we played at the Creative Discovery Museum. So much fun!

 

All dressed for pictures and checking out the amazing views at the Fairyland Club.

 

Henry stood as still as a tree during this entire set of pictures. Unbelievable!

 

My boys!

 

Almost show time!

 

 

 

Henry was obsessed with the string players. They were so sweet to him and let him touch their instruments.

 

 

That face...."Now what do you want me to do, Mama?"

 

Lisa came to help me wrangle the boys. I couldn't have managed these two without her help.

 

 

Success! They made it down the aisle and didn't whine or fuss during the ceremony!

 

Family picture after the ceremony.

 

I mean...can you stand it? Dancing to the band at the reception.

 

Bad quality but such a sweet moment....dancing with the boys one last time before they went to bed.

 

 

 

Hugs for Grandmother.

 

Cakes!

 

Pooped out

 

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

 

 

 

Home Again, Home Again!

We have been home a month now, and we just got the last new piece of furniture in place on Sunday. It is so nice to be all settled but we were all so glad to be home that we really didn't care if everything was all done!

 

The house looks good as new. A new roof, new windows, new rafters, decking, wiring, HVAC ducts, ceiling, lighting, and paint. None of it was glamorous but our home is back together and we are so grateful!

 

 

Some more before pictures.

 

 

 

During the construction...

 

Construction complete! Day before moving home.

 

The one time the boys are allowed to kick a ball in the house. They would have been perfectly happy if I left this room empty!

 

Cleaning is hard work, Mama! I'm just going to take a rest.

 

We moved home on a Friday. That Sunday morning just before 6:00 am, I was getting coffee when I heard a loud crash. I ran to the back of our house and Patrick had heard the same thing. We both thought it was another limb but knew it was in the backyard. First thought was the garage. I look out the window to see a car poking through our fence. SERIOUSLY? I ran out there and the guy was pinned in the smoking car but he was not hurt.

 

 

Here is the view from Graham. Apparently, he fell asleep driving, veered, hit the telephone pole and the fence. I called the police while Patrick went to survey the damage. Thomas almost died when the fire truck, police car and ambulance pull up to our house less than 5 minutes later.

 

The car was really stuck so the tow truck came to pull him out. Glad he wasn't hurt, but he didn't have insurance so the fence was another problem to add to our list.

 

The next Tuesday, a bad storm came and knocked over a HUGE tree in Hedgemoor. We were without power for almost 48 hours. Bad things come in threes, right?

 

I have to take a few minutes to talk about Mattie. Mattie is the lady that has kept Thomas since he was 15 months old. She was the answer to so many prayers and what a blessing she has been to us. Mattie is part of our family and we love her dearly. She has kept Henry three days a week for almost his whole life. The boys love her, we love her and she loves our boys. She kept our boys and house immaculate. When she first started, I joked with Patrick that he better watch out because forced to chose, I would pick Mattie over him....kidding of course, but you get the point.

 

 

Mattie made the tough decision to retire at the end of July. She has diabetes and needs to take some extra time to pay attention to her health. We will miss her dearly but will keep up regularly because we love her! I took some pictures of Mattie with the boys on her last day...it was a teary day for sure!

 

 

 

....To Nana and Papa's House He Goes

The week after his birthday, Thomas went back to Sandersville with Nana and Papa. He was so excited to go spend the week on the farm! He had the best time and barely had time to talk to me when I called.

 

He rode the horses,

 

 

Logged in lots of hours on the "bad boy" lawnmower. Poor Papa's grass was happy to see Thomas go home.

 

Fed all of the animals,

 

Made a visit to the Farmer's Market on the square.

 

Showing off his goodies.

 

Chased after Brandy trying to get her rope. My money is on Brandy for this one.

 

 

And they became fast friends after playing so much.

 

Picked the first harvest from Nana and Papa's garden.

 

Went "exploring" the forest in the golf cart...Brandy in tow!

 

Every afternoon they went swimming.

 

One day, they had the Davis's over. Charlie is Thomas's age and they became fast friends.

 

And a visit to Sandersville wouldn't be complete without a stop by Grandmother's house.

 

Thomas came home asking when he could go back. We are so grateful to Nana and Papa for taking him for the week. He had an amazing week!

Swim Lessons and Pickwick

Thomas took swimming lessons in June from Ms. Teri. She is the swimming whisperer - absolutely amazing. Thomas cried and screamed literally the entire first lesson. Five minutes into the second day, it was like a lightbulb went off and he wasn't scared any more.

He loves Ms. Teri and said he wanted to swim with her every day.

By the end of the two weeks, he was jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side.

Henry was the tiny cheerleader on the side of the pool every day. He would clap and clap for his big brother. Next year, both boys are taking lessons!

At the end of June, we went to Pickwick with the Campbells. We had the best time! Thomas even rode the tube behind the boat!

Henry was a trooper. He even napped on the boat a few times.

And when the boat was anchored, he walked around snacking and "driving" the boat.

4th of July

Fourth of July Weekend was a little rainy this year. The weather held out long enough that morning for us to go to our neighborhood parade. This year Thomas rode his scooter and decorated it himself! :)

 

 

 

 

The fire truck spraying water was a huge hit again this year.

 

Henry loves to give hugs, and Thomas is one of his favorite people to hug. Thomas doesn't always have patience for his baby brother but I'm glad I was able to capture one of the sweet moments.

 

4th of July is one of the best days of the year to actually be living at the MCC. We went back and forth to our rooms all day.They had 3 water slides, a balloon man, pool games and more. I did a terrible job of getting pictures this year so I don't have much to show for the rest of our day.

 

Lulu was sweet and offered to stay in Henry's room with him once I put him to sleep so the rest of us could enjoy dinner, friends and fireworks. The window above his crib was probably the best view of the fireworks in the whole place. He only woke up once, which was amazing. The evening show started with the Grizzlie's drum line. They were awesome but sooooo loud.

 

Thomas decided to take in the festivities outside this year. I wasn't sure if we would make it, but he did a great job. This isn't the best picture but you can see our sweet friend Ellie and her dad, Ben, all watching the fireworks show.