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!

 

 

Georgia: The Farm and Football

This picture pretty much sums up this little boy's trip to Georgia. He was in Heaven playing on the farm and then watching the UGA Bulldogs play football in Athens.

Thomas loved showing off his swimming skills for Nana and Papa.

 

 

 

 

Thomas logged in MANY hours playing with all of his tractors.

 

Thomas was deep in conversation with Papa. He was telling him all about his trip to the "hospital"....a.k.a the doctor. He had a bad cough before we left town and we had to do breathing treatments, which Thomas hated. He interpreted the whole experience as a trip to the hospital to fix his neck or lips, depending on the day he told the story.

Saying goodbye to Grandmother.

 

Now this is a walk filled with lots of attitude.

 

On Saturday, the whole family made the trip to Athens. This little boy was so excited he could hardly stand it.

 

 

 

It was so fun to bring Thomas to the city where "it all began." Athens will always be a special place for our family since Patrick and I met there. Hoping this little guy finds the girl of his dream in the same place one day.

 

Thomas was very focused on the game. He loved seeing Hairy Dawg, Uga and his dog house, and the fans yell the "Go Dawgs" cheer during kick offs.

 

 

While we were in Sandersville, I saw this picture of Patrick. He is just a little bit older than Thomas, but oh my at how much they look alike.