Happy Thanksgiving!

Ella and I went to Heather's house to make our Apple Pies. We started this tradition MANY years ago. Sometimes we get special helpers and sometimes we don't. This year our helpers were Rylee and Reagan! It is always so much fun and I'm sure it will be a tradition passed down to the girls!

This is me trying to make Sweet Potato Casserole! It was a mess. I just don't do a great job at cooking anything. Especially in large quantity. I think this will be the last time I volunteer to make this... It was all over my kitchen!

Happy 9 Months Ella Jean!!!

9 months ago today our sweet Ella Jean came into this world. She has totally exceeded our every expectation and she is such a blessing in our lives!

Newborn

9 months

(Photography by Crystal Potts)

Some traits that she has developed:

She does not sit still! But in a good way :)
She really only snuggles when she is sleepy.
She naps best with her momma ;) hehehe
She loves her daddy so much and just the sound of his voice excites her!
She LOVES to eat!
She is very impatient when it comes time to eat.
She REALLY enjoys suckers, thanks Auntie Angel ;)
She loves other kids, especially her cousins and Mr. Henry!
She is a gift from God and she shines everyday!!!

We can't believe she is 9 months old. For some reason, that seems like a huge milestone! Before we know it we will be celebrating her 1st Birthday!!!

Can she get any cuter!!!

Yes, I'm totally biased. That Ella just amazes me every day. This is a video clip of her walking with her toy. She is also quite fascinated with my wheeled rack in the kitchen, she pushes it all over the room...

Last night I was cleaning up after dinner, Ella was playing in "Her Drawer!" She had bottles and cups spread across the kitchen. I left to take some things to the bedroom and came back to find...




Ella had crawled into "Her Drawer!" I immediately grab the camera. By far one of the funniest things she has done.

MTSU Homecoming 2008

Bet On Blue!!!!

November 8, 2008 Ella and I loaded up bright and early to go down to Murfreesboro for the Homecoming festivities.
First stop -- The Parade!
We met Katy and Jody and enjoyed a beautiful morning sipping Mimosas and eating Sausage bites, yummy!

After the parade we headed over to our tailgating location. MTSU football is great and there were so many tailgaters!

Holly Jane joined us later that day...

We never made it to the game, it was just too cold for Ella, but the Raiders defeated Louisiana-Monroe! Woot Woot...

Running on a Prayer

I am completely out of my mind, but this week I am starting to train for a half marathon. With God's help, because only he can help me stick this thing out, I will be running a half marathon on March 1, 2009. The thought of it all scares the be-geeb-bers out of me! I don't want to bore all of you with boring training talk, so I created another blog for training purposes.

Running on a Prayer

I will also keep up with this blog to clue you in on all of the fun things in our lives! I would love for you to check out both blogs, if you have the time. I need lots of prayers and lots of encouragement. This is going to be a hard journey, but maybe in the end I will be able to say "What was all of the fuss about Bethy?"

Ironman Lana!

I just want to take a moment and praise our friend Lana. This past weekend, Lana completed an Ironman Triathlon. For those of you who are not sure what this is:

it is...
2.4 miles swim
112 miles bike
26.2 miles run
Ford Ironman Florida

All back to back, all in one day! And she completed the Tri in 11:58. We are so proud of her. She has put long, hard hours into training and now she is an Iron woMan! She will be posting her race report as soon as she is recovered and if you want some inspiration, be sure to check it out!

Lana's Blog

Way to go Lana!!!

Tennessee White Trash

I use this title loosely... I love my state, my town, my home, but when you go to Wal-Mart and come out to find that your windshield has been shot, it makes you think twice about the people around you.

True story. Some jerk went around shooting windshields at Wal-Mart Saturday morning and mine was one of the lucky ones chosen! Talk about ruining your day. Then on top of that I have to pay $100 to get it fixed, my deductible. Life is not fair...

I got a phone call yesterday from a Manchester City Policeman and he needed me to take pictures of my windshield for evidence. They have the suspect and are almost certain he is the guy. So I ask him "Will I be able to get my $100 out of this guy?" Chances are no! He is a 30 year old male, with out a J.O.B. and it wouldn't be likely that I would get anything any time soon. Here I am busting my butt to support my family, my husband works multiple side jobs and we barely have enough to keep our heads above water. But then there is this guy, who is putting me out $100 and all that will happen to him is a felony behind his name...you know where I'm going with this... It's not fair and frankly it just hurts my feelings!

But that's Life! Right? God help us all...

Here are some pictures:

Fun Halloween Stuff

Halloween is Halloween...

Here are some pictures of most of our kiddos this year. We started the holiday at WOC the Sunday before Halloween at the Hoedown. Then on Halloween day I met Heather, Melissa and the kids on the square for trick or treating, lots of cute kids, lots of fun! That evening we went to Moms, it was like Thanksgiving, we had mounds of food, I guess that is a great thing about a big family! Enjoy the pictures :)

This sweet dress was made by Karen Crawford, my mothers friend!
Isn't it gorgeous!

Nana made this adorable pumpkin for EJ

Reagan and Campbell

Campbell, Ella and Carson

Rylee

Maggie

Dylan!

Jeramy and I went to our first Halloween party, together, on Saturday evening. Our costume was silly and a little risky, but it was all done in good fun.

GGW Mtsu Co-eds and Joe Francis