Mary had a little lamb

...and Ashleigh got a BIG FAT lamb!

After my cow made her big debut, my friend Ashleigh asked me if I would be willing to paint something for her nursery. Clearly, I'm an expert of all things farm life (ha!). She wanted a lamb, and she had been on the hunt for something for several months, but had not fallen in love with anything.  Nothing super realistic, just a sweet, simple lamb with a blue sky.

Baby Brooks is in for a real treat. His nursery is beautiful! Every detail considered.  I hope my fat little lamb feels proud hanging in a room so perfect!

Speaking of perfect...that is EXACTLY how Ashleigh looks pregnant. Here we are at her baby shower celebrating Mama and Baby Brooks. She is the blond sitting in the middle. Can you even tell?! Perfect.

the vampires made me do it

they made me stay up. all. night. long.
Do I like vampires? Nope. Werewolves? Nope.

...movies?! not really.

BUT, I do love the excitement, the hype, the fellowship, and even the mile long line of teenage girls anxiously waiting to support their "team". Kind of gives you that "day after Thanksgiving early bird special sale" rush. Fun to be out with all the crazies! I'm proud to call some of these crazies my dear friends.

Plus, who could pass up the opportunity for some teen beat worthy paper goods?!

Apparently, not me.

HHS round 2

HHS Class of 2000 10 year reunion...same song second verse, this time HARTSELLE High School!

I knew this would be a fun weekend for John and I was happy to be by his side, but I didn't expect it would be so much fun for me!

I had forgotten how many of John's classmates I had gotten to meet when we very first met. So much fun to see old friends and familiar faces. Flashbacks to freshman year! I loved getting to see my next door neighbor from my dorm, as well as Trai who I give the credit of introducing me to the love of my life. Had he never needed a wing man..my little world would be so different!

Below is not a great picture, but the only picture of the actual reunion I have so far. We didn't take our camera so sadly we are at the mercy of facebook tags for memories.

me, John, Summer

Going to Hartselle for the reunion meant we also got to spend time with our precious nieces (and the rest of the family!). They are growing so much and so much fun. It has been even more fun lately since we have gotten to see them several times. I love that they are getting old enough to remember us from visit to visit. Of course Uncle "Gohn" has stolen their hearts and I'm hoping one day they love me as much as they love "BA-lay"!

Something about the sun on Alyson's office wall Sunday morning made a neat snapshot backdrop!

Savanah, me, Gohn, Payton

Payton and Uncle Gohn

 Great pic of John and Alyson

me and BA-lay who wasn't sure about the heat

me and Aly

Alyson doesn't get much "face time" on the blog because she is the super talented one typically behind the camera! Meet Aly blogosphere!

me, Payton (L) Savanah (R)

reunited...and it feels so good!

Can I just tell y'all...I LOVED high school? ate.it.with.a.spoon.loved.it.

I have so many fond memories of great times with even greater people.

I count it a blessing that I am still proud to call these "greater people" dear friends after all these years.

As cheesy as it sounds, it is an honor to not only have dreamed life's dreams with these girls, but also have the privilege of watching so many of these dreams come true. What joy as life hands us answer after answer to the questions we wondered together as we set out on the little adventure we call life.

Over hot boxes of krispy kreme doughnuts we wondered where we would go, what we would do, what "the one" would look like and when on earth would he come to sweep us off our feet. Would have ruined all the fun if I could tell those 16 year old girls the answers, but sure would have been nice to let 16 year old me know that even your "fat" size 6 jeans will be a WAY distant memory when the hot sign goes off!

We dreamed big. We laughed a lot! We lived life full out! ...and we still do!

10 years later our high school reunion gave us another fun excuse to get together.

To kick of our reunion weekend Ashley (and her hubby James) had us over to cook out and get together. ALWAYS so much fun. In this crazy world, I'm thankful some things in life just don't change.

Catherine, me, Brett, Caroline, Ashley (we missed you Leslie!)

Caroline, Mark (Brett's hub), me, Catherine and Rocky (Caroline's hub)

The "official" reunion started with a cook out Saturday at Homewood Park. Our reunion was the same day as "We love Homewood day", so all the days' events added to our fun. So much fun to get together and see so many faces I hadn't gotten to seen in years...ten years.

Caroline, Kay, me, Leslie

Saturday night we got together again for dinner, dancing and cocktails. If you couldn't tell from this post we had a BLAST.

Mark, me, Catherine and Leslie and all the Johns

Catherine, me, Brett (and baby Parker)

me and Ashley

me, Katie, Leslie and Jemia

Cheers to the Class of 2000! Looking forward to all the blessings in the next 10 years!

make my day

Look who strolled in to the showroom!

Two (actually four) of my VERY favorite visitors!

Scott and Julie Ann!

I was WAY more thrilled with their FIRST visit than they were.

Scott Carothers

Julie Ann Ingram

Surely it wasn't my boring company, but all the anticipation of such an EXCITING adventure that wore them out!

sittin on the dock of the bay...

Any time spent with this guy is time well spent.

Add in these TWO sunbathing beauties...

(no,  don't let the hat confuse you, that's not K-Fed, that's Leslie and her mini me, Abby)

this little love nugget...

(Miles)

and of course this guy...

(John hard at work trying to find the sparkplug Abby sweetly tossed under the hood of the car and announced, 

"I fixed Mommy's car!")

and I'm over the moon! 

Just when I thought my weekend could not get ANY better John and I stopped here...

where they just happened to serve this

(Catherine's Eggs Benny AND a delicious latte)

Perfection.

Happy weekend!

A is for

Addison Grace!

Early in her pregnancy, my friend Sarah Beth asked me to paint a sign with Addison Grace's name. I love my friends for LOTS of reasons, but the confidence she had in me is just one more reason why I love her so much. I mean, I do like to paint things from time to time, mostly walls or furniture, but I have never painted something like a name...for her to think I was even capable of doing this was beyond me, but you really can't tell your pregnant friend no, so I thought I would give it a shot.

Sarah Beth chose this sweet bedding from Pottery Barn Kids, and promised me she really did not have ANYTHING in mind as to what this canvas should look like...

I played around painting a square canvas for a while, but I could never get really happy with how it turned out. I promised Sarah Beth I was working on it, and was REALLY hoping I would be able to paint something she would like. She assured me she would LOVE anything, didn't want me to stress, and said she could not wait to hang it on the hospital door on her arrival...AND in her nursery once she got home..hmm....no pressure, right?!?

So, I made another trip to the store deciding that it was the SIZE of the canvas that was throwing me off, surely not my artistic ability (ha!) I knew I had to get the painting done pronto or it would never make it to the hospital in time. I crossed my fingers and started with the part I knew how to do...mix colors.

I stared at the blank canvas, but then decided I had to just dive right in. I dusted off my trusty t-square (see Mom and Dad, it did not go to waste!) and made the border in which I would attempt to paint her name. I wanted the painting to coordinate with her bedding, so I decided the polka dots would be a fun way to tie it all together.

After I painted for a little while I started to really enjoy it! Her nursery walls are Kittery Point Green by Benjamin Moore, so that was the one color I knew had to be an exact match. I cheated and bought a tester to be sure it would be a "hit" instead of a "miss"...then I just tried to match some of the colors of the bedding to paint polka dots...

(this picture makes the colors look brighter than they really are)

The stripes on the bedskirt were too much fun to pass up, so I painted stripes on the sides of the canvas

The finished product! Ready for Addison Grace to make her big debut!

Sarah Beth and Michael welcomed their perfect and BEAUTIFUL baby girl in to the world late Friday night. John and I had the honor of being there to cheer them on.

Here is Addison Grace just a few minutes after she was born. Her beaming Daddy held her up to the hospital window to introduce her to all of us. Isn't she a GORGEOUS brand new baby!? A little hard to tell in this picture but she absolutly has her mama's mouth!

Addison Grace meeting her grandmothers for the first time! Absolutly love at first site!

Hello, Addison Grace! Welcome to the world!

I love you already and I hope you love your sign! Your mama and your nurses seemed to like it a lot!

cheers to 2010

I think "low key" was the universal theme for this year's New Year's Eve. This could either mean a) that people just weren't in to 2009, or b) quite possibly be yet another sign that we are growing up. I'm thinking the answer is b). We hang on to phrases like "low key" meaning we could be doing something wild and spectaculor, we just choose to do something a little more "relaxed"...I think I like getting old.

New Year's Eve is a holiday that I always want to want it to be a bigger deal than it is. This has been quite a problem in the past. I have no desire to spend a fortune to stand in the freezing cold with millions of strangers with no restrooms to watch a ball drop in New York, or be oblivous to the rising sun in a dark, smoky bar, but I do love champagne, glitter and sequins. I am thrilled as a late twenty something I have reached a stage of life that I can put on my bling and do nothing....delightful.

This year we rang in the new year with a few of our favorite friends at Chop House. The food was better than excellent and the company was hard to beat. Low key and perfect.

After dinner we counted blessings for 2009, and made predictions for 2010. John scribbled our predictions for ourselves, as well as our predictions for each of the other couples present. The envelopes are sealed, but I am already looking forward to seeing what predictions have become blessings as we say farewell to 2010.

Happy New Year!! Here's to 2010 and all that it has to bring!

hot date on a cold night!

Ashley and I have been friends for a lifetime....assuming a lifetime starts in fourth grade. For years and years it was almost as if anything I did, Ashley was by my side. Years have come and gone...and we now have husbands by our sides...and now sadly, Ashley and I don't get to see each other as often as I would like. I love knowing that she is just an email or a phone call away, but last Friday night I had a rare treat!

Our friend Ben was married in Australia, and was coming home for a reception. I was so looking forward to seeing Ben, meeting his new wife, and seeing old friends. BUT, I was pretty disappointed when John and I realized it would make more sense for him to stay in Montgomery than join me for the party. I called Ashley in hopes of tagging a long with she and her hubby James. Oddly enough James was unable to go to the party, so it ended up that Ashley and I would be each others dates for the night!

It made perfect sense for the two of us to go to the party together. Just like old times! I am sure many of the guests thought we had not left each other's side for over a decade! Ashley, I could not have asked for a better date Friday night. After all these years, I still so enjoy spending time with you!

California dreamin'

...on such a winter's day!

We loaded up on a cold morning and drove to Atlanta, dreaming of victory and the chance to head to California!

...And for Alabama our "California dreams" came true!

me, Sarah Beth (and Addie Grace), and Leslie getting ready for the game

my pre-game nerves made me just a little frisky with my shaker!

Saturday I had the honor of witnessing first hand The University of Alabama WIN the SEC Championship game against Florida!! What an INCREDIBLE game! I was honored to be there, and so PROUD of Alabama!

For probably the first time since before my collegiate career, I was able to sing Rammer Jammer and actually mean it!!

Hey gators...we did ACTUALLY beat the hell out of you!

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!

Eleven from Eleven

October 15, 2005 will forever be a day that I hold near and dear to my heart. Not only did I get to marry the love of my life, but I also had my favorite people surround me as I did so.


When I was asked how many bridesmaids I was having, I got mixed reactions when my answer was shared. To many people, ELEVEN bridesmaids (not to mention the eleven groomsmen to coordinate, and the four children in our wedding) simply put, was ridiculous. But personally, I could imagine it no other way. I was beyond honored for each of those girls to stand beside me and celebrate the most exciting and important time in my life thus far. The memories I have of that day are so special to me, not only because of the events that took place, but also because it was the only time all of the people I love the most were all in the same place at the same time. Something so easy to take for granted at the moment.

Not only am I thrilled to have had these girls stand beside me on my big day and so many other days!, but also to have had the honor to stand beside these girls on their "big days"! We have shared life, laughs, joys, disappointments, childhood, high school, college, boyfriends, desserts, breakups, trips, husbands and babies.

With the newest BIG DAY announcement, I personally have hit a little milestone....

ELEVEN from ELEVEN.

Each girl beside me in 2005 was footloose and fancy free, some had the joy of already becoming a wife, but at the time no one had yet began the journey that is motherhood...

MY HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED!

Now less than four years later, seven of those girls have given me beautiful examples of what it means to be a mother.

So in honor of "Baby 11" I want to celebrate some of my very favorite women and the first 11 babies I ever truly loved...even way before they were born.

Leslie
Baby # 1. Abby Hollis McElheny February 5, 2007

Shea
Baby # 2. Savannah Grace Williams July 18, 2007

Carrie
Baby # 3. Noah Christopher Jones November 16, 2007

Laura Baby # 4. Harper Elizabeth Mielke May 15, 2008
and
Baby #5. Lily Martin Mielke May 15, 2008

Alyson Baby # 6. Savanah Claire Clemons September 14, 2008

and
Baby #7. Payton Elizabeth Clemons September 14, 2008

Allison Baby # 8. Morris Jefferson Jeff February 11, 2009

Shea Baby # 9. Graham Henry Williams February 27, 2009


Leslie Baby # 10. Miles Roland McElheny July 19,2009


and...
Sarah Beth BABY EADY makes Baby #11! Due February 13, 2010!



That's right...from October 2005 to now we grew from ZERO babies to ELEVEN.
TWO sets of twins! SIX baby girls and FOUR baby boys!
What a joy each of them are and what a joy each of their Mamas are to me!