Breaking in the House!! Thanksgiving 2007!!

Two and a half weeks after we officially moved into our house, we hosted Thanksgiving for my entire family!! We had lots of folks in that house! It was a BLAST!! Here is the girl table......(L-R) My sister Joann, my sister Johnna, my sister Jennifer, my cousin Karen and her baby girl, Anna Grace, me, and Sam's new wife, Pan Ke!
The boy table.....Jonathan, Russ (Karen's husband), Austin, and Sam (not pictured are Al, Aaron and Luke!!)
We tried to line the cousins up on the steps, but this was seriously the best picture we got....Starting from the top is Luke, John David, Austin, Catherine, and Ariana.
Can you believe we actually fit 22 in my den!!??

Grandmother with John David and Austin....hanging out on the stairs!!
We had a roasted turkey and a smoked turkey----here are Aaron, Al, and Jonny carving them up! (Thanks to Andrew for the smoked turkey!! MMMMMMM!)
Our Thanksgiving feast.....2 turkeys, green beans, butter beans, corn, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and homemade rolls!! (Whew!!)
I'm hanging out at the dessert table.....Apple pies and pumpkin pies!
Here's the adult table.....My aunt Lois and Uncle Tom (in the small chair!) are front and center, next to Lois is my mom, Joyce, then my dad, John, next is Grandma, Grandpa, and then Grandmother!

Grandma and Granddaddy Green---with Catherine, John David, Luke, Austin, and Ariana!

This is what my dining room looked like before everyone arrived.

The turkey is done......but Aunt Ju Ju needs her makeup!! :)



I got the boys to clean the windows for me! (Al and Aaron will probably never want to arrive the day before if we ever do this again!! Tee Hee!)

All Moved In! (October 2007)

Well, moving day was a breeze (well, almost) since most all of our stuff was still in boxes from when we moved out of Chicago! Al, Jen, and the boys helped Jonny, Andrew, and I move our stuff out of storage and into our new home! It didn't take too long......We also closed on this day as well. We like to do everything all on the same day to see how stressed out we can get!!

One day I will have to tell you the rest of the story.......We didn't take pictures of what happened later in the day....after all the rain....when our moving truck got stuck in our yard......It wasn't pretty!!

Glad that day is over!!! Thanks so much to all who helped!! (This includes Keri, who fed all of us!!) :)

Amy Grant Concert--October 2007

Keri and I drove up to Kentucky for the Amy Grant Concert in Paducah! Mom and Jen came too! We had a fun night of eating out, going to the concert, and then eating out dessert again! Plus we had lots of laughs driving around Paducah! It was a great girls' night out!

Babysitting--October 2007

Keri and Andrew took a long-needed date night out.....and we got to babysit!! We made cookies, watched movies, and had a big time! How cute are these kids??!!

We Saw a Bear! (And some Deer!)

While we were driving along, Jonathan and I got to see this little bear cub. He was so cute! It was dusk, so the pictures are dark....but it was really exciting! Jonny had really wanted to see a bear! He took these pictures!

Here is a deer too... a bit anti-climactic....but still really neat!

More Cades Cove

More of Cades Cove.....These trips always remind me of Dad and of our family vacations! Jonathan and I have been laughing at how we find ourselves enjoying all the things we hated about these trips as children. He also said (as we drove through very crowded Gatilinburg) that he now knows why his dad had been so resistant about letting them go tour the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum!

This type of barn style actually comes from Germany....and is found only in Eastern Tennessee and parts of North Carolina. It is this type of barn that the Richmont in designed after.

Cades Cove

Our favorite place to go in the Smokies is Cades Cove. You never get tired of the views and the history!

Our Trip to the Richmont

Last year for my birthday, my 6th graders gave me a gift certificate to the Richmont Bed and Breakfast in Townsend, Tennessee. We decided to save it and use it in the fall....That way our house would be finished AND the leaves and weather would be beautiful. We had been told that this autumn would not be as pretty because of the significant drought affecting the entire South, but it was still very beautiful to us!!

Keri and Andrew first told us about the Richmont. They came here on their honeymoon and had raved about how peaceful and cozy it was. I had seen it in Southern Living....and for our 2nd anniversary in 1998 we visited the Richmont ourselves. We loved it...just like they said we would. They have been back two other times, but this is our first time back since that 1998 trip. You can see all about it on www.RichmontInn.com!

It's OURS!!

Just a quick update without pictures.......

We closed on our house on Monday, October 15th!! We have not moved in yet....but we have started moving some things in, and we have already unpacked some already!

Just wanted you to know!

Yippeeee!

For CC!

Here is CC and her sweet babies!! Have you ever seen so many cute girls in one chair?? CC included!! :)

Hanging Out with Jen and Al

Jen, Al, and the boys came for a quick visit over fall break. While they were here, we moved some things into our house since we PASSED INSPECTION!!!!!! Al, Jonathan and Andrew moved almost all of our stuff out of storage using a U Haul. This was the night before....we were playing a fun game of Cranium! Above is a picture of the boys regrouping right before the girls whipped them!! Below is an awake Jen---all bundled up---and playing at MIDNIGHT!! WOW!

This is a picture of the bonfire that the boys set AFTER our midnight game of Cranium. They were a little sorry they stayed up this late the next morning when it was time to rent the U Haul!! But, you gotta love them!!

Is this what I think it is!!??

My mama always taught me to crack an egg into a bowl before you add it to a recipe. Boy, were we all glad I used a bowl this day! I cracked a jumbo egg.....thought it was really heavy......and out came the white, the yolk, and this!! Is this a chicken??? I made everyone look at it. Keri finally made me throw it away....but not before I disected it! Everyone thought I was crazy for taking this picture......BUT I NEED ANSWERS!! What is this????

Kevin and Mitcie's Wedding

Keri's brother, Kevin, and his fiance, Mitcie, were married last Saturday at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. Aren't those flower girls sweet!!??

Kevin had the sweetest smile on his face as Mitcie walked down the aisle to him!

Here Mitcie is looking down at her son, Cade, who gave her away.

Getting ready for the kiss..........