First Snow

We enjoyed the first accumulating snow in a different way this year... Joe got to play in it for the first time. He was a little too small last year..

He really didn't know what to think of the white fluffy stuff. Eric, who had gone out earlier that day to buy a sled, decided to take him for a ride...

These are some of my favorites from the day...

Joe finished his day in snow by making his first snow angel...

Tree Time

Every year the weekend following Thanksgiving we pick out our Christmas tree. We've been getting a fresh tree every year since I can remember... and we're continuing the tradition with Joseph. It was a beautiful day, but cold!


Joseph had so much fun running around in the fields. It was a little nerve racking for me though because of all of the stumps around, but he did great only fell a dozen or so times. :-) He eventually toddled over to papaw. He played hide and seek around the trees and Joe finally found him!


We picked our tree and then daddy and Joe got to ride with the tree in the gator! Eric said he was giggling most of the way... unfortunately just not in the picture.


While we were waiting for the tree to get the shake down, hole drilled in the bottom (for our cool tree stand that makes it straight), and wrapped, we occupied joe with a little red wagon.


Then we all enjoyed some Hot chocolate... some more than others ;-)

Thankful for This Life

Thanksgiving... it's a time of year to remind us to take a look at our lives and remember all that we have to be thankful for. This year, I have a lot. For one, there's Joseph.

I thank god for him every single day. There are days I feel overwhelmed, but most days I look at him and think he's the best thing I've ever done! Of course I'm thankful for making it through school and for my career as a nurse and loving supportive family.

Thanksgiving in my house is a family style meal that looks a little something like this...

Dad was carving the turkey and noticed that the turkey legs were still in tact.... so I decided to give one to Joe.

He loved it! We all loved it.. it was hilarious to see him swing the turkey leg around... oh yes he was swinging it around his head like a baseball bat.

Thanksgiving was a great day. A family filled wonderful day!

Whole Again

"We're pulling apart and coming together again and again. We're growing apart, but we pull it together, pull it together, together again."



They say a picture can say 1000 words. I totally whole heartedly believe. One of closests friends from college, who was an english major, decided to take up telling people's stories from behind the camera... 1000 words at a time... she told the story of my whole world one afternoon in Brown County State park.

I love candid photos. They take a snapshot of life as it is happening. They show emotion instead of a posey smile. They allow the viewer to feel the emotion. Don't you feel it?


That will forever be one of my favorite photographs. It brings a smile, a tear, and warms my heart all with one glance. I love my daddy and my little boy... put them together and I melt.

No matter how difficult life has been through the last few years. We've stuck together. Maybe not as together as we were a few months ago... meaning the break up, but we're still a family... dysfunctional as it may be... I love us.


My life story would not be complete without one person... Cheri (my "weekend sister") Best friends since 8th grade... hard to believe that was... what... 10 years now. From first boyfriends to college to motherhood... we've gone through it together. We may not get to see each other as much as we would like, but she will always be my person.


Little blessing... that's what my son is. He is the reason for my existence. I guess I really never understood just HOW much you love your children... I don't think you can until you have one. It's probably the scariest, hardest, best thing I've ever done. He is the reason I get up everyday and do what I do. He is the source of my drive and has been since the minute I knew he was growing inside of me. They say women become mothers when they find out they are pregnant and men become fathers when they see the baby for the first time. I think that's totally true. I started planning our life together, Joe and I, when I was pregnant. Knowing I had to get through nursing school, get a job, provide a life for this little creature. So that's what I'm doing... he is the reason. Thank God for him... I love that little boy more than life itself. As cheesy as it seems, it's true... he's turned me into a cheeseball... ;-)

"You find your faith has been lost and shaken
You take back what's been taken
Get on your knees and dig down deep
You can do what you think is impossible
Keep on believing, don't give in
It'll come and make you whole again
It always will, it always does
Love is unstoppable"

The Great Pumpkin

MUAH HAHAHA...

Ok just kidding! I know I'm hilarious. So I love love love halloween. Not so much the scary part of halloween but autumn, costumes, decorating, and CANDY! This year was especially fun because Joe's older. First, we got to go to the pumpkin patch.

The natural thing to do after buying our pumpkins.... was to carve them!

Joseph didn't like the pumpkin brains... which was surprising I thought he would think it was fun to play with the seeds or something... but was you can tell he was not having it!

He did really like the finished product! He kept taking the top on and off and sticking his hand in the whole.. it was pretty funny!

Halloween rolled around and out came the costumes :-)

My little nemo and butterfly (Brie)

What good would fall be if we couldn't play in the leaves!

It was hilarious to watch him try to get out of his big pile of leaves.



This has by far been the best fall so far... I'm sure it'll just get better from here on out!

Those Boys in Blue

As an early birthday present I had the pleasure of going to a Colts game at Lucus Oil. My first ever!

It was so much fun! It's such an amazing feeling being there for the actual game! Everyone rooting for the same team! It was great!

The IU band played at half time. It was really cool to see them running around the field and crazy how fast they run!

We won!!

Blink and It's Over...

It's amazing how fast time has gone over the last few months. I swear it was just a few days ago and I was picking out stuff for Joe's first birthday and now it's almost Christmas. Amazing. Anyway... Let me catch you up a little.


Joe FINALLY is big enough we switched him over to a "big boy" carseat... mind you he hasn't met the weight limit of the pumpkin carrier seat yet either...

Yeah... he hates his new carseat. Well he hates both car seats... really... he hates anything or anyone that tries to strap him down... You try reasoning with a 15 month old... It goes something like this:

Joe SCREAMING
Mommy "Joe, you have to be buckled in to be safe." as I fight him.
Joe SCREAMING and arching his back
Mommy "Joseph edward. Now. I have to buckle you in." as I continue to fight him.
Joe SCREAMING, arching his back, and kicking me.
Mommy "Child, you are going to lose." and he does.

Every time.... I've learned a trick or two though... he loves to play with mommys keys. That usually buys me enough time to get him strapped in... REALLY quick.

I'm SO in for it. He is everywhere now... He's running (a cute little waddle run) and climbing on everything and pulling things down off of tables. It's amazing how such a little person can make such a BIG mess! If it's like this now... what are the supposed "terrible twos" going to be like?! Oh dear. I can only imagine. Although he is a little shit sometimes, he is also the most lovable little guy...

That's him and my little cousin Grace during our most recent trip to Chicago to visit. He was surprisingly ok on the drive up there... waited to melt down until we were pulling into their house edition. We spent a nice long weekend with them... went and saw my 3 year old cousin play soccer... which makes me very excited to Joseph to play sports! It was so fun to watch him get so into it... he was hardcore!

Joe even got to play some soccer! Of course he attention span is even shorter than all the 3 year olds... who knew it was possible!





As many people know, Joseph has a thing for hats... he found a hat at Aunt Jodi's and was putting it on everyone's head... including his Great Grandma's...

Not only does he have a thing for hats... but also sunglasses!

I love my little guy... and all his beautiful quirks.

"Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand, You can't flip it over and start again, Take every breathe God gives you for what it's worth"

The First Trim of Many

We took Joseph for his first hair cut just after his birthday. I opted for Cookie Cutters rather than the average hair salon due to my son's "active nature". At least he'd be entertained while the poor lady has to cut his hair! Well it worked because he did so well! He loved when she sprayed his hair to make it wet!

Almost done!

All finished! My handsome little boy! I was sad to see his "babyness" go, which is what happens with that first haircut, but he looked so cute afterwards. He's becoming such a big boy!