Last Weekend of Deer Season

This past weekend was the last weekend of deer season, so we packed up the car and traveled to Jackson for the weekend. It gave David one last chance to hunt and gave Owen and I some time to visit with Grandmama, Pop and my dad.

I love staying at the camp...waking up and looking out at the river, sitting on the front porch rocking, watching the birds and just being outside. It was a beautiful day on Saturday. We have been experiencing some very cold temps, so a warm spring-like day was very welcomed. I think the high was 74 degrees...it was perfect!

how you start every morning at the camp...a cup of coffee one the porch

Cardinals were everywhere

sitting with his Grandaddy on the porch

Owen just looks at everything and seems to be taking in anything new that he sees or hears. He saw deer, coyote, a fox and raccoon this weekend.

The coyotes are taking out a large part of the deer population, so my dad had a trapper set some traps to remove some from the area.

This is the trapper's precious daughter and her fox. She was very proud of him : )

Little Bit was so exhausted by Saturday afternoon he took a major nap. So my other baby (Cooper) got some much needed attention.

I think heaven for Cooper would be the river. He can roam free, swim in the river, retrieve and be a woods dog! He loves it! David finished out the the season with one more deer.

...now he is practicing his turkey call, spring will be here before we know it!

Snowflakes and a Sweet Gesture

I am up late, the house is still, baby sleeping, David snoring, pets are snoozing. They are predicting more snow for us in the early hours of the morning. Just wanted to share some sweet moments of my day. In the picture above are the tea cakes my mom and I made. We used the snowflake cookie cutters from the favors at our wedding to make these. Perfect with a hot cup of coffee on a cold and dreary day. 

   See those pretty pink tulips in the background? My sweet husband walked in today at lunchtime with those in hand. He said they were just for me because I deserved them. How nice is that? I am lucky to have a husband who cares, who loves me, and loves Owen. Who recognizes things that I do and tells me thank you. Who gives me words of affirmation (because he knows I need that). Who not only serves me but serves others. He works really hard at what he does. He has spent countless hours studying and working diligently toward the career he desires.

"Through love serve one another."  Galatians 5:13b

I ran across a blog that mentioned a site with a 30 day challenge for praying for your husband. http://www.reviveourhearts.com/challenge/. I always pray for David, but this gives specific verses and ideas to think about in your marriage each day. I am giving it a go, on day 3 today. Will keep you posted on how it goes. In the meantime, goodnight! 

5 months

      Owen is five months old! He turned 5 months old on Sunday. We snagged a few pics tonight to show what a big and handsome boy we have. Owen is sitting up very well. He has even begun to pull up on things this week. He thinks it is so very funny to play peek-a-boo (that is how we got pics of him laughing). He reaches for everything. Some of his favorite toys include a wooden caterpillar toy, his ball, and Sophie the giraffe. He is tall for his age and outgrows his clothes in length before width. He wears a 9 month size in his pajamas now. He weighs 16.8 pounds according to our bathroom scale. He is still in size 2 diapers but we are not far from size 3.
       As far as sleep goes, we are still working on that : ) We are working hard at scheduling a routine: bath, pajamas, music, nurse, sleep. He still wakes up during the night and would like to nurse and would prefer to spend the remainder of the night in our bed...and sometimes he gets his way. The longest he has gone without waking up to eat since he was born is 6hrs (and that has only happened once). He has tried a couple of bites of baby food. He makes a terrible face when you give it to him as if he were saying "are you sure this is supposed to taste good?" The boy loves his milk and is quite the efficient nurser these days. His sweet smocked outfit was a gift from his Aunt Annette and Caroline.

Owen with his Melissa and Doug Caterpillar 

Owen and Cooper practicing their sitting skills

sweet puppy dog

petting Cooper

Happy 5 months baby boy!

Playing in the Dirt

As I mentioned we were in Greenville this past weekend so we got to visit with everyone. David's dad is building a pond behind their house. We took Owen down to the pond site on Sunday after his nap to see how it is coming along. We sat him down to take a picture and he LOVED the dirt. He was fascinated by it and kept picking it up. As he does with anything new...it went straight to his mouth. He quickly determined dirt was not good to eat and just had fun playing in it.

You know little boys like to play in the dirt...this one is no exception!

Don't you love his little John Deer Boots

Daddy can't hold me long without this happening:

tickle-monster attacks! 

Then Owen helped Daddy drive us over to the green field. No one was really planning to hunt there, so we decided to have a little photo shoot! The grass was a beautiful bright green.

5 months old today

playing with a sweet-gum ball

Nana loves Owen

Don't you love Nana's boots!

And Mama, well, she loves her sweet boy!

Baking, Yertle, and an Adorable Owl

This past weekend we went home to Greenville so Daddy could hunt and everyone could see Little Bit. He has changed so much since Christmas! He is growing up so quickly, sitting up and playing. Saturday we spent the day at Gammy's house baking in the kitchen and playing. Some of my most favorite times are in Gammy's kitchen...lots of laughter, smiles, licking the batter, etc.

How many great-grandmothers do you know that crawl down in the floor to play with their great-grandson. Gammy continues to amaze me.

We decided to make these "Delicate cupcakes". Gammy used to make them when my mom was growing up. They have a slight lemon flavor to them. I like the bright flavor of the fresh lemon juice in the icing.

Do you see at the top of the recipe it says "serves 18"...well we missed that little detail and put all the batter into 12 cupcake tins. Needless to say we had 12 Large Delicate Cupakes! We made a note at the bottom of the recipe to remind us that this makes 18! 

one LARGE Delicate Cupcake! (with some sugar sprinkles)

You might remember this lovely little favor from a certain wedding in 2007. 

The recipe on the inside is for Tea Cakes, my mother's favorite cookie. This recipe was from Ms. Martha Claire Wall....a family friend. We never seem to fit everything we want to do in at Christmas, so we made these cookies this weekend too.

Owen lit up and squealed when Caroline walked in the door Saturday night. He was so excited to see her, who can blame him...she is a beautiful girl. They read and looked at the pictures in Yertle the Turtle.

Caroline made these adorable Owl cupcakes. They were so cute and tasty. You don't have to be a Chi O to love these sweet treats!

Sitting Up

Here are just of couple pics from this week. Owen is showing us everyday that he is becoming a big boy and is not our little newborn baby : ( He is sitting up so much better now and LOVES his Cooper dog. I have yet to get a pic of him lighting up when he sees Cooper...but he does every time his sees him.

shoes don't go on your feet...

they are made to eat!

tired eyes...right before his nap

Up from his nap and a happy boy

Got him!

And an even happier one now!

Happy Thursday everyone!

2 Timothy 4:7-8

This past weekend we celebrated the life of a dear friend. Sam had fought his battle with Ewing's sarcoma and went home to see his Savior Friday morning. David and I met Sam and his future wife, Abby, while at Auburn. Sam and David were in Farmhouse together and Abby and I were ADPi's. Sam and Abby were the perfect compliment to each other. 

 Abby's 20th birthday party...some the girls in our pledge class surprised her at Sam's apartment

David and Sam celebrated birthdays one day apart. Below is a picture from a joint birthday party Abby and I hosted for the guys. Sam was a fun guy. As you can see, we  loved celebrating birthdays in college!

Sam was the picture of health, performing in triathlons and marathons. He had the most amazing spirit. He was never down about having cancer, he was at "war" with it. 

ADPi  Mallard Ball

I really don't feel adequate to write a post about such an amazing person, but I know Sam and Abby have inspired David and I, as well our friends and family. They found their strength in the Lord and we really can learn so much from their journey. I know without a doubt Sam is in heaven now...probably running or biking, free of any pain. 

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." 
2 Timothy 4:7-8

Sam finished his race and he fought an amazing fight, all while keeping his faith in the Lord. He is now rewarded in Heaven! Abby, we are thinking about you and praying for you and your family. We love you friend.

National Champs!!

That's right! Our Auburn Tigers and National Champs!! What a season...a perfect season. While we were not able to cheer on our Tigers in Arizona....we did cheer them on from snowy Huntsville, Al. Some of our friends braved the weather and came over to watch the game with us. We had some good food and good company. War Eagle!!

Owen has been Auburn's lucky charm. Since he has been alive, Auburn has yet to lose a game!

David and Brian grilled some delicious burgers in the snow. 

Southern Caviar and a cheese ball to snack on during the game

and of course you have to have your "Cammy" Cam Juice

And what did we do the next day in the snow and ice...yes, that's right we went and bought our National Championship Tshirts! Proud of our Auburn Tigers! (they didn't have one is Owen's size, so one should be coming in the mail shortly : )  

WAR EAGLE FRIENDS!!

Snow Day

This past Monday (January 10th) has to be one of the most fun days we have had in a long time. It all began Sunday night when the snow started falling. Between the anticipation of the snow and Auburn playing in the National Championship, it was very hard to sleep that night. We awoke to a beautiful blanket of snow covering Huntsville. I think it was the most snow I have seen. We got at least 6 and a half inches.

    This is also when it is fun to have friends as your neighbors. Cooper was eager to get out and play in it. So while David and Coop were playing in the snow, I could hear Ty coming over from his backyard to ours. Again, so much fun having Ty, Brittany and Sam live next to us. We had coffee brewing and coffee cake coming out of the oven, so they joined us for breakfast while we watched the snow fall. 

I think David and Ty had the most fun on their snow day. They were like two little kids. They had snowball fights, pulled each other around in a kayak, made snowballs for a snowball war (which they stored in Pampers boxes...they insisted they made good shields), and built the largest snowman I have ever seen. 

David riding in the kayak

Ty, Sam and Brittany

Some of the 3rd year med school students and family residents got together and made this huge snowman in front of the UAB clinic building.

After all the fun in the snow, we headed in to get ready for the big game. War Eagle!!