Grandmother and aunt Marcie taught Saralyn to bounce a tennis ball.

Saralyn climbing aunt Marcie and uncle Boo's staircase

Thanksgiving - Round 3 Last but not least...

Tuesday we made our first roadtrip to GA with Saralyn. She did really well. It took an extra 2 hours to get there, but we stopped at the Walmart in Dalton, GA and streatched our legs. They had these interactive robot animal toys and she had a blast watching them. There was a dog, cat, pony and dinasaur. They would make animal sounds and turn their head and blink their eyes. Very cool! We stayed with aunt Marcie (Marchelle) and uncle Boo (Billy). Mom made her famous dressing and everything was fabulous. Billy's sister's and their families came up and Rachel was also with us. Paul and little Billy played tennis, video games and watched movies. Little Billy really enjoys getting to spen time with Paul. Saralyn learned to climb the stairs and was on her way up every chance she got. Thank you, Marchelle and Billy for all your hard work in prepareing and opening your home up to us for Thanksgiving holiday. It was wonderful.

Thanksgiving - Round 2

Then on Sunday, we had Thanksgiving with my dad and step-family. We all bring a dish and TJ does 10 or so (not really but it seems like it). We have so much to choose from. It's hard to not over indulge when we have such great cooks in the family. After lunch, it's a tradition to add an ornament to the family tree which represents something about you or your family this past year. Saralyn's ornament was "Baby's 1st Christmas" of coarse. And mine and Paul's was 3 snowman faces stacked on top of each other representing this is the first year for "the 3 of us". I think Saralyn told Granddad what she would like for Christmas (picture shown).

Thanksgiving

Saturday before Thanksgiving Paul and I hosted his family's Thanksgiving dinner. I cooked my first turkey. I stuffed it with oranges, apples, fresh sage, rosemary and tyme. It was 'fall of the bone' good. Saralyn enjoyed playing with Paul's nieces, Catrina, Baylee and Amber. The food was wonderful and it was so nice to be able to get together with the Yambor's. I'm very blessed to have such great in-laws.

Weekend Get-A-Way

November 14 - 16 Paul an d I went to Pigeon Forge, TN to attend the Heart of Marriage retreat. We went with friends Kimberly and Paul. The weekend focus was on the book, His Needs, Her Needs by Harley. It was a great reminder that we (men and women) have different needs. God made us different by design.

It was hard leaving Saralyn for the first time. My mom came up to stay with her so Paul and I could go away for the weekend. I almost cried Friday when it came time to leave her and get on the road. It was a nice, needed break for me and I enjoyed my time with Paul and our friends. The landscape was absolutely breathtaking with the fall follage. As we were leaving Pigeon Forge on Sunday to come home, it was snowing in the mountains over Gatlingburg and we could see the snow topped mountains as we drove away.

Getting Started

Greetings! I've been meaning to take the time and start this blog for a couple of weeks now. And tonight, I'm finally sitting down at the computer long enough to do so. Last weekend we had Saralyn's 9 months pictures taken. I can't believe she's already 9 months old. Where has the time gone? It's so true what every parent tell you... they grow up so fast. I'm so blessed and thankful to be able to be home with her to soak up all the precious moments and experience the milestones first hand. I can no longer imagine my life without her. I hope you enjoy visiting our blog and being a part of our journey.