Grimes

Found it!!!

2012-01-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

If you think I am talking about my mind, you are wrong...it is a lost cause. However, I did find the password to the blog, so maybe now I will update!??

1/2 Birthday!

2011-10-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

Sweet Jackson is 6 months old!! Just a couple of fun facts to help us remember. Jackson is about 17lbs and longer than his brother was at this age. He is babbling something that sounds like "Dada"...I'm sure that Mama is next. He sits with assistance and he just started rolling over from back to tummy. However, when he gets to his tummy, it does not take him long to get mad. He can roll back, but most of the time is too angry, so William will help him. He is eating baby food and loves sweet potatoes just like his brother did. He is sleeping okay. He started out really good, but has started to pick up some of his brother's terrible sleeping habits. Jackson loves William and I believe the feeling is mutual. William will not spend-the-night away from home without his baby brother. Before Jackson came, William loved to stay at Nanny and Pop's. Now, if we bring it up, he says he has to go with his baby brother. William can also make Jackson giggle like nobody else...music to my ears!

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY JACKSON GRIMES!!!

Where we are...

2011-08-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

This is where we are...busy with life...a three year old, a 4 almost 5 month old and a sister who has started her SENIOR year of High School. Oh how fast time flies! I get so emotional thinking about how quickly time is passing and that my babies are growing up. And yes, Kathryn is my one of my babies. I am so incredibly proud of all that she has accomplished and the beautiful young woman that she is. I am looking forward to soaking up every second that I can with her during her senior year. We love you Kathryn!!

Jackson Harold Grimes

2011-05-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

Jackson Harold Grimes, born April 1, 2011 at 10:05am. 8lbs, 21inches

A perfect blessing that we are so very thankful for!

Are you ready?

2011-03-31T08:59:00.001-07:00

This is a question that has been asked of me over and over again for a couple of weeks now. I assume that most people are asking if I am ready for Jackson's arrival. For those of you that know me really well, you already know the answer. No, I am not ready. I have been working at it though, with the help of Hunter around the house and all of my sweet friends and family that have showered Jackson with gifts.

I am scheduled to be induced tonight, so Jackson should arrive sometime tomorrow. However, despite my attempts to adequately prepare; the house is a disaster, my bag is half packed and to be quite honest; I am nervous. My mind has been constantly racing...I wonder if I really have everything here that Jackson will need...will my delivery be smooth and healthy for Jackson and I both...will William be "ready"???

So I pause breifly this morning to say(and post for the first time since Thanksgiving); I am very emotional at the thought of leaving William this afternoon. I just know that we have spent our last few moments together as a family of 3 and the emotions of that realization are hard for me. So to my sweet, first, baby boy, we love you so very much and cannot be more proud of the big brother you are going to be. You have been kissing my belly for months in anticipation of your little brother's arrival. You even helped pick his name! Mommy and Daddy cannot wait to introduce you to Jackson tomorrow morning...Love you much!!

I have some really sweet pictures of William that I was trying to add to this post, but I have to leave for Montgomery and "blogger" will not let me upload them, after several attempts!

Fall 2010 in Review

2010-11-25T14:44:00.000-08:00

It's Thanksgiving and while WHG is napping, I am going to attempt to give a review of Fall 2010 so far. (Really, I started this Thursday during his nap and I am finishing while he is still sleeping on Saturday morning...) Life is wonderful and I am reminded so much with Thanksgiving that we have so many things to be thankful for today and always. I hope that I can remember to be happy in the present and give thanks in every situation to the ONE that provides our blessings. With that being said, let me show you some of the blessings and activities we have enjoyed this fall. Warning this is very long...get comfortable.

Here we go...

Meme invited us to Fall Festival at AES where we went fishing, picked up ducks and ate pizza with Britt and Parker.

We went to the Kiwanis Covington County Fair. William loved the merry-go-round, the trucks and the live-stock. He rode the merry-go-round with Mama and the trucks with Asher and again with Cooper and Crews.

William has developed a sense of style that is required to be "like daddy!" You may start to see a trend....

We visited Quette and Grandaddy for the Fall Festival at Bethany Baptist. William's favorite (other than the bag full of candy) was the jump house and the slide.

Hunter and I celebrated 7 years of marriage on October 25th. Hunter cooked a great dinner and set the table with our "fine" china and the Auburn place mats. My husband and our marriage is definitely something that I am ever thankful for!!

We attended Grover's 2nd Birthday. It was a dress-up party and William was a dog. We spotted an Auburn Football player, a UPS man, a duck, a cow, a pumpkin, Eore, Robin and lots of other fun things.

This is the only picture I got of the birthday boy...the back of his head...he was busy to say the least!

Later that night, William and some cowboys went Trick-o-Treating. William was not interested in changing out of his jersey, so he was a football player.

We went to Dream Field Farms with the Cottons, the Wells and the Bentleys. The boys all had a blast. It was a beautiful afternoon to spend outside. We watched pigs race, fed the goats, slid down the hay bail slide, went on a hay ride, rode the cow train and even brought home a pumpkin.

We have watched Aunt Kat twirl at the Andy High football games. It is so much fun to watch her perform...I love it! I cannot believe that she is a Junior this year. My baby sister has literally grown up before my eyes. My eyes fill with tears every time I watch her, simply because I am brimming with pride for the young lady she has become! Kathryn is beautiful and she loves William so much.

We have been to several of the Auburn home games. William loves the tailgate and everything about it. From eating things that Mommy does not allow much of at home to playing tackle football with cousin Winston. There is no way that I can post pictures of everything we did and everyone we have seen and visited with at tailgate this year. I know that I saw Aunt KK like 4 weeks in a row and I don't have a single picture with her. What I can do is tell you that it has been a wonderful season and we have loved every minute of it!! Aunt Leigh, Uncle Dale and Elizabeth allow us to make their home ours for the fall and for that we are so very thankful!!

We have made several trips to Tiger Walk with Winston, Sam and the Cotton boys once.

One of our trips up to the plains, Aunt Leigh treated William to a park visit. The boy loves to slide! We got to watch Elizabeth perform in the half-time show at Auburn High. This is the only picture I have of Elizabeth in her uniform; I did video though.

Nanny, Pop and Kat came up for the LSU game. No pictures of Nanny and Pop, but lots of Kat, Elizabeth, Grayson and Rob.
The Reaves and the Meeks were also on the plains for the LSU game and Ms. Tatum's 1st birthday!!

The day before the AU v. GA game, we went for my ultrasound appointment and found out that we are going to have another sweet baby boy in April!! He is healthy and we could not be more excited. AU v. GA was a big weekend...lots of people to see. Like the ones below at the Chi-O tailgate reunion. So much fun to visit with you on the plains for a bit.

The Kings were also on the Plains for the GA game. It was wonderful to visit with Kayla and Janna...but again I do not have a picture!! Janna definitely gave the tailgate a special "Auburn Spirit" and I am so thankful and blessed by her attitude and constant smile.

So, since it took me 3 days to finish this, we now know that Auburn has finished our regular season 12-0!! War Damn Eagle! On to the SEC championship game to face the Gamecocks one more time!

The Big 30!

2010-09-19T19:02:00.001-07:00

Well, 30 has come and gone and much to my surprise; I am still alive. I will be honest with you, I have dreaded turning 30 all summer long. I have not looked forward to it one bit...no real reason, just did not want to leave my twenties. I am very blessed though, I have wonderful family and friends that made sure that I celebrated my 3oth birthday, whether I thought I wanted to or not!

My husband has never been too good at surprising me, but he sure pulled off a good surprise for my Birthday. I had been pouting for quite sometime about the fast approaching milestone and had told him that I did not want to do anything. Maybe go out to dinner with a few friends somewhere in town...which means Mexican or our new Japanese Steak house. I was incredibly lazy on Saturday, the day of my birthday, and I just thought Hunter was taking William out the house for a bit to let me rest. Afterall, if I haven't mentioned it, I am almost 3 months pregnant with #2. So, I thought Hunter was being sweet and letting me and #2 rest on Mommy's birthday. Lynsey (who was most definately in the know) and I took quick trip to Opp and met Suzanne and Katie to go "junkin." I came home and called my parents' house (where William and Hunter were supposed to be swimming) and got what should have been my first clue of the day. My mom answered the phone and when I inquired about what she was doing, she calmly told me she was "planting mums to get her front porch ready for Homecoming." Uhhh, I have been around for a long time...30 years.... and my mama does not plant mums 3 WEEKS ahead of time!! However, I guess my pregnant, tired self just skipped right over that little nugget of info and decided I would stay put and watch HGTV on the couch for a bit. Later, I got dressed and ready to go to dinner, but Hunter said, "your mom said to bring WHG some pjs before we eat." Uhmm, okay, well we are going to be late.

Well, 5 mins later we round the corner to parents house and the vehicles lining the street start to make little things throughout the day make more sense. "Surprise honey!!!"

My parents back yard was full of family and friends ready to celebrate my 30th birthday! Hayley came from Auburn, Leigh, Dale and Elizabeth made a very fast trip from Auburn, Hannah and the boys came from Birmingham and Kayla was in town from Orange Beach. They had all been planning for weeks. We visited, ate and were merry for hours on end and it was wonderful! William had a blast and was still going late into the night!!!
I have gotten to visit with these two for the past four weekends in a row (it always fun to see KK's smiling face no matter how brief our visit) and I am going to be lost this weekend....good thing next week is an Auburn home game!!

My sweet husband, Mama, Daddy, Kat, Meme and Chuck and I am sure countless others had been working all day to get ready and it was wonderful! I had so much fun and it was the perfect way to jump start my 30's!!

Thank you so very much to everyone that came and helped Hunter and William surprise me on my birthday!!

The next day, the Winston, William and Sam had a blast swimming in Nanny's pool. They are such good buddies and I adore watching them play together!!

William's 2nd Birthday

2010-06-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

What a whirl wind the past two years have been. I look at my sweet baby boy and wonder how he turned into a little boy right before my eyes so very quickly. I thought that as he got older it would get easier to leave him all day long while I work, but it really has not. I miss him so much every day, that I am absolutely about to bust to pick him up in the afternoons. His vocabulary is growing like a wild fire and he is putting together sentences so well. Hunter and I are amazed every day at the conversations we have with him. He used to say "Momas" for "Thomas" (the train) and just this weekend, I noticed that he is saying "Thomas" clear as a bell. He tells Hunter and I all the time, "No!...My do it!" Mr. Independent!! He is constantly asking, "Daddy, what you doin?" and my personal favorite, when he and his Daddy leave for school in the mornings, he says, "I love you Mommy!" That is when I forget that I was mad because he was up all hours of the night and just melt!! William has also been singing a lot lately. His favorite song is "Old McDonald." We sing it several times a day. So, we decided that since William loves tractors and all things farm related, we would celebrate his 2nd birthday barnyard style.

We celebrated with a "Barnyard Bash" in our very own backyard and on our new BIG deck!! William had a blast at his birthday party...he played with every tractor he has and played in the blow up pool with Winston and Logan in his diaper and barnyard T-shirt that TT made! I am sure that we looked a little "red" to the neighbors with our little one running around in his diaper and T-shirt, but who cares...William was loving it!

This was his fabulous Birthday Cake, made by Mesilla Jenkins...and the fondant was good!

We played pick up ducks and won prizes...Colored barn-yard scenes...Rode tractors, pulled wagons and pushed bulldozers...We cooked slider cheese burgers and had homemade icecream to eat with our Birthday cake. William decided it would be easier to let Mommy and Daddy blow out his candles...that way he could just get right to digging into his smash cake!

And of course on the morning of his actual birthday, Sunday, May 23rd; we had birthday pancakes!

We love you William!! Happy 2nd Birthday! Love Mommy and Daddy!

Winston's 3rd Birthday and Other Fun Times

2010-05-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we made the trip to B'ham and help Winston "construct" a great 3rd birthday celebration. WHG was not too sure about the "tractor" at first, but later he thought sitting on it with Daddy would be ok. Happy, Happy Birthday Winston...we had a wonderful time!

We had dinner with Kylie and her Aunt Claire and Uncle Russ one night and those two had the best time. It was seriously "monkey see, monkey do" if Kylie was wearing her back pack, William had to wear his. If Kylie was going to eat Mac and Cheese, so was William.

This past weekend was the 1st Annual 3 Notch Market hosted by the Andalusia Junior Women's Club and it was a success. We had over 40 vendors...one of my personal faves being Smitten and Co. aka Aunt TT. I really enjoyed being downtown Andalusia for some great shopping and visiting. William's favorite part... the jumping house. We heard, "I jump!...I fall down!" a hundred times.

And last but not least, this morning when I told William to bring me his tennis shoes, he brought me his rain boots and demanded that he wear them. So what did I do? I let him...not worth the battle. He was so proud of himself, he even said cheese for the camera. Check out that bed head; there is no controling that hair of his. I LOVE this kid!!

Easter 2010

2010-04-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures from our Easter weekend. We had lots of family in town to celebrate with. Most of them helping us with a little home project!! We had an Easter egg hunt at our house on Saturday both for William, Winston and Sam and for the big kids, too. One special birthday girl, found a prize egg with a key to her very own car in it! Can you believe my Sugar Bear aka Kathryn is 16! I am just now getting to where I don't tear up when I see her drive off in the car by herself (don't tell her though!).

When she opened her prize egg, she said, "Who has a Honda?!" Duh, B-day girl, YOU DO!

We had a wonderful dinner with family Saturday night and then woke up early to attend the sunrise service at Mama Quette and Grandaddy's Pond. C.T. Eldrige gave the sermon and it was such a wonderful service as always.

William did not feel well Sunday morning, hence the reason for him being uncooperative for pictures. This is the best I could get before church.
We went to Opp for the BIG Easter Egg hunt, but left before they hunted eggs, cause William was not in the mood to participate. Thankfully, after a loooong nap, he perked up enough to play with the new golf clubs the Easter Bunny left for him.

Bloggin Hiatis

2010-03-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure that is the correct spelling or the best explanation. I just simply have not taken the time to sit down and share via blog lately...Sorry. We are just plain busy and when we aren't busy, I would rather play with WHG (in the dirt, which is his play area of choice) than play on the computer. And with this warmer weather, I can't promise I will be any better. We have taken the sides out of the jeep and are loving it after a long and very cold (in my opinion) winter.

So, here is my best attempt to catch you up.

I wrote this post a few days after my OOC weekend but, I never got around to posting it. I figured most of you read all about it elsewhere; plus my group pictures cannot be fully appreciated by the WWW (nor by some of the picture participants if posted...they know where I live):What happens with team OOC....stays with Team OOC. Well sort of. You can read about most of my annual Auburn girlfriends a/k/a OOC weekend, HERE, HERE and HERE. However, there are some things that we just can't share with the rest of the WWW. It seems as though my camera was used only to capture the more exciting moments of our trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains with my favorite Mountain Mamas. To say that we had a good time is an understatement. We ate, relaxed, ate, relaxed in the hot tub, talked, ate...oh and we had a few glasses of wine and a few beers thrown in there as well. And let me be sentimental for just a minute...I love these girls more than they could ever imagine and my heart just flutters when I think about how we all met on the plains and the events that have given us a friendship that truly is standing the test of time and distance!!
This sweet man was waiting on the porch for me when I got home.

Next...WHG went to help cousins Will and Clay celebrate their 2nd birthday. WHG loves to watch Mickey Mouse Club House and do the "hot diggity dog" dance; however he was not getting close to the real thing. He would watch them from across the skating rink...but one move toward him and he was climbing my leg or Mama Quette's!!

"Here they come Quette...don't go anywhere....maybe just pick me up!!"

Two weekends ago, the three of us took a little day trip to the coast. It was a beautiful day and WHG ran around like a wild man in this grassy area for an hour!!

We are good Mama...shop til you drop! I wish...daddy put a hold on that real quick!

We went to a Dinner Mystery Party hosted by Katie and Parrish King. It was Western Themed and we were instructed to arrive in character. I will admit, I was a bit skeptical of this event (mostly because I had to dress the part and convince Hunter to also), but we had a great time. Katie made a wonderful meal and we were definitely the most entertaining group of "criminals" I have ever met! Hunter played the role of Cheif Breaking Wind... hahaha

Last weekend, we celebrated the beginning of Holy Week. We had an Easter egg hunt for church and WHG "helped" cover the altar with palms.A few of the Egg hunters paused briefly to let me take their picture, Britt, Grover, Asher, WHG, and Parker.Not sure why we have our fingers (whole hand) in our mouth, but it is becoming a habit that Mama does not like. Britt Cotton (yellow shirt) held WHG's hand to show him where to go. WHG loves him some Cotton boys! Britt and Parker are so sweet to him and he wants to do everything they do!

Whew, I am tired of typing. We are gearing up for an exciting Easter weekend. Lots of family in town to help us with a little project. We are going to celebrate Aunt Hayley, John and Aunt Kat's Birthdays (it is Aunt Kat's sweet 16--I am a little sad that she is growing up on me!). Then on Sunday, we will celebrate the Ressurection with Sunrise service at Grandaddy and Mama Quette's and Dr. and Nancy Eldrigdes', Easter Cantata during our regular church service, and then the big Jones Egg hunt in Opp!!

Won't you be mine?

2010-02-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

Who would refuse this sweet Valentine? I sure can't.

His Aunt Kat can't resist him either....and he knows he has her wrapped!

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day Weekend. It snowed between 5 and 6 inches on Friday, so Hunter, WHG, Aunt Kat and myself spent the day playing. WHG was not a big fan of the snow once he figured out he could not push his lawnmower in it. So we watched Daddy and Aunt Kat build a snowman and have a snowball fight through the window.
Watching the snow fall ALL day long was so peaceful. We took lots of pictures of the house, First Baptist across the street and our church, First United Methodist...the churches look so majestic to me. I wanted to be sure and document our surroundings...who knows if we will see anything like this again in our lifetime in this neck of the woods.

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Just some updated info on how much our little man is growing...WHG weighs in around 27lbs, he has only grown up since his last dr's appt. He is like 33ins tall maybe? He is talking up a storm and will attempt to repeat anything you throw at him. William can name most animals, but you have to listen carefully to things like elephant to know what he is saying. He also says, "apple...A." He loves our jeep...did you know we were jeep people...turns out we are. Hunter got a jeep to hunt on, but WHG says, "I ride my jeep." He gets a little angry in the mornings now when his daddy says they have to ride in the truck...he would so rather ride in the jeep. One night as we were putting him to bed...he was already asleep...he started talking in his sleep and said, "I ride jeep."

Getting ready to ride the jeep and check all the snow. We have to go and look at all the tractors and "big, BIG! trucks." William is obsessed with Semi Trucks and Tractors.

Here is a picture of WHG with his partner in crime, Grover. They shared raisins in the nursery Sunday at Church and then got down to business playing on the sit-n-spins.

Rigsby's 30th Celebration in Kiawah, SC

2010-02-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

So, if you have read my friends' blogs, HERE, HERE and HERE...you know by now that we made a LITTLE road trip to Kiawah, SC to help Rigsby celebrate her 30th birthday just a little early. Hunter and I left Thursday night and headed to the Verdigets' homestead in ATL...it took a long time...we spent 45 mins at a complete standstill on the interstate right outside of AU. So, needless to say, when we finally made it to ATL all the grannies we were meeting, including myself, went straight to bed. We woke up bright and early and had a little play time with one of the cutest baby girls on the planet, Miss Blair Verdigets!!
Then we had to kiss those sweet cheeks goodbye and get on the road. My sweet darling of a husband safely transported us girls, myself, Tara, Jess and Jennifer, all the way to Kiawah. We arrived just in time to set up a little surprise and hide.

Then it was SURPRISE!! And OMG...HOW DID YA'LL GET HERE! Chip!?
That smile made the long trip definately worth it! Now time to get down to the business of visiting, eating and some vino!

Me, Jennifer, Jess and Tara at dinner Friday night.

The boys, Todd, Chip and Hunter.

The scenery we woke up to and enjoyed all day Saturday. The girls also enjoyed some time at the spa on Saturday, but I don't have any pictures to prove it...just pretty toenails!

We had a wonderful time and I love soaking up every single minute I get to spend with these girls. Can't wait to do it again in a few weeks with the rest of the OOC crew!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-19T07:55:00.001-08:00

I what you are thinking..."Did Santa visit the Grimes household or did they just skip Christmas?" No we did not skip Christmas. Yes, Santa came to see us! Hunter and I have always loved Christmas and there is something about having a little one to share it with that just makes it so much fun. We had a wonderful Christmas. We listened to the Alabama Christmas CD...specifically "Thistle Hair the Christmas Bear" for days and loved it. We bring out that CD while putting up the tree and don't dare stop listening until the day after Christmas. WHG was a little under the weather Christmas Eve and pretty cranky Christmas day, so at first he was not really interested in his loot. And because we videoed most of Christmas morning, I don't have alot of pictures. We spent a lot of time visiting with family and friends which just makes Christmas for me.

WHG and his friend Grover playing during our Sunday School party.

WHG helping Daddy open gifts at MawMaw's Christmas Eve.

Do you see his boots? John Deere sponsored WHG's Christmas (ha, I wish). The boots are from his Mommy and Daddy and I must say they are a hit with this little man. There have been only a handful of days that he has not worn them since he opened the box! He wore them all morning with his Santa on a bucking Bronco PJ's. He brings them to you and says boots!! as he sits down in front of you for you to put them on.

My friend Lynsey turned 30 and we celebrated the day after Christmas with a surprise party.

I could not leave out this last one. We took this before Hunter and I went to a New Year's Eve party. WHG was saying "cheese" and notice of course his boots!

Hope that you are having a Happy New Year thus far!!

Clampet Christmas

2009-12-17T08:13:00.000-08:00

I'm really not sure if I am spelling Clampet correctly, but anyway we kicked our Christmas off Clampet style this year. After a wonderful Thanksgiving, and a nail biting Iron Bowl (WDE!!!), we decided to buy our Christmas tree from Aunt Leigh and Uncle Dale's friends, the Mims. They have some beautiful, large Frazier Furs that were freshly cut. However, there was just one problem, we were picking this tree out in the Loveliest Village on the Plains... I know, we are nuts, we drove 200+miles with this tree tied to the top of the Tahoe....Clampet Style!!

WHG picking out the perfect Christmas Tree!

And much to my surprise, the tree has survived thus far, It really is beautiful and I love our ornaments that we have accumulated over the past 6 years. WHG loves to "look" at the tree. He points to different ornaments and says, "ball?", "deer?". It is precious.

We had a visit from Santa last week while cousins, Winston and Sam were here. The visit was not appreciated by Winston or WHG...they screamed and went running. I feel terrible, I thought it would be so much fun...needless to say it may be a while before either of them are ready to sit in Santa's lap. (I 'm not sure I would have sat in that Santa's lap either...)I did manage to get a picture of all three boys though in their sweet shirts....made with LOVE by Smitten and Co. aka Aunt TT!!

Santa did bring some trucks for Winston and William that help their feeling afterwards. Sam is so sweet, always content...I'm not sure he is real fired up about be sandwiched in between these two though.

This is just a funny picture of William yelling at the trucks as they pass by in front of the house. He loves trucks and he loves our dogs...hence the special tee as tribute to Jack and Lucy.

Thankful

2009-11-25T14:34:00.000-08:00

We have so many things to be thankful for on a daily basis. I love that we take the time to give them special notice this time of year. I am especially thankful for this little man and his ability to constantly entertain his daddy and I. WHG is now 18 months old. He is all over the place and is attempting to repeat everything we say. You can see the wheels turning in that head of his. He will nod yes or no when you ask him just about anything.

WHG, loves to eat. Every afternoon he comes in the house and digs in this draw to find bread or cookies. He loves a cookie and would eat bread for every meal if I would allow it. This draw is in a terribly convenient location for him and he has had this figured out for quite sometime. I finally got tired of telling him "no" after he had almost a whole bag of animal crackers last night and after he got into the box or Triscuits right by himself; so I moved everything out of the draw. A little while later I heard him in the kitchen whining and this is what I found.
I hope that everyone has a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

You know we love some AU Football!

2009-09-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

WHG sported his jersey to school the day before the first game.

And for those of you who don't believe that WHG is not ready for a sibling...see below.

He will however guard the beer boxes for his daddy at tailgate!

And this is his new shirt he wore today to get ready for the AU v. WVU game! See you on the plains. Oh and good luck to Aunt Kat tonight...we love you!

The Church Street School Project

2009-09-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

For those of you that know me, you know that my sisters and I have a long history with the Andalusia Ballet. My sister Ashley and I danced for 13 years each and now my sister Kathryn is dancing with Andalusia Ballet. The City of Andalusia and the Andalusia Ballet Association have joined forces to renovate the Church Street School so that it will house Andalusia Ballet and be a center for the arts in Covington County, Alabama. The Andalusia Ballet Association is selling bricks and cornerstones for a patio that will be constructed on the premises. If you have a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or sibling that attended Church Street School, was involved with Andalusia Ballet or if you simply want to help support this renovation project; please consider being a part of the Brick/Cornerstone Campaign. Bricks are $100 with 3 lines/15 spaces per line and Cornerstones are $500 with 6 lines/15 spaces per line. Hurry, our campaign ends September 28th!!

Please feel free to email me ginnygrimes@alaweb.com or call the ABA office at 334-222-6620 for more information. Here is a link to ABA website...http://www.andalusiaballet.com/ and yes, that is my beautiful sister on the homepage!!

Where have we been???

2009-07-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

Swimming at Nanny and Pop's...

Great Granddaddy's birthday party...

Checking out cute girls!! (Towns and Cate McLendon)

Playing with TP....

Eating Ice Cream...dipped in chocolate....

Doughnut Hole in Sand Destin for some yummy pancakes while at the beach with Nanny and Pop...this is just for Daddy...(mom is ready for me to grow out of this one)

Gantt Lake for July 4th!! (I have some great pictures of the "grownups" from this day...how much not to post them????)

what? Corn on the cob is good mom!

Meeting Braylen Nicholas Chapman, July 10, 2009

To Panama City Beach with Daddy for work at the Southeastern Peanut Conference
tired baby...

playing with the Flemming Boys' tractors at the beach...

Meeting Aubie at the Auburn Club of LA Annual Meeting (along with offensive coordinator Coach Gus Malzahn)...

WHG was just a bit scared....I am sure he will grow out of it by football season, maybe he just did not want his picture made???

Samuel Wright Martin

2009-06-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

We caught our first glimpse of this sweet little boy late Thursday night via camera phone...immediate consensus was that he looked just like Winston. However, after meeting Sam today, I think he looks a lot like his Mama. Either way he is one handsome baby and we so very proud to call him nephew and cousin. We love you Sam!!

7lbs 6oz, June 4, 2009, Proud parents, Hannah and Joseph, proud big brother, Winston.

In case they're watching...

2009-06-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of William and his Aunt Kathryn. William loves his Aunt Kat!

And here is a picture of William dressed just like his Uncle Dale and ready to help him work!

Happy Birthday

2009-06-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

My sweet little baby boy is 1 year old. He is crawling...fast, pulling up, cruising around the furniture and has even taken a few steps all by himself. William, we love you immensely. You are a perfect blessing. Happy 1st Birthday!!

Where did the time go?

2009-05-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

I am slipping in WHG's 11 month post since, in just one short week, our little man will be 1 year old. Time has never passed so quickly. In the past month, William has taken his first boat ride, he has learned to crawl, he went swimming in Nanny and Pop's pool with his daddy and he babbles constantly. The crawl is more like a belly crawl when he is on the hardwood because he can go faster, but on the rug he is up on all fours. His little personality is so entertaining, Hunter and I constantly find ourselves laughing at something his done or a face he has made.

Easter

2009-04-15T19:44:00.001-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend. This is good considering that on Thursday before Easter, WHG had tubes put in his ears and his adenoids removed. He handled the surgery well (and so did his parents). He was such a trooper all weekend. On Friday, I finally caved into the requests of William's daddy and his Nanny and we took William to get his FIRST HAIRCUT. His hair has been hanging in his eyes and he had the beginnings of a mullet. The haircut was a requirement. Even so, I was still sad to see him looking like a little boy instead of the sweet baby that he is. Of course we took pictures and videoed the whole thing.

Happy to play with Dolly after getting his big boy hair cut.

On Saturday, Hunter and Joseph took the boys down to the pond for their first go at fishing.

Sunday was busy, but great. It began with a look at what the Easter Bunny left for WHG.

Then we went to sunrise service at the pond. This sunrise service is always so beautiful and this year was no exception.

After church, we ate lunch at Nanny and Pop's and visited for a bit before heading to Opp for the big Egg Hunt in the cow pasture.

To say the least, we did not stop all weekend long. When we got home from the egg hunt, William and I took a long nap while Daddy watched the Master's with Pop, GreatGranddaddy, Uncle Dale and Uncle Chuck.

Happy (Belated) Birthday!

2009-03-31T19:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday today to Aunt Hayley! And a belated birthday wish to John; his was Monday.

Sorry, I had this ready to post yesterday and never got the chance.

cWr

2009-03-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Russell Alan Walters! We had a great time this past weekend celebrating the marriage of Russ Walters and Claire Stringfellow. Friday night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Buttermilk Hill in Sylacauga (check them out in last month's issue of Southern Living). And on Saturday the rain held off for a beautiful ceremony just before sunset at Chateau Toots on Lay Lake.

The first bouquet toss went in the pool...so we try again!

Just a side note, but I miss having this girl close by a whole lot!

10 months!!

2009-03-27T05:48:00.001-07:00

Congratulations!!!

2009-03-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Ashley and Charlie!! The bride was georgeous, the ceremony was beautiful and sweet and we had a great time celebrating!! We could not be happier for the two of you!

I'm so excited...

2009-03-11T19:55:00.001-07:00

and I just can't hide it. In just two short days Hunter, William and I will be at the BEACH for my sweet friend Ashley's wedding. We are going to spend the whole weekend with friends that we just don't see often enough. I cannot wait!!

Here is Ashley with William shortly after he was born.

Looking forward to some QT with some of these girls

and I'm holding out hope for one or two more...a girl can wish right?!!

Meeting Miss Bennett and Miss Anna Reese

2009-03-01T19:29:00.000-08:00

Friday, Hunter, William and I met Virginia Bennett Earnest. She is beautiful and oh so sweet! It is always fun to visit with the Earnest family. Owen is getting to be such a big boy and is a very proud big brother. Here is a picture of William, Owen, Bennett and Hal.

Owen wanted to hold William and WHG was pretty cooperative.

And speaking of first meetings; Saturday we met Anna Reese Wells for the first time. Anna Reese is Grover's cousin and we were so glad to finally see her in person. I did not get any pictures. However, I am sure there will be plenty as the boys will start playing golf soon and Kelly, John and Anna Reese are sure to be home more often.

9 Months!!

2009-02-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

Were has the time gone?! My little man is growing so fast. Here is a rambling list of some of the things he is doing now.

He has been sitting up all by himself since about seven months...still not interested in crawling. If he can't lean and reach what he wants...so what, he will play with something within reach instead. If he leans a little too far and ends up on his tummy, he will play for a minute or two and then he gets angry. I think he may be a little spoiled? William loves to "run" in his toy that cousin Winston let him borrow. I will have to figure out how to post a video of him "running." I really think that he may just skip crawling...you will understand why if I can figure out the video thing. William can say "mama". This makes his Daddy a little jealous, but I don't think he really knows what he is saying. He babbles a lot and he does this sort of growling thing. William is a good eater; he eats cereal in the morning, a vegtable at lunch and a vegtable and fruit at dinner. And of course plenty of milk throughout the day. Still no juice...he has not been a fan so far. We will keep trying with the cup as gets older.

William gives big, sloppy, wet, open-mouth kisses. Sometimes he will grab your face with both hands and come in for the kiss...it is the most precious thing ever!!

He has started noticing the lights more and will just throw his head back all of a sudden to check to see if they are still there.

Never say never...Something I swore I would never do is have a child that sleeps in my bed...well, we have an exception to the "rule." Anytime after 5am, if William wakes up, he can come and "sleep" with Mama and Daddy until it is time start our day. It is really some of the sweetest moments that we spend with him. He will role into either one of us and hold on to our pj's as he sleeps for just a little while longer.

Time just keeps flying by. I try to stop and just stare at him all along and take in exactly how he looks, sounds, smells...what a beautiful and wonderful gift from God he is. Such a blessing...thank you God for my sweet family and sweet William. I love you William!

Getting Better!

2009-01-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

Well, WHG has been one sick little man. Last week he got RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) which in turn led to pneumonia. Tuesday afternoon, William decided he did not want to eat or drink that much, so Wednesday am we headed to the Dr.'s office. After a chest x-ray and still no eating/drinking, we were admitted to the hospital and stayed there until Friday. Over the weekend, William started eating and drinking just a little bit more day by day. Yesterday and today he has been in a wonderful mood and is almost back to his normal eating habits. We had another chest x-ray today and the pneumonia is clearing up.
We are keeping William at home atleast this week to be sure that we are ALL better before heading back to school. I really don't want to wish away time, but then again I am so ready to say hello to warm weather and goodbye to cold season!!!

Just a sweet pic of William from a couple of weeks ago.

2 Baby Girls!

2009-01-17T06:53:00.000-08:00

I have two wonderful friends whose due dates were two days apart. Tara was due Jan 15th and Meredyth on Jan 17th. However, they both delivered healthy baby girls yesterday!

Congratulations to Tara and Felix Verdigets on the birth of their baby girl, Blair Elizabeth Verdigets. Blair was born January 16th and is 8lbs.

Also, Congratulations to Meredyth, Hal and Owen Earnest on the birth of their baby girl and sister, Virginia Bennett Earnest. Bennett was born January 16th and is 7lbs 14 oz.

We love both of you girls so very much and cannot wait to meet you!!

"The Wheel"

2009-01-17T06:44:00.001-08:00

Attention all game show fans. My sister-in-law, Hannah Martin, will be on Wheel of Fortune, Tuesday, February 3rd! Rumor has it that she is quite the competitor...tune in to see Hannah spin that wheel and solve the puzzles!!!

Oh, and Hannah, Joseph and Winston just found out that Winston will be getting a baby brother! Due June 9th!

January and I am already playing catch up!

2009-01-14T18:25:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful first Christmas with William. Sharing Christmas with William was so much fun and just renewed the magic of Christmas for Hunter and I. Here are a couple of pictures of our Christmas and New Year.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning: "uhm...ya'll know my feet don't quite touch the ground."

William and Winston in William's new wagon from Nanny, Pop and Aunt Kat

New Year's Eve: Britt, Parker, Emory, William, Sawyer and Grover

William, Sawyer and Grover were all awake at about 11:15 but the sand man caught up quickly...

My resolution for the new year should be to stay current with my blog posts, get organized and to quit procrastinating. However, my resolution is to see to it that this little man laughs every day of the year!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T20:28:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while, but things are busy around our house. So, here is a very quick, one sentence update. William is 7 mos old today, he has two teeth, he can role over and he can sit up with very little assistance.

This last one I could not resist...we had a small gathering with some friends Sunday night and WOW at all the babies!!! From left to right...Asher Bentley, Grover Wells, William Grimes, Caroline Reeves, Bennett Hunt, Sawyer Hardy and John Parker Hardy.

We hope that you have a very Merry Christmas.

AU v. GA weekend

2008-11-23T06:39:00.000-08:00

Last weekend is a perfect example of why we LOVE going to Auburn to visit Aunt Leigh, Uncle Dale and Elizabeth and why we love tailgating. I had a drs appt in Montgomery Thursday afternoon, so we went on to Auburn Thursday night. Hunter's youngest sister, Hayley, has been working for Auburn Network for four years now and one of her jobs is to help at "Tiger Talk" on Thursday nights. So, since we were in town early and it was her last Tiger Talk (can't believe she is a Senior) we went to watch her in action. Me, Hunter, William, Uncle Dale, Scoop, Valarie and Roy all were there as Hayley's fan club. It was fun to see Hayley in her element and WHG got to have his pic made with Coach Tubby!

On Friday night, we continued Mister Daddy's birthday celebration with a little surprise party at Leigh and Dale's house. Leigh made buzzard posters to put all over the house and we had Hunter a "Happy Flocking Birthday!" We had a full house with the "Savannah Crew", Jess, Jennifer, Russ, Claire, Hannah, Joseph, Winston, Hayley, Hannah (roomate-not sister), the O'Donnels, the Langstons, the Gantts, the Cauleys, Nanny, Pop, Aunt Kat and our wonderfuls hosts, Dale, Leigh and Elizabeth. {Disclaimer: I am sure that I left someone out and I really apologize!} The Gantts gave Hunter a couple of presents that he really loved! And Kathryn and Elizabeth played happy birthday for Hunter on their flutes.

Tailgate was cold...but wonderful as always. We had camp stew, boston butt and much more. The company was great...even the GA fan company! Hal and Meredyth came from Montgomery, Kayla was there and both sets of WHG's grandparents joined us this week.

It was a wonderful weekend and we just want to say a very special thank you to the Lockliers for hosting another great football season....William's first of many!

Happy Birthday Mister Daddy!

2008-11-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

Today is Hunter's 30th birthday...he is officially a MISTER!!! I am sure that I will be paid back in full in...well later, for this post. Anyway, I just want to say a very happy birthday to the absolute best DADDY and HUSBAND ever! William and I love you so much, hope you have had a wonderful birthday.

William and Daddy before church this morning.

Hunter is really going to kill me for this picture, but he and William were playing and it was just too cute to pass up.

Last Weekend

2008-11-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures of what we did last weekend.

We watched Aunt Kat's last ballgame. Kathryn has had a wonderful football season as a freshman majorette. We are so proud of her. And the Bulldogs won their last game!

Jamey, Shonna and Caroline came to watch the Auburn game with us.

And on Sunday, William rode the golf cart at MawMaw's with cousins Clay and Will and Uncle Terry and Aunt Debbie.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T05:07:00.000-07:00

We did not trick or treat last night, but we did visit with twin cousins, Natalie and Mallory McGlammory, and friends Keaton and Sebastian long enough to pose for some pictures. William is the Chili Pepper in the middle. We could not leave him in his costume for long because it is really too small. I bought it a month ago and he has already grown out of it length wise.

Mallory, William and Natalie

Keaton, Mallory, William, Natalie and Sebastian

Hot Stuff!!

After a quick visit from Aunt Kat after her pep rally...

our lil pumpkin was pooped!

Lots of Birthdays and One Anniversay

2008-10-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

October is filled with birthdays, Mama Quette's was Oct. 3, Nicholas turned 30 on Oct. 10, Aunt Hannie's was Oct. 22, William's friend Grover Jay Wells, was born October 24, Hunter and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary on Oct, 25, Tara Verdigets (aka Aunt Sixty) had a birthday on the 27th, and Auntie Jess is celebrating today and Shonna celebrates tomorrow!! We want to wish a very a happy birthday to everyone celebrating this month. The pictures below are a special shout out to Jess, for making sure that William is well educated starting at an early age. I am pretty sure he is a baby genius!

Just a couple pictures

2008-10-26T19:04:00.001-07:00

Winston is teaching William how to play with his new toy on a recent visit to B'ham for mom to attend a CLE.
Sweet smile before school one day last week!

In Good Times and In Bad...

2008-10-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

we will always be Tiger fans. We took William into the game last weekend for the first time. We were those people that acted like we had never been inside Jordan Hare before and took picture after picture. We only stayed for the first half. William had a good time, but thankfully we left before he had to see the upsetting loss. He has been a fan his whole life and we will cheer our Tigers on in good times and in bad. War Eagle.

Tubby, I think you can do better!

See, that was a good one...

This last picture is just a little shout out to all of my owl-obsessed friends. William's great Aunt Leigh got him these pj's and yes, he is a hoot!!

Thank You John Luke

2008-10-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

Thank you John Luke for letting WHG borrow your bouncer! He loves it!!

What We've Been Up To

2008-10-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

We have been really busy lately. Just a few pictures to show you what we have been up to.

AU v. LSU

This picture was taken on William's 4 month Birthday. His Daddy says he looks like a big boy in his overalls.
AU v. Tenn

As close as it gets...

2008-09-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

to PERFECT that is. This past Sunday was as close to perfect as it gets in my book. The weather, the company, the food and most importantly the Baptism of our son. As we stood in front of our church as a family, I was as excited to be there as I was on my wedding day. Hunter and I along with our family made a covenant with God to raise William in a Christian home and environment. It was such a wonderful and special moment. Hunter and I are excited about sharing our salvation and our walk with the Lord with William.

After church, we joined family and friends at our house for lunch. The company was great and the food was fantastic. We are ever thankful for the wonderful family and friends that we have. Meredyth, thank you for the pictures and the help getting lunch ready. Mama, Laquetta, Aunt Leigh, Uncle Dale, Aunt MayMay (aka Meme), Grandmother and MawMaw, thank you for cooking AND cleaning up!

Thank you all for being a part of our family's special day! It truly was wonderful!

WHG's 1st Tailgate!

2008-09-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

As you can probably tell from our blog, we are HUGE Auburn fans. Hunter and my Uncle Dale set up a great tailgate before almost every home game and we have a great time counting down to game time with family and friends. Well, Hunter has been counting down the days to the first tailgate for William since the little man arrived. So, of course we were in Auburn for this season's opener. William thoroughly enjoyed being outside at the tailgate. He was so happy all afternoon. Hannah made matching outfits for William and Winston and they were so cute!! Thank you Aunt Hannie!! Hunter and Uncle Dale set up a fantastic tailgate for William's first and we all had a great time. Can't wait to see everybody again on the plains. WAR EAGLE!!

WHG 3 Months Old

2008-08-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened this past month. We visited Aunt Leigh, Uncle Dale and Elizabeth in Auburn (we will be back this weekend...WAR EAGLE). We went to Birmingham for Anna Kate and Katherine Lee's shower and stayed with Aunt Hannah, Uncle Joseph and Winston. Even after a short stay in the hospital, William is a happy and healthy baby. William has discovered his hands and can get them in his mouth. He coos and smiles all the time. William is well over 13lbs now and changes so much everyday. I thought that I would absolutely burst waiting on 5pm today so that I could go pick him up. It made my day when he smiled as soon as he saw me. William is so much more aware of what is going on around him. His eyes get wide anytime he hears Hunter talking; he loves his daddy. Here are a few pictures from the past month.

Count Your Many Blessings...

2008-08-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

Count them one by one! This has been a very hard and emotional week for the Grimes family. We had a bit of a scare with William and spent 2 days in Children's hospital in Birmingham. It all began with a low grade fever early Monday morning and over the course of the day, snowballed into much more. I won't go into detail, but after a little virus, plenty of antibiotics and way more "sticks" and tests than a mother and father care to see their child have...we have a healthy baby. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers, we appreciate them more than you know.

1st Day of School

2008-08-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

William started daycare today, or "school" as we like to call it. I must say, I am terribly jealous of stay-at-home moms. I knew this day was coming from the moment I found out I was pregnant...but that does not make it any easier. William has been able to stay at home for his first 11 weeks of life. First with me and later with family members while I worked part-time. Hunter and I have enjoyed a summer filled with long lunches spent visiting and loving on our little man. However, this morning, I woke up knowing that I would not see him for eight hours straight. I stood at the door and cried as Hunter and William pulled out of the driveway and headed to school. Of course William was fine; it is his Mama that is having a hard time adjusting.

Here is a picture of the sweet baby boy that made me smile today!

Auburn Club of LA

2008-08-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hunter and I have been involved in getting our local Auburn alumni club up and running again in our neck of the woods. Along with Nancy Eldridge, Katherine Taylor, Kevin and Chrissie Duffy, Sam Starr and Sister Schubert we have been working for over a year to establish a local Auburn Alumni Club. So, after lots of planning, last Monday, the Auburn Club of LA (lower Alabama) hosted its first annual Scholarship Golf Tournement.

William with his Aunt Hayley and Aunt Kat
Playing golf is exhausting!

The golf tournament was a great sucess. After the tournament, we had our annual meeting at the home of Sister Schubert Barnes. Former Auburn Center and local celeb, Joe Cope was our speaker. We had a lot of fun and we hope to see our alumni club grow so that we can help kids from south Alabama experience the loveliest village on the plains!! I want to encourage any local Auburn readers to come join us. We will have a tailgate party for one of the away games.

William meets Natalie and Mallory

2008-07-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

William met his cousins Natalie Burke and Mallory Blaire McGlammory for the first time today. Natalie and Mallory will be 12 weeks old tomorrow. We took pictures of the three of them; but hungry, sleepy babies are not always cooperative. I should plan a better time of day to do my photoshoot next time.

Mallory, William and Natalie

Mallory trying to snuggle!

William and the twins would like to wish their Great Granny Fran Happy 80th Birthday!!!!

WHG: One Month Old!!

2008-06-23T19:24:00.001-07:00

It is truly amazing how you can love a child instantly and then love him more and more everyday. William is a complete blessing. Hunter and I thank God everyday for him and wonder what we ever did without him. You can never understand until you have a child what everyone means when they say, "it goes by so fast," until you experience it. Take note all of my prego friends; it is true, it goes by way too fast. And to all of the moms I know, please tell me if you figure out how to slow it down.

Hunter and I have wonderful family and friends. For the first week we were home, we had dinner brought to us every night. We are so thankful for all of the visitors we have had both at the hospital and at home. It is great to be loved!! Here are some pictures of William's first month. I don't have a picture of every visitor with William, but I am posting all that I have. Hope you have some time.

William Hunter Grimes

2008-05-27T19:04:00.001-07:00

We have been blessed with a beautiful, perfect baby boy. Everybody is home and healthy. William was born Friday, May 23, 2008 at 3:07 p.m. He was 7lbs. 8oz. and 21 1/4 inches.

William's Nursery

2008-05-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures of William's Nursery. It's all ready, for us to bring him home!!

We're Ready...

2008-05-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

but William is not. (Well as ready as we are going to get.) Hunter and I went to the dr today and while we were packed and ready to stay at the hospital (just in case), William was not. No signs of labor thus far. The dr thinks that William is going to be a big boy so, if nothing happens between now and Thursday, I will be induced beginning Thursday night. Keep us in your prayers this week. Here are a couple of pictures of the car prepped for William's arrival.

A Prego's Version of OOC

2008-04-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

As you have probably read on my friends' blogs (Tara Verdigets, Tara McClendon, and Jess Putnam) the weekend of April 18-20 was OOC 2008. For those of you who don't know what I am referring to, this is a girls only weekend that myself and my closet college girlfriends plan once a year. We just spent the 3rd annual OOC weekend at Rigsby's family beach house on the bay in Orange Beach. Let me just tell you, it was heaven for this pregnant woman. It was a weekend full of relaxation, good food, catching up, and a few surprises.

We start planning this weekend as soon as the previous year's weekend is over and this year was no different. OOC 2008 was originally planned for High Point, NC where Rigsby and her husband Chip live. However, with my current condition, the dr. strongly suggested I not fly from South AL to NC at 35 weeks prego. So, I told the girls in January I would be a no show this year. I was so so sad, but trying hard to follow dr.'s orders. But, the girls were not going to stand for that and within a few emails the weekend's location was moved just two hours south of Andalusia to the beach house. (I know I have wonderful friends!!) So, the countdown began and finally the time for OOC 2008 arrived.

Myself, Tara, Jess, Jennifer and Rigsby all arrived Thursday night and spent Friday grocery shopping and preparing for the rest of the crew to arrive. I slept late Friday morning for the first time in months. Vacation mode had definately kicked in. Friday night, Anna Kate, Tara V. and Blazer arrived and we had a wonderful "supper" as 61 said.

"patiently waiting"

Saturday the weather was beautiful and we took advantage of every minute of it. There were bathing beauties everywhere and then there was me...hot, large and doing my best to endure the sun. I'm fair-skinned to begin with, so the sun and I are not great friends unless I am covered in 50+ sunscreen. But, still with the correct preparation (sunscreen and shade) I love to be outside. However, I was not prepared for being outside in the sun in my "moomoo" and in my current condition aka prego. I took a little break from the sun on the screened porch, but rejoined the bathing beauties when TT (being the creative mom that she is) made me a tent to shield me from the sun. Whoo, thanks TT, I was suffocating! So, with the large one well taken care of...let the catching up begin. As is tradition, we spent hours talking about everything from jobs to babies.

"Prego's Tent"

Shortly after all of the sharing was over, much to my surprise 61 was ordering Anna Kate (she is pregnant too, but you can't tell yet) and I up to shower and off to the grocery store. I thought to myself, wow she sure does want "supper" on time tonight. Little did I know that my dear friends had a SURPRISE baby shower planned for me upon my return. It was sooooo sweet and so very unexpected. It is amazing to have friends that love me and my family so much. William will be riding in style in his orange carseat and stroller thanks to all of his OOC aunts!

"William's ride"

Saturday was concluded with a Mexican fiesta and a pep rally. We looked at old pictures and talked about our choice of clothing in college...what were we thinking? Sunday morning we enjoyed breakfast together and said our goodbyes. I can't imagine my world without these girls and I miss them everyday. I love our annual trip and I am already looking forward to 2009. Thank you again girls for the shower. And Rigsby, thank you for letting us enjoy the beach house and for being a wonderful hostess.

WHG 4D-Ultrasound

2008-04-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hunter and I went for my monthly dr's visit today and we had a 4D ultrasound done. William was a bit stubborn and kept his foot or his hand in front of his face for the majority of the time. We got a couple of good pictures though. Everything is going great and I cannot complain about anything other than a little back ache at the end of the day. The Dr. thinks that he is going to be a big boy and is estimating that he could make his grand entrance into this world as early as mid May!! I am not sure what I think about this. On one hand I am terribly excited and on the other...well, May is just right around the corner, we better get ready!!

A Beautiful Easter

2008-03-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter and I hope that everyone else did too! Hunter and I spent Saturday working in the yard. Well, Hunter worked and I potted two plants. It was so beautiful and I am in loving the spring weather.

For the past several years, Hunter's parents and their neighbors, Dr. Charles and Nancy Eldridge have hosted a sunrise service beside the pond between their houses. It is always such a beautiful experience and this year was no different. We arrived for sunrise service a little after 6am for coffee and breakfast and at 6:30 while the sun was rising right in front of us we had a wonderful sermon and special music. When I was younger getting up for a sunrise service was not high on my priority list, but now I would not miss it. There is something so special about being outside to worship and remember the resurrection early on a beautiful Easter morning!

After attending our regularly scheduled worship service and hearing a beautiful Easter Cantata, Hunter and I were off to Opp, AL for the big Easter Egg Hunt. Hunter's mother's side of the family has a huge Egg Hunt in a cow pasture every year. Watching the kids run around and hunt in under everything for that prize egg is great. This year, my favorite part was seeing the newest additions to the family, Amy and Nolen Jackson's twins Will and Clay.

I can't help myself...

2008-03-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

These are the "other" prizes I found on our antique hunt last weekend. An owl cookie jar and owl salt and pepper shakers. They are so fun, I just could not leave them behind. Hunter was not quite as impressed until I put actual cookies in the cookie jar.

Hunter says the cookie jar reminds him of the owl on the tootsie roll pop commercials.

I will post pictures of the kitchen when we finally get our hood in. It has been on back order for about two months now. And I will post pictures of William's room closer to the due date. I figure it will take me that long to get it just how I want it.

A Few After Pictures

2008-03-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

Anybody that has ever owned a house knows that your work is never really done. Hunter and I started this project in August of 2007 and feel like we will be completely finished in August of 2037 when it is paid for. I have delayed posting after pictures of the house because I wanted to show you all the "finished" product. However, I have come to realize that we will be completing this project for as long as we live here. We still have a lot of furniture to buy, there are absolutely no pictures on the walls and we have boxes full of stuff we don't know what to do with tucked in several corners. But, even so here are a few after pictures of the rooms that are about 75% done.

These first pictures are of the living room. I am not a photographer, so you have to look at things in pieces.

My favorite thing in this room is the mantel and the new travertine around the fireplace.The end table on the left, Hunter and I just bought this past weekend at an antique auction. We were looking for furniture for William's room, but this and two other prizes that I will show you later is all we came home with.

This is the hall bathroom. We bought the dresser and my Grandaddy put in the sink and plumbing.

The Dining Room is probably the room I am most excited about. We still need a dining room table, but our old kitchen table is serving the purpose for the time being. Oh, and the buffet lamps don't have shades. I bought the lamps at an estate sale last summer and threw away the shades. I just have not found the right ones to replace them with. I absolutely love the color of this room; it is about as bold as I get.

Our bedroom is probably the most complete. Still nothing on the walls, though. Our bathroom is small, but I love the shower.

Announcement, Announcement...

2008-02-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

Hunter and I have had this name picked out since before we even knew the baby was a boy. So, we decided finally to go with our first idea and, we will name him William Hunter Grimes. William comes from my maiden name, Williams, and Hunter obviously comes from his Daddy. We apologize for the delay in making this important announcement, but we just had to be sure it was perfect for our little man.

William's cousin Winston is really excited about his new cousin's name. Here are some pictures of Winston. He and Hannah are in town visiting until Thursday. Winston is crawling, he has two teeth and he says "light." He has grown so much since we last saw him. Hunter and I cannot get enough of this sweet boy.

Hunter and I have been really busy since my last post. We sold our first home and moved to our newly renovated home all in the past two weeks. We are starting to feel at home in the new house. We even put up the baby's crib this past weekend. Oh, and here is a little find we had to go ahead and purchase for the baby.

It's a .....BOY

2008-01-15T14:41:00.000-08:00

When you find out that you are pregnant, you pray constantly that God will bless you with a healthy baby. You worry about everything you do, everything you eat and more. But, so far so good...God has made pregnant life easy for me (except for the occasional need for a nap) and each visit to the Dr. has been positive for both me and the baby. I do thank Him every day that we have been blessed with this child. Even so, we have still waited anxiously for the day the Dr. would tell us if we were expecting a girl or a boy. It has never mattered to us one way or the other...we just want to decorate the nursery in our new house!

Well, now we know. "Jr."/"Lil Red" is a boy! Now it is time to name this little one! Hopefully that will not take us too long to do.

Our Renovation Project

2008-01-13T19:49:00.000-08:00

In July, Hunter and I purchased a new/old home. This house was built around 1920 and has so much character. We planned to renovate this house together and move in by Thanksgiving. Well, it is now January and we are no longer working on the project and we certainly have not moved in. Hunter has had to do all of the work along with the help of my sweet Uncle Chuck. After we found out that we are expecting, I turned in my paint brush and became more of a supervisor. These are some before pictures. We tore out a wall in between the kitchen and breakfast room to make a larger kitchen. We have rewired, painted, put in new tile and all new light fixtures. The hardwood floors are the last thing to be done before we can move and are being refinished now. The outside is in desperate need of some "curb appeal" and that will come after we move in.

We are close to being done with the inside though and are planning to move this week. I will post some after pictures in the next few days.

"Jr.'s" cousin Winston

2008-01-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

I want to show off our precious nephew Winston. This sweet boy is an absolute joy and I cannot wait for him to meet his cousin this June. As some of you may know, our little bambino has several nick names. Hunter calls the baby "Jr.", and some people in our family call the baby "lil red". Lil red comes affectionately from our friend Nick. Anyway, all of these names make my head spin and I cannot wait until Wednesday so I can tell my sweet nephew if he is going to have a boy or a girl for a cousin and what the baby's name will be.

These are some pictures of Winston from Christmas Day. He was surrounded by a sea of presents and he was most interested in the box of cracker jacks from his stocking.

First Time For Everything...

2008-01-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

There's a first time for everything and Hunter and I are experiencing some major firsts right now. We are renovating a house and we are expecting our first child. So, after enjoying our friends' blogs, we decided it was time for us to join the fun and let all of our friends and family in on our "firsts" and other aspects of our lives. Hunter seems to think it will be the only way the pictures on my computer are seen by anyone.

This is one of the few pictures I have of Hunter and I together along with our first children, Jack and Lucy.