Fall Fun!

WOW. . .it's been two months since I've posted! We've been very busy. (It seems like I start most blogs of that way. . .oh well!) School started six weeks ago and we are enjoying our first football season. So far the team is 2-1. Jeremy and I are also helping with the Cross Country team this year. We really enjoy getting back into the sport seeing as how we both ran in high school. Jillian and Jackson still love school and now can't wait to get to the "track" after school. Of course the runners love their smallest fans! We are so excited about Fall coming, although Jillian is ready for winter. . .she keeps asking when it's going to snow again! The best part about Fall is it is once again College Football Season!!! While Jeremy has a pretty strong team in the Georgia Bulldogs, I'm waiting to see what happens with the new coach at Tennessee. The kids are really getting into football this year as well. Jillian wants to be a cheerleader (Lord help me!) and Jackson tries to tackle anyone and everyone! I don't have many pictures to post but I do have a few from one of the first high school games, and also one of Jillian at the county fair. She won a blue ribbon in the pig race! I'll try to be better at keeping this more up to date! Until then, GO VOLS. . .and dawgs!

Jillian at the Fair. . .Her Pig won First in the Pig Race!

Aunt Kate and Jillian at the Football game.

Go Blue Devils!

Tailgating!

Jillian and Juwan. . .Jillian is so proud of her "cheerleading"

shirt that Aunt Kate and Ms. Karen got for her!

Fun in the Sun!!!

We've had a very busy summer...here are a few pictures from the last two weeks!

Jillian ran a lemonade stand during our yard sale! She made $10.00!

That same week my Uncle Mike, Grandmomma and Gradaddy came for a visit.

This is Jackson reading Grandmomma a story!

We haven't had much rain but when it does rain it storms!!!

Funny thing is, this tree fell when it wasn't storming! Luckily it didn't hit the house!

We visited the Nashville Zoo!

(Jackson loved the Elephants and has been acting like one ever since!)

Little Miss Priss!

Playing in the sprinkler!

Going down the slide at Relay for Life!

Jackson loved going down the slide!

Tomorrow Jeremy and I will celebrate our 7th Anniversary, man does time fly! I love him so much more than I ever thought possible! Later this week we begin our next trip, starting in Georgia and then on to Alabama. Hope everyone has a wonderful (and safe) Fourth of July!!!

And we're off!

Our summer started out with a trip to North Carolina to visit Jeremy's Mom and Grandmother. We left for Charlotte from Chattanooga, TN because we had to pick up the kids who had been visiting with family in Georgia. We got out the maps and decided we would take the state hwy to get there instead of the interstate. . .we basically turned a 4 hour trip into a 8 hour trip! We did eventually make and had a wonderful time. While we were there we went to Charlotte's Nature Museum, here are some pics. . .

Cute Bugs!

Me trying to stop Jackson from swimming with the turtles!

Jillian and Jeremy

Love this picture!!! This is Jackson when we finally got the NC at 4:30am!

We're just getting started on our summer adventures! We still have trips planned to Georgia and Alabama. . .more pics to follow!

Mother's Day

This year for Mother's Day we went to Georgia for a double celebration: Elisabeth's graduation from West Geargia and of course Mother's Day. We had a wonderful time and a GREAT meal (thanks Mere and Lee) on Sunday. The best part of the whole day was when I got my Mother's Day gift, a rose bush. The reason why it was so special was becasue I had forgotten that I had mentioned that I wanted one but my wonderful husband remembered! Jillian and Jackson loved helping plant it and they always want to water it for me! Hope all the Mothers had a wonderful Mother's Day!

My Mother's Day gift!

Love them so much!

Jack fell down...

Some background information: Our house is about 80 plus years old and when they added the patio to the back of the house they ran drainage pipes from the down spouts under the patio. They end about five feet off the patio and have created a mud hole in the backyard. Harley (our dog) loves to play in the mud. Today after school we were all hanging out in the backyard and of course Harley was rolling around in the mud. Jackson got a little too close to Harley and the next thing we know Jackson falls into the puddle! Of course he starts screaming so being the wonderful parents we are we immediately comfort him and get him all cleaned up . . . yeah right! We grabbed the camera and took pictures of him in all his misery! Enjoy!

"Right there, Jillian, that's where I fell!"

"Okay Mom, put the camera up and put me in the bath!"

(*Jackson was not harmed in the making of this post!)

Lazy Days

One of the things we haven't been able to get over about moving to Tennessee is all the free time we seem to have now. Since we work at the same school we get out at the same time (3:00) and we get to hang out as a family the rest of the day. Lately it has been rainy and cold, however Friday and Saturday (today) have been perfect days to get the kids outside to play. Friday we got home from school and just sat outside and let the kids play on the swingset. We decided that it was so nice we would just grill and eat outside too! The next door neighbors grandkids came over to play with Jillian and Jackson, and we had such a good time. Today we went to see Austin, our nephew play baseball and then took the kids to a birthday party. I know that there aren't more hours in the day it just seems to be more time to sit around and do nothing. That will change once we decide on a church home and get more involved, but for now we'll enjoy the time together! Here are a couple of pictures from Easter! Hope everyone is having a wonderful spring!

Family Picture

Jackson picked me a flower, he's so sweet!

Jillian in her Easter dress

It was a beautiful Easter Sunday!

Spring is Here!

We have had so much fun since the weather has gotten warmer! We now have a huge back yard (this one actually has grass instead of just pine straw!) and there is a park within walking distance from the house! Of course with the warmer weather comes spring storms. Last week Jillian and I went to Home Depot to get some flowers to plant and by the time we got home there was a tornado in the county beside us! Jillian wanted to plant the flowers that day so of course we planted them in the middle of a wind storm and finished right before the rain started! Spring also brings Jackson's birthday. This year Jackson turns two! I can't believe that he's two! I am constantly reminded of God's greatness every time I look at Jackson, he is truly a miracle to us! Next week is Easter so I'm sure I'll have even more pictures then, but for now here are some of Jillian's flowers, Jackson's birthday and the kids just being silly!

Stuart Little

When we moved from Georgia we didn't have time to look for a house to buy, so we found one to rent. It is about 80 years old and has a ton of it's original charm. We love the house! Or at least I loved it until two nights ago when Jeremy said we might need to get a couple of mouse traps. I asked of course the dumb question, "Why"? The answer, "Because I just saw a mouse run into the kitchen"! Let's get one thing straight, I don't do spiders or any type of bug for that matter and the thought of a mouse completely grosses me out! That night at dinner Jillian over heard us talking about the mouse and asked what it's name was. When she found out that it didn't have a name she decided to name it! We disscussed the two names that she knew were names of mice and came up with two, Mickey Mouse and Stuart Little. Jillian decided on a Stuart Little because the mouse wasn't big enough to be Micky Mouse! Of course I bought mouse traps the next day and this morning when we got up we found Stuart! Let's just say he enjoyed his last meal! By the way, Jillian thinks we let it go outside so she's been looking for him and if you ever need to get rid of a mouse the sticky pads with a peanut butter cup in the middle work great!!!

Peanut Butter, Dryers, and Phones

Lots of things have been happening around here. I thought you might enjoy these stories that have made us laugh lately.



Jillian is loving school. She got to go to her first pep-rally two weeks ago although she calls it a pep-riley. She calls it that because there's a girl named Riley in her class. Everything revolves around her new friends right now. Last week we got home from school and while I was getting Jillian and Jackson a snack Jeremy cleaned out their lunch boxes. When he opened Jillian's he found that she hadn't eaten any of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. So he asks, "Jillian, why didn't you eat your sandwich?" She replies, "Lucy at school told me that little kids were getting sick eating peanut butter and I didn't want to get sick so I didn't eat it!" Now how do you argue with that!?



Our dryer has a knocking sound. It doesn't bother me, plus there are two doors that I can shut between the dryer and the rest of the house so I barely notice it anymore. It does however bother Jeremy. It bothers him to the point that last week while we were getting ready for Mimi and Pops to come and visit he decides to fix it. Guess what the dryer doesn't knock anymore...it doesn't work at all now! Thank goodness it's tax return season!



Jeremy and I have had the same cell phones for four years. This is not on purpose. We have had good intentions to get new ones for two years now but other things come up and in the long run the phones work so what's the point of getting a new one, right? Well, Jackson was playing with my phone the other day and dropped it. It became obvious that we needed new phones. Today we went to the Verizon store. When we walked in they asked us what we were looking for and we told them new phones. They asked to see our old ones and then laughed as we showed them. One lady told us she had the same phone when she was in high school and another man told us he had never even seen that type of phone since he had been working at Verizon for four and a half years! They passed them around to show all the employees. It's always good to make someones day! Thankfully we are now up to speed with new phones. (We still have the same numbers, I'll let you know when that changes!)

We're Here!

Okay, I know it's been a while but we've had so much going on so here goes! We made it to Tennessee on January 18, at about 1:45. Thanks to some wonderful help we had the truck unpacked in a little over two hours. When we told Jillian we were moving to TN, she was so excited about getting snow. Not wanting to get her hopes up we told her that it doesn't always snow just because we want it too! Well, wouldn't you know it, it snowed the first night we were here! Not enough to cancel schools but just enough for a very, very light dusting.

A lot of things have changed since we moved. 1. Jackson moved to a big boy bed. He has done wonderful, only getting out twice in a week! 2. Jillian and Jackson started preschool/daycare. They love it! The first day Jillian was mad when she had to leave. She already has a "best friend", Lucy! 3. I started work. I love it as well! We've been busy which helps make the day go by faster, plus if I start missing the kids too much I just walk down the hall and there they are! Jeremy started a new job, too. He is starting to like it better day by day. It has been a little hard jumping in two weeks after the start of the semester, but it's getting easier.

We miss everyone from home terribly, but have enjoyed being with Kate, Darin and the kids! Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support! It means so much to us! A very special thanks to: Mom, Dad, Gran, Grandmomma, Grandaddy, Uncle Mike, Aunt Joni, Uncle Greg, Meredith, Lee, Elisabeth, Kevin, Lacretia, Chris, Kate, Darin, Uncle Mike, Danny, Marti, Bobby and Karen, for helping us pack the truck and then unpack the truck! We love you!

I promise I'll post pictures soon!!!

Packing, Packing, Packing...

We have two more days to pack and one day to load the truck before we leave! Am I panicking yet? Well I wasn't until Jeremy got home today. We spent this afternoon taking down Christmas lights! Yes, I know it's January 14, but it's been raining and we had to let them dry off. (Not to mention that we got back Monday from our third trip in three weeks to Tennessee!) The Christmas lights still being up didn't panic me because they come down pretty fast. However as soon as we were finished Jeremy said that all he had left to do outside was pack the storage room. I never go in there so I asked the dumb question, "Isn't everything in boxes already, I mean it is just stuff in storage!" Then I remembered, I'm married to a man that doesn't sit still. I can remember a few afternoons when he went out and "worked" in there, so I ask to see the room. (I don't even have a key for the room!) So Jeremy opens the door and to my horror the room is completely unpacked! Yes, everything is in it's spot but nothing (well almost nothing) is in an actual box! Now I'm panicking! If you ask me at any given moment what day it is, there's a 99% chance that I won't know the answer. I now know why people say they will never move more than once! Oh well, back to more packing!

Oh yeah...on top of everything else we have been saying goodbyes! I think I should buy stock in waterproof mascara!

WE'RE HOME! Well at least where home is for the next two weeks!

I feel as though Jeremy and I have been running a marathon for the last two weeks! The sad part...we're only half way through! Here's a recap:

I hate to go to the dentist! Because of this about a month ago I was ready to take my wisdom teeth out myself. I have had two, count that again two, referrals to get them out. Did I do it? NO, I chickened out each time! Besides they weren't hurting me then, why worry about it, right?! Well here I was in pain and so the wisdom teeth had to come out now! December 16, to be exact, as if I didn't have enough going on! The day before my surgery my sister, Kate, calls my husband and tells him that the job he applied for last summer is now open and the job is his if he wants it! (For those of you who don't know, we have been trying to move to Tennessee for FOUR years.) Now a job becomes available and we can't take it because of the pay cut! That night, unable to sleep because of the surgery the next day, I start praying. (To be honest it wasn't so much praying as it was complaining!) "God, why now??? Why couldn't this have been six months ago like we planned?" Jeremy was doing his own praying. He asked God to make it extremely clear whether or not we should take this job, pay cut and all. We knew that either I would have to get a job or Jeremy would have to get a second job and to be honest I just wanted to be settled somewhere!

Okay, it's the day of the surgery! My sisters have come to help! Of course this is during exam time and Jeremy can't take off! Elisabeth is going to watch the kids and Meredith is going to drive me to the dentist! Five minutes before Meredith and I leave the phone rings. This time it's my sister Kate's husband, Darin. He tells me that not only does Jeremy have a job offer, but there is a job for me if I want it and two spots open in the in house daycare program for the kids. I call Jeremy and he tells me, "Jessica, I prayed that God would make it extremely clear if we were supposed to move now!" What an awesome guy! While I was complaining, Jeremy was asking for direction!

So here I am! Just back from the second trip to Tennessee in two weeks, surrounded by boxes and exhausted! We have found a house, a rental for right now until we can decide where to buy. This is my life, crazy, fast and sometimes hectic but always full of God, family and friends! I'm starting this so that hopefully we can keep track of our wonderful friends and family no matter where we are!

I hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!