Happy Veteran's Day!

I was just spending some time today remembering John's military experience, in particular the deployment to Afghanistan. He served in his last drill this past weekend and is officially being discharged from the army at the end of November. I'm so thankful that he was able to make it back safely from his deployment. I worried about so many possible outcomeswhile he was away, had many bad dreams and a few scary moments, but he made it home. We're so blessed and thankful. I'm also very thankful for all the men and women that have served and are currently serving in our military. Thank you so much for the sacrifices you've made. We are a blessed nation. Here we are the day John returned from Afghanistan. I will never forget the joy of that day, the cold rain, the band playing. It was beautiful. One of the best days.

It's been two years

This is the two year anniversary of my mom's passing. I went to see her grave yesterday and sat down to talk to her. I didn't have much to say outside of how much I miss her and how much we all need her here. I kept reading her gravestone, which says her favorite quote, "Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." It's inspiring really. I aspire to be a person that embodies that quote, who remembers that what we see in the people we meet is only the surface. She was such a special woman. I miss you, Mom.

As a side note for anyone dealing with a similar loss in their life, I've been reading a book that my good friend, Tarrah recommended to me. It's called "Motherless Mothers" by Hope Edelman. It's helping me put some emotions in perspective. I recommend it for anyone dealing with the emotions of becoming a mom, especially following the loss of their own.

On the playground

Isabella has no fear. She's fallen before but she doesn't seem to think it could happen again. Or maybe she's just really confident in her abilities. Either way, she loves the playground. She's growing up so fast! I would have thought this playground was still "too big" for her. She couldn't get enough.

I mentioned in a previous blog post that Isabella climbs everything. Here she is trying to climb the slide and if you look to the right of the picture at the plastic rock formation, well, she climbed that without looking back. There are no pictures because I'm nervously guarding her from behind and then running to the other side to keep her from falling through the hold where the sliding pole is. It was fun for her, but a lot of work for me!

Happy Halloween!

My day started with a wonderful surprise from John... donuts from Donut Joe's. They are SO good, and John is quickly making this a tradition for Saturday mornings. Donuts and coffee, mmmmm! And how cute is this donut?!

John met his family for lunch while Isabella napped and then, we went for family portraits (which I will share later.) And we headed to my uncle Lonny's house for a chili dinner and a hayride. Isabella really enjoyed herself! Halloween was wonderful. She loves all her candy. She doesn't eat any yet, but she enjoys taking the candies out of her pumpkin bag and putting them back in again. She loves the Skittles and M &M's the best because when she shakes them, they make noise!

Here's the little bumble bee ready to go for the night! Isabella looks like she's tired of trick-or-treating, doesn't she?!

And here are some pictures of the kids in her class having their Halloween party at school (daycare.) They are too cute!

Family, Surprises, and fun!

John and I started a tradition the first year we were married to carve a pumpkin together the week before Halloween. He does all the cutting, because I tend to cut myself instead of the pumpkin more often than not and I do all the cleaning out and scooping. And yes, he has the hard part. So, here's our work of art for this year.

My sister and her husband were in town this weekend. We had a mission to decorate her nursery and I think we were successful. So, we spent most of the day shopping. John went to the Alabama v. Tennessee game, and Mimi and Isabella spent the afternoon together.

We grilled out at my dad's house for dinner and enjoyed an evening of family time and reminiscing, looking at old pictures. Isabella loves to have people read to her!
Last Sunday was my grandmother's 80th birthday and she was out of town, so this Sunday we suprised her with a party after church. She was definitely shocked! I know I have one of the best grandmothers in the world. She's pretty special.
We ended the day by carving our pumpkin and going to the church Trunk-or-Treat. Isabella had so much fun playing in the air bounce. She had probably 10 or more people (mostly relatives) lined up to watch her play because she was loving it so much. She's a little bumblebee this year and is so cute running around in this little costume.

At the Trunk-or-Treat

giving Rocky hugs

carving our pumpkin

Creative outlet

Isabella has been interested in using pens to draw on paper before and has made me beautiful drawings (well, really just a bunch of lines intersecting) and has brought some very colorful pictures home from daycare for months. I knew she had found my pen but did not realize she'd figured out how to make it write, and while I was folding laundry and she was sitting so quietly and innocently right beside me, this is what I saw when I looked over. (They turned out a little blurry, but you get the idea.)

I love how she's holding out the pen with such pride.

So, I decided I needed to get washable crayons (do they actually wash off?) and some paper just for her to have a better canvas for her creative outlet. She loved it! And it entertained her for at least an hour. I let her use the bottom side of the laundry basket to color on, and she decorated it a little too. If you look closely, you can see where she colored blue at the edge of her lip!

After a while, one or two crayons at a time was not enough.

Race for the Cure

I waited to see what the weather would be like to make the big decision, and despite the rain, John and I ran on Saturday in the Race for the Cure. This was my 3rd time to run and again I had a rough time. It means a lot to me to run for my mom, but it's emotionally tough run for me. I am proud to say I ran the whole time (only stopping for the 2 water stops.) For someone who hasn't run in a while, it felt good to run 3 miles. I'm thankful for all the people who supported me and for my aunt Claire for watching Isabella and keeping her dry while we ran! These pictures are a little blurry and dark, but there all I have from the race.