Get Back Jo Jo...

It's the end Day 3 of the Mexico trip, 3 more to go. Halfway done! And gah, do I ever miss my best friend. Yes, I miss Lindsey...but I also miss this best friend too.

Mine and Jo's friendship almost started out as a joke. When I was working at my last job, she was on the road a bunch at the end of the year (when I started), and she would say "Oh don't you worry...I'll be here at the beginning of the year and we'll become best friends!" So I went on the road to a Jason show one weekend with a girl I worked with and barely knew...and came back with someone who truly is one of my absolute closest friends now.

After Friday's little escapade, I couldn't help but think of mine and Jo's very first adventure together. Neither one of us are fans of driving in inclement weather, but the weekend we drove to Lexington, KY, it came a freaking blizzard. No lie. Well, blizzard in comparison to anything else I've ever seen. As scary as it was to be driving in a vehicle that wasn't ours, in a place we weren't familiar with, & in that weather....it was an absolute blast. I still think back on that weekend and always laugh because it truly was one of the most fun weekends ever. It truly was the beginning of a great friendship.

Since that weekend, almost 2 years ago, JoJamie and I have just gotten closer. When I think of her, the first word that comes to mind is "loyal." Jo knows what it means to be a loyal friend more than anyone I've ever met & she expects that in return. I think that's made me become a more loyal friend because of her and I'm so appreciative of it.

Another thing I'm extremely grateful for is all of her great advice. Whether it's how to handle a work situation, what to do about silly boys or what shoes look best in a new dress...she's always there to help out any way she can. She is an amazing friend and I'm not sure what I did without her all the years before we met!

This picture is from shortly after becoming "BFFs" and our road trip!

Love you so much, Jo! Thanks for being an AWESOME best friend...and I can't wait for you to come home!!

Walkin' In A Winter Wonderland...

So this morning already started out pretty rough, but telling the story becomes a lot more humorous than it felt in the moment!

I woke up and took Lindsey to the airport for their company retreat in Mexico. Yeah, yeah...Mexico. Poor thing, having to go to the beach for a week, all expenses paid... But she's amazing and already blogging about why she likes traveling with me the best. :)

Rewind a little bit to last night. I went to see sweet Hudson and because of the weather, it took an hour and 40 minutes to get home from the hospital. I have to admit, I was so confused as to why, because there was nothing downtown, but as I got closer to Brentwood I could see how white the bare trees were even in the dark night. I took several pictures of the 2-3" of snow because I was sure it would be melted by morning, like most "blizzards" in Tennessee.

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Back to today, Linds and I made it just fine to the airport, so I was sure I'd be fine on the way home. Wrong-o! Again, it took me almost two hours to get from the airport to almost home. After sitting completely still in traffic and seeing two accidents, I thought I was home free. I had already driven on my road, right? I tried my best to make it up the hill, but I got stuck. Twice. Bless this sweet guy's heart, he had gotten his car stuck, and he was helping everyone who was having any problems. Namely me, because I was pretty much crying hysterically. After talking to Daddy, I locked up my car and was about to start walking the rest of the way home. Unfortunately, little Layla didn't really like that idea and she started running away without me in it. Yes, my car started sliding away from me after I had gotten out. I had already put my keys in my purse and had to dig them out really quickly, unlock my car, and jump in without slipping myself. Panic. Attack. Finally, after getting stuck just one more time, I made my way back down the hill and into a parking lot. Yes, it was farther away, but at least it's out of the road and away from other brilliant people trying to make it up and down the ice-covered hill. I walked on home, not thrilled to be walking, but so thankful I was safe. Did I mention all of this is in my pajamas?! No jacket, just fingerless gloves. I thought it would be a quick trip to the airport and then back to bed before work, but no... So since I was already frozen, I decided to let the puppies out to enjoy the snow (ironically enough, they hate the rain but love to play in the snow) and take a few more pictures since it truly was beautiful. Now...who's up for picking me up to take me to my car? :)

She's In Love With The Boy...

I've gone on and on about how much I love this kid and how he's my main man......

Well he's got some competition now, thanks to this guy...

Yep! Little Hudson was born this morning and he weighed exactly 9lbs and is 21" long! He's a handsome little devil, isn't he? I think they're both gonna grow up to be heartbreakers! I kept William last Friday night as the last night as an only child and we (we meaning Lindsey & William) played "Set doe" (set, go...which just means running up and down the hall for about 45 minutes!)

And he gave me lots of kisses!

I got to the hospital this morning and waited with Julie's family and friends to hear the good news (which, by the way...I totally was convinced he was going to be a girl until I had a dream last night that it was a boy...and the heartrate was pretty low this morning too).

Then Tom came to show us a picture to let us know it was a boy! William went back to finally see his mommy and new little brother for a while.

When he came back we asked him who he saw. "Mommy."

And what did she have? "Baby."

And what does the baby look like? "Hat!" :) (he did, in fact, already have his hat on)

I went to work for a while and Lindsey and I went back to the hospital a little after lunch and got to love on the sweet baby for a while and visit with Julie. She looked amazing! Definitely did not look like she had just had surgery and had a 9lb kid taken out of her!

Here are a few more shots of the gorgeous little one, as well as THE cutest picture ever! ;)

Our first look at Hudson Murray!

I love his tiny hands!!

Look at all that hair! And it's so thick!

William wasn't quite sure what to think at first...

But he loves his little brother already! How precious?!

My Thanksgiving...

It was so nice to be at my parents' house for a few days for Thanksgiving! I hadn't been back home in several months, so I did a lot of visiting the 3 days I was there. Enjoy the swell of even more pictures as I played with my new toy...and captured a memory or two while I was at it! :)

Paisley got so tired of Dash, so she would jump on Mom's step ladder to get away from him!

For Thanksgiving lunch, we always go to eat with my dad's side of the family. Daddy smokes the turkey every year! Here is Daddy with one of his brothers...my uncle Butch (Jerry).

The whole fam

My Uncle Danny and Uncle Butch are both barbers...just like Daddy was for 25 years. This is Danny's shop...it's so cute!

I think Danny said he opened his shop in March 1958!

When Daddy was a barber, he had the barber pole, but it didn't work like Uncle Danny's does! Authentic!

After lunch, we went to my grandmother's house (Mom's mom) to visit with her a bit. Gran, Kay, Lori & Sam had taken a 4 generations hand picture early that day, so we decided to do ours, too (my hand on the left, Mom's at the bottom, Gran on the right), and then we added Paisley's paw later!

This is a picture of my Papa and his glasses that Gran still has. I love it!

Thursday night & Friday morning we pulled the tree out and decorated. Dash was just about the only one that was "dash"ing to the ornaments!

Finally, the finished product!

Photograph...

I've always had an interest in photography. I love taking pictures (or at least attempting) that are more than just the "put your arms around each other and smile." So when I had a gift certificate to HHGregg from my HOA, I decided to spend it on something I wouldn't go buy for myself when I needed it (like a new tv or something). So I got myself a new Canon Rebel XS! Basically I'm in love. I took it home with me for Thanksgiving so I could play around with it for a few days, but Justin is going to show me how to actually do cool things with it. Here are a few of the pictures I took while I was playing (no editing done...I have to learn how to do all that stuff too!). Most of it was of pets because they were easy test subjects! :)
My very first picture! Mom, Daddy & I were blown away about how clear it was, even in our dark living room!

This is my Nala. She will be 15 next spring!

This is Lucy, Reed's dog. She's such a good little girl!

Reed and I were slightly bored...so we were playing with his reflective aviators! :)