Week of Thanksgiving (Part 4)

I’ve said plenty of times before how thankful I am of my church here in Nashville. Cross Point has been exactly what I’ve needed and wanted without even realizing it since I started going a year and a half ago. I haven’t, however, mentioned how thankful I am for my small groups! Robin was our first leader and she introduced both Lindsey and I to so many people we now call friends in our singles community group. Next we were in Ashley’s women’s group. Ashley is an incredible leader and really pushes me to think. I’m not the most outspoken person in small groups (I know that fact may be hard to believe by some), but I’m getting there! Both Ashley and Robin have been 2 people that are very important to me, especially in the past several months. I’m so thankful for their friendships and the impact they’ve made on me.

Here are Brandy (who has been in both Robin's and Ashley's groups with us), Lindsey, Ashley & I on Lindsey's birthday

This fall, I was so privileged to be in a Beth Moore Bible study with Angie. I had read her blog and was moved by her from quite a while back (and I blogged about her when she and her husband, Todd, came to Cross Point to speak), and jumped on the opportunity to do a study with her. I knew then that I was supposed to take something from their story, but I had no idea that Angie would become such an incredible role model and friend, and “other,” :) but she definitely did! I’m also very thankful for another “other” that I got to become closer to in this Bible study – Brandi! She is the best encourager I know and I look up to her greatly. I’m so very thankful to be surrounded by such amazing, Godly women. They’ve each been an inspiration to me and were perfectly placed in my life.

Here are Lindsey, Angie, Robin and I (it was the Colts/Titans game that night...hence the outfit and minus Brandi!). Brandi - this means you and I need to take a pic ASAP! :)

Week of Thanksgiving (Part 1)

I have a tremendous amount to be thankful for. I'm fully aware of that. However, sometimes the little negative things can bog me down and make me lose focus on what all I have in my life. What better time to focus on those things than the week of Thanksgiving?

I love this town. I love that it’s obviously a great deal bigger than my hometown, but it doesn’t completely lose the small town feel. Every time we drive by the skyline, I always say “I love Nashville.” Just ask Lindsey. ;) But I really do! I love all the different things you can do on any given day, like go to a dog park, pumpkin patch, downtown, to see a play, hear the symphony (which I did last week for the first time and it was amazing!). Today I’m going to do one of my favorite things in Nashville…go to the Titans game! And what better time to see them than when they have an incredible record that will continue after today’s game hopefully!

I am incredibly thankful to be in a place that I love. Somewhere I can call “home,” but isn’t too far from my roots. Somewhere I have an abundance of great new friends, the greatest cousin, friends that become family, and even “back home” friends. I always knew that I wanted to live in Nashville, and I’m ever so grateful to have that part of a dream come true.

This Is Halloween...

On Friday I got to bring my precious Paisley with me to work. Supposedly there weren't going to be very many people in the office, but that wasn't exactly true, but Paisley enjoyed sitting on my desk looking at my lava lamp (yes, lava lamp. I've had it since about 5th grade. Be jealous.) or in the window watching cars drive by. At lunch, she changed into her Snow White Halloween costume. :) She loves dressing up. Well, maybe not loves, but she doesn't mind it either.

For lunch, we ran to our favorite Friday spot - Gigi's - for a delicious Halloween cupcake.

Linds wasn't feeling too spunky that night and I was indecisive on whether I wanted to do anything, so we opted for a BFF night watching Hocus Pocus. Not quite as eventful as last years' Halloween (and since it was pointed out to me that I didn't say anything, the picture of Linds and me from her birthday post was of us at Halloween last year!), but in all honesty, I had more fun dressing up than doing anything else, so I was completely content to have a night in!

I Drove Out to the County Fair...

I'm a little delayed on several posts, but these pictures are too cute not to share. Cross Point had a "county fair" picnic a few weeks ago and it was so much fun! We couldn't have asked for better weather that day, and the food was delicious and the kids were so adorable dressed up in the costumes for the parade!

Here's one of our nursery babies at his first Halloween. Tried to get the entire family, but they weren't into it. So precious though!

What a great action shot of my favorite blue Power Ranger! :)

And finally here's someone right up my alley - a little pink princess! I watch her for her dad in between the first two services most Sundays. One of the most polite 2-year-olds I've ever met!

Ice, Ice Baby...

It's no secret I'm not a fan of being cold. I don't mind the 70-ish degree afternoons that make for perfect roll-your-windows-down drives, and of course I love all the beautiful colors of fall, but I just always miss being able to go somewhere without a jacket and being able to be in the water! I'm truly a summer baby.

Our sweet dogs love being able to play outside in the summer too, and I guarantee they're gonna miss getting baths with the waterhose on the patio (Paisley's favorite). Well, maybe not so much the bath part, but they love biting at the water streaming out of the hose. Another favorite is getting to come inside from a long, hot walk and eating pupcicles. Yes, pupcicles. They're really disgusting smelling - they come in beef, cheese & bacon flavors. Yuck! But Paisley and Rocket love them...it also helps that they love plain ole ice cubes too. ;)

Rocket actually gets the concept of licking popcicles!

Paisley, not so much...she just chows down!

All done! Such a happy little girl!

Five Little Pumpkins...

Last Sunday Julie and Tom were having some people from their church come to their house for a leadership meeting. Instead of keeping William cooped up in his room or stuck in the yard the entire time, I thought it would be fun to take him to the pumpkin patch! I had originally wanted to go to the one in Smyrna that Alison has talked about, but they closed too early. Instead, we headed to Gentry's which was a good deal closer. We got there right at 4:16 (fyi...they end admission into the activity area at 4:15, even though the farm doesn't close until 5:00 and a 20-month-old couldn't care less about the corn mazes...so we may or may not have had to sneak in without them noticing...) and got to have a good bit of time in William's favorite areas.

William loves animals and as I've posted before, loves making their animal noises just as much. How great that he woke up the goose that was sleeping by the door and it started honking at him! He squealed and squealed about it, and when the goose would go back to sleep, he'd say "Night night goose!" This was the very first thing he told Julie about when we got back to the house! :)

This is a new face...he does it all the time!

His next favorite thing to do was ride the tractors around and around. He's all boy!

All the pumpkins were "apples." HA! I would try to tell him it was a pump-kin and he'd say "No, apple!"

As soon as we got back to the house he ran to Julie and stomped his little feet over and over and squealed. That's his oh-my-goodness-I-am-so-excited move! After we told Julie about our fun afternoon, he ran back to his room and said "shoes? Shoes?" and picked up his red Crocs to put on. I've never in my life seen such a fashion-oriented toddler. He also loves the brown Polo he's wearing in the pictures...he cries when it's time to take it off!