Christmas in Knoxville

Jay and I spent a few days in Knoxville over Christmas. Allie, to the right, is my parents Golden Retriever. Not to date myself too much, but I remember picking her out of a litter of puppies in Michigan when I was in high school. I remember being told to turn her upside-down and scratch her belly to see if she was submissive. She rolled over and enjoyed every minute of it! :) Since that day, she has been such a blessing to our lives. She has uplifted so many people - friends, family, neighbor dogs & children, random strangers - have all enjoyed her smiling face, wagging tail and loving personality. She laid with me when I was sick, stayed by my side when I had heart surgery and has unconditionally accepted every mutt that I've brought into her life! Jay recently reminded me that when he was upset over the loss of our last dog Abby, she jumped up in the bed with him and wouldn't leave his side. At almost 15 years old, she gets just about anything she wants. Our dogs know she's the leader...I think in this picture one of them set a ball next to her as a kind gesture. She prefers a soft baby, but continues her gracious demeanor still. We love you, Allie!


Here are a few pictures of Austin that Kerry took on Christmas...I can't seem to find our pictures, but will upload them as soon as I find them. He enjoyed every minute of opening his presents - I think he felt very special sitting with his mother while she was putting together his toys and helping to start the paper ripping process! He is a people-person for sure!

"You want this bow? Hmm....let me think of the price...."

Here's a picture with Uncle Jay. Austin understands just about everything people are saying. He's pointing to different objects as Uncle Jay calls them out.....bell, guitar, ball and his favorite...STAR!

My sister Kerry, Kenny and Austin

This is one of my favorite pictures of Austin. All of the girls took him to get professional pictures made over Thanksgiving. My aunt, mom, sister and I had fun watching him pose for everyone. He was so good! We were clapping and "hoo-ray-ing" when posed. He loved every minute of it!

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Christmas at Our House

We decorated for Christmas this year, which was a big deal to me. We skipped last year because I wasn't feeling well. So it was a blessing to be able to stuff our house with the things that have been sitting in our garage for 2 years.

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Go Vols! (or not)

As a thank-you for football tickets, I bought my parents a picture frame that was engraved with "small things done with great love."

This is the result of an attempt to get pictures of the dogs with TN pom poms to make a collage to put in the frame. Haley was bored - and over our photo session within seconds. She yawned in the first picture.

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Family Pictures

We just had professional family pictures taken. It was the first time since we have been married so we really needed something other than the long arm extended with the two of us looking up at the camera. :) We used Paris Mountain Photography and loved the pictures! Here's the link to her website...

http://www.parismountainphotography.com/

I'll post a picture viewer eventually - there are way too many to post on this.

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Jay Cooking

This Sunday I wasn't feeling well so Jay decided to be extra sweet and cook me eggs for breakfast. I had to take pictures to capture it...he did a pretty good job!

Notice the begging dog. I'm sure the other one was around too - probably on the other side.

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Vols Annihilated the Dawgs!

Our 5-year anniversary was October 5th. We don't have to have fancy dinners and candlelight to have a good time (every once in a while it's nice), so we decided to go up to Tennessee for the UT/UGA game. Because Tennessee hasn't done well this year and the tickets were going for over $650 on eBay, we were just going to grab dinner somewhere Friday night, then tailgate on the strip on Saturday.

When we got to my parent's house Friday night, my mom set up a whole feast for us including shrimp, spinach dip and crackers, different kind of cheeses, fruit, and champagne with candlelight and a lace table cloth. In our anniversary card, they gave us was a certificate for 2 FREE Tickets to the GA/UGA game on the 50 yard line and a parking pass next to the stadium! My mom and dad's best friends, who we have known forever, have a couple of dealerships and donate 2 cars a year plus yearly ticket fees to the TN football association. My parents were able to convince them at the last minute to let them buy the tickets. Needless to say, they really set us up! To top it off, my parents also treated us to a gift certificate for dinner that night, so Jay and I went out after our appetizers to our real anniversary dinner (by ourselves!). It was a really nice treat!!! They shouldn't spoil us so much or we'll never want to leave!! Seriously, it was nice to be catered to --they reminded us how good that feels!

Getting ready for the game at Cool Beans

Rocky Top

It was such a pretty day that day!

Deana Carter singing during half-time.

Neither of us expected Tennessee to do very well....I thought for sure it be a blow out after the TN/FL game earlier this year. The final score was 35-14, which made it a great game for me!

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Baby Pictures

I've been trying to organize pictures lately - and have scanned in all of Jay's baby pictures. It's nice to have everything digitally for our kids and grandkids. Someday I hope to get my family's pictures off of slides that are sitting in my parent's basement. I only have one picture from childhood. I'm sure looking at them would bring back memories!

Dale, Beth, Ann, Rick, Melissa and Jay (3 1/2 months old):

Jay at 5 months:
My sister (4 1/2), me (20 months), Mom and Dad:

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September 29th was my alma mater's (University of West Georgia) Homecoming. While I'm not very involved with the University, I am the President of my Fraternity's (Pi Kappa Alpha) Alumni Association. We had our second annual Alumni Reception at the Pike House in Carrollton that night.


The event was catered by Williamson Brothers BBQ, and there were many liquid refreshments. Over 40 Alumni came back, making it our most successful Homecoming Reception to date. After it was all said and done, there were over 200 people at the house for the event. The Eta Sigma Alumni Association (ESAA) hosted a silent auction, presented it's first Leadership Scholarship, and presented the Chapter with two original Cavaliers jerseys from 1968 (the Cavaliers were the interest group that started in 1968 at West Georgia that became Pi Kappa Alpha in 1972).


After the reception, the party moved to Shuckers, where we partied like we were 21 (again)...

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Trail Walking

Now that the weather is a LITTLE cooler (mid-eighties), Jay and I enjoy taking the dogs for walks around the neighborhood. Our subdivision has nice trails that go through the woods where we can take the dogs off leash and let them run. It's so cute to watch their different personalities - Murphy runs way ahead as fast as he can, stops to make sure we're coming, and then runs right back to us. Haley stays right by my side the whole way - closer than when she is on the leash.

There he goes...

Wait a second...

And here he comes...

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The TOUR Championship

On Sunday, September 16th, Jay and I met Corey, Joy and Catherine at the PGA Tour Championship at East Lake. Every year, Jay and I try to make it to at least one tournament. Usually, we get tickets for the BellSouth Classic (now the AT&T classic at Sugarloaf) so we were so excited when we were given clubhouse tickets to East Lake.


It was hard to follow anyone because of the large crowds...but we were able to go ahead a hole or two to watch Tiger putt, then walk directly in front of us to the next green. He is very focused on the course and fun to watch!!

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The TRIFECTA is COMPLETE

On Wednesday, September 12th, I attended the Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park. This game completed my trifecta - Yankee Stadium in New York (date), Wrigley Field in Chicago (date), and Fenway Park in Boston (9/12/07). These are the only baseball parks left where true history has taken place. All of these parks are like churches to the baseball enthusiast. They are older than dirt, and for the most part dumps, but they are visits that I will remember for the rest of my life.

The game was incredible - the Red Sox were down 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th, with a man on first. Big Papi came to the plate. Ortiz had already hit a 3 run HR in the 3rd inning. On a 1-1 count, Papi hit a towering fly ball that made it's way to the right field seats. The crowd went crazy...it was amazing.

Papi getting mugged at the plate

Post-game Interview

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BostonMass Trip - 9/10-9/14

I had to go to Boston, MA the week of 9/10-9/14 for work training. The city was OK, but the food was outstanding. I probably gained five pounds eating all the great seafood - crab, scallops, and lobster. I have some good family history in Boston - my Dad lived Winchester, MA (about 9 miles north of the city) for 10 years (from 1949-1959). I had some extra time one afternoon, so I went by both of the houses:

145 Highland Ave. Winchester, MA

This isn't the original house - it was torn down and replaced by this one. It's a shame, because the neighborhood is very historic, and this house is a bit of an eyesore.

47 Emerson Road Winchester, MA

This is the second house where Dad lived in Winchester. The house is in relatively good shape, and is closer to town - an easier walk to the school. Dad remembered this house well - he used to practice hockey in the garage.

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Happy Birthday, Jay!

We just celebrated Jay's 31st birthday, Friday September 7th. He left from a business trip in Boston at 9:00a.m. and landed in Atlanta around 2:30p.m. After fighting the Atlanta airport and traffic, he finally made it home around 4:00p.m. Phew! Long travel birthday for Jay! But he was finally able to relax, have dinner, blow out the candles and open gifts. Thanks to everyone for your cards and money! I think he enjoys shopping for what he wants much better than surprises. After all, he did pick out a golf club and driving mocs that were "from me." Tired from traveling all day, he decided he wanted to see a movie and have a quiet night. We saw Supberbad, which was hilariously funny. He loved it!! Happy 31st birthday, Jay!

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The Pastush's Wedding

Labor day weekend, Jay and I went to Kell and Chris' wedding. Held at the Ravinia Club in Dunwoody, GA, it couldn't have been a prettier evening for the event! The first pictures were taken at our house and the others at the reception, with the beautiful bride, of course!

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