Dulcimer!

Here is Joel giving Lydia a little music lesson.

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Birthday, Joel!

Today is Joel's 27th birthday!!!

This is the oldest picture I could find of the two of us on my computer.

Here we are as a happy little dating couple! 

Then we got engaged!

(With the best proposal I could dream of!) 

Then we got hitched! 

And we've just been living happily ever after since! :) 

This is sounding like an anniversary post.

That is not my intention. 

Let's swing things around to focus on the birthday boy!

Here are a few reasons I love my husband:

We have tons of fun together! :)

He is a really, really hard worker!

And super talented!!!!! 

He is intelligent, kind, loving, thoughtful, caring...

pretty much the male version of Mary Poppins-

practically perfect in every way!  :)

And he's a super sweet daddy for Lydia! 

I love my Joel-y so very much!

He is my favorite husband in the whole wide world! hee hee

I am so thankful for him!

Happy Birthday Joel!!!

Halloween Outfits!

I decided to take some pictures of Lydia in her cute Halloween outfits

before I had to wash them and put them away.

She's not really a fan of photo shoots....

probably because of the types of photo shoots we've been putting her through lately! 

This one cracked me up with her little finger pointing to her head.

She's a deep thinker. 

But this is her classic thinking face.

She's been making it since birth! 

So there you have it.

The end of the Halloween pictures! 

We sure enjoyed celebrating Halloween with our sweet baby!

Oh yes, and here is something really cheesy that I made with these pictures...

I couldn't resist!

Apple Barn!

A couple weeks ago we took a family fieldtrip up the mountain

to Wooden's Apple Barn.

We enjoyed a delicious apple dumpling

and bought a pumpkin and some yummy apples!

It was the perfect fall outing!

Free Feast!

This past Saturday my mom, sisters, and I decided to go on a shopping trip to Knoxville.

We were having a jolly good time,

and then lunch time rolled around.

We couldn't agree on a restaurant,

but we finally ended up at a Longhorn Steakhouse.

Now, here comes the amazing part...

When we got to the door, they said you could only come in if you had an invitation.

The restaurant was new, and they were training their employees.

For some unknown reason,

they let us in!

That meant that we all got FREE meals, drinks, and a dessert!

Check out the size of my steak! 

Don't worry, I didn't eat the whole thing.

I split it with Jessica.

(I use the word "split" to make myself feel better.  :) )

Anyways, it was a happy, happy feast!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the beekeepers and their baby bumblebee!

My sister Jessica beat me to posting about the fun party that we went to,

so you can find more pictures here.

I'll take the easy way out and just post a few.

We were each supposed to bring a Pinterest inspired treat,

so we made these fun pudding cups. 

And here is our sweet bee! 

I took pictures of the steps to make the bee costume that I may share later,

but Joel says that it would be a terrible tutorial.

Let's just say I was flying by the seat of my pants,

making it up as I went along.

Oh well, at least it fit!

My first homemade Halloween costume was a success!

Tonight we're headed to C.S.B.C.'s Fall Festival.

(mainly so we can wear our fun costumes again...

and maybe we'll help out a little!  :)  )

Pumpkin Babies!

 We got the grand idea from Pinterest to put Lydia in a pumpkin.

Here she is in all her pumpkin glory! 

Then we got the idea to try it with our friend, Zoie. 

We were a little nervous that tears would be shed,

but they seemed to tolerate it pretty well. 

Aren't they so incredibly cute?!

Zoie tried to pull Lydia's bow off.

They're friends already! :)

Happy Fall!

Here is our cute, little Lydia posing with a pumpkin.

Joel carved this awesome H pumpkin for us! 

And here it is glowing! 

Gibson Family!

A couple weeks ago, wait, make that months, (man, I'm behind!)

we went to Knoxville so Lydia could meet the Gibson side of the family.

Here she is with her Great Grandma & Grandpa.

And here is my lovely cousin Catherine.

She came all the way from Arkansas to meet Lydia!

(Not really, but we'll pretend.)  :)

And here are my dear Aunt Twylia & Uncle Ernie.

We all ate at MiMi's, and it was so good to be together.

When we got home, Joel (who couldn't go because of work) asked if she behaved herself.

Yes, yes, I think she did.  :)

My Aunt Terry & Uncle Eddie were also there, along with Dave, Jonathan, & Madison,

but I somehow missed getting their pictures,

so here's the best I could come up with:

Uncle Eddie with Lydia a few days later.

He tells the best stories! 

Hopefully Lydia will be able to hear them when she grows up a little.  :)

So now she's met almost all of the Gibson side.

She still has an aunt, uncle, and a few of my cousins to go!

Soddy Daisy Football!

Lydia got to attend her first football games this fall.

We enjoyed having her there,

but I'm not sure how much she loved it.

Someone even gave her a SD football,

which we passed on to the cousins. :) 

She's so snuggly with her Poppa! 

Let's go blue!  Let's go blue!  Let's really, really go!  :)

Friends!

This is my friend Brooke and her adorable daughter Zoie.

The four of us go to the walking track together.

Zoie is two months older than Lydia, but they are about the same size. 

Aren't they so cute?! 

The girls just had an amazingly cute fall photo shoot together.

The pictures will be up soon!

Summer Fun!

Here are my sweet nephews swinging at the park.

Lydia swang with them in the bucket seat swing,

but, sadly, I didn't get a picture!

And here is Lydia in her cherry outfit from Gramma. 

                        This was taken at the end of August when she first started smiling big for us.

We sure do love our sweet, smiley baby!

Cousin Sleepover!

Alright, folks, we're going back in time,

back to August 24th.

Chris went away to school for the weekend,

so Jessica and the boys came to our house for a sleepover.

Here are the cousins snuggling and watching a movie (Cars, I believe).

 Lydia has such sweet cousins!

Truth be told, I think Lydia layed there five minutes tops! :)

Crib Sleeper!

Lydia started sleeping in her crib a couple nights ago.

I was pretty sad to see her go.

I suppose I can be a bit over-emotional at times. 

Let's just say I'm in BIG trouble when actual milestones start taking place in her life. :)

The boys snuggled with her before her first night in the crib.  So sweet!

She's been doing pretty well,

although she has been waking up more frequently than she was in her bassinet.

Oh well.

I have no complaints about my sleep-loving, snuggly baby!

I LOVE spending all my time with her.

That is why I've been behind on my blogging.  ha!

I'll try to get back into the swing of things.

I have so many cute pictures to share!

One Lovely Day!

A couple weeks ago we decided to take our first family hike.

I carried Lydia in a backpack on the way in,

and Joel carried her on the way out.

She seemed to like it!

It was a pretty day at the Pocket Wilderness!

And here is Lydia relaxing by a waterfall!  :)