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!