My Little Brother Graduated from College...Say What!?!

Last Friday, Taylor graduated from college!!!  He is now an official Physical Therapy Assistant.

I am soooooo excited and happy for him.  Taylor is such a special person to me and always has been.  My mom always tells us the story about how I prayed for a baby brother every day when I was little.  She didn't have the heart to tell me that she and dad didn't plan on having another baby, but God knew better...

Since I am almost six years older than Taylor, he was only 12 when I moved out of the house to go to Auburn. Much of the time I watched him grow up from a distance, but tried my best to get back to see him and watch him play ball as often as I could.  I have always thought that I was blessed with the coolest, funniest, and sweetheartiest? (not a real word), brother in the world.

Things I love about Taylor (in no particular order):
- He loves the Lord, and he loves to tell others about Him.  Taylor never misses the opportunity to go on a mission trip or do a weekend D-Now.
- He is tall, I mean really tall.  This has always been a trait that comes in handy when putting things away or getting things out of the attic. :)
- Taylor is the type of person that you can count on for anything. He has helped me move more times than I can count with no very few complaints.
- He is a great uncle to my little boy. Sawyer has a ball wrestling with him when we go to visit. 
- He is so tender hearted.  He really cares about people.  He will laugh with you when you are happy, and he will cry with you when you are sad. I love this about him.
- He is a hard worker.  Taylor hasn't always had it easy; he has had to work really hard.  He started cutting and landscaping yards with dad when he was twelve and has had a steady job ever since.  Dad always brags that Taylor could back a truck up to a trailer by the age of ten.  He might be exaggerating a little, but it is at least close to the truth. 
- He is hilarious!  I LOVE to sit and listen to him tell stories.  My cheeks hurt from laughing so much after spending a little time with him. 
- He loves sports, which is a family trait.  Although we don't agree on teams, I love to call and get the scoop on the teams each week during football season. 
- He is a team player.  He is really laid back and has a way of making any activity fun. 

I am so proud of you Taylor Bug!

Family Weekend :)

This weekend, both of my sisters, their husbands, my niece, and my parents all came to Thomasville to stay with us for the weekend.  Chris, Whitney, and baby Amelia arrived late Thursday evening.  I could not get over how cute Amelia looked.  I just wanted to cuddle with her the whole time! 

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The following night, we all went out to eat at Old Mexico while we waited on the others to arrive. We let the babies take a late nap, so that they could stay up to hang out with everybody.  We had so much fun talking and playing with the babies that evening!

On Saturday, I had to go to class and give my final project presentation for School Law.  I hated missing out on all the action at the house, but it is just not the type of class you can skip and get away with it.  However, we weren't there for the full day, so I was back at the house by 2:00 that afternoon.  We took everyone on a tour of the "Success Story of Southwest Alabama" also known as Thomasville.  The tour did not take very long... Later we grilled out, talked, and watched a movie before calling it a night.

Reading time with Nana

the boys doing what they do best

doing a little engineering with Uncle Michael

Reading with Aunt Whitney

The nurses had to study and do paperwork...nerds.

Grilling out on a REALLY cold afternoon!

After church and lunch on Sunday afternoon we said goodbye to everyone.  I am always so sad to see everyone go because I love the excitement and the action of having family around.  I wish that we could all live in the same town and that our kids could grow up together...who knows what the future holds.

 

Mom's 50th Birthday!

 Ain't it nifty?  Look who's fifty!!!

My beautiful mother turned the big 5-0 on February 7th, so of course we had to throw her a party!  Aunt Sherry, Betsy, Whitney, and I all wanted to do something special for mom because it was such an important birthday.  We decided that she probably wouldn't come if she knew about it because she has never liked to be the center of attention.  The only problem was that my mother may have missed her true calling as a detective.  She has a keen ear and can usually spot a lie in a second. 

In order to make her less suspicious, we set the date for January 26th, which was almost two weeks before her actual birthday.  I sent out the invitations to everyone but Mom.  Meanwhile, Aunt Sherry made a fake invitation to a party being thrown for my dear Aunt Annie Lou (we knew that Mom would never miss a party thrown in Annie Lou's honor).  Sherry even got my cousin Chris (who it said was hosting on the fake invitation) to address the envelope because we were scared mom would recognize Sherry's handwriting (I'm telling you, she is a detective).

After talking with Aunt Sherry, I decided that mom would have her radar on if she thought I had mysteriously decided to make the trip to Moulton for the weekend on a whim, so we made up a little fib. One evening, I called mom and told her that Steven had surprised me with an early Valentine's trip to Nashville, but we needed someone to watch Sawyer for the weekend.  Of course, she was quick to agree. 

On the Friday night before the party, Steven and I met mom in Priceville to give her Sawyer and head on up to "Nashville".  We parted ways quickly because I was so scared that if I said anything she would know something was up.  That night, Steven and I spent the night at Michael and Betsy's house where we were going to prepare all the food the next morning.  

After a long but fun day of preparation, we headed over to Aunt Sherry's church, who graciously allowed us to use their fellowship hall for the party.  All of our family and friends arrived a little before five o'clock, but we had instructed Taylor and Dad to make sure mom didn't arrive before 5:20.  

When mom walked through the door and everyone yelled, "Surprise", she was truly surprised!  I think that everyone had a fun night and mom was able to show off her two grand babies to all of her friends and family members.  I was so happy to be able to celebrate the beautiful, Christ-filled, complicated, fun-loving, and gracious life of my mother.  She is someone that I have and will always look up to in so many ways.  I am so blessed to be her daughter.  I love you, Momma!  Happy 50th Birthday!

Hanging out at the party with my cute little date :)

Sawyer and Big Papa doing what they do best!

the McCulloch Girls

Buttrams + McCullochs

Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas from the Meadows family!

Since our families live in different places, we usually split up the holidays with them and trade out each year.  This year, we spent Christmas with my family in Moulton.  We made our way up to North Alabama on the Saturday before Christmas in order to make it to the Hayes family Christmas.  This year, it was held in a church gym, which made it a whole lot of fun for all the little kids, and big kids too! 

Steven and Sawyer having a blast on Hampton's glider

On Sunday and Monday, we spent a lot of quality time with the family.  It was nice to not be rushed the whole time, which seems to always be the case when we just have a weekend to share together.  As per usual we opened all of our gifts from Mom and Dad on Christmas Eve (we never could wait until Christmas morning).

On Tuesday (Christmas day), Dad read the Christmas story from Luke.  I am so glad that my Mom and Dad have made reading the story of Christ's birth such a priority on Christmas morning.  After all, it is the reason for the celebration!  Later, Grandma, Grandpa, Chis, and Lindsey came over to join us for our big lunch. 

On Christmas night, we always go over to Aunt Sherry's for snacks and games.  It is always so much fun to get to visit with all of our cousins and spend some time with their beautiful kids.  After eating, we played a few rounds of Mafia before calling it a night. 

Every face in this picture is priceless!

Steven says that a trip to Moulton just wouldn't be complete without a stop off at John's for Bar-B-Que.  The BBQ is good, but we mostly just crave the white sauce.  South Alabama has no idea what it is missing!

Since we were not able to be with the Meadows on Christmas day, they all came to our house in Thomasville for the weekend after Christmas.  We still had all the decorations up and pretended that when we woke up Saturday morning it was Christmas.  Steven and I made pancakes and sausage to eat before opening gifts with everyone.  

Later after a quick trip to Dirt Cheap (Conner's favorite spot!), the ladies opted to stay home, relax, and watch movies while the guys went out to explore some local sporting good stores.

 Saturday evening, we had a relaxing dinner at David's Catfish, followed by hot cocoa back at our house.  After church the next morning, the Meadows made their way back to Opelika.  I was sad to see them go because it meant that Christmas was officially over.  That night, Steven and I took down our tree and packed up all of our decorations.  The house seemed so empty without all the decor and lights. 

Our Christmas break was a lot of fun and it was so nice to get to spend so much quality time with our families.  Can't wait until next year!

Amelia Grace Sewell

Baby Amelia made her entrance into the world on Saturday, October20th!  She weighed in at 7 lbs. 18 1/2 in.  She has a full head of hair and is absolutely adorable!!!

After a long, fun, and (at some points) stressful CCHS Homecoming week, Steven and I got everything packed and made our way to Tuscaloosa, AL late Friday night.  We stayed at Chris and Whitney's home with Mom, Dad, and Taylor.  Whitney and Chris checked in to the hospital on Friday night, and the doctor was going to start inducing early the following day. 

On Saturday morning, Mom, Dad, Taylor, Alaina, Steven, Sawyer, and I went to the hospital to visit with the Sewells (still a family of two at this point) before making our way to the lobby to wait for our little girl to arrive.  It was great to see Whitney one more time before her life gets a little crazy. The day seemingly went by super fast while we waited.  We passed the time by watching football games (i.e.  the Auburn fiasco), eating snacks, talking and laughing with each other, and chasing Sawyer around (he's on the move at full speed these days).  At about 2:00, the doctor and Whitney made the decision to opt for a c-section because she just wasn't progressing at all. 

waiting on Baby Amelia to arrive

After that everything happened at super speed. They prepped Whitney and had her back in surgery less than 15 minutes later.  Before I knew it, we got the message that Baby Amelia had arrived and they were wheeling her to the nursery for us to view.  There are no words to adequately describe her other than BEAUTIFUL!  The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent hanging out together and officially meeting our newest addition (Added bonus: Dinner at Mugshots--yummy!).  Everyone was thrilled with her, with the exception of Sawyer who was more than a little hesitant at first. However, he had warmed up to her by the end of the weekend. 

The next morning, Betsy surprised Whitney and Chris by showing up at the hospital.  Whitney thought that she had to work, but Betsy had requested off and made her way to Tuscaloosa.  When she walked in the room, Whitney immediately teared up, which was one of the sweetest parts of the entire weekend.  Betsy and Whitney have always had such a strong connection and I know Whitney was elated to see her there!

Welcome to the world, Amelia Grace!

Showering Whitney and Amelia

A few weekends ago, Whitney's sisters-in-law threw her a baby shower at The Chocolate Biscuit Tea Room in Trussville.  We had a great lunch and then opened gifts.  Whitney got a lot of really cute stuff for baby Amelia (enough to make me have a smidgen of baby girl fever).  We had a great time visiting with everyone and celebrating this beautiful little girl to be!

The next weekend, our family threw Whitney a shower which was at my cousin Kasey's house in Decatur.  She and her family live in a beautiful home (perfect for hosting parties) so I was so thankful that she offered it to us for the afternoon.  We had a great turnout at the party, and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time catching up and spending some time giving Whitney advise and helpful tips.  Whitney got a ton of stuff for Amelia and even a super cute monogrammed hospital gown (of course Betsy knows what is all the rage at the hospital these days).  We also ate way too really good "shower food" including a Snickers Salad.  Only southerners could turn Snickers into a salad. 

Little Amelia is due to arrive next Sunday (Oct. 21st).  We cannot wait to meet her!!!

The Sewells Came to Visit

It is so weird that the next time we will hang out with Whitney and Chris they will be parents. It made me think of those precious moments that Steven and I spent together just before Sawyer's arrival.  There was always excitement in the air because we knew something extremely new and exciting was about to happen.  Those last few days spent together as a family of two were very sweet and extremely special moments that I will never forget.  

This weekend Whitney and Chris came to visit us in Thomasville.  We were so excited to host them in our new home.  We have had visitors before, but we were unloading boxes and still sleeping on air mattresses, so this was a lot more comfortable and relaxed.  We mainly hung out while watching football and grilling out on Saturday.  Although a lot of our time was spent relaxing inside, Whitney and I did take a couple of strolls through the neighborhood trying to coax little Amelia on out.  Later, Steven and I went on a bike ride while Aunt Whitney and Uncle Chris babysat.  On Sunday we went to church at Thomasville Baptist and then went out for a bite for lunch.  It was a very relaxing weekend.  I was so happy to get to spend some time with the Sewells before their lives get officially C-R-A-Z-Y in the next couple of weeks!

Steven and Sawyer watching the Auburn game



hanging out in the backyard while the food cooked



Sawyer loves to swing!

Sawyer is so close to taking a step!

 Can't wait to meet you, baby Amelia!!!

A Few Updates.

The past month has been a complete and utter whirlwind in a lot of ways.  Don't get me wrong, we have enjoyed it so much, but it has been crazy.  We have been able to hang out with so many people that we haven't been able to see very much over the past couple of years, and we've also gotten to spend a lot of time with both of our families!  Below are a few picture highlights :)

Lake Martin with college friends :)

all of us :)

Celebrating Father's Day with the Meadows crew.  Four generations of Meadows men represented...do you see the resemblance?

McCulloch family beach trip to Seaside, Florida

Hanging out on the beach with my man :)

Dinner with PawPaw and Mimi in Selma. 

Conner and Katie's going away party in Huntsville

Sunday afternoon Mario Cart with the boys in Moulton

Tomorrow morning we leave for Orange Beach.  I can't wait to be out in the sun and visit with Steven's parents. 

In other news...A few people have asked me why we have been so MIA lately.  Well, we are currently renting a house in a little place called Catherine, AL (it is literally in the middle of nowhere).  We have no cell phone service and no internet (HugesNet even turned us down...I mean really).  For this reason, it has been really hard to post pictures, return phone calls, or update my blog unless I am in town (I am literally sitting in McDonald's as we speak  in order to update this). However, I have a feeling that this will soon change because we just got approved and our offer was accepted on a house in Thomasville!!!  We should be moving (Lord willing) in 30 days!!!