Tuesday, May 25, 2010

8 years

8 years ago today Katie and I got married.
8 amazing years.
3 in Atlanta.
5 in Knoxville.
2 incredible kids.

So grateful for Katie.
People love being around Katie, but no one really sees the Katie I see.

The way she is around the house when its just us and the kids.
The way she is at a movie when we haven't been in a while, and she lights up at the idea of popcorn and milkduds.
The way she genuinely loves to laugh.
The way she naps on the couch.
The way the loves to try a new recipe.
The way she listens to me as I dream crazy dreams, share them with her and think about what could be.
The way she loves and respects me as the church does Christ (a real gift)
The conversations we have at dinner about what our hopes are really in, what being with Jesus really looks like for us and what God wants for our lives. (Great 8th anniversary conversation last night).

Just 8 simple things I love about her.

love you katie.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Quality

This video has been circulating like crazy.
I appreciate the video for a couple of reasons...
1. it doesn't promise anything more.... it simply states what already is. It doesn't claim that the VAN will make you a better parent, just keep doing what you do.
2. Creative. For so long it has seemed like the only way to promote a mini van was to show that you can watch multiple dvds at one time, every door opens via remote, and it handles like a... well, a van.
3. Katie is now convinced to get a mini van.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Kiddie Pool

Muma and Poppa heated up the hot tub (aka kiddie pool) on Sunday.
We had a fish fry (thanks Tony for the fish), grilled corn, cole slaw, fruit salad and Annie and Lawson enjoyed their first dips in the pool.


Annie's First Birthday!!

We had a great first birthday for Annie this weekend.
It's hard to believe her first year has come and gone.
Thanks to all the friends and family who were a part of her special day.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Suprised

We were all very surprised by Wichita.
Kristin has herself a cool little town, much cooler than Knoxville. Unique eateries, cute houses, great shopping, great layout.
The kids were all GREAT on the plane rides, we had no problems at all. Luckily the Atlanta to Wichita flight is not extremely packed so on both legs we had a little room to spread out.
Kristin's house is great, its very "Kristin". If you don't know Kristin that means; cute, welcoming, etc... We spent a lot of time on her new back deck and in her back yard. Kristin and her roommate were kind enough to allow us and the kids to take over their house so sleeping and naps was much easier than trying to stay in a hotel.
We had a couple of cookouts, visited the Wichita Zoo (great layout, felt like you were with the animals), had a great night out since some of Kristin's YL girls kept the kids and had a great mothers day brunch.

Here a few pics. Working on a video.














Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Off to see the Wizard



Well tomorrow we are all loading up; all the Neelys and the Hearps and heading to Wichita, Kansas to see Aunt Kristin.
We are driving to Atlanta and then flying to Wichita. We will definitely do some updates once we return as to how the kids did on the plane and in transit. We are excited about being on a plane with the 3 kids at once. We figure we have a good ratio- 2 adults for every kid!!
We are excited about seeing Kristin's new house and what her life is like in Kansas.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Our Sweet Allie

Well many of you have heard that we had to put Allie down yesterday.
She had chronic kidney failure and she went down hill pretty fast.
Allie was our first family dog and she was incredible. We bought Allie in December 2005. Her name was Cassie at the time. We bought her from a man who was a hairdresser who lived out in Louisville, TN in a trailor, on a farm, raising peacocks.
She did have her crazy days- ate multiple cakes, chewed through a door when we first got her, ran away a few times, chewed up some journals, diapers, etc...
But overall she was great. The best part about Allie was that she was phenomenal with our kids. Davis could and would do anything to Allie. He would poke her, pull on her, ride her, scream at her, and she just sat there.
What I am thankful for is that because of Allie, Davis and Annie will always like dogs.

She was a great dog and she will be missed.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

ok ok ok

It seems like most places I go these days I hear statements like this...

"So about your blog?"
"I checked your blog the other day...."
"Are you all staying busy...."
"You just using twitter to keep people up to date now?"

I get it. I've fallen behind on the blog.
Its not for lack info.

So here are some pics, all taken from my phone, so sorry if they aren't the best quality.

Last weekend Katie and I went on a marriage retreat/getaway with our small group from Fellowship. Our friend Bumble, left his big blue truck at our house over the weekend, so when we got home Davis loved playing in the back.

Annie cruisin'. Amazing that she turns 1 in two weeks.

Fellowship had our annual church wide picnic on Sunday. Everything from football toss, grilled chicken, multiple blow ups, lots of candy, and blue grass music. Davis loved the merry go round and the balls. Yes, I think he was the only kid wearing an argyle sweater. But yes, he made it look good.



till next time.