Totally IN LOVE...

… with this sweet baby girl!!! We headed over to Vicksburg Sunday morning to spend a few hours with Baby Frances (and Katie and Neil, of course) now that they’re home and settling in as a family of three. She is absolutely adorable, and it was so much fun to hold her and love on her. She slept most of the time and would just wake up for a second and yawn, then she’d snuggle up and get comfy again. I just love her. :)

Tomorrow’s her one-week birthday, and she’s changing everyday! I can’t wait to see her dressed in her Baby’s First Fourth t-shirt this weekend. Can you tell I’m a proud aunt? Ha!

We had a great weekend. Friday night we enjoyed a nice dinner out at Mint with Drew and Kristin for our semi-annual Grey-Gor dinner. I highly recommend the wedding cake martinis, by the way. Our service was fantastic, and the food was fabulous! On Saturday we stayed cool at Claire and Josh’s apartment pool. We pretty much had the place to ourselves, which was a good thing because it was HOT. If you had to be outside, you needed to be in some water somewhere.

Then Sunday, we woke up bright and early to head to Vicksburg, and after our visit with the Ferrell family we took care of some housework and yardwork before getting ready for dinner with Cassidy and John. These two have been in Japan since August and are finally back in Mississippi for a couple of months. I’m so excited to have my best friend back in the same country!

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since they got married (we can reminisce here). Time has definitely flown by. We welcomed them back with some burgers on the grill, potato salad, fries (I know – two potato dishes, but whatever), peach ice tea and homemade peach cobbler. I figured the more I made them miss Mississippi, the more likely they would be to stay awhile. :)

I look forward to nearly two full months of fun with these two before they head back overseas, and this year there won’t be a wedding right in the middle of their USA vacation!

Our Newest Niece

Sweet Baby Frances Kathryn Ferrell entered the world yesterday at 12:59 p.m. Derek and I got to the hospital from Jackson at 12:55, so I think Frances was waiting for Uncle Derek and Aunt Lizzie to get there before she made her debut! She was 8 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long.

Here is a pic of pure sweetness that I stole from Erin... Ryan Hadley, Addison and Sydney getting a good look at their newest playmate. It may be a little while before Frances can run and swim with them at the lake, but they're already excited about having "Fwancis" around. We are too!

She's so incredibly precious, and we're beyond excited for Katie and Neil. We can't wait to see her again this weekend and spoil her rotten! We love you already, Little Frances!

Hollywood, Here I Come...

There's an open casting call in Jackson next weekend for the movie version of The Help, one of my new favorite books. I really think I'm going to go try out! Why not?

I just want to be cast as a "non-speaking extra"... Maybe a Junior Leaguer lounging at the Jackson Country Club pool or socializing at the Annual Benefit. I'm not asking for a speaking role - just a spot in the background somewhere. I think I'd be really good at that.

Maybe you'll see me on the big screen sometime soon! :)

Busy Busy Busy

We have had a crazy busy couple of weeks. I guess it's something about the summertime that makes you feel the need to fill up every single hour of daylight during the week.

Between softball, work functions, pilates and other fun stuff thrown in, we've had an after-work commitment almost every single night. I'm worn out, but I'm not complaining! I love that it stays light outside until about 8:30 at night. It actually feels like life is a little more than just work during the week.

Last night while Derek was sweating it out on the softball field, Katherine, Claire, and I had a girls' night with dinner at Sal and Mookie's and then painting at Easely Amused. I must say, I was pretty impressed with myself! Maybe I do have a little bit of artistic talent in my blood. Ha! It certainly was better than the Picasso Date Night, that's for sure. :)

The Home Team

Thursday night we went to the Mississippi Braves game with Josh and Claire for Josh's birthday. We had VIP seats down by the Braves' dugout right at the net. It was so close that the players were talking to us. It was so much fun! And for the record, the Braves beat the Chatanooga Lookouts 5-4 after 11 innings.

Of course, it didn't hurt that it was Thirsty Thursday with dollar draft beers. That definitely helped us beat the incredibly sweltering heat. I think by the time the game started at 7 it was still 93 degrees with 100% humidity. Ridiculous. Gotta love Mississippi summers...

We had a great time and definitely plan to take advantage of the VIP seats again! And while we didn't make it on the jumbotron for the Kiss Me thing, Claire and Josh actually did. Guess that's a benefit of having your brother as one of the videographers. :)

Happy Birthday, Josh!

Home Sweet Home

We spent a weekend at home for the first time in five weeks, and it was paradise. Friday night we took a big trip to Sam’s Club (we recently joined through my work) and picked up a few things, ate dinner at Jason’s Deli and then curled up on the couch to watch Avatar. I know, I know… It really doesn’t get much more exciting that that on a Friday night. Don’t be jealous.

A couple of thoughts about Friday night:

1. Some stuff you can get for GREAT deals at Sam’s (i.e., 150-load Gain laundry detergent for $9), but the trick is having a place to store it all. We came home with a larger-than-life two-pack of body wash and a whopping four-pack of toothpaste, but really and truly, most of that stuff would not be practical for our little pantry. It will be great for laundry detergent, paper towels, toilet paper, etc., and buying food in bulk for lake weekends, though.
2. I really liked Avatar. We both did. While the storyline is nothing new, it’s still a great message and the special effects were pretty amazing. I just kept thinking how I wish we would have seen it at the movie theater in 3D. Oh, well… I give it four out of five stars.
   

Saturday Derek took a short trip to Clinton to pick up a spare dryer from our friend Paul. Our dryer died last week, and he just so happened to have an extra one in his garage that he so kindly donated to us. It’s amazing how much laundry can build up in only three days without a dryer! Neighbor Ben rode with Derek for extra strength in moving the dryer, so I got to babysit sweet Baby Brady for a couple of hours while they were gone.

Once the rain and clouds moved through Saturday afternoon, we headed to our friends Jessica and Blake’s apartment to swim. It was like a college party - lots of people our age just hanging out drinking beer. Not a bad way to spend a hot Saturday afternoon.

We decided to check out a new Jackson restaurant, Burgers & Blues, for dinner Saturday night. The food was good, service not so much, but it was worth checking out. After dinner, Ben and Tina came over for some drinks on the deck.

Phew… are you worn out just reading this? I am. That’s probably why we slept past 11 Sunday morning. Once we got up and moving Derek did yardwork and I cleaned the house. It was a productive way to end the weekend.

We enjoyed being at home so much that I think we’ll do it again this weekend. I love lake weekends and vacations, etc., but sometimes nothing beats some quality time at home!

One Year

It’s amazing how fast one year can fly by yet drag on so slowly. It’s been a year since you’ve been gone, and we miss you every minute of every day. You’ve missed so much this year – the Little Baby Girl turned three, your youngest graduated college, and your girl is having her own little girl in a few weeks. As our family continues to grow, we can't help but remember it's not complete without you.

There have been plenty of tears, but plenty of smiles, too. We’ve thought about you during every birthday, holiday, lake weekend, baby shower, and phone call that we can’t make. We feel your love in every prayer, dream, and quiet moment. And of course we’ve thought about you every time we see a firefly, and there are THOUSANDS at the lake – but I guess that’s why you named it Firefly Hill! Your granddaughter has had more fun catching the “fiwefwies” at the lake the past few weekends, and while it’s incredibly cute, she has no idea how sentimental it is, too.

I can’t even put it all in words how much you’ve been missed. A year ago, we never thought we’d get to this point today, but time marches on. Please continue to watch over us every day and give us strength through the hard times and a little extra joy during the happy times, knowing you feel the same emotions from so far away.

We love you and miss you terribly.