Run, Turkey, Run!!

Annie and I are leaving in the morning to go to Columbus for the Thanksgiving holidays, and Anthony will be joining us Wednesday when he leaves work, so I wanted to go ahead and wish everyone out there in readerdom (yes, I think I made that word up) a very happy Thanksgiving! And please, pray that all the turkeys everywhere in the world are (literally) running for their respective lives ...

(Kayla, if you're reading this, I fear we're going to miss your being at home, and I can't tell you how much I hate that! We're not coming back until Sunday, so let me know when you're coming and going ... )

Values

So now I'm officially stealing from other people's writing ... oh, well ... this came from another blog I follow and asks you to list six things you value and six things you don't. Here's mine:

Things I Value:

1. Family (to include, OF COURSE, our pets)
2. Faith
3. Kindness
4. Friendship
5. The lessons I learned from all we went through to get our beautiful baby girl.
6. Life

Things I Don't Value:

1. Material "stuff" in general
2. Inconsiderate drivers
3. Rudeness
4. Cruelty to animals
5. Closed-minded people
6. Geography

P.S. While we're on the subject of things to be valued, may I just say that our sweet Mary Barclay celebrated her 10th birthday on Monday ... God bless her!

The Vanity of It All

We've spent most of the weekend helping Mom and Dad move into their condo in Franklin, which will be a sort of second home for them. It's so fun, and the pictures of Annie and her Pa are from the weekend. In case you can't tell, it's been really, really cold here!!

Of course the other part of the weekend was spend watching football ... NO COMMENT on Mississippi State, but we're really proud of Vanderbilt! I'm sorry because this is so vain, but I just wish Vandy's team colors were a little prettier ...

Isn't She Lovely?

I'm certain that all readers have been sitting on their respective seats just waiting for the next blog, but as we currently live on a tundra of sorts with bizarre weather patterns I've been a bit ill with some kind of sinus grossness. Therefore, I have now provided an explanation for my absence.

Where to begin?? Ah, yes, the beginning. Nah, that would take too long. Suffice to say that Annie continues to amuse us, especially with certain behaviors. For example, I'll be sitting in a chair in the living room while she's playing, and all is well in our little world. Then suddenly, things erupt: she comes to me and proclaims "ME SIT HERE" and tries to physically move me out of the chair. (Not happening, by the way.) Or she suddenly decides that sweet Mary, who is quietly resting on the couch and minding her own business, is in the exact spot Annie wants to be, so she tries to manhandle 80-pound Mary out of the way. Again, NOT happening. It's hysterical all the drama she puts into these efforts. Annie is SO dramatic, and as I've always said, I have NO idea from whence that came.

Still, toddlerdom is so full of paradoxes. Annie loves for me to read to her, and sometimes we'll be sitting side by side with her little leg thrown over mine, and she puts her hand on my face to turn it toward hers and just looks at me with her hand still on the side of my face, and I swear, I swear, I swear my heart skips a beat. Wow, is being a mom a roller coaster of a ride.

Shady Lady

Check out the cowlick, especially in the third picture ... that's our girl!!

Love Never Fails

And so tomorrow is our 10-year anniversary, which seems completely unbelievable!! How quickly time passes ...

I'm not going to mortify Anthony with gushing love poems, but I do have to say what an amazing husband, father, and friend he is. Of course I suppose if you've been reading this blog, then you already know that. We have been through a lot in our 10 years together, but all in all every single thing we've encountered and gone through has only made us stronger. We are truly a team, and that in itself is a wonderful feeling!

Anthony, I love you, and I always will ...

Baby of Mine

Just random pictures for all to enjoy ... one thing, though: the one of Mary outside with tennis balls in her mouth is her most favorite place to be, and getting two tennis balls in her mouth simultaneously is her greatest accomplishment. We're just so proud ...

As for Annie, well, today was "picture day" at Moms Day Out, which of course meant the never-ending battle with her wild hair and even wilder cowlick. We've pretty much tried everything to tame the cowlick, but I honestly think we could lay on it, and the thing would still be insanely unmanageable. Oh, well, if that's the biggest worry we have, then we're doing pretty good. But wow, did she look so pretty and grown-up this morning ... this growing-up thing is a bit difficult. I don't really think about it for awhile, and then it's like WHAM she's not a baby anymore.

On the other hand, she'll ALWAYS be my baby ...

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Just a couple more pictures ... a friend of mine took both of them, the first being at Kindermusik and the second taken at McDonald's with Annie and one of her little "boyfriends" ... I met a couple of my mom-friends there for lunch and big-time use of the indoor playground so the kids could run wild ... FABULOUS lifesaver when it's freezing outside ...