Bear in the neighborhood!

This bear cub keeps showing up near the house that belonged to my parents in Madisonville. Not sure if there's a mama nearby, hope I get to see it soon. Guess I need to tell Tanner and Charlsie to be on the lookout! Never thought I'd have to think about bears in the neighborhood!

There's a Giraffe in my tree!

It didn't take him long to discover the tree!

...and the lights

...and the ornaments

LOVE those teeth!

...is that a giraffe?

...maybe if i stretch

ahhh...success is sweet.

Wheely Bug!

Ordered Jack a Wheely Bug today from Barnes and Noble. It was difficult to choose between the mouse, cow, ladybug, bee or pig, so cute! They also come in two sizes and have good reviews!

Check them out!

Wheely's are on sale this week thru BN.

Merry Christmas Jack!

Christmas at the Co-op

Visited the local "Co-op" today for the first time. Jack visited Santa, and he was not too happy about that.  Bought this pincushion from a crafter who was there. Will be sure to visit again next year! Great job Co-op! Hope this begins a yearly tradition and gets better and bigger!

Pincushion
http://www.bethbader.etsy.com/

Best Ever Thanksgiving Breakfast

Tanner was so sweet this morning. He asked which of these cereals I'd like for my "Thanksgiving Breakfast." He added just the right amount of milk and even chose the perfect cereal bowl!

Thankful today for Tanner, he makes every minute of every day a Thanksgiving!

Guess which one I chose?

Hello!

We are updating the exterior of our 1969 ranch house and I love this welcoming "hello"! Saw it first on Pinterest and am planning on doing something similar. Would love to stencil this on the new front door, but might have to settle for the entry on the carport. BECAUSE, not sure Greg will go for it. Don't you just love this! We have neutral colors but lovin this blue and red together.

Knock-Knock and come in!

Another Mod Baby Mobile!

Sorry about the poor quality of this picture, but I really don't have a choice right now. Hopefully "Black Friday" will take care of that problem!
Anyway, this is the mobile I finally finished for Alison Nation. She has a beautiful new baby boy. Hoping she and Campbell love it!

Good day @ Good Will!

Got some great buys at Goodwill today!

I discovered Goodwill more than 20 years ago and love to shop there. My favor-ite one is in Lenior City, about 45 minutes from where I live. Today I scored this wonderful "Joovy" caboose stroller for 20 dollars. I didn't try to bargain with them as 20 bucks for a 200 dollar stroller sounded pretty good to me!

I brought it home, cleaned it up, and cut off the luggage claim from the airline. Yep, I think it came from our local airport and was probably lost and never claimed by the owner. 

Since I practically have no camera at the moment, here's a pic of a one from the internet. 

Anyone else gone Goodwill shopping lately?

THANKSgiving

Yesterday, we celebrated Thanksgiving at work, complete with turkey and dressing. Before the food was blessed each of us had a chance to say what we were thankful for. What am I thankful for...well, since I am a new Granna, out of my mouth came "Grandchildren".  Wow, after hearing others, I felt a little unthankful.

I mean, aren't we all thankful for family, friends, work, homes, worship, health. The list could go on and on. So I decided for the next week, I am going to purposely be more specific about some of the things I am thankful for. Here goes...

I am thankful for:

My life...my mother did an ok job after all.
That my husband loves and provides for me.
That I have good kids, that they have both worked hard to reach their potential.
The GRANDboy and any others that might come along someday.
Opportunity for worship and people I've met thru serving.
That Greg has a great family and extended family.
That Debbie and I have been friends for 30 + years.
The internet.
Good neighbors.
A swimming pool.
That Marna is finished with her treatments and most of her surgery.
That Sharon, my other sis, sold her house and is building another one near Jamey.
That Bella still thinks I am a fun to be with.
That even thought I am not 30, or 40...anymore :) , am still pretty healthy.
That there is a Dollar General Store near my house.
Magazines and books.
That I had a ton of cousins growing up.
My job that I've had for almost 29 years.
Vacations.
The mountains and seasons.

What are you thankful for?

Tag Blanket

Our friend Ariel was over this afternoon, as she always is on Wednesday's. She not only picked up Tanner at work, but made chocolate oatmeal cookies as well! Ariel brought along a sewing project for herself which inspired me to stitch up a little tag blanket for Jack.

I took a quick look on the internet for a tutorial, (even thought I'm sure it would have turned out great without it), but ya never know!

Jessie had bought some soft brown dotted fleece, can't remember what it's called, but everyone is using it these days for baby blankets. I used leftover fabric for the other side, and ribbon I already had at home. Wanting it to look a little different and since I love the look of patchwork so much, I decided on using strips of fabric for the other side.

Sorry, but I'm out of a good working camera right now so here's the best pic I have-

Make sure your strips are different sizes, makes it a much cooler tag blanket!

Mowing the lawn in November?

I can't believe we mow our lawns in November. Have we always done this, or just in the last few years. Hey, I'm not complaining. Not a fan of cold weather but I seem to remember as a kid that November was cold and we had long but our push mower away. 

November 8th and Tanner is in shorts, t-shirt with bottle of water attached to his cup holder on the mower. I'm in sandals and Jack is even outside without a jacket. Love it, but I think winter is just around the corner.

Happy Fall!

Tanner mowing for the last time in 2011

Azalea's blooming in November

Cousin Chelsea and Jack

Another Duggar!

After watching the Duggars tonight, I was happy to learn that my chances of having a "Duggar" Grandaughter-in-law just increased!  Baby Jack is almost 8 months old and he already had the J name, so....I think his chances are pretty good!

Hey, I'm serious. How fun would that be!

I am goin photoshop Jack in one of their family photographs and put it on my bookcase, wonder how long it will take Greg or Jessie to notice. Now this is going to be fun, I will keep you posted. Only problem is I don't have photoshop...but that won't stop me. (anyone out there that can help me???)

Can't wait to get this project started! woohoo!

Road Trip to Coker Creek

Last weekend a couple of my cousins from NC came for a weekend visit to Tellico Plains. Bella and I drove up on Saturday and gave them a little tour of Coker Creek Falls and Buck Bald.

It's just a short hike, 1/4 mile to see the series of small waterfalls. The only difficulty is finding your way on the narrow winding back roads! Make sure to stop for directions before you begin the journey!

Buck Bald is a site where an old fire tower once stood. You'll see a great 360 view of Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina.  A favorite spot for horseback riders. We met some interesting people on the bald that day, including a hiker from Louisville, Ky. He is hiking the Benton/McKay trail and was spending the night on the bald. He sure was happy when we gave him all our leftover picnic grub!

Me, Bella and Janet

First of 4 waterfalls known as Coker Creek Falls

Bella

Buck Bald

6 Month photo shoot

Just have to share a few of Jack's 6 Month photo's with you!

In Memory of Olivia

Most everyone I know is grieving over the loss of Olivia. She was a very special wife, daughter, sister, cousin and friend to all.  Rest in Peace Livvie.