Surprise Visitors!

This past Thursday night, about 9 PM, we got a phone call from my brother, Bradley, asking if he and his girlfriend, Jess, (yes, he has a girlfriend!!) could stay with us on Friday night. Jess is from Nashville and had to take a quick trip to TN to renew her drivers license. So, of course, Joshua and I were so excited and didn't hesitate to say YES!!!!!! They got in about 7:30 PM on Friday night and we had the best time. We ate dinner, played the wii, talked & laughed ALOT. This was the first time Joshua and I had met Jess...and lets just say she won our hearts! She is beautiful on the outside AND the inside. :)

Joshua creating Bradley & Jess's wii character

Here's Bradley!


Joshua showing Jess how to bowl on the wii. Turned out she needed no training @ all...she beat us all!

Two stud muffins!

Getting ready to head back to L-burg! :(

Uncle B giving his nephew a pep talk! He's so excited!

Thank You, Overton Family!

I just had to say a special thank you to my dear friend, Heather, and the rest of the Overton gang down in Florida, for the ADORABLE blanket and bear they sent our little man this week. Heather actually made BOTH of them!! WOW...she is one talented girl. :) We love you and appreciate you thinking of us so much!

It's the Holidays...What Can I Say?

WARNING: LONG POST! It's been awhile since I've had a new post, and I apologize to all my blogger friends for boring you with the same post for the last three weeks. ;) It's not that I haven't had anything to write about, but you know...it's the holidays and it's a really busy time of year for all of us! I'll also mention that I have not done the best job taking pictures this year...not sure why????? Maybe it's this forgetful pregnancy brain I'm dealing with. ;) Anyways, here's a brief recap of what we've been up to the last few weeks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Joshua and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in Knoxville. We were able to sleep in a little bit (PTL!!) then we headed to Joshua's Memaw & Pepaw's house for another one of his Memaw's UNBELIEVABLE spreads. She amazes and inspires me with her hospitality! She doesn't ever miss a thing. It was such a great day and a wonderful time to reflect on the blessings God has given us...especially our baby boy on the way! The next day, Sally and I were up and running by 5 AM for our annual "Black Friday" shopping day and boy did we have a blast. Being pretty late into my pregnancy, I must say that I kept up REALLY well. I didn't actually get tired until about 6:30 that night as we were heading to dinner. However, by the time I got home, I felt as though my legs were not able to function and Joshua told me that he thought the baby had actually dropped that day from all that walking! I was just proud/glad to have the majority of my shopping DONE. :)

The only place the entire family can fit for Thanksgiving...the garage! :)




Happy Anniversary to Us!

Joshua and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary on December 2nd. :) Unfortunately, we both had to work during the day, but after work he took me out for a romantic dinner and then surprised me by taking me to see a Christmas light show that I've been dying to see here in Knoxville. It was a very low key & COLD night, but a night that I would not trade for anything in the world. It's hard to believe that we've already been married for two years (and now expecting a baby!!!)but I have never been happier and I thank God everyday for my amazing husband!

Work Christmas Party

Every year, Sevier Heights takes us to Calhoun's on the River for our staff Christmas lunch. We always have the best time....I'm feel very blessed to work with such an amazing group of people. I love my job!!!

Natalie, Sarah, & Sheila

Here's a BIG belly shot for ya! My friend Leena loving on our little man. :)

Michelle, Meggan, & Leslie

Baby Update

Okay...I'll admit...I have not done a very good job with the baby updates. Sorry! I will try to do better...especially now that the time is growing very close for our little man to arrive. But let me just say that Joshua and I are SO excited and we have stayed very busy trying to get everything ready. My friend Bonnie summed it up best when she said she feels like a "nesting monster". THAT'S ME TOO! But I guess all women feel like that before their little one arrives. Well, the nursery is almost done! Once we get some things on the walls (which we plan to do this weekend), I will post some pics for everyone to see. We really love how it's coming together and the elephant theme is adorable. :) Last Saturday, we had an all-day birthing class @ the hospital. It was one of the funniest experiences we've had together as a couple...I laughed till my belly muscles were sore. The best part of the day was watching our teacher put the "pregnancy suit" on Joshua and then go on to tell him to bend over and tie his shoes. I am SO mad I didn't have my camera because it was most definitely a kodak moment. You should have SEEN HIS FACE! It's good for these men to see what we go through! haha It was a long day, but I feel like we walked away feeling more knowledgable about what to expect..and it was a great bonding experience. We are also looking forward to having my mom come to TN really soon! She is flying in on December 23rd and will be staying with us until Jan. 10th. I haven't seen her in over a year so I am SO excited about her coming. I'm sure there is nothing like having your mom there with you when you've got a new baby on your hands. :) It will be fun having her here for Christmas too. As far as doctor visits are concerned, I am now going on a weekly basis until I have the baby. As I look back over the last 8 months, it amazes me to think how quickly the time has gone. But we are both so ready & excited for this sweet boy to come into our lives. As of Monday, I'm 1 cm. dialated and 50% effaced, so I'll keep everyone posted on my progress....we CAN'T WAIT!

Worship Team

A couple of months back, the opportunity came around for me to try out for the worship team @ our church (First Baptist Concord). After our wedding and after moving to Knoxville, I chose not to get involved in anything @ church right away so I could get adjusted to all the new changes in my life. Music has always been such a HUGE part of my life, so it felt really strange not being involved...I really missed it! Anyways, I found out not too long ago, that I made the worship team and it has been so much fun singing again. It's also given me the opportunity to meet a lot of sweet friends too! Joshua's brother, Phillip, is the main speaker at one of the campuses, so it's been great being able to serve with him. Joshua is definitely my biggest fan and I'm very thankful that he encourages me to use my talents for the Lord!


So....there's a little update on us. I know this was a LONG post, but I feel like so much has happened over the last few weeks. I will be sure to keep you all informed as the baby news comes along and please keep us in your prayers over the next few weeks as we prepare to be parents. We know the Lord has blessed us with this little life and we are thrilled to be able to raise this baby boy in a good Christian home. :) What an exciting & fun time it's been for Joshua and I, and my only wish is that you all could be here to share it with us. We love you.

Merry Christmas!!

Road Trip!

A few months ago, Brother Hollie (my boss) asked me to plan a day trip to Charlotte, NC so that a group from Sevier Heights could tour the new Billy Graham Library. So, this past Monday morning I was up bright & early so that I could be @ work by 6 AM to load a bus to do just that. Seeing that I hadn't been back to BG since right before Joshua and I were married (almost 2 years), it was such a nice treat to see everyone again. We arrived around 11:15 AM and I immediately went to the headquarters to meet up with some of the girls for lunch. We went down stairs, got our food, and as I walked around the corner, I was SO SHOCKED to see a table full of baby gifts. I was CLUELESS. They were so sweet to surprise us with a baby shower and I can't tell you how much it meant. Thank you so much to all of you who planned this for us...and thank you to Donna, Suzanne, & Tracy who made a special trip to BG just for this...what a special day! :)

Here I am with Nancy (my boss @ BGEA) & Liz


Donna, Mrs. Capin, & Suzanne

Tracy & Cindy

Ashleigh & Tameka

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Caroline was a great assistant. ;)


It was so good to see you girls!!!

After lunch, everyone had to go back to work, and I managed to head back to the Library for a quick tour before we headed home. I was SO excited to see this because whenever I left BGEA to move to Knoxville, they had almost completed the outside of the Library, but I was never able to see the finished product. It is absotluetly beautiful and such an incredible testimony of Mr. Graham's life. What a legacy!!

The BGEA Library


Mr. Graham's home place


A BEAUTIFUL Christmas tree in the Library

We left BGEA around 3 PM, stopped for dinner in Asheville, and pulled into Sevier Heights parking lot around 9:00 PM. It had been a LONG 15 hours and I was EXHAUSTED, but I couldn't stop smiling from such a fun & wonderful day. :)

Another Baby Shower!

Yesterday after work, the ladies here at Sevier Heights threw us the nicest baby shower! They had everything decorated to the "T" and again, we were showered with so many wonderful gifts for our little man. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make this so special for us! I feel blessed to work with such an amazing group of ladies who love us so much.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Graham!

Today is a very special day...it's Billy Graham's 90th B-day! What a blessing it was to work for The Billy Graham Association while I lived in Charlotte, and it was also such an honor to be able to meet Mr. Graham the few times I did. Today I want to thank the Lord for such a humble servant who has given his life to boldly share the gospel. He is an inspiration to so many and I can only imagine the number of people who will now be in heaven because of his stand for Christ. Happy B-day Mr. Graham...may the Lord give you many more years of health & happiness. We love you!

Halloween & A Baby Shower

Joshua and I had a VERY low key Halloween night. We were both tired after a long week, so instead of heading to my in-laws to see the boys & Mahala all dressed up, we decided to get into some comfy clothes, make some chili, pass out some candy, and watch a scary movie. The scary movie part was Joshua's big idea...I probably could have done without that. ;) We had a great night and we even had some special visitors come by our house. Here's Tinkerbell & Peter Pan...we were so excited that they stopped by to see us!! Olivia & Owen (Joshua's cousin's kids) were ADORABLE and VERY excited about their candy.

On Saturday Joshua and I spent a lot of time working in the nursery! We finally finished painting, we put the crib together and organized/cleaned everything as much as we possibly could to this point. Then on Sunday, Mandy, Heather, and my good friend from church, Jennifer, threw us our 1st shower...and what can I say? It was overwhelming with the outpouring of love and gifts for our little man. We were/are so thankful and appreciative for everything that was done for us! The fun part was heading home to unload all our gifts and to really take a look at all that we got. After the shower, Mandy, the boys, Mahala, and Sally came over to help me get situated a little more and seeing all of our baby's things REALLY made it sink in....I'm going to have a baby boy in less than 8 weeks! It's so unbelievable, but I CANNOT wait. :)

Our 1st Shower!

Me with Sally (Joshua's mom) & Memaw (Joshua's g-ma)

Heather, Jennifer, Me & Mandy





Joshua's Memaw buys all of her great grandchildren a Build-A-Bear that has a recorded message from her. It's one of my FAVORITE gifts and I know it will always mean so much. :)

Thank you all for such a special day!!!