Fallen Right into Fall 2011

Much water has gone under the bridge since our last posts of State Fair and Labor Day happenings!

To name a few, Aly began homeschooling this Fall and is doing a splendid job thus far, we enjoyed taking her to NQC 2011 for her first "Field Trip"...the music was, as expected, wonderful and we saw many friends and laughed ourselves almost breathless! We went to Greg's parents home for our annual "BD" trip...when Aly and Whitley are able to celebrate their October birthdays, together and this year Tanner joined in on the celebration! A triple party it was! The entire Indiana side of our family gathered together for a day of country fun "down at the Farm" and thanks to "Aunt" Nodi, we had a most relaxing and filling day! Of course, we have just come through the biggest event of all...Aly's 4th Birthday!!! "AN EVENING WITH PRINCESS BELLE" went very smoothly, the girls had a ball having "Tea" together and once again our family enjoyed a delicious meal, a specially made cake for the occasion and many stories and laughs!

Rather than going into too much detail and boring you, I'll allow the slide shows I've created to tell the story of how we have quite literally, "Fallen Right into Fall 2011"! ENJOY........

Happy 2nd Birthday, Alyson Dawn (October 30, 2009)

Though we are a bit sad, at the thought of Alyson already being 2 years old, we are thankful to have such a beautiful gift from Heaven to call our very own! We've just come through a very busy weekend... Aly's Birthday Party on Friday evening, Trick or Treating at the Mall on Saturday and a full day at Church on Sunday! A wonderful few days together, though!!!
We celebrated our 'Ladybug Aly' and the BIG #2, at "Incredible Pizza Company" and an 'incredible' time was had by all... adults and children alike! A wonderful buffet of every kind of food you can imagine, our "Incredible" Party Hostess/Entertainer (Lindsey), unlimited "Incredible Fairground" fun for everyone and all followed by a 'Ladybug' red velvet cake at Mamaw S.'s house!!! (Aly also enjoyed her 1st Trick or Treating... at the Mall on Saturday!) Thanks for the many birthday wishes, gifts and prayers!!! ARGH... once again, we were 'jinxed' with our 'chincy' camera and had to borrow one from Mother and Daddy for the weekend... thanks for sharing, y'all! We'll let the pictures speak for themselves in the slideshow above, of the weekend and it's events! (Remember, you can 'click' the center of the 'showbox' to be taken directly to the 'photo album'!) ENJOY...

In Limbo...

We are in a bit of 'limbo'... staying too busy to keep up with much online work. We've completed quite a bit of work on our house over the past couple of weeks, had a bit of short 'sick spells', tons of Church 'homework' had to be finished for the Christmas Program, etc., etc. Needless to say, we've been on a WILD ride lately!!!
Aly's 2nd Birthday Party is coming up on Friday... the 30th! So, rest assured there will be another blog posted soon and it will include party pictures... of course!!! We also have company coming in at the beginning of November and again at the end of November and will post on those occasions, as well!
Wishing all of our blogging 'Palz' a spooooky and waaaacky Halloween day...

Life Can Be Quite the Trip…

WOW! Our lives can certainly agree to this post title! After a hectic few days last week, we were finally packed, loaded and westward bound on Friday evening! Being as we were off to a very late start, we didn’t arrive much before 11PM, Missouri time (12AM in Indiana)! Of course, we stayed up entirely too late chatting with everyone! Needless to say, we were already exhausted beyond words, even before we ever left Indy. However, we were determined to make the best of the few hours we had to spend with the family, though! Wouldn’t you know, I woke up Saturday morning very ill!?!?! All signs of a massive sinus infection along with flu-like symptoms, to boot! Aches, pains, low-grade fever… YOU NAME IT! Well, it was severe enough to put me “down” for the rest of the weekend. It is now Tuesday night, we’ve been home since late Sunday night, but I am still ‘bed-ridden’, with this case of old fashioned, “Yankeefied Droops”! The only light I see at the end of this tunnel, would have to be the strong medicines my doctor prescribed for me, yesterday! They are working… just extremely slowly! On top of it all, I’ve actually had a few side effects from them! NOT good!!!
The really bad news of the week? The fact, we never took one single picture on our trip! I was entirely too ill to care and Greg was too busy having fun (as usual, when we’re out there), to pick up the camera and do anything about it! LOL We hope to retrieve a picture or two taken with Mom and Dad P.’s camera that day, though! The kids “tripple” party sounded as if they were having a ball at the time and I heard that Aly really showed herself… especially when it came time to blow out the candles! One thing is for certain, I am DONE with being sick!!! Picture-taking and party-going would’ve been much more ‘my speed‘! Here is a cute little poem I found a couple of days ago, online.
"I am sick, I'm about to snap. My nose is leaking, I just want to nap. Been drinking juices & blowing my nose. My body screams, aches from my head down 2 my toes. I hate being sick, my mind doesn't work. Wish I was healthy, back to my normal self!” (M. Messineo)

GREG AT A RECENT PHOTO SHOOT FOR WORK

I would like to post one new photo this week. One of my one and only, personal, private, ‘In-House Doctor’, but please note, he is NOT up for hire elsewhere! Thanks, Sweetheart! You’ve done everything in your power to make my world a whole lot easier over the past few days and I can never thank you enough! Please know that I have been praying, that these ’bugs’ will stay very far away from you! I seriously don’t know how Aly and I would function... not with you stuck in the bed like this, sick as a puppy! I’m also very thankful, that Aly still has a dose or two left of HER antibiotics, because I in no way want to see her have a relapse! Again Greg, thanks for being so wonderful… I LOVE YOU!!!

Back to School Plus...

We have so much to tell you about. We will try to give you the abbreviated version and let the pictures speak for themselves! LOL It has been a very busy and wonderful week!

This past Friday, my parents hosted a "Lawn Party" for all choir members and their spouses. This was a great evening spent with the best of friends, delicious food, beautiful decor, games of croquet and so much more! (Though we were 'rained' indoors for the meal, a few clouds couldn't keep us from the lawn, for long! It did end us up, back indoors for ice cream, though!) Thanks, Mama and Daddy, y'all outdid yourselves and we all had a ball!

On Sunday evening, we SURPRISED Greg with a small Birthday Party in his honor! Again, Mother and Daddy hosted and again did a marvelous job! Hot ham and cheese sandwiches, fresh corn on the cob, chips, relish tray, etc. They ended the evening with delectable cake with fresh strawberries on top! Happy Birthday, Baby! I hope this is your best year ever! You deserve ONLY the very best... I love you!

Back to School Plus

Monday, Aly's first day of "Wee School", went exceptionally well! She loved being a 'big girl going to school'! We had several practice sessions over the past few months and they really helped when it came down to 'crunch time'! After she was dressed, she seemed to know just what was going on... she walked into the office/playroom, pointed up to the shelf where her school books are kept and said, "skoo"! So cute! Thus, began our first class of the year!

Last night, I was honored to and enjoyed attending our (local Facebook) L.N.O., at "Bub's Burgers and Ice Cream"! The ride up to Carmel was quite entertaining, the food tasted great and we laughed til we almost cried! Incredible fun with some incredible friends... OH, and we topped the night off with "Bub's" Ice Cream! YUMEEEEEE! Girls, thanks for the memories, I can't wait til the next event!

Note: By 'clicking' on Aly's school picture you will be able to view the entire Photo Album of all events mentioned above.

Aly's Mid-Summer's Dream Come True

We were all happy to 'welcome' Mama and Daddy home, from their trip to Orlando for General Assembly, this past week. Aly was so excited when she saw her Memaw and Papaw... she just about came unglued! LOL I honestly believe that she thought they had moved away and were gone forever or something! I am personally grateful, that when the business side of things in Orlando were completed, they ALLOWED themselves a tiny little bit of 'vacation' time in the sunny South-Lands of Savannah & the Smokies! If anyone ever deserved to take a break, the two of them certainly did! Though it was an extremely short vacation (following a very long Assembly), I know after spending every day, all day in (Assembly) meetings, in addition to the year they have had thus far, this is just the kind of thing that had to be done! While jealous of their time to some of the most beautiful places in America, I'm indeed thankful that they were able to come back to the hum-drum of everyday life, feeling a little more relaxed and ready to face what had to be faced! Upon their arrival home, it was such fun to watch both of their faces brighten up when they saw Aly and her face just absolutely GLOWED at the sight of them!
On Saturday, Cousin Cassie held an all-girl Birthday Party and Aly was 'in her prime'! While being one of two of the youngest in attendance... she didn't seem to notice or care, she was 'just as big as the next one', in her own eyes! It was adorable to listen to several little girls enjoying themselves, there was an abundance of giggles and lots of Cinderella-talk going on! They each brought their own dolly and the dolls had a table of their own, as well! The girls 'pinned' the crown on Cinderella, sang Karaoke and just GIGGLED! Thanks, Cassie for a fun time... Aly had a 'Ball' no pun intended)!!!
NOW, FOR THE BAD NEWS OF THE WEEK!!! Unless, by some miracle of the dear Lord above, it appears that we have either lost our camera or it has been stolen! We were able to take pictures of Mama and Daddy's return (which were loaded to picasa that same evening) and we were also able to take pictures of Cuz Cassie's Birthday Party. However, sometime between taking those and getting ready to load them onto picasa... IT'S GONE (the camera, that is)!!! We don't know what we're going to do without it!?!?! It's a big part of our lives... how can we 'Blog' without it? Well, we 'made do' this week, by borrowing a few shots for our slideshow below. For a larger picture, you may want to click on the center of the slideshow and it will take you to the actual Photo Album. We'll have to wait and see what happens from this point with our camera situation!

'Great' (My) Papaw J. also celebrated a birthday on Saturday and while we were unable to attend, Daddy drove over for a little while and enjoyed time with the family. We are SO blessed to still have Papaw and Mamaw with us!!! (As well as Mamaw S.!) God is good, to not only give us this kind of heritage, but to ALLOW us to keep them for a while! Papaw, we love you (Mamaw, too) and we are sorry that we weren't there to celebrate with you!!! We are proud of you and can't wait to see you, again! Happy Birthday!
Well, we were looking through our calendar on this morning and realized that our Anniversary (July 24th) was a mere 10 days away!!! One of two of the best days of our lives... our Wedding Day, (with the second being the day of Aly's birth)! We plan to 'hold off' on a celebration trip until Labor Day weekend, thus giving us a longer weekend (or if Greg's job requires, we may have to wait further into September). GREG! "You're still the one I love, the only one I dream of, you're still the one I kiss Goodnight. You're still the one I run to, the one that I belong to, you're still the one I want for life... and after all this time, you're still the one I love."
Last evening, (the 13th), I opened our home for an event called L.N.O (Ladies Night Out), which began with my local 'Facebook Family' a few months ago. This particular event was called, "Shelly's Spa" (because it was held at my house) and hosted by a dear friend of mine. Thank you, America, for an amazing evening! Everyone in attendance felt relaxed, revived and rejuvenated at the close of the evening. (I know I'm still 'feeling' it today, as well!) We were treated to foot soaks, foot rubs, instant manicures and facials... a PERFECT "de-stresser" for any girly-girl, especially comforting with 50+ candles burning throughout the house, 'zen-like' music in the background and a Spa-inspired menu!!! The menu consisted of Tossed Salad filled with Dried Cranberries, nuts and drizzled with (Paula Dean's) Southern Peach Pecan Dressing, Pita Chips and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Cucumber Slices with Ranch and a Fresh Fruit Salad. YUMMY!!! Boy, I can barely wait til the next Spa... but, more than that, I'm excited to find out about the upcoming 'end-of-the-summer' L.N.O. event! (If you are a 'local FBer' and are interested in our group, just contact me and we'll put you on the guest list for receiving event invites and information.)
Til next week...........

Happy Birthday, Mother!

Tuesday, January 20th, is my dear Mother's birthday... Greg, myself and Alyson want to take a moment to wish her a marvelous day and an incredible week ahead, as well!
Mama, you are without a doubt the best Mother any girl could ever ask for. A tremendous Mother-In-Law. A wonderful best friend and the most awesome 'Memaw' in the entire world!!!
Thank you for always being there for not only me, but for Greg and Aly, too! We know we could never make it without you AND Daddy... we love you both more than words can ever say!

(My Mama and I on the 2nd best day of my life... the birth of Alyson Dawn! Click to enlarge photo.)

"A Sonnet for My Incomparable Mother"

I often contemplate my childhood, Mama.

I am a Mother now, and so I know

Hard work is mixed together with the fun;

You learned that when you raised me long ago.
I think of all the things you gave to me:

Sacrifice, devotion, love and tears,

your heart, your mind, your energy and soul---

All these you spent on me throughout the years.
You loved me with a never-failing love

You gave me strength and sweet security,

And then you did the hardest thing of all:

You let me separate and set me free.
Every day, I try my best to be

A Mommy like the Mother you were to me.
By Joanna Fuchs

Our little family is more than thrilled to call you, our 'Mama' (and 'Memaw'), Happy Birthday from the bottom of our hearts and they are filled with love!

Chestnuts Roasting... Jack Frost Nippin' At Your Nose

He's really 'Nippin' at noses tonight and with a major Ice Storm too, huh? Christmas is the ONLY time I can handle such cold weather, I'd be happy if it would wait to show up til the week of Christmas and leave again the day after! LOL Now, that would be a bit of Paradise on Earth!!!
Well, I was able to begin last week off with my first Christmas purchases on Tuesday and didn't do so well at it! So, I made plans to 'try again' on Thursday and wouldn't you know, I came down with something that morning and couldn't make it out! However, I hit the roads again, yesterday and actually bought MOST of the gifts on my list! I've ONLY 3 to go!!!
Our Church Cantata/Musical went extremely well, God was all over the place and anyone there should have felt His Spirit moving! Leading up to that evening, was a very hectic time of preparation for us all (especially my parents), but it was well worth the effort and hard work!

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/PreHolidayEventsMore#
We were invited and attended Cuz Nate's 21st Birthday Party this weekend and had such a great time! Aly loves being with her cousins and it's even better when there's Cake and Ice Cream involved, too!
Happy Birthday, Nate ~ We're so very proud of you and the man you have become! You are the PERFECT example for the younger members in our family to strive to be. God has blessed you with such talent and the most wonderful of personalities! Remember, we love you with all our hearts and Aly thinks you 'hung the moon', you know!
The bad news of the week, is that while on my Monday shopping spree, Aly (staying with her Papaw) decided to get sick! Poor little munchkin must have 'caught' a flu bug over the weekend, she's been 'running' her first ever fever with it and is still under the weather tonight! Please help us pray that she'll get well before Christmas... it sure wouldn't be any fun for her (or the family) to be sick during the Holidays!
Stay safe out on these ICY slick roads, ya'll and a very Merry Week to you all!

Somewhat of A Calm After the 'Celebration' Storm...

We had a calm week this past week... more or less! Just the normal week with Baby-Duty, Greg's job and my Church work. Aly has been working pretty hard, as well! With the addition of a new tooth or two and the business of trying the 'walking-without-leaning-thing'!
We had a pleasant weekend... Friday evening - we joined the entire family 'Crew' at a local Buffet for supper and ate entirely toooo much! (Isn't that what Buffet's are for, though? LOL) Saturday - Greg, Aly and I just hung out, had fun together and OF COURSE made our usual Saturday stop at Walmart! Sunday - We had incredible services at Church... much like a Camp Meeting with wonderful music and gifted preaching!!! The weekend felt very short though, because Greg didn't have Monday off this week and because of his schedule, this week already feels like it should be half over and it's only Tuesday evening!!! LOL
So much for the calm, we'll certainly be busy over the next 10 days or so finalizing Alyson's 1st Birthday party, no question there! Her actual Birthday is right in the middle of our Fall Revival, so we'll be celebrating with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins the weekend before and plan to invite 'friends' next year. On Monday afternoon, we went to order her cake and can't wait to see what she thinks of it! The theme is coming together very nicely we're so excited... though a bit sad that the year has flown by so quickly!
Here are a few pictures we snapped of Aly on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon! (We promise to post more next week...)
Going for the big brown bear at Mamaw S's house just before Sunday dinner! Destination reached, made contact with the bear and quite happy about it, too! At home, trying to get this walking thing down pat, on Saturday evening!

Our Weekend in Missiouri...

Well, the trip went very well and we had a TON of fun in the 'Show Me State'! We packed up on Thursday evening and arrived at Greg's parents around 11 pm.
On Friday, we relaxed, played games, ate together, made last minute party plans for Saturday, etc. Aly sure enjoyed being out of that car seat and able to 'roam about'!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/MissiouriBirthdayTrip#

(The 'link' above will direct you to our Photo Album, "Missiouri Birthday Trip".)

Around lunch time on Saturday, we had our BIG combined-Birthday Party with a ton of pizza and two... yes, I said 2 Ice Cream Cakes! One for each, being as this was such a big year for both, Wes (18) and Whit (16)!!!

That evening, Greg, Dad P., Aly and I drove to Columbia to see the Collingsworth's in concert and had a fine time! It was fun to finally get to introduce Aly to Phil, Kim and the kids... just sad that it has taken almost a year to do so!!!
Sunday, we went to Church with the family and were able to meet their new Pastor and his wife, had a yummy meal and another enjoyable day with the In-Laws and kids!
Monday found us back on the road toward home, arriving around 10 p.m. all worn out, but very happy to have had such a wonderful weekend together!

Labor Day '08 Party, Pool-Time and Piles of FUN!

Here's the long and short of our Labor Day '08 weekend...
On Friday night, we headed to 'Rascal's Fun Zone' for Cuz Corey's Birthday party and had more fun than the law should allow! Alyson loved the Ice Cream and couldn't seem to get enough!
Saturday, we were able to attend yet another Birthday party, of a friend from Church and the meal was 'to-die-for'!!! Aly loved being at a new place and checking out all their stuff... she especially loved the 'Princess Tea-Pot' set, that "Unkey" Jeff and "Aunt" Rhonda let her play with! (The only thing missing was the fact, that Memaw and Papaw left for a vacation in TN. earlier that morning!)
Sunday, found us at Church, as usual. The Holy Spirit came in a special way and the service was indeed a good one! We spent the afternoon at Mamaw 'Who's', with the rest of the family and enjoyed a fabulous meal and more great fun! Sunday night, following another wonderful service at Church, 'Unkey' Mark, Aunt Nita and Cuz Nate came over and hung out with us... we grilled 'Dogs', with the works.
Monday, Labor Day, the family were supposed to have gotten together for a family picnic, but we all chose instead, to eat a late late lunch at a local 'Taco' joint... quite a good idea if you ask me... no cooking to do, no dishes to clean up, etc.!!! Afterwards, we all headed back to Mamaw 'Who's' for Games, Snacks and a little 'Pool Time' for Aly. Following all that fun and food, most of us crashed, to watch a bit of "Narnia".
We wanted to take just a second to thank all of our 'E' friends, that read our BLOGS on a regular basis and send us replies VIA 'Yahoo'! We consider ya'll to be just another part of our Blogger-Family and love keeping up with you, as well!
Needless to say, we had an extremely busy weekend but it was filled with so much fun and excitement, we're certainly not soon to forget it, that's for sure...
(FYI: If you 'click' on the video above, you'll be taken to the actual Album W/ captions!) Trust all of you had an incredible weekend, as well and we'd love to hear all about it!

The Start of the End of Summer... ALREADY?!?!

Aly playing "Tag" with her friend, Jacqueline

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/AlyWithHerSummer2008Company

Click on the LINK above for a look into Aly and some of her Summer 2008 company playing together... (We're still experiencing trouble with our computer, uploading photos, etc. So, this is the best way we can share photos with you at this point.)

Greg and I at our Wedding Reception

Well, it truly is the start to the end of the Summer and we can hardly believe it's already almost GONE!!! We've had a very busy Summer with lots of company, events, day trips, etc. going on but, we've enjoyed every second of it!!!
Aly has changed more in the past month than in the previous 8 months... we celebrated her 9 month Birthday on July 30 and are looking forward (in some ways) to her 1st Birthday! It'll be lots of fun to plan even if a bit sad!
Greg and I are looking forward to our 3-day "Belated-Anniversary-Get-Away", coming up this Saturday, it'll sure be nice to relax and have a 'pretend' 2nd Honeymoon! We both need a 'wee' break right now, that's for sure!
We trust all of you will enjoy your week and weekend coming up... we'll be sure to BLOG about our trip and post a picture or two, ASAP!

P.S. If you, your family or even your Church group have never seen the movie, "Facing the Giants", PLEASE do so THIS week... in our opinion, it's got to be one of the best films Hollywood/Goldwyn has ever put out!!!

June... What A Full Month Already!

June is a very busy and full month for our family! There are many birthday's, anniversary's and such during the month of June. We'd like to wish all of our 'June-Bugs' a very Happy Birthday and a very Happy Anniversary to our 'June-Lovebird's', too! Ya'll know who you are and we celebrate each of you at this time. (Greg and I have an Anniversary coming up in less than 5 weeks, ourselves!)
Alyson Dawn is really growing and changing every day... her personality is just adorable! She about gives herself a whiplash simply people-watching at the Mall or Walmart. She'll be 8 months old on the 30th! That is so hard for us to believe!!! She loves to be outside, she loves to go 'out'... whether it's to church or shopping... she's NOT a homebody, that's for sure. She loves spending time with her Daddy and her Memaw and Papaw, too... she is truly the 'Princess' and is she ever more getting used to that fact!!!
Greg ~ (During this Father's Day season...) I want you to know that little Aly and I are as happy as two peas in a pod to have you in our lives... you're the greatest husband anywhere and the bestest Daddy in the world, too. We love you dearly and look forward to many more happy days spent with you!
The three of us missed spending Mother's Day this year with my parents, due to a trip to Mexico but, were able to spend Father's Day with my them and had such a wonderful time... what an awesome heritage we have and are privileged to pass down to Alyson! Happy (belated Mother's Day) and Father's Day (a day late) to you both. My own life has been near perfect because of ya'll. We all three love the two of you more than you'll ever know!
We're sorry to have missed being with Greg's parents this time around for Father's Day! (HOWEVER, Mother's Day was spent with them and was quite nice)... We will also be with them here at our place, over July 4th and are looking forward to an exciting time together!!! I'd like to thank them for helping to raise Greg to be the best husband I could've ever asked for and an incredible Daddy to Aly, too. Love ya'll!
We would also like to mention what a fun time we had in Dayton, yesterday! It was so nice to be able to spend time with Mamaw and Papaw Jewett!!! Aly did a fine job on our little road trip (of course, being as it was a time to get out and about, see people, show off a bit, etc. LOL)! Thanks, Ohio-bunch, for the good times...
Mama and Daddy ~ Greg, Alyson and I would love to say a SPECIAL Happy Anniversary (June 16th) to ya'll... you have always been there to show me what 'true love' is and that true love is the 'joy of life', itself! I'm so grateful for the many lessons you've each taught me through the love you have for one another! I only pray that I'll be the type of wife and mommy that you've taught me to be and teach Aly the same.

Here is a brief Photo Album - - - some old and some new and that'll be it for now - - - until our next BLOG!

Early June Greetings and Such