Indiana State Fair 2009

We were able to take Alyson to her first State Fair yesterday and did she evermore enjoy herself! We all had a wonderful time together... it's always fun to share time with Memaw and Papaw J.!
Because of the heat, we decided to wait until after her nap time to leave. Another great thing to happen, was that Greg was able to get off work just early enough to go with us, rather than meet up with us later! This was an added blessing to the day!
While looking through the Slide Show, you should have been able to see with each caption, most of what we were able to experience. The 'Parade', the silly 'Street Band', the yummy food, the 'Pig Race', the cows, the 'Horse Show', the tractors, the 'Petting Barn', the lights, the 'Dairy Barn', the sounds, the 'Midway' with all it's rides, snacks, etc.!!! (Remember, you can also 'click' on the slide show to be taken directly to the Photo Album...)
So much to do and we tried to get to as much of it, as possible! Special thanks to Memaw and Papaw for one of the best days/evenings of our Summer, thus far! We wouldn't have traded such fun memories made with y'all for "nothin"! THANKS!
Hey everybody, we'll see what we can find to do this week and return with another post next week... take care and have an incredible week with those YOU love!

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!

A Busy Weekend Past and Another Ahead...

WOW! What a weekend we had! We decided to enjoy a "3-dayer" and had so much fun doing it!!! I suppose this was a way to DETOX us from our week of 'Depression'... LOL
We began our weekend on Friday evening with a 'Cousin-Pizza-Party' for some of those who were unable to make the trip South... On Saturday, we decided on a City-Wide Road-Trip... We had sunny blue skies for the entire day (all three days, actually!)... we HIT a few Yard Sales along the way... we made our way Downtown and 'walked' the Mall... stopped for supper (the menu even included Southern Fried Okra - YUM!)... and of course, Saturday wouldn't be Saturday without a stop at good ole' faithful Wal-Mart! All in all, we had a great day!!! We spent the day Sunday at Church, of course... had a lovely meal with friends... and found time to relax and enjoy God's Day while we were at it! Monday morning we headed out to pick up our Washer/Dryer... we also helped another family (in our Church) move a few items of furniture in and out of storage... we then grabbed a bite at Mickey-D's for lunch... we found ourselves at the ZOO for the afternoon and had a blast watching Aly try to figure it all out... by the time we made it home, it was time to put supper on the table for our friends - and NEW MEMBER of the "Indy-Mustangs", an Indiana Semi-Pro Football Team - I believe CONGRATS to be in order... we ended the evening with a wonderful Southern Pecan Pie -n- Ice Cream!
Now, that's one very busy 3-days, if you ask me!!! I 'GOOGLED' a few pictures online and created a Photo Album - of sorts - on our Picasa account. (If you care to view it... you can do so very easily! If you go to any of our BLOG Photo Albums *eg:'Daydreaming of Louisiana'* or BLOG Slide-Shows *eg:'Our New Home* below, they will automatically take you to the Picasa site, where you'll see our 'My Public Gallery'... then, just look for the Album titled, "A Busy Weekend in June".)
Well, it appears that our NEXT weekend will be equally as busy, we'll be joining our Community for a Yard Sale! If you think about us - on Saturday the 7th... say a little prayer that we'll have a good turn out.. great weather... make lots of money... tell others about Jesus... etc.!

Alyson's 2nd Visit to the Photography Studio

Alyson is our DREAM come true... the best of babies, she did an excellent job at her second visit to the Studio... Here are a few photos that we had taken of her last week!!!

A baby is cuddles
and tickles on toes,
the sweet scent of powder,
a kiss on the nose!
A baby is Teddy bears,
rattles, and pins,
meals at midnight,
giggles and grins.

Alyson Dawn's Photography Studio Session #2

Here are a few quotes we found online and thought were pretty cute... (We will soon as possible, be adding pix to the Album so, be on the lookout for more!)

• I love these little people. And it is not a slight thing when they, who so fresh from God, love us. (Charles Dickens)
• It's the 'little blessings' that help us see just how lovely life can be. (Unknown)
  
• Reach for the stars and don't worry about falling - Mommy and Daddy will catch you! (Unknown)
  
• Roses 'round the door, babies on the floor, who could ask for more? (Unknown)
  
• We are always surprised to see girl babies behaving like girls from the very beginning, and boy babies behaving like boys; we seem to imagine that we had to learn it! (Unknown)
  
• You rose into our life like a promised sunrise, brightening our days with the light in your eyes. (Maya Angelou)
• Babies are God's opinion that the world should go on. (Carl Sandburg)
• Babies are such a nice way to 'start' people. (Don Herold)
• A good example of minority rule is a baby in the household. (Unknown)
• Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body. (Elizabeth Stone)
• People who say they 'sleep like a baby' usually don't have one. (Leo J. Burke)
• A baby is born with a need to be loved -- and never outgrows it. (Frank A. Clark)
• A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men. (Martin Fraquhar Tupper)

Looking Back with Fondness While Looking Forward with Excitement

Recently, I was looking through my Mother, Trisha's BLOG and found several photos that brought back MANY fond memories of my childhood... I had such a blessed childhood filled with fun and laughter! I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!
While thinking of the past, I couldn't help but think about the present and the future that lies ahead... I have a wonderful life filled with love and excitement! More than any girl could ask for!!!
I look forward to a future filled with even more fun, laughter, love and excitement! I'm sure there will be many other life-experiences ahead for me to learn from! I have to say, "It's just great to be alive"!!!
Try to take time to check out my Mother's BLOG out at: www.trishastimelesstreasures.blogspot.com
I thought I'd share a little Album of my "Past, Present and Future" with you. Hoping you'll enjoy this little peek into my life!

shelly's past, present and future