Pumpkin Carving

Say Cheese

Annie took the kids out to a little park by us and happened to capture these sweet pictures!

Buddy

Harvest Party

I got to go experience Madison Claire's Harvest Party at school.  It was fun to see her in that environment and see how she interacted with the other kids and her teachers.  I'm thankful that she loves school!

Future Mr. Football

I snapped this picture of Mac on our way home from church one morning.  I looked back there and he was asleep just like this - I promise I did not arrange this pose! 

And...not to be outdown when we were taking pictures of Mac asleep, here is MC in her "asleep" pose.

Home *Sweet* Home

Our current living situation in Memphis has continued to be drama filled throughout the last 6 months.  We came home from one of our beach trips over the summer to find that the house had been flooded.  We had a flash flood in Germantown and apparently the water came in from all of our exterior doors on the left side of the house.  We had a few inches of water in the kitchen, dining room, back hallway and laundry room.  Fortunately, all of our furniture in those areas sits up slightly on legs so we didn't have anything ruined other than some really wet oriental rugs that were able to be cleaned but man, was it a hassle!  We discovered it on a Friday evening and Ryan immediately got in touch with Showhomes.  Before we knew it, the realtor, homeowners wife, homeowners friend, and franchise owner of Showhomes were at our house scoping out the damage and coming up with a plan.  They were there until around 11pm, but got someone in who could take care of getting the water up.

We had a company come and check for mold and fortunately, we didn't have any issues there although the floors in all of those rooms were essentially ruined.  The homeowner was out of the country at the time but as soon as he got back, he got to work on the house.  We now have new tile floors throughout the kitchen and a new drainage system in the backyard to prevent it from happening again.  He also had some serious trees cut down - I tried to capture the backyard via the pictures below, but they really don't do it justice.  The limbs were piled so high in front of our house that from one view from the street, you couldn't see the front door.  It was crazy!



They are planning to replace the hardwood floors on the rest of the main floor in January. While it will be nice once it is done, I will say the hassle of living through a home remodel, when it isn't really your home, is a bit challenging. Hopefully it will go smoothly!

MC's pics

I think we may have discovered a new interest for Madison Claire.  She started showing an interest in taking pictures with my phone and camera a few months ago and then one day, I found my camera with this series of pictures that she had taken without anyone knowing.  Pretty cute how she moved her subject around to different backgrounds and angles.  The McSwain's got her a digital camera for Christmas this year, so now she has her own camera to take pictures with :).  

Go Dores!

Vanderbilt kicked off the college football sesaon this year with a Thursday night game against South Carolina.  We were prepared to cheer!  GO DORES!

Visit with the Stiernagles

The Stiernagles came through Memphis on their way to my parents condo for a vacation in late August.  It was so much fun to have the kids spend some time together.  Madison Claire was excited to have her first official sleepover with Ellie in her room.  It was hilarious - I went up there several times and Ellie was asleep and Madison Claire was still just talking away.  She ended up in our bed both nights, but it was worth a try!  Maybe next time :).  We did succeed in introducing the Stiernagles to Central BBQ and Gus's Friend Chicken, spending some time by the pool, and introducing Ellie to the dreamlight :).   Maybe one day we will live in the same city - wouldn't that be awesome!!