Connor will soon have an Uncle...

PETE!!! As most of you probably already know by her blog, Amanda and Pete got engaged this week! We are so excited about having a new member of the family as we sure do love Pete! Connor has always loved Pete and they have become great pals over the last year. Our Amanda sure has found a good one and I know they will be very happy. Congratulations you guys! We cant wait to find out when the big day will be!

Church Decorations

Arrangement on the Pulpit

I couldnt believe how well everything matched their carpet!
Their stained glass windows were beautiful!

Arrangement in the Vestibule Wreaths that hung on the doors entering the sanctuary.Garland and wreath that hung on the balcony.Close up...

Whew, I am finally done with the church Christmas decorations and I was quickly reminded me how much work it is. I had a blast doing it but it was exhausting since I did every thing on my own. I think they were pleased so that made it even more worth it. Now I just have to put up my own decorations, probably tomorrow. I am so behind! Here are a few pictures of the things I did. It doesnt look like much but I promise it took foreversince I did it solo.

Giving thanks!

We had a good day giving thanks to all of our many blessings! As I am sure most of you did, we ate too too much but it was oh so yummy! My favorite dishes are the squash casserole, my grandmothers homegrown cream corn, and the dressing! I really like stuffing also and have enjoyed this from time to time with my Yankee relatives but you cant beat southern dressing with the turkey. Yum, I am getting hungry again just thinking about it. Another favorite of mine that I am sure is only popular at the Neal house is homemade pimento cheese to be used as a dip for celery. I dont even know where this started but as long as I can remember it has always been a staple at the Neal Thanksgiving table. I could eat and eat this stuff!
I wont lie, this year was a very emotional one for me as both sides of the family have lost some very special people this year. This was the first year without my Pawpaw at the Thanksgiving table and of course the Thompsons are still mourning the loss of Aunt Susie from only a month ago. As we speak, Connor is pulling out Christmas decorations out of the box lying in the floor and both things he has pulled out have been things given to us from Susie: a ornament given to me a long time ago and a Santa stocking that she gave to Connor just last year. I am still giving Connor Halloween candy little by little out of the Halloween treat bag that she gave to him just a month ago. It just doesnt seem real. There is also a picture that has been on my end table in the living room with Pawpaw holding Connor and it was taken exactly a year ago yesterday. I still cant believe that he is gone. It seems like the missing him and sadness had gotten easier over the last few months but this holiday was especially hard for me because I cant remember a Thanksgiving spent without him. It truly was his day. He always fixed the turkey and several other dishes at the table and no meal was complete without him making you feel like you should feel your plate to the max and then go back for seconds. Brett and I still laugh about that one. I am wiping away the tears even as I write this because I know it will be no more but I am very thankful for the time I had with him, that Connor remembers him, and all of the family that I do have. Connor continues to amaze me with his memory and as we drove by the cemetery on the way to Grandmas house Thanksgiving morning he said, "Where'd Pawpaw go?" I couldnt believe it. Of course I started crying immediately because I was trying not to focus on this fact, but it also reminded me how lucky I was that Connor got to be with him for his first year of life.
Brads parents came down to spend the night with us yesterday and that was certainly a special treat! We got up this morning and went shopping. We werent the earlybirds that is for sure! I had to wake C up at 9 so we could get going. He was so tired because of no nap yesterday. He did great though and was in a great mood today despite my thoughts of having a cranky toddler in the stores today. We didnt go to too many stores just Toys R Us, Best Buy, and Kohls. We got Connors birthday and Christmas shopping done, bought for our Angels (Angel Tree) and a few other people. Kohls had all of their toys 50% off! I love that place, we just got one in SH and it always has great deals on everything! It is going to be a crazy week at work and home. Connor's party is next weekend- I cant believe it! My baby is going to be 2, well not till the 18th really. We moved his party up since it is so hard to get family together this time of year. We will be celebrating C's birthday on his Daddy's birthday weekend! He said he didnt mind, but we will have to do something special for him since he was so gracious to let us celebrate Connors day on his birthday!
Tomorrow will be spent cleaning my very messy house and putting up the Christmas decorations. It is finally that time of year!

NOTE: The below pictures are the ONLY pics of the day taken before we left for my grandmothers for Thanksgiving. Connor and I were being goofy as you can see so I wanted to share!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

So much to be thankful for... I hope everyone has a wonderful day and takes time to reflect on all that you have to be thankful for!

Cold day at the farm

For Dad's birthday we met at Cracker Barrell and ate the breakfast of champions and then by Dad's wish for his birthday we went to the farm and worked on cleaning out fence rows. Have I mentioned that everyone in my family are very hard workers? Most people want to spend their birthdays with a little rest and relaxation, but not my Dad! We accomplished a lot since everyone was there to help. Thanks to Aunt Hillary for playing with Connor while I helped. It was pretty cold out but since we were working most of the time it helped to warm us up. Connor had a great time, playing golf, watching the cows, running around the farm, playing in Bretts truck, and just watching us mostly. As you saw in the last picture, he was worn out from the day.

Connor watching Uncle Carson digging the very deep hole.He wasnt up to digging...Holding on to Uncle Brett's leg when Grandy started the scary chainsaw!Connor and his Aunt Hillary walking to see the cows. If you look closely you will see that one hand is stuck in his "snack trap". He fell asleep while eating his Cheerios literally!

Happy Birthday Grandy!

Happy Birthday to my Dad (aka-Grandy)! We loved getting to spend time with you today.

We love you!

just a little bump in the road...

Every day it seems like there is another bump or scrape. This has been the worst so far. Connor was wrestling with his Daddy on the couch and when he went to get off he hit the corner of the coffee table very hard! I picked him up and watched this huge knot appear in a matter of seconds right before my eyes. We tried ice, but he would have nothing to do with it. The funny thing is as bad as it looks he didnt cry that long at all. We let him watch Mickey, as we knew that would cheer him right up and keep his mind off of the new "boo boo". Earlier in the day he smashed his fingers in the bi-fold door upstairs. Lately he likes to go into the linen closet and hide. I hope this accident scares him enough not to go in there because sometimes it takes me forever to find him! LOL He is all boy for sure. Last night he was riding his wooden rocking horse while standing on it with one foot! Just another day in the life of a 2 year old.

So I have been tagged again...twice

I had already participated in this because I was tagged by Lacy first, but since I have been tagged twice since then I decided to take the game one step further and use 5's! Here is how to play...find the 5th folder, 5th picture and write 5 things about it and tag 5 more people. I loved that I came across this picture because it brings back some great memories for me!

5 things about this picture...

1. This picture is of Me, Mom, my Great Aunt Grace, Great Uncle Bern, Grandma, Uncle Blake and Aunt Linda. It was taken at my grandmothers house in Lewiston, NY (Niagara Falls) on a visit that me and Mom took in the spring of 2004. (since they would be my Mom's Great Aunt/Uncle- would that make it my Great Great Aunt/Uncle? I said Great because Uncle Bern was my Great Grandfathers brother. Are you confused? I think I just confused myself.)

2. Since we were there Uncle Bern and Aunt Grace wanted to come and visit us. I can remember we sat at the table and talked all about all of the things that Uncle Bern and Aunt Grace had done in their lifetime. Amazing stories! They truly were the "greatest generation". Wars, depression, you name it they have seen it.

3. I was amazed at how sharp they both were. Uncle Bern was well into his 90's in this picture. I cant remember exactly how old, but at the time he still drove and did everything for himself. Uncle Bern has since passed away, but Aunt Grace is doing well.

4. My Uncle Bern was the only living sibling at the time of my Great Grandfather who I have lots of memories of. He reminded me so much of him.

5. I have always marveled at the wisdom and knowledge of my elders. I can only hope to be as sharp when I am that age!

I tag five more people... (sorry if you have already been tagged, I cant keep up anymore)

and so it continues...

1. Betty Apple

2. Tabitha Butler

3. Rachel Brown

4. Carrie Hayes

5. Denira Williams

Happy Birthday to AnAm!

Happy Birthday AnAm! We Love You! Hope you had a wonderful day, sorry we weren't there to celebrate with you. Have a great birthday weekend!

(Note: Both of these pictures are from last year but I loved them both!)

An Am blowing out her candles last year for her birthday at our house.

Love this picture of An Am and her Connor man!

Almost 2!

The terrible twos are definitely here! Dont get me wrong Connor is pure joy and so much fun these days, but there are days when I am "worn down" pretty bad from all of the whining, crying, and indecisiveness of this little boy. His vocabulary has grown quite a bit in the last month and he is now saying 4 and 5 word sentences! Where has my baby gone? Yesterday he told me, "I want more chocolate milk." and "I dont like that apple juice." I was stunned. First of all that he could even say chocolate milk, but mostly for putting all of it together. Today when he woke up from his nap he came into the kitchen where I had been working on the Christmas decor for the church I am doing and said, "Whoo-whee, it's a mess." Again, I was stunned. At least he noticed that it was a mess though. I have to give him extra credit for that! With all of the communication comes some frustration though because now he is so indecisive. He will say he wants something (which by the way I am a little tired of hearing that phrase- I want. I guess I had better get used to it though, hugh?). I get up and get it and then he tells me, "No, I dont like it." Sometimes we will go through this scenario up to 5 times until he finally agrees with something. He has also learned the phrase, "Stop it" and we are doing time out for this one. I knew he was going to learn things but I guess I didnt realize it would be so soon. I suppose that is where the phrase "terrible twos" came from. Today I had to go to the doctor for a sinus infection and the whole staff in the office was looking through the sliding glass window to see who was making all of the racket. When I finally got into the exam room, the doctor must have heard all of the noise and commotion because he came in and said, "Tara, I will be with you in just a second" as to say ("hang in there, I dont want to have to treat you for a mental breakdown!")

I have also been struggling with Connors eating habits. He will only eat a few select foods and lately hasnt been eating those very well. He seems to think that snacks are the only thing that he needs to eat. Ha! Any advice anyone might have on this who has been through it, my ears are open! Tonight I stood my ground and he hardly had anything to eat the whole day. Hopefully he will get it soon. I know they say that they will eat when they get hungry, but it is hard not to worry sometimes.

SO, that is what I have been up to around here. Despite how it might sound, I am loving this age and everything that comes with it. I love watching Connor learn new things and he continues to amaze me with his awesome memory. Another quick story... the other day we were on our way to the store and we passed the cemetery where Pawpaw is buried and Connor pointed and said, "It's Pawpaw". I looked at Brad and said, "Did he just say what I think he said?" Brad wasnt convinced but I know he did because right after he died whenever we would drive by it I would tell him that is where Pawpaw is. He also knows that he is in Heaven, but since I stop by there from time to time I thought he might want to know why we were visiting. It is crazy what they remember at this age.

I wanted to include these pictures of the other night so you could see what a happy boy he is most of the time. I know this is just a phase. I am just trying to enjoy every little minute because his childhood is flying by!

Sleepy head!

This is how Connor woke up from his 4 hour nap today! I have never seen his hair this crazy so I had to get a picture!

Photo Cards for a penny each!

Snapfish is running this great offer right now!! Hurry though, it expires November 23rd!

Get your first set of 20 4" x 8" photo cards for just 20¢ -- that's only a penny each! Choose from over 100 holiday designs that are completely customizable. Just use coupon CARD08 at checkout to save big on your season's greetings. Hurry, this offer ends November 23!

Tagged by Lacy

Ok, so I was tagged by Lacy and now I must tag four people to do the same. This one is for fun! Go to your fourth picture folder and then go to the fourth picture in the folder. Write four things about the picture and then tag four other people. It's amazing what you'll find!!!

4 things about this photo

1. It was obviously taken at Amanda's Roane State graduation.

2. This was before I had a baby and I was definitely thinner. I could never squeeze into this dress right now. Ha!

3. We all look very happy, but I am sure Amanda was most of all to be finished with school forever!

4. This picture makes me miss my college days, well sorta. I went to Roane State for a year and had a great time in studying music. The performances were my favorite and all of the road trips were so much fun! Then it was off to UT for 4 years. There were definitely a lot of times when I never wish to be back there again- all nighters, exams, too much work! Yuck! But I wouldnt trade the experience or the people I met for the world! Fun times!

Now I tag...

1. Amanda Thompson

2. Carrie Hayes

3. Nikki Presley

4. Amanda Wadsworth

Giving treats

Every day we have to make a trip to the pantry to let Connor give Cooper his treats. I think he is learning how great it is to "give" rather than to receive at an early age, or at least that is what I am hoping! Remember his favorite thing about Halloween was also "giving" the candy out. Please excuse my messy house in this video. It was taken before our "pick up" time!

Our new toy!

We have a new toy in our house- we got a Wii! Our Circuit City is one of the three in the state that are closing and we are so sad because it only opened about 3 months ago. However, they have had some good deals so that is one good thing. Those of you who know Brad, know that he is a sucker for electronics and shopping for them. Anytime I even mention that I might want something of this nature- he is ON IT! He called me the other day so excited because he had found a "good deal" on a Wii. He brought it home saying that we could sell it or keep it and have some fun. So, what do you think we did? Of course we kept it. He also bought the Wii Fit and I must say it is pretty cool! As you can see from the video below, Connor loves to play it too! He will say, "I wanna watch" and that means that you sit him up on the coffee table between us so he can see and he watches us play. He is so cute because he gets so excited!

Its been awhile...

I know a lot of you have probably been wondering where I have been or if I have left the blogging world. We have been busy, but mostly I just needed a little break from blogging and have had so many other things that I need to do when I am on the computer. The past month have flown by and I cant believe that Thanksgiving is in two weeks! Wow! For some reason I dont feel like it should be time for turkey and Christmas trees. Usually by this time, I am itching to put up my tree and get decorated so that when Thanksgiving is over it is all up and I can enjoy it. I have taken on a decorating job this year and will be decorating a church in Gallatin for Christmas. It is going to be interesting to say the least because they want it up and ready the week of Thanksgiving! I think once this is behind me, I will be ready to do my own.

We have been spending most of our Saturdays in Rockwood with the family taking care of Susie's things. It is so sad going through all of the memories, pictures, and letters that were left behind and not knowing exactly what to do with them. There are the obvious things that were sentimental to certain people, but then there are things that we have no idea what they were from or what they meant to this special person. Especially since she had no children or a living spouse to share it with or to tell us what it was.

Another thing that we have been dealing with is sickness. Tis the season! Connor got a cold, then we all got it, got over it, and now Connor has another one and I think I am getting that one too. He has had an awful cough all week, but I think he is getting a little better each day. Hopefully we will get over all of this and be back to normal before Thanksgiving and all of the fun happenings in December- Brad's birthday, Connors birthday, Christmas parties, and so on... I promise I wont be this long between posts or at least I will try not to. Hope you all are well and enjoying the season!

One more video

If you are looking at this, you might want to read the next post first. This video kept giving me an error on the last post. Another Halloween video...

Halloween

We had such a fun Halloween this year! Connor really got into it, much more than any of us would have thought. He has been fascinated with pumpkins and loves looking at them and picking them out as we drive. Brad took the small pumpkin to carve and I took the big one. The picture shows me working on the small one because Brad cut the top off and couldnt get his hand in there to clean it out. The carving wasnt as fun as I anticipated because Connor woke up cranky from his nap. He loved them once they were finished though! Since Grandma (Gigi) was still here, her and Nonna came over and got to see Connor for his first real Halloween. Last year we just dressed him up and walked around with him. But this year he really got into the trick or treating. After the first house, he knew just what to do. He grabbed his pumpkin and off he went to get "more canny" as he calls it. Of course he was eating it the whole way in between houses. So cute! The funniest thing though was that he got so excited when kids came to our door. He would make the cutest face and go running and screaming to the door and HE wanted to give out the candy! I got a few videos of this for you to see what I am talking about. I am pretty sure that he didnt get settled down for bed until 11 pm. We got to experience this child hyped up on sugar for the first time! Oh my gosh, it was hilarious. The next morning I had to wake him up at 9:30! Ha!

Grandma and Nonna- we are so glad that you all could come and hang out with us. Connor really enjoyed having you all there!

Connor and Mommy working hard on the pumpkins.

Mommy's Mickey Mouse pumpkinDaDa's boring pumpkin face. Just kidding I think he did a good job for it being his first pumpkin in years! He isnt the creative type if you cant already tell. Ha!Connor's "Happy Halloween" balloons and Blue from An Am and Pete!

The cutest lil' monkey I ever saw! Thanks Ms. Betty for the costume, it was adorable!
Can we go now, Mom?
and we're off...

His very first "trick or treat"
I want suckers!
Going to our door to surprise Gigi! She stayed and handed out candy while we trick or treated since her back wont allow her to walk to far.

We arent sure what this pose was? Monkey pose, maybe?

So we all decided to do our monkey pose!

Uh Oh, the clothes are starting to come off...

and this is our Connor high on sugar!