Three Years Ago...

Three years ago, we started our amazing journey!

Photo by our super talented cousin and her incredibly gifted husband, www.allisonrodgers.com.

Happy Anniversary, Britton!

Worthy of a Post

Welcome to our niece, Lydia!

Congratulations, Brent, on completing your third year of Dental School! 

Last Weekend of June

We had a very eventful weekend and still managed some time to work on the house.  I say the weekend started with Britton's last softball game of the season even though it was just Thursday night.  In the bottom of the final inning Britton got up to bat.  His team was down by two with the bases loaded and two outs.  Britton had a full count, and hit hit it out to right field where the right fielder missed it and it skipped back to the fence.  In the park GRAND SLAM and his team won the game!  I was so proud!

Friday my mom helped me work on our house.  She is such a hard worker.  When I told her I was done for the day and she could go home, she replied that she had a few more things she wanted to get done before she left.  I know if my mom was working on the house every weekend it would have been finished months ago.  After a day full of work, Britton and I met my friend Laura in Taylor for a George McConnel and The Nonchalants concert in the lawn of the Plein Air Neighborhood.

Laura stayed with us on Friday night.  Saturday morning Laura and I went back out to Taylor to visit the Taylor Farmers Market.  We also looked around the Antique store there where I found a great painting of what I see out my car window this time of year driving in Mississippi...no, not cotton, but hay bales.  I loved this painting and quickly snapped a photo in hopes to find more works by the same artist.

After the Farmers Market, Laura pitched it with some painting and moving at our house before she headed back home.  We posed for a picture in the backyard.

The self timer on the camera worked pretty well, and what you don't see is Angie and her friend Digory trying to figure out what we were doing running to a spot and standing still.  See their curiosity below.

Sunday we went to "Tula Homecoming."  Tula is the community where my grandfather farmed and my mom and her three sisters grew up.  We enjoyed the worship service at the Tula Baptist Church before feasting on a down home meal.  The special music at church was two older gentlemen picking the guitar and singing bluegrass hymns.  The music ended with I'll Fly Away and the whole congregation joined in.

After a drive out to the farm, we came back home just in time for my brother Brent and his girlfriend to arrive for a visit.  We made our way to the square where we enjoyed the AC at Square Books and at some frozen yogert at Ya Ya's (my second visit to Ya Ya's in two days).

We also made Kirsten take the typical tourist picture with William Faulkner on the Square.

And we finally ended the night with a picnic in the Grove at Ole Miss listening to the Germantown Symphony.  It was a wonderful summer night; the threat of rain past not without leaving a beautiful rainbow. By the last song, most commonly known to my generation at the "Beef...It's what's for dinner" tune, the crickets seemed to be competing with the musicians for our applause. 

What a wonderful weekend.... Can we do it all again?

An Open Door

Britton recently started his own construction company.  The name of his company is Winters Construction.  I am so proud of him!

A Tale of Four Littles

My sister-in-law Whitney just started blogging.  She blogged about her recent trip to visit us!

Whitney and Boston are always doing something exciting!
A Tale of Four Littles

Oklahoma

I'm catching up with all that has been keeping us busy the past few months.  We made the trip to Oklahoma to see Boston get his wings from the Air Force!  Congratulations Boston!

While we were there we stayed a few extra days with my college roommate Jennifer.  Jennifer is quite the hostess.  We had the best time staying with her.  It was an awesome trip to Oklahoma!

Motherhood

 My Mom and Me

I know having a puppy is not the same as being a mother, but every once and a while I get glimpse into motherhood in my relationship with my dog Angie.  These small glimpses humble me because of my own mother's unconditional love for me.

1.  Angie puts her head on my chest when she gets in our bed at night.  When my four pawed baby does this, it reminds me of how when I was very young, even after my twin brother and sister were born, my mom would snuggle in bed with me until I fell asleep every night.  Sometimes when she would sneak out of the room, I would hear her and wake up.  She would get back in bed until I fell back to sleep.  A mother's love comforts.

2. If Angie needs to go outside, eat, go for a walk or anything else,  she sits at my feet to let me know.  I think about all the times my mom has provided for me even through the sacrifice of her own needs.  She would take me shopping when I needed a new dress for a party even though shopping is not her favorite, and she would stay up late helping me with homework until I really "got" the math problem. When I had a huge project due for my interior design degree one summer, she came and stayed with me to make sure I had food to eat and help me finish up the project.  (Don't be fooled into thinking they just hand out interior design degrees; it was alot of work!)  Finally, when I was in high school she went without a car so I could drive her car to and from school with my brother and sister.  My mother has sacrificed to provide for me and my siblings in more ways than I will ever know.

3.  Finally, Angie is an adventurer.  She knows so many ways to get out of the backyard.  I would see her out the front window and take off after her, and she would only run further down the street.  Britton convinced me that she only runs further because she can still see me following her, and if I didn't follow her she would come back home.  Well, he was right.  And, yesterday at Britton's parents' she would run off, and when she realized we weren't chasing her, she would come back to where we were in the backyard.  At one point she followed the boat we were in down the shoreline and then tried to get in the boat to be with us. Letting Angie go when she runs off is one of the hardest things for me to do.  I want to chase her; I want to make sure she doesn't run into the wrong dog and get hurt. But seeing her swim across the lake to be near me was worth the letting go.  My mom is always one to let us make our own decisions.  Maybe she trusts that she had raised us well, but more importantly she trusts God and that He has a plan for our lives.  So now as we have all graduated  college and pursue our dreams, leaving our parents "empty nesters", we enjoy coming home for days like mothers' day, because not only do we want to be with her, but we want to be like her.

Part of my mom's veil was sewn in my wedding dress.

What made me think about this today?  While visiting my friend Audra and her new baby boy last week she said that she commented to her mom that her mom could not understand how much she loved her baby boy. Audra's mom said, "Yes, I do; that is how much I love you!".
Mom,  thank you for all the ways you love me!

My mother-in-law, me, and my mom

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, my mother-in-law, my wonderful aunts, grandmother, and all the other mothers who have shaped my life and continue to inspire me daily!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Dad & Baby Courtney 1982

This weekend my family gathered to celebrate my Dad's birthday.  He is truly the BEST!  He has so many wonderful qualities; I could go on forever about how he came to all our childhood events, coached our teams, is always there to listen, and is always so PROUD of us.

I was recently reminded of another one of my Dad's amazing qualities. The other day, I saw a little boy with a shirt that boasted, "My Dad Can Fix Anything".  (I thought that if the little boy turned around the back of his shirt might say,"...that I break.")  My Dad really can fix almost anything.

Growing up, I took it for granted that if something broke in our house, my dad would fix it.  His father owned a hardware store and he worked there growing up.  It is in his genes to know the "ins and outs" of how things work.  I bet he was one of those little boys that loved to take things apart and put them back together!  Recently, I was telling my Mom about how I was trying to rewire a chandelier and my mom said, "You know who is really good rewiring lamps and light fixtures... your Dad."  My sister later told me that it was one of my Dad's jobs at the hardware store to rewire light fixtures.  I am so excited to be able to call on an expert to help me rewire the antique chandelier.  I look forward to being his apprentice when we sit down and rewire the chandelier that will hang in our dining room.  But, the more I think about it, the more proud I get that I took the chandelier apart in the first place. Why? Because that means that I have the same genes as my Dad, always trying to fix things.  I am so proud to be my Daddy's little girl!   Happy Birthday Dad!

**Dad, thanks for being the first one to read my blog!

From My Grandmother's House

The newest treasures in our house are very special to me.  The glasses, furniture, and framed prints were all in my grandparents' house when I was a little girl.  I love having things from my grandmother's house in my house.  It makes our house cozier, and I love thinking of her whenever we use the dishes or sit on the sofa.

A picture of my Grandmother and me.

 

These glasses look great with our accent plates in our everyday pattern and our fine china pattern.

 

I added one of her cookbooks to my library... if I only had her roll recipe!  Her rolls would melt in your mouth, but she won't tell a soul the recipe. 

I almost did not get this shelf, but once painted it will be a great addition to our mudroom.

Image via MyHomeIdeas

I used to take afternoon naps on this sofa when I would visit my grandmother.  The fabric screams early 90's right now, but I see potential. See the similar sofa in the photo below.

Image via Domino

 

This table is great for keeping my plants off the floor right not, but once again I see more potential in the future.

  

These prints are great, but the really great part is the convex glass in the frames.  It does not really show up in the photos, but trust me, it is pretty groovy.

And finally one of my aunts gave me these stools.  They fit perfectly under our temporary island table.  That table is a story in itself for another day. 

New Addition to the Jones Family

Britton and I got a puppy from the shelter. She is precious and so sweet tempered. She is a lab mix and around four months old. She is busy training us to be responsible dog owners.


Isn't she cute!!

German Chocolate Cake

Tomorrow is Britton's Birthday. If my kitchen was in working order I would make him his favorite kind of cake... German Chocolate. I made this my grandmother's German Chocolate recipe for the Ole Miss vs. Alabama Game earlier this year to celebrate my mom's and aunts' Birthdays. My mom said MamaBill would have been proud of my cake baking.... but then again she was always proud of her grandchildren!