The Gravy Train: October 2009

Family Pictures 2009

A friend of mine from jr. high/high school took our family pictures this year and I absolutely LOVE them!!! She did an awesome job. She is working on a website that I will post about when it's done. Here are most of the pictures....don't look too close because one or two might be appearing on our Christmas card this year. Thanks Lindsay! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Kessie for letting us use your beautiful place for a backdrop.

Graves Family 2009

This is my favorite of Chase by himself(----please refer to the terrible 3 post----I think he liked me that day)

Chase with Colten's bear

Second favorite of Chase

This is my FAVORITE!!!! Look closely to see Colten's bear in my hand. This is exactly what I had in my head when I was thinking about our family pictures this year. AMAZING!

Chase and his best friend..."white gwanky(blankie)"

Chase and his terrible 3's.

Some recent pics of the little monster! I have heard from many people that kids don't have the "terrible two's" they have the "terrible three's". I TOTALLY believe it. Chase is becoming VERY independent(and bossy I might add). He continues to do well with potty training though and is talking up a storm. Repeats EVERYTHING!

I did not get the mom of the year award today when Chase said to me "You're mean mommy!" Awesome. I guess not everyday is perfect.

Sporting my Lady Eagle Soccer hat.....it's a few years old.

Enjoying some fall weather outside

He totally put this outfit together...I take no credit

We'll see how mean his mommy really is when I show his girlfriend this picture in a few years.

My mom

Taken on my birthday 9-7-09 before we headed out for some shopping(please ignore the sink full of dishes in the background. It was my birthday...I was not doing the dishes!).

I don't think I've ever done a post about my mom. Well it's long overdue. My mom is AWESOME! I probably haven't posted about her because I take it for granted too often the many things she does for me. Well, first of all, she loves the Lord and I am so very thankful that she raised me in a home where HE was #1. Even though I'm not sure I always wanted to listen (teenage years maybe?), I know now how important it is to have Christ at the center of a home.

We both share the love of shopping, purses, shoes, jewelry, and CHOCOLATE. Thank you mom for instilling these obsessions in me. :)

My mom is a wonderful listener, she ALWAYS lets me vent on the phone when I'm having a bad day. She always watches Chase when we need help and he LOVES to go to her house. She is even a good sport when Chase picks Paw Paw over her when they are both home.
I am amazed at how compassionate my mom is....she works at a funeral home and loves it.
Not many people can say they "love" their job, but she does. I know there are days when it's crazy but she keeps going back. I don't have enough time or words to describe how awesome the people are at the funeral home where she works. AMAZING!

I know there are many more things I could say about my mom. Most of all I just want to thank her for being so wonderful!!!

FRIENDS

We got to enjoy a night out (kid-free) with our very good friends the Eberly's and Sefton's a few weeks ago. It was much needed with the upcoming basketball season quickly approaching. We have met both families through coaching and they are a very big part of our lives! We went to Takaoka for Shelley's birthday and bowling afterwards (I'll spare you those pictures).

Shelley and her birthday ice cream

Shelley and Brett

Jay and Erica

Chad and I

The girls....Erica, Shelly and I

Scrapbooking/29th Birthday

I've been avoiding posting these pictures because it means I am accepting that I am actually 29 years old. UGH! But I did get to scrapbook for many, many hours the day before my birthday, which was actually September 7th. My very fun friends threw me a little suprise birthday party at our scrapbook event the day before my birthday. I had so much fun!

I can't describe to you how much I love this hobby!!!! The church I grew up in has a very nice building that I rent every few months for some hard core scrapping. I'm telling ya.....love it! In case you don't really know what goes into scrap booking, and you might be thinking that I'm pretty crazy right now, let me list for you a few things that come along with me to a scrapbook day, in addition to the many bags and totes that carry my much needed scrapbook tools(which you can see in the following pictures). It's not just a bunch of girls slapping some pictures on paper. :)

In no particular order:

Peanut butter m&m's: this is a MUST have at any scrapbook event. (I suppose any chocolate candy would do if you don't like peanut butter)
Slippers
Pillow to sit on: The chairs get kind of hard after a while
Blanket: for those of us that get chilly
Movies: preferably chick flicks
Food/Snacks/Desserts
Band aids: it gets pretty rough
Caffeine!!!!!!

I don't usually take pictures when we scrap but I will be scrap booking these pictures of us scrap booking very soon. I'm obsessed!