Last Wednesday we got a visit from my Nonnie, Aunt Sharon, & cousin Johanna. It's been a long time since we've seen each other, maybe 8 years. We enjoyed visiting and catching up over dinner at Carraba's. Here are a few pictures.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Atlanta/South Carolina Trip
I just love the little town of Woodstock. It's nestled around the railroad tracks with the old railroad station converted into a Mexican restaurant. We had a delish dinner on the rooftop with a 360 degree view of the town.
The next day we were off to South Carolina. Doris and her two cousins were turning 60 and there was a surprise birthday party planned for them. I think the ladies were surprised and had a great time!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Football!!
We love Football in this house! Brandon was so excited to have Sunday at home to watch football. We were up at 730 for the early church service. He did yard work for an hour and was in the house by 1150 for his 12pm game! Here's a picture of what the rest of the day looks like! Kobe enjoys football season as much as Brandon I think.
I made Frank's Buffalo Chicken dip today for the game. Oh my...so good. We had to put it in the fridge just to stop eating it. Here is the recipe.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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| Kobe and Brandon watching the Falcons game. |
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| Checking scores on the phone while watching the game. |
I love this fuzzy Redskins blanket. It must be 15 years old. It was my Grandmother's and always laid on the back of her couch. Why did she have a Redskin's blanket? She wasn't a Redskins fan, although she was a lover of football, especially Alabama football. As a kid I never thought to ask her why she had this blanket. Most likely she bought it at a yard sale or someone gave it to her. Anyway, after she died I kept it and used it occasionally. After meeting Brandon and discovering his love for the Washington Redskins I pulled this blanket out of the closet and placed it on the back of the couch. That's where it has stayed for 5 years since we bought the house. It's in the man room surrounded by other football decor so it matches perfectly. Thanks for the blanket Grandma.
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| The most amazing dip ever!!! Check out the recipe. |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup ranch salad dressing
1/2 cup Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cans (12.5 oz. each) SWANSON� White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained
(Notes: You can use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store instead of canned chicken. Also, you can substitute blue cheese dressing instead of Ranch if you'd like.
HEAT oven to 350F. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.
MIX in salad dressing, Frank's RedHot Sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken.
BAKE 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir.
Enjoy!
MIX in salad dressing, Frank's RedHot Sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken.
BAKE 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir.
Enjoy!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Babies!!
I'm just so excited at all the recent births! Many of our friends have given birth in the last few months and I just have to post some pictures of these sweet little angels! I was lucky enough to get to see each other them shortly after they were born and it's the best thing to hold a newborn baby. I can hardly wait to hold my own!
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| Kellen Carter born July 2, 2011 |
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| Lakyn Cumby born July 19, 2011 |
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| Rose Polpanich born September 5, 2011 |
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Labor Day Weekend
Brandon's parents came down on Thursday to spend the weekend with us. Friday we spent the day at Goosepond at Lake Guntersville. We took the wave runner, a few chairs, some lunch, and relaxed all day by the lake. Unfortunately, the lake was covered with mill foil and the main channel was blocked so we couldn't get through on the wave runner. I enjoyed most of the day under the trees relaxing in our zero gravity chairs. If you do not have a few of these they are the most amazing chairs ever! I can't believe we waited so long to get them. We can sit by the lake (or in our back yard for that matter) for hours in these chairs. Here's the link if you want to check them out. Cabela's Zero Gravity Chair
Anyway, we enjoyed the lake and then around 5pm went into The Docks restaurant. It's a great place on the lake, just wish it was on a different lake. They have amazing food, a great bar atmosphere if that's what your looking for, and usually have live music on the weekends. The deck is great for watching the sunset on the water and it's literally just off the pier from the water.
Labor Day weekend is special to us because we were married that weekend in 2009. Our anniversary fell on Tuesday this year. We had originally planned to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants 801 Franklin. Unfortunately, they closed down last month. I was so disappointed. Instead we had dinner at Cotton Row. It was fabulous! The food was so good! We exchanged gifts when we got home and here is what I got! I'm super excited about my new camera. I haven't done much with photography in about 10 years so I'm looking forward to learning...again.
Brandon had a good night as well. He got a Ruger 10/22 Rifle to add to his collection. He was very happy. He works so hard to provide for us, he deserves it. :) He's looking forward to going to Dad's farm to shoot!
All in all it was a great anniversary. It's not about the nice dinner or new toys. It's about celebrating such an amazing marriage that we share. We are so blessed to be married to our best friends.
Yesterday was also our 5 month appointment at the doctor. We told the doctor that I was still sick. He said, "Well, you just might be one of the one's that stays sick until you deliver." Yay! I know it will be worth it though, such a small price to pay. We got to hear the heartbeat and scheduled our next ultrasound for Sept 27. So then we will know what we are having! What will it be?
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| Richard, Doris, & Brandon at Goose Pond Colony |
Anyway, we enjoyed the lake and then around 5pm went into The Docks restaurant. It's a great place on the lake, just wish it was on a different lake. They have amazing food, a great bar atmosphere if that's what your looking for, and usually have live music on the weekends. The deck is great for watching the sunset on the water and it's literally just off the pier from the water.
The rest of the weekend was spent working on putting down the new flooring in the hallway and guest bedroom. Doris and Richard were a big help. And the floor looks great! I'm excited to get it down in the rest of the house. Of course we are still waiting on the cabinets to come in for the master bath remodel, so hopefully that will be this week and we can move on from the bathrooms. Here are a few pictures of our progress.
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| All Done! Thanks Doris & Richard! |
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| He's exhausted! |
Labor Day weekend is special to us because we were married that weekend in 2009. Our anniversary fell on Tuesday this year. We had originally planned to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants 801 Franklin. Unfortunately, they closed down last month. I was so disappointed. Instead we had dinner at Cotton Row. It was fabulous! The food was so good! We exchanged gifts when we got home and here is what I got! I'm super excited about my new camera. I haven't done much with photography in about 10 years so I'm looking forward to learning...again.
Brandon had a good night as well. He got a Ruger 10/22 Rifle to add to his collection. He was very happy. He works so hard to provide for us, he deserves it. :) He's looking forward to going to Dad's farm to shoot!
All in all it was a great anniversary. It's not about the nice dinner or new toys. It's about celebrating such an amazing marriage that we share. We are so blessed to be married to our best friends.
Yesterday was also our 5 month appointment at the doctor. We told the doctor that I was still sick. He said, "Well, you just might be one of the one's that stays sick until you deliver." Yay! I know it will be worth it though, such a small price to pay. We got to hear the heartbeat and scheduled our next ultrasound for Sept 27. So then we will know what we are having! What will it be?
Sunday, September 4, 2011
We're Pregnant!
Baby Jennings is expected to arrive on January 25!! Yep, we are 19 weeks pregnant this week.
Back in the winter Brandon and I decided it was about time to add a little addition to our little family. On May 18 we found out we were pregnant. So here is a recap of the last 19 weeks of this exciting adventure.
MAY - Playing the waiting game
This was the longest wait ever! Are we pregnant yet, are we pregnant yet? Seems like time just stood still. But finally, one morning before work we got that extra little pink line. I went running to the bed (Brandon doesn't get up quite as early as I do.) He was still half asleep as I was trying to explain to him that there were TWO pink lines! After a minute or two of squinting and moaning he realized what I was trying to tell him. Then I saw that sweet smile. We were both so excited. Now-when do we tell?
That weekend was my nephew's birthday party. I knew I would be seeing my Mother and that would be a great time to tell her the news. Brandon would be traveling out to Arizona that weekend, so he would tell his Mom on the same day while he traveled. We were so excited to share the news with our parents. Now-to keep the secret a little longer from everyone else.
July-Doctor's Appointment and Lots of Travel!
At the beginning of July we had another doctor's appointment and got another ultrasound! Baby Jennings was very active in there and even gave a wave to the camera. Again we had a strong heartbeat and a healthy report from the doctor.
In July we spent a lot of time out of the state. Our first stop-Watt's Bar Lake for our 4th annual July 4th celebration with the Polpanich's. We love spending July 4 in Kingston, TN. We were excited to tell the news to all our friends as soon as we got there. This year was especially great since Carmen was expecting her first baby in September. We had a lot of prego stuff to talk about!
Our next trip was to Savannah, GA. Brandon had been a long time ago but I had never been and was very excited to see this beautiful city. I was not let down. The city was gorgeous. We took a ghost tour late one night and really enjoyed learning about all the ghosts of Savannah. We also took a Civil War tour that was very interesting. The baby was still a secret to most people at this point and it was still possible to hide my little bump depending on the clothes that I had on. The nausea was still constant, but tolerable if I kept food in my stomach. So I ate frequently...the baby got a lot of fried green tomatoes on that trip!
Our last trip was to Funfest. We go to Funfest in Brandon's hometown of Kingsport, TN every July as well. It's a week long celebration and we usually are able to catch the last weekend that includes a big concert, hot air balloons, and lots of yummy food. Well..usually the food is yummy, but being pregnant kind of puts a spin on things in the food department. :( As usual though, we had a great time. The weekend also included our nephew Kamden's 2nd birthday party. After the party we hit the road, bringing along our niece Kaylee to spend a few weeks with us in Alabama.
While Kaylee was here at the end of July/early August we visited Point Mallard in Decatur. Fun times, but limited due to being pregnant. I so wanted to go down all the water slides. I ended up watching Kaylee slide and dive and had a good time anyway. Brandon's sister and brother in law came for Kaylee's second week in Alabama. We took a trip to the lake and hung out at Wheeler State Park. I'm still riding the wave runner but being very careful...no jumping barge waves. :( Brandon does not allow me to go out alone and we stay at a safe speed. We are debating on selling the wave runner, but it will be hard to part with. We just love the lake too much!
August- 4 Month Appointment & We need a nursery!
August is already here and we have no nursery! Out with the office! We cleaned out the office and moved one desk into the man room. It actually works pretty well. We sold the other desk and furniture in our yard sale and are able to now prepare for the nursery. Brandon removed the carpet in preparation for new flooring. He has worked so hard remodeling our house and he's determined to make the nursery perfect for our little one! He patched the drywall and Mom came up to help me paint. Brandon bought me a special mask so I could paint without getting our baby high. We decided on a neutral color so that it will work for a girl or boy.
In August we went "public" with the news and posted our announcement on Facebook. Most of our close friends knew by that point but lots of people that we have not seen in a while did not. It was fun to read all of the comments and see people's reactions.
We had our next doctor's appointment in August also. No ultrasound this time, but we got to hear the heartbeat. Strong and healthy! I think it's a boy. I don't know why and I hate to speculate..but for some reason I think of it as a him. But...maybe it's a girl? We'll know in October and announce it at our baby shower in November.
August brought more work on the house. We are in the middle of remodeling our master bathroom as well as starting on the nursery. We removed the floor, finished the sheet rock and installed the toilet so far but we are still waiting on the cabinets to arrive. The counter top is sitting in our dining room until the cabinets arrive. While we wait on that to be delivered we continue to work on the nursery. The new flooring goes down with the help of our friend Chip. It looks amazing. I'm very happy that the nursery is coming together so quickly. I love to see Brandon working so hard and the pride he takes in making sure everything is perfect for our baby's room.
Back in the winter Brandon and I decided it was about time to add a little addition to our little family. On May 18 we found out we were pregnant. So here is a recap of the last 19 weeks of this exciting adventure.
MAY - Playing the waiting game
This was the longest wait ever! Are we pregnant yet, are we pregnant yet? Seems like time just stood still. But finally, one morning before work we got that extra little pink line. I went running to the bed (Brandon doesn't get up quite as early as I do.) He was still half asleep as I was trying to explain to him that there were TWO pink lines! After a minute or two of squinting and moaning he realized what I was trying to tell him. Then I saw that sweet smile. We were both so excited. Now-when do we tell?
That weekend was my nephew's birthday party. I knew I would be seeing my Mother and that would be a great time to tell her the news. Brandon would be traveling out to Arizona that weekend, so he would tell his Mom on the same day while he traveled. We were so excited to share the news with our parents. Now-to keep the secret a little longer from everyone else.
Almost immediately I was sick with nausea 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It was hard to keep my secret at work when the other nurses would come in to find me snacking on saltine crackers and ginger ale each morning. Only one nurse spotted me and knew right away after spotting me in the break room looking a little green and sipping on ginger ale. She kept my secret until I was ready to tell though.
At this point, several of my friends are also pregnant and most of them quite a few months ahead. I'm so happy because I know I will get lots of advice from these women on what to expect! My friend Sara's baby shower was just a few days before we found out we were pregnant. We went up to celebrate the night before with the husband's and enjoy the shower with the wives! I was excited to see Sara and Aminee who would both be delivering this summer. I just wish they didn't live so far away! They were very cute preggers. They assured me that it would happen for us in no time and they were right!
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| Haley, Sara, Aminee, Ashli |
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| Brad, Chip, Brandon |
June-Our First Appointment
Our first appointment was on June 14. Brandon had just gotten back into town from Arizona and we were very anxious to see our little baby for the first time. We didn't know what to expect from the appointment, but we were hoping for a picture! Here is what they showed us! It was just a little peanut but it had a healthy heartbeat already. It was a sweet sound to hear! | |||
| 6 weeks |
July-Doctor's Appointment and Lots of Travel!
At the beginning of July we had another doctor's appointment and got another ultrasound! Baby Jennings was very active in there and even gave a wave to the camera. Again we had a strong heartbeat and a healthy report from the doctor. In July we spent a lot of time out of the state. Our first stop-Watt's Bar Lake for our 4th annual July 4th celebration with the Polpanich's. We love spending July 4 in Kingston, TN. We were excited to tell the news to all our friends as soon as we got there. This year was especially great since Carmen was expecting her first baby in September. We had a lot of prego stuff to talk about!
Our next trip was to Savannah, GA. Brandon had been a long time ago but I had never been and was very excited to see this beautiful city. I was not let down. The city was gorgeous. We took a ghost tour late one night and really enjoyed learning about all the ghosts of Savannah. We also took a Civil War tour that was very interesting. The baby was still a secret to most people at this point and it was still possible to hide my little bump depending on the clothes that I had on. The nausea was still constant, but tolerable if I kept food in my stomach. So I ate frequently...the baby got a lot of fried green tomatoes on that trip! 
Our last trip was to Funfest. We go to Funfest in Brandon's hometown of Kingsport, TN every July as well. It's a week long celebration and we usually are able to catch the last weekend that includes a big concert, hot air balloons, and lots of yummy food. Well..usually the food is yummy, but being pregnant kind of puts a spin on things in the food department. :( As usual though, we had a great time. The weekend also included our nephew Kamden's 2nd birthday party. After the party we hit the road, bringing along our niece Kaylee to spend a few weeks with us in Alabama.
While Kaylee was here at the end of July/early August we visited Point Mallard in Decatur. Fun times, but limited due to being pregnant. I so wanted to go down all the water slides. I ended up watching Kaylee slide and dive and had a good time anyway. Brandon's sister and brother in law came for Kaylee's second week in Alabama. We took a trip to the lake and hung out at Wheeler State Park. I'm still riding the wave runner but being very careful...no jumping barge waves. :( Brandon does not allow me to go out alone and we stay at a safe speed. We are debating on selling the wave runner, but it will be hard to part with. We just love the lake too much!
August- 4 Month Appointment & We need a nursery!
August is already here and we have no nursery! Out with the office! We cleaned out the office and moved one desk into the man room. It actually works pretty well. We sold the other desk and furniture in our yard sale and are able to now prepare for the nursery. Brandon removed the carpet in preparation for new flooring. He has worked so hard remodeling our house and he's determined to make the nursery perfect for our little one! He patched the drywall and Mom came up to help me paint. Brandon bought me a special mask so I could paint without getting our baby high. We decided on a neutral color so that it will work for a girl or boy. 
In August we went "public" with the news and posted our announcement on Facebook. Most of our close friends knew by that point but lots of people that we have not seen in a while did not. It was fun to read all of the comments and see people's reactions.
We had our next doctor's appointment in August also. No ultrasound this time, but we got to hear the heartbeat. Strong and healthy! I think it's a boy. I don't know why and I hate to speculate..but for some reason I think of it as a him. But...maybe it's a girl? We'll know in October and announce it at our baby shower in November.
August brought more work on the house. We are in the middle of remodeling our master bathroom as well as starting on the nursery. We removed the floor, finished the sheet rock and installed the toilet so far but we are still waiting on the cabinets to arrive. The counter top is sitting in our dining room until the cabinets arrive. While we wait on that to be delivered we continue to work on the nursery. The new flooring goes down with the help of our friend Chip. It looks amazing. I'm very happy that the nursery is coming together so quickly. I love to see Brandon working so hard and the pride he takes in making sure everything is perfect for our baby's room.
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