Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

I made a countdown at school to prepare me for Thanksgiving Break. Needless to say, I have been looking forward to a break like none other. Work has been extremely stressful and tiring lately. It is hard for me to make it to 3:15 everyday. I need a "nap time" planned in my schedule. Do you think I could talk my administration into that? I know several pregnant women at SMS that would love me if I could. When we got out of school Friday instead of getting the break that I had prepared myself for I had a busy weekend/week ahead of me.

I planned our "Maternity Pictures" for Saturday, November 19, 2011. I have been looking forward to them for a while now, but have also been stressing out about what I would wear. It is extremely hard to look "cute" being 8 months pregnant and I thought all my clothes were disastrous. Thanks to the help of JoAnne, Lauren, and Janie Rose maternity section I had several cute outfits for the photos! Now, I said that I was looking forward to the pictures... I didn't tell you how Scott felt about them. He was NOT looking forward to them at all. I warned him that it may be a little awkward, but that it was worth it. We met Rachel Elliot in Batesville at her house the following Saturday to begin the session. It was a beautiful day, the only thing that stood in our way of great pictures was the wind. Rachel is such an awesome photographer that she got great pictures regardless of the wind. We went to several locations, all of which were perfect for Scott and I.

This was taken at Rachel's house. She has a perfect home for great fall photos.

This was also at Rachel's house.

This was in a field on the side of the road... We were trespassing! But, the pics she took here came out great.

This is one of my favorites!

I like this one of Scott and I a lot.

Sweet Baby Suzy!

The pictures came out absolutely perfect. I will definitely be a long time customer of hers! Look her up on facebook!! Rachel Atkinson Elliot. You will not be disappointed I promise.

I finished out the weekend being a lazy bum. I should have been cleaning my house and doing other "wifely duties", but I couldn't make myself do anything.

Mom and I left for Houston, Alabama the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. My parents and grandparents bought a lake house on Smith Lake. The house is an older home that needs some work, so while the family was off for Thanksgiving Break we decided that we should go work on the place while we had longer than just a weekend. This was my first trip to the house since they bought it, because there isn't much work that I can do. So, Tuesday afternoon me, mom, Bella, Lola, and Lucy loaded up in my Tahoe and headed to the lake. We got there around 8 o'clock PM and mom took me on the grand tour of the house. They have made Casey and I believe that the house was way worse than it actually is. All the house needs is a little TLC, Clorox, paint, and flooring!! I was thrilled to see for myself that they had over exaggerated the "roughness" of the house. Memaw and Ricky showed up at 11 PM Tuesday night. This meant that me, Mom, Memaw, Ricky, Lola, Bella, and Lucy all slept in mom's camper (no one could sleep in the house until Dad got there the following day with mattresses). I got absolutely NO sleep. The dogs were so confused and antsy that they kept all of us up all night long. When we woke up Wednesday morning Mom and I went to town (Jasper, which is 30 mins away) to pick up some paint for the upstairs bedrooms and look for me some bedding for mine and Scott's room. We had a successful trip!! While we were gone to town a lady came and measured the house for carpet. We painted and cleaned for the next 2 days. On Thanksgiving, since the house isn't "live in ready" we didn't have the traditional Thanksgiving Meal. Mom brought her croc pots and stuff to make a roast, potatoes, rice, green beans, and rolls. It wasn't a turkey, but it was amazing after a long day's work and 2 days of fast food meals to have a good home cooked meal. I left the lake Friday around 3 o'clock. I had all the fun I could stand. I was sore from head to toe. It sure is hard to get around and do anything with an extra 25 pounds to lug around!! I decided that I needed to go home and rest before I had to go back to work Monday. I was so thrilled to see my bed Friday night!!!!

I love this house! They did a great job picking it out! 5 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and a full basement. It will be the perfect spring and summer getaway! I cannot wait to take Suzy!

Just another shot from the side. The yard looks much better now. Mom attacked it with the leaf blower!

Right out the back door on the deck. It has it's own floating boat dock and swim pier. The staircase in the picture takes you straight down a cliff of rocks to the water. Amazing!!

I am so ready to go back in the next couple of weeks. The carpet will be put down, so we can start setting up bedrooms!!! So, so, so exciting! I am so proud of my family for being able to have a 2nd home. My dad has always wanted to have a lake house! He finally got what he wanted :) All the hard work will definitely pay off.