Happy 5 Year Anniversary!!!

5 years ago, on Aug.30, 2003, Jon and I were married! It was a picture perfect wedding with everything exactly the way I had dreamed of. It's hard to believe that 5 years have already passed us by. In the past 5 years we have lived in 3 different states, Jon has been promoted, we had our beautiful little girl, and have most recently been making ourselves at home here in Atlanta, GA.
I just want to take a moment to say thank you to the most wonderful husband I could have ever wished for. Every day I am so thankful that you are by my side and taking this journey through life with me. You are such an amazing father and I am so blessed to have you and Aubrey to share life's special moments with. I love you very much!
Happy 5 years and here's to many, many more to come!!

Happy Birthday Jon!!!

Happy Birthday! Yesterday was Jon's 31st birthday and unfortunately he celebrated it in Charlotte, NC without us!!! But he is coming home tonight and we look forward to celebrating his birthday, and a wonderful year to come!

We are so thankful to have such an amazing husband and father and we love you sooooo much!!!

Hilton Head!!!

We just got home from an absolutely wonderful trip to the beach!!

We went to Hilton Head, and stayed in Sea Pines (courtesy of the kindest boss ever, Rob Sayer!) :) We had a blast. We got there and went straight to the beach where Aubrey entertained herself for hours just playing in the waves and digging in the sand and making friends all along the way! Aubrey and Daddy spent some time making a sand castle which they named their "Meatball Castle".........it was quite a hit with another little beachgoer who then decided it would be fun to destroy it with his dumptruck! Aubrey got into it too though and they both had just as much fun destroying it as building it I think!

We had dinner in Harbour Town and enjoyed the view of the ocean while chowing down on some yummy shrimp and seafood!

Our next day was of course spent at the beach.........all day........and what a beautiful day it was! We had perfect weather the whole time. We ate at Red Fish that night (our favorite!) while Aubrey slept through the entire meal in her stroller........all that fun in the sun wears you out!

We continued our pattern of beaching it, eating and falling asleep early and enjoyed every minute! Our last night we went back to Harbor Town to hang out and eat ice cream and listen to a man by the name of Gregg Russell, who sings songs for the whole family under the big oak tree. All the kids gather up front to hear him and sing along and if they are really lucky he chooses about 5 kids to come up and sing for everyone. (About 200 people or so out there listening!) Well........he picked little Miss Aubrey! She raised her hand and went right up there and did a smashing rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"........it was so precious. Her first performance! She did her mother proud.

So all in all, we had a perfect time.

Here are a few favorite pictures!! And also the video of Aubrey's performance......

:) Enjoy!

Aubrey riding a pony at Lawton Stables!

The Summer Recap!!

As we just got back from our summer vacation I figured it was a great time to do my summer recap! Which really just means that I got behind on my blogging this summer and need to do some catching up!! What can I say?
It has been such a fun filled summer! We have had so many visitors to our home this summer and we have loved every minute of it.


We started off with a visit from our very good friends from Tampa.......The Williams Family. Mickey, Amy, Barratt and Leah drove all the way up to Atlanta to spend some time with us and then head on their way to North Georgia for some camping! Aubrey and Barratt are the same age and have been friends since they were 6 months old......they picked right up where they left off (after not seeing each other for a whole year) and had a blast! They played and swam and we cooked and talked and just had such a wonderful time. We also got to meet and enjoy the precious little Leah! Amy was still pregnant when we left so this was our first time meeting little Leah..........who isn't little anymore! We celebrated her 1st birthday while she was here with some chocolate cupcakes........ :)


Here are a few of my favorite pictures from their visit..........

We miss you guys!! We are so happy you came to visit............ :)

After that Aubrey did her first week of swimming lessons and did great! She still loves the water like she always has......over the course of the summer she has turned into quite the little swimmer! We have a water slide at our neighborhood pool and that is her new favorite thing to do the water slide all by herself! Such a big girl.........

We spent the Fourth of July with the Evans Family and friends up in Braselton, GA. Robert, Kristin, Elizabeth and Jackson hosted a wonderful party and some really great fireworks!! We grilled and the kids played and a wonderful time was had by everyone...........Kristin is one of my oldest and dearest friends, we have been friends since we were 11 years old! That is one of my favorite parts of living in Atlanta.......spending time with all of my friends.

Christa, Jamie and Kristin!

I don't have any pictures, but we also enjoyed a visit from Jessica Brokowsky in July! She came and stayed with us for the night and we enjoyed a girls night out to the W in Midtown and some dinner at The Spice Market! Aubrey enjoyed playing with "Jessie" too...........we had such a great time and it was so good to see her!

That same weekend we enjoyed a surprise visit from Mimi and Aubrey and Mimi had a slumber party! Then next day brought a visit from Uncle Ronnie, Aunt Scarlet and cousins Aiden and Ethan......Aubrey loved playing with her cousins! We went to the pool, went to play at the Jumpy Jump and played here at the house while enjoying some yummy meals and relaxing outside on the patio........

Ethan, Aubrey and Aiden........

The following weekend we had our biggest crew ever at the house! My sister and my nephew, her friend Sarah and her son John, and my cousin, her husband and their three kids all came to stay with us!! Yes, we had a house full, and yes it was a blast. The first night we all went to Stone Mountain and enjoyed an afternoon of climbing up the mountain (okay, not really, we rode the skylift to the top!) and took in the beautiful views from the top of the mountain....then we went and got our spots on some comfy blankets and watched the laser show on the big lawn. Emily and I used to go to the laser show with our parents when we were little girls so it was really special to us to take our kids there! The kids loved the lasers and the fireworks. The music is great and Aubrey enjoyed shaking her booty and dancing! Although she wore herself out and fell fast asleep right in the middle of the fireworks at the end of the show.........but we all really enjoyed it. The next day we all got up and braved Six Flags on a hot, summer Saturday! It was hot and the lines were long, but we all still had a great time. Aubrey rode a roller coaster and that made her day! I rode a few too and realized how old I have gotten since I couldn't believe how "jerky" and "rough" the coasters were..........guess I never noticed it when I was a kid!! Ah well..........

A few favorite pictures from the weekend with the friends and family..........

Austin and Aubrey

Austin, Cole, John and Hunter

Emmy and Aubrey, Sarah and John

And that concludes my summer recap! After that we layed low for a couple of weeks and then headed out for our little summer vacation to Hilton Head! That post to come very soon.........

Hope everyone had a wonderful summer..............we are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends and to be able to enjoy special times together!!!

Just.........

a beautiful picture of my baby girl...........I couldn't resist posting. She is going to be 4 soon and this summer she has just grown so much! Everyday something new and usually hysterical comes out of her mouth! She loves to paint and draw and lately has been very into portraits of herself or her mommy and daddy or her friends..........they are quite funny!

She just finished summer camp and is looking forward to school starting back. We are going to get in a couple of quick vacations before all that though........so many more pictures and a "summer recap" soon to come!!

Until then, hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as we are!!

Fourth of July!

Thank you Kristin for having us over for your 4th of July Party!!! We had a blast!

The fireworks were sooo much fun...........

Just a few pics!

Decatur Beach Party!

We ventured on over to the east side of town and enjoyed a fun afternoon at the Annual Decatur Beach Party!

The kids got to play in the sand, slide, jumpy jump and they had a blast! We walked over to the festivities from Tiff and Dave's house and I think that was Aubrey's favorite part! She says she wants to go back over to Aven's house and ride all squished up in the wagon again.

The weather was great and the festivities were fun!

Enjoy the pics!

Teresa's Design

My mother, Teresa Wood, has a new business designing and making custom, handmade dresses for girls, as well as outfits for little boys. I just wanted to share a few pictures of some of the beautiful dresses she has already made for Aubrey! These are just a few...........many more to come!

She also does coordinating hairbows, or hairbows in any color/style.

If you are interested in contacting her regarding an order please feel free to email her at:

teresasdesign.sewing@yahoo.com

They can be made in many sizes, colors, with or without embroidery, applique, etc.

She does a beautiful job and these dresses have been a big hit!!

Birthday Fun!

Birthday Night Out!

Yesterday was my 31st birthday! It is so hard to believe........

It has been quite a year this past year! A mixture of wonderful, fun, and disappointments along with it all. But I guess all the ups and downs are what make a year in a life feel full. I have been so blessed to get to move back "home" to Atlanta, and have enjoyed every minute of being here! I have a beautiful home, have been able to spend time with so many old friends that I have missed so much over the years, and made new friends that are so wonderful. I have the best job ever! Teaching music to children, and seeing their smiling faces everyday brings so much joy to my heart. I am so happy to have found this job! My daughter is beautiful and growing and happy and healthy. She absolutely amazes me every day. My husband has started not one, but two new positions within the same company within one year and has just thrived. He manages to somehow do his job and be amazing, and still come home and be the best husband and father anyone could hope for. We have been able to travel alot this year and had many opportunities for good old fashioned fun!!

Our heartbreak this year came along with trying so hard to give Aubrey a brother or sister, and losing 3 pregnancies in one year. We are still so hopeful and are working with wonderful doctors and we are really feeling positive about the possibility of another baby! I think it is important to recognize the good and the bad, and know that overall this year has shown me more about all the love I am blessed to have from my wonderful family and friends.

So I am happy on this birthday and looking forward to the next year and all the moments that lie ahead.

Summer Fun!

The summer has just begun, but we are already having so much fun! We have been to visit our Grandmomma in Alabama, to Destin for a little beach time, and had lots of friends and family come to visit us! It has been the start of a great summer.


Aubrey finished preschool for the year and just took her first set of swimming lessons and she is doing great...she really loves the water and loves to swim!


OH, and Jon's new favorite pasttime is making raspberry jam from our raspberry bushes in our backyard.........it is actually really delicious! It has been fondly named "Jonny Jam" and it quite popular around these parts! :)


Here are some of our favorite pics from the end of spring/beginning of summer 2008!

Aubrey and Barratt

First Day of Swim lessons!Last Day of School.....

"Jonny Jam"