Where does the time go???

This fall RHS's class of 2002, my graduating class, will be returning for its homecoming festivities. What?? I have been out of high school for 10 years! That's unbelievable! Even more amazing than that is the fact that I am still blessed to have my circle of friends from high school, Allison, Autumn, Courtney, Roxanna, and Tara. A lot has changed in the last 10 years. We have graduated from college and taken on our own careers. Among us there is a teacher, nurse, accountant, attorney, radiologist, and a Product Support Rep. We have all changed our last names to...Ashley Jeffares, Allison Ray, Autumn Veasey, Courtney Murchison, Roxanna McCollum, and Tara Snyder. We have become mommies... Courtney and Chad have Olivia, and Luke will be here in a few weeks. Autumn and Devin have Haylee and Kaleb, who was born this past April. TJ and I have Kelsi, who was born this past January. Tara and Jade have Sawyer, who was born this past May. Allison and Nick have one on the way. They will find out the sex in a couple of weeks, and he/she is due in January. So as you can tell a lot has changed in 10 years as you could imagine, but one thing has been constant...our circle remains unbroken!!

Every year at Christmas the 6 of us get together and bring the kiddos. Every year we say how we need to all get together during the summer and life has kept us so busy that we haven't...until this year! On July 16th we all got together at my parent's house. It rained most of the day so the pool wasn't an option, but we grilled and gabbed and that's what counts!

It's so neat to see us all with our own families. There were kids and babies everywhere! Haylee and Olivia ate and played Barbies and had a blast. Kaleb and Sawyer "played" on Sawyer's playmat, which basically consisted of them lying next to each other contently, and Kelsi well she was her lively self as usual, squealing and taking it all in. Everyone had a great time and I hope that like our Christmas dinner, this is a tradition that we will start and stick with.

It was so great to see everybody. It's fun to watch the kids grow and catch up with the girls. I can't wait to meet Luke and Baby Ray. I bet there aren't a lot of people who still have the kind of best friends that I do 10 years out of high school. The older I get the more I realized how truly blessed I am! LYLAS Allison, Autumn, Courtney, Roxanna, and Tara...LOL

A friend loves at all times...Proverbs 17:17

                                                                      The Jeffares

                                                                The Murchisons

                                                                      The Rays

                                                                     The Snyders

                                                                    The Veaseys

                                                                     "The Girls"
                                

                                                                         The Kiddos

                                           The Guys...Don't ask why they are posed like that...

                                                                 Olivia and Haylee

                                                                Sawyer and Kaleb

Kelsi's 1st Fourth

We had a lot going on for the weekend of the 4th. We went to Georgia and Kelsi got to meet her Great Grandpa Jeffares for the 1st time. While we were there we picked up Uncle Cody so that he could stay the week with us. That night Uncle Johnathan and Aunt Susanne came to spend the night with us. We all went to see the movie Transformers 3 (something to do with the moon?). Kelsi stayed with the McWhorters for the first time so they could get some grandbaby practice. Sunday we went to Wind Creek to see TJ's mom and some of the family on her side. That night we went back to my parents and Monday TJ, myself, Shaye, and Rachel went to the fireworks show at Kowliga. Kelsi stayed with Grammy and Grandaddy because it was bad weather and it would've scared her being so loud. All in all Kelsi's first 4th was fun, and the next thing we are looking forward to is next weekend's cookout with my girls and all the babies (and hubbies:)!

Mommy side note: Kelsi is growing up so fast. I know she is only 6 months old, but where did that 6 months go? Tonight she is with my parents, and while it is good to relax, I miss her like crazy. I don't know what to do with myself and all of this quiet time! I have really enjoyed spending the summer with her, what a true blessing. Being a mom is full time, but she is everything I ever wanted. I love to see her wake up with that sweet little grin on her face. She gets so excited when someone talks to her. She really is a happy baby. She changes everyday. It's amazing how much a baby grows in 6 months! She used to be such a tiny bundle and now she's pushing 16 lbs! She's very observant and takes in everything. She has a little ladybug toy she's infatuated with, and can you believe at 6 months she loves to watch TV? She will watch Finding Nemo as long as you let her. And she gives her jumper fits. She plays with all the toys, discovering new things and ways to play all the time. Rolling over is no problem, rolling back over can be. She tries very hard to crawl. She can hold her head up and push with her legs, but she hasn't yet discovered how to incorporate her arms into the mix. She's also getting better at sitting up on her own. She can for a few seconds and then she falls over onto the pillow, but we are working on it. She loves eating her baby food now, all kinds. She also has 2 teeth. I usually don't have time to include all these milestones so I wanted to on this blog while I had time. I dread going back to work, but I look forward to getting off now more than ever so that I can go be with my sweet little girl!