Blackberry Farm

One of our dear friends had his 40th birthday earlier this year.  To celebrate he invited a group of us to a weekend getaway at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee.  I can not say enough wonderful things about this weekend.  We had an amazing time at an amazing place. 

 When we got there we took a carriage ride through the beautiful property.

 The view from our room.

This swing was such fun!

The food all weekend was incredible, but Friday night's dinner was my favorite. Barbecue, chicken, macaroni and cheese, green beans, some delicious chili lime corn, and cobbler to top it off. 

 Blackberry Farm is a working farm.  It was fun to ride around and see the animals. We had golf carts to use for the weekend, and it was nice to get out and enjoy the property.

Saturday night we had dinner at The Barn. The wine cellar was set up for our group and we enjoyed another wonderful dinner.

 

We stayed up later than we have in a long time talking and laughing.  Lots of laughing. We have been blessed with such an amazing group of friends, and I can't imagine doing life without them.

He is Risen!

Gibbs Gardens

We took our last trip to Gibbs for a while.  Our passes are expiring soon so we may not make it back.  We have enjoyed these beautiful gardens this past year.

Happy Birthday, Kayla!

Kayla is TWELVE!

Twelve years ago today we welcomed this sweet little girl into our family. You filled a hole in our hearts that we didn't even know we had. What a journey it has been to be your mother and to watch you grow!

You are a very independent and responsible young lady. You pick out your clothes for the next day every night before bed. You set your alarm EARLY and get up quickly. I can often find you with a book in your hand, and you are very focused during the school day to get your work done and to do it well. Your initiative during the school day is such a blessing to me as I work with your sisters.

Finding things is not your strong suit. If something is right in front of you then you often won't see it.  You also like to make up pronunciations to words.  You say them so confidently and have no desire to correct yourself.  I'm sure when one of your friends calls you out on it, things may change with that. :)

Some of your favorites are:

movie - Star Wars

TV show - Bringing Up Bates

foods - mashed potatoes, vegetables, noodles

candy - York and Reeses

things to do - clogging, reading, playing outside, talking

Kayla, 

You are such an amazing little lady with a kind, compassionate heart.  You love Jesus, reading your Bible, and singing worship songs and hymns. You love fiercely and are a loyal friend.  You are a deep thinker and like to analyze. Nothing is simple; you always have a complicated plan, but it gets the results you are after. Your sisters just adore you and they want to do whatever you are doing. No matter how early you wake up you always have a smile on your face. 

I'm excited to see what this year has in store for you as you prepare to move into your teenage years. I know it will be a year of growing (in many ways little munchkin), learning, emotions, fun, and learning to love God more. 

I love you my sweet Kayla. 

~ Mama

Strawberry Pickin'

Marc took off for Spring Break after a busy season at work.  We decided to take a day trip to the other side of town for some strawberry picking. We had never done this before, so it was a fun morning that we ended with lunch at the Blue Willow Inn.