WELCOMING OUR NEPHEW

A week ago today my BIL and SIL welcomed their first baby (& the first grandchild in the family! He was born at 9:51pm. We are so happy for them and beyond thrilled that he is HERE and HEALTHY! 

and from one of my favorite children's books....

On the night you were born the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind whispered....”life will never be the same” because there had never been anyone like you ever in the world....Heaven blew every trumpet and played every horn on the wonderful, marvelous night your were born 💙🌙

I drove to the hospital bright and early Wednesday morning and met my in-laws in the waiting room when I arrived. Matthew planned on coming as soon as he finished up at a client that afternoon. They induced my SIL at 4:00am and it was a really long day for both her and my BIL, but they pushed through and were absolute CHAMPS the whole day. Since he wasn't born until 9:51pm, Matthew was able to be there and meet him soon after he was born. 

We decided that I would stay at my BIL and SIL's house to hangout and take care of their dog, Darcy, while they were in the hospital. Thankfully I am able to work from just about anywhere, so I worked at their house Thursday and Friday. I went up to the hospital both afternoons thought to get in all the baby cuddles I could though. They gave me one of his swaddles for Darcy to pick up on his scent and I laid it out on the couch when I got back to their house one night and Darcy took a nap on it....so sweet.

Darcy's face when I explained to him they were bringing him home the next day....

and when I told him he couldn't play with his new brother's toys...

Matthew came back to town on Friday after he wrapped up his work week and we got in even more baby lovin' that night and Saturday morning.

so squishy...love him!

We are smitten and so excited to be uncle Matthew and aunt Shelby to our first nephew!

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WELCOMING OUR NEPHEW

MY SWEET NANNY

On Sunday, October 21st my sweet nanny passed away. On Friday, October 19th she suffered a massive stroke. She fought hard that whole weekend to stay with us, but passed peacefully in her sleep late Sunday morning. After 59 years she is finally reunited with her baby boy and after 17 years she is finally reunited with her husband.

When I think of nanny I think of trying on all her jewelry when I was a child. I think of the small butterscotch pieces of candy she would always have in her purse. I think of her giving me and my sisters a dollar each to put in the offering plate every Sunday. I think of watching ER and Golden Girl reruns, because those were her favorite. I think of seeing her in the stands at all of our softball games. I think of her dumplings and red cinnamon apples at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think of her calling me every single year on my birthday and singing happy birthday to me. I think of how every Wednesday she would get her hair done and then come over for dinner, and every other Wednesday, she’d get her nails done. ❤️ But most of all, I think about how big of a heart she had. She was one of the most caring ladies I know, always looking out for others. She never once hesitated to tell us how proud of us she was and just how much she loved us. I found an old voicemail, from a year ago, from her on my phone the night of her funeral, and it was her calling to check on me because she heard I had a migraine. At the end of the voicemail she said something I’ve heard her say hundreds of times, “nanny loves you hon”. My heart rejoiced and broke all over again. Love you forever, nanny. I’m so thankful you were mine. ❤️

Thanksgiving last year

This picture was taken by my aunt on her phone at our wedding. We had no idea she was taking it and it is one of my favorites. I wish I could remember what we were talking about here!

I took some time off from blogging, understandably, but I couldn't just pick up where I left off without sharing a little bit about my nanny. We are heartbroken that she isn't with us anymore, but also at peace, as we know she isn't suffering anymore. 

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MY SWEET NANNY

WEEKEND RECAP | FALL FUN WEEKEND

Friday night I went to dinner with some friends from work downtown. I am so thankful for these girls and so happy that I have coworkers who I actually want to hangout with outside of the office- they are so fun!

Saturday morning we did stuff around the house and I made it out to three different grocery stores in under two hours...on a Saturday morning...I'd say that's pretty good! Saturday afternoon we went to my parents for my cousin's birthday party and it was a lot of fun! She wanted to do all the fall fun things, so that's what we did. We had our first outside fire of the season to keep us warm and for the hot dogs and s'mores. She had some friends over too, which she really enjoyed and she told me later that this was the best birthday, EVER! Woo hoo for turning 12!
We missed my other sister, who was at the beach for fall break!

My dad has always made a pretty fall setup in our yard every year, and this year he made a huge one. How cute is this?!

 a closer look at this...part of a tree that he hallowed out to sit flowers down in- so cute!

I also got to get some of the sweetest baby cuddles in from my cousin. He is almost 5 months now!

On Sunday morning I taught the kindergarten class at church and they were just the sweetest and funniest group of kiddos! I am so excited to be teaching them some this quarter! After church we came home and I made a big pot of chicken and dumplings- cooler weather means all the comfort food! Sunday was also Reagan's gotcha day (I can't believe we brought her home 2 years ago this past weekend!) and our best friends birthday. Since they were in town we celebrated her birthday with milkshakes at The Legendairy Milkshake Bar! So fun and the shakes were delicious. Matthew and I definitely split one though, because they were HUGE! We got 'Rolling in the Cookie Dough'.

We ended the weekend with a big pot of chili!

Such a fun fall weekend!

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WEEKEND RECAP | FALL FUN WEEKEND

THANKSGIVING | 2017

We are still in disbelief that Thanksgiving is already over, but we had a great long and fun weekend in Murfreesboro with our families!

Matthew and I both worked from home on Wednesday morning, and then I spent the afternoon baking/cooking for the next couple of days. I made three batches of homemade biscuits for us for the next few months and breakfast that morning, my nanny's red cinnamon apples, and a strawberry pie!

I used premade pie crust and it came with two, so I decided to play around with the second pie crust and ended up braiding it for my pie. YouTube and Pinterest definitely make it look much easier, but I just kept playing with it until it looked some what decent and didn't fall apart.

Thanksgiving and Christmas staple in our family.

Thursday morning we headed to my parents house for the day. I helped my mom with cooking, we watched the parade, let the puppies run wild and tire each other out, made a ton of pictures, ate a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, and after everyone left we all watched Christmas with the Kranks before calling it a night.

 

We've made this same sister picture for the past three Thanksgivings, and we love comparing them every year.

When it was time to eat and everyone was sitting down around the table Reagan jumped up in a chair and sat there very quietly lol such a ham! She and my parent's dog, Ellie, kept each other company while everyone ate.

Friday we went to my mema's for Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family. I can't believe it, but I didn't take a single picture, so sad! We watched part of a Hallmark Christmas movie, ate a delicious dinner, and then all of the grandkids helped decorate one of her many Christmas trees. We didn't go out for any Black Friday shopping, but we did order a few gifts online when we came across some good deals!

Saturday we had Thanksgiving with Matthew's family at his parents house. We took our hockey net and sticks so all the guys could play while the girls chatted inside. We talked, watched football, ate a delicious lunch, took family pictures, and ended the night watching Girls Trip.

Sunday we went to church and lunch with Matthew's family and then all watched the Pred's game. We went back over to my parent's house for a little bit to drop off some stuff before heading home.

It was good to get home and relax after the long holiday weekend. We weren't the only ones worn out, Reagan was exhausted from playing with all her puppy cousins!

We are so thankful for a long and fun weekend being with all of our family, and we are looking forward to Christmas right around the corner!

Thanksgiving | 2016

Thanksgiving | 2015

Thanksgiving | 2014

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THANKSGIVING | 2017

COATS WEDDING #3

I'm really behind on blogging, but I couldn't let my BIL's wedding weekend recap fall through the cracks. So here is a belated recap!

Matthew was in Knoxville all week for work so he met me in Chattanooga Friday afternoon just in time for their rehearsal dinner. I worked half a day at the office and then headed home to pick up baby girl before hitting the road. Reagan was excited for a road trip!

They rehearsed and as you can see my other BIL, Nathan, was taking things real serious ;) and had us all laughing!

My in-laws hosted their rehearsal dinner at a hibachi grill in Chattanooga and it was delicious! After dinner we decided to all go get frozen yogurt. It had been a long time since we had frozen yogurt and I forgot how good it was.

That night was the first night Reagan stayed in a hotel and it was pretty rough. She heard every little noise and was woken up so easily throughout the night. So it looks like we just need to go on more trips and take her so she can get some more travel/hotel experience. ;)

Saturday morning we headed to the church so the guys could get ready for the big day. I hung out with my SIL, Jenny, and the bride while she got ready!!

A few hours later it was time for the wedding, and it was beautiful! I can't wait to see the pictures soon. I didn't take any pictures of their actual wedding, but we took some after and at the reception.

While the bride and groom were taking pictures we realized that we all forgot to buy window markers to decorate their car. Thankfully there was a Dollar General across the street from the church so we booked it over there to grab them. Dollar General for the win!

After pictures we headed to the reception venue, and it was gorgeous!

Sister picture!

and sibling/couples picture!

The newlyweds! 

It was a great weekend celebrating Andrew and Christina, and we are so happy for them!!

and stole this picture off their Facebook, because it's just too cute not to!

And just like that the Coats family is complete!

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COATS WEDDING #3