Three of my very favorite gifts.

We hope you had a merry, merry Christmas! 

Because isn't turning 40 worth 3 nights of celebrating?

 

 

Happy birthday to my amazing husband! 40 looks good on you, babe! Love you for 40 more years, at least!

 

I have to add one more great pic, courtesy of my bro.

 

 

The 5:42 am alarm clock is always worth it.

This morning on the Big Dam Bridge the sun rose in the east and the moon set in the west. It was a great run. 

Operation Recovery

We have to replace Caroline's art box at school because the poor thing threw up in it at her desk today. Operation Recovery is ginger ale and Golden Books in mom and dad's bed. 

Cate is just there for moral support. 

Almost a month after Dad entered the hospital, Penny convinced his insurance to give him a 3-hour 'hall pass'. Even though it was originally granted to allow him to go to the Jimmy Buffet concert Saturday night, Macaroni Grill was probably the better choice. We celebrated the amazing progress that Dad has made!

Happy anniversary to my sweet Chris Nick.

thankful.

Our (pink) tree is up!

We sent in the cheerleaders

Nothing has seemed quite blogworthy lately.

The good news is that my dad is steadily making positive progress, day-by-day, although he has a long way to go. Yesterday he was moved out of critical care ICU onto a regular floor meaning he could receive visitors 14 and under....so today I brought in the ultimate cheer squad: Caroline and Cate.

 

The girls handled seeing their normally enthusiastic Papaw pretty well. And, as evidenced here, they are just so darn cute! I am so lucky!

 

Thank you for your messages of best wishes. Every day is a good day!

 

Thank you for reading my blog. Some of you I see every day, some of you I haven't seen in a while, and some of you I'll never meet in person. But if you read my blog you've noticed that a central character in the moments I capture on the blog are with my dad, aka Papaw.

 

Tonight I ask you to please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He is in ICU after having emergency surgery to remove a clot in his brain. We are praying for a speedy recovery...to enjoy many more moments like the one pictured above (trip to Chicago this spring) again soon.

A few days late on this post...but what an amazing weekend Chris and I had being together with our girls! After working most Saturdays and Sundays since the middle of September it was so great for me to spend a 3-day weekend with my family! The weather was perfect!

Which is why we took the Barbie house outside and spent Friday in the front yard...

 

And Saturday on the farm helping Papaw feed the animals and make s'mores around the fire. (Caroline preferred to torture the kittens but all are still alive.)

 

 

And Sunday we went picnicking and hiking at Petit Jean. Why can't it be fall forever?

Candy-ween!

Sweet memories made with my Tootsie Rolls!

Creations by Chris

Or what happens when my amazing husband watches too many cooking shows. Raspberry Cream Pies! 

The British are coming!

How the Choate-Nicks do a 'famous family' halloween party...

Co-worker pic during the calm before the storm of our 3-day company-wide event.

Hangin with Poppa!

Friday night fun!

(Dairy free) yogurt following a night at the theater to see Pinkalicious! Thank you Nene for making it a fun girls night so that I could go visit my college (and DC) roommates!

Worked the last ten days straight. Four nights in four different cities. Loved every minute of it. Especially waking up in Fayetteville yesterday morning to run alongside this creek and being reminded sometimes its best to slow down.  

Hanging in the hall at Crestwood Elementary...

Memphis trip!

 

Cate's first trip to the zoo! Her favorite animal: the alligator.

 

How to refuel after the zoo and a devasting Red Wolf loss? BBQ nachos on the Central BBQ patio does the trick! #missthatplace

 

Trail riding with Barbies in tow and not a worry in the world. Their innocence is contagious.

A kindergarten story.

 

Nope, this one is not about my current kindergartener! For as long as I have known Chris, I have known of his friend Britt. But I didn't know until recently that they were in the same kindergarten class, and became friends on the second day of school when both of them were crying so Britt's mom sat them together. 35 years later still cuties!

 

 

What's Oleo?

Asks my Modern Man as he scans the Walters Family Cookbook circa 1990 for dinner ideas. So far his favorite is Mimi's fried chicken and Anita's Mexican Dip. 

Savoring summer

The girls had their first trip to the lake and they loved it! No fear of jumping off the boat or tubing! The best part was spending the day with our dear friends from Memphis. What a great kick off to our three day weekend. Happy Labor Day! 

My name is Cute. All the time.

Our morning commute. I love it!

Do you walk to school or carry your lunch?

Kindergarten!

Her backpack weighed as much as she does! 

The whole family walked to school, but her favorite part was walking to school with her good friend Abigail, a first grader! 

There weren't tears, she just found her place, put everything up and set down. Then she told me bye. This was the point where she was ready for me to go so she could get to coloring!

She did great. I did pretty good, too. In reality, Chris and I have been preparing for this day for a long time, not mentally, but literally. She's always been on a list - multiple lists - even four lists before she was born - so we could get her into a good school in Memphis. Savings accounts, pre-K feeder programs, residential boundaries were all a balancing act...so today was almost a relief because we aren't on any more lists. We're there!  She is in a great public school that we can walk to! Here's hoping that her kindergarten year is a great one! 

Weekend hoorah!

We closed out the freedom of summer with one last weekend get-away. Thanks Papaw and Penny for taking us to Silver Dollar Silly!

I never know who I'll run into at the company gym. Or, better yet, what they might be doing.