A Night for Remembering

Saturday night was WONDERFUL! Every now and then, all the girls that I graduated high school with will get together for a girls night. I missed the one in April because we were in the hospital with little Eli -- and I so wished I could have made it then.

Well, Saturday night we all got together again. This get-together has actually been planned for months, but with the recent loss of our Sweet Tera Lynn, we changed it up a bit.


We all met at Ashleigh's mom's house and made a scrapbook remembering and honoring Tera. We then took it over to Trish and Gary's house (Tera's parents) to give it to them. Trish & Gary are nothing short of AMAZING and a blessing. As soon as we walked into their home, Trish started...she told us that she was worried about us and that she was praying for us. She spent most of the time encouraging all of us and trying to remind us of how Tera loved us all. It was such a blessing to see... This whole situation has completely broken my heart on so many levels -- but one in particular, the way I view this as a mom. I can't imagine the pain and emptiness that I would feel if I lost one of my children. And to watch her parents speak to us with such love, compassion, grace, dignity and with the love of our Lord shining through it all -- it truly is a testimony of their faith.

We spent the rest of the evening telling stories of Tera and of high school adventures. The evening was filled with laughter & tears, joy & sadness and it ended with everyone smiling -- that thing that Tera did so well!

Tera was a wonderful and beautiful person -- inside and out. And she will continue to bring smiles and laughter to people who will remember her for years to come.

Did Somebody say "SOLD?"

Praise the Lord and hand over the keys....WE SOLD THE HOUSE!

~~~~~

The Lord never ceases to amaze me...and this truly was him looking down and saying "I love you Nathan and Lindsey Barnes!!"

We met with our realtor on the 5th and our house "officially" went on the market on the 9th. Someone drove by on the 13th, we showed it to them on the 14th, they made an offer on the 15th and we accepted it on the 16th!!! And, we lowered the price less than $1000 to sell it -- unbelievable!

We close on November 1st -- which is a lot quicker than expected, obviously. Now the prayer is that the master suite and loft will get finished by then -- otherwise we will be bunking in with Zachary and Eli! :) Either way -- we are praising the Lord for this one!!

A Birthday Carnival

Happy Birthday Hadlee and Preslee!!

After our adventures with Thomas and Friends had ended, we headed back to Lebanon for Hadlee and Preslee's 4th birthday. When we got the invitation, I was under the impression that it was a "carnival" themed party -- not so much. This was an actual carnival!! It was so much fun and all the kids really enjoyed it. We had games, cotton candy, hamburgers and hot dogs, games, prizes etc. A great way to end a fun filled afternoon!

The first thing we did was check in and all the kids got little bags with their names on them to collect their prizes -- cute idea!
One of the main attractions!

"Hot-Cot Candy" as Zachary calls it...

Eli even got in on some games...

He loved the ducks the most. :)

All Aboard!

Yesterday morning we all woke up bright and early to head to Nashville and catch the 09:00 train ride with Thomas and Friends! I was so excited! I bought these tickets back in June when I first heard about this -- and I actually kept it a secret from Zachary! Yes -- I KEPT A PRESENT A SECRET!!!!! :) Zachary had a blast and was so thrilled to get to ride on the train! He's so cute though -- when he first figured out what we were doing he said, "Mommy - the train isn't gonna run off the tracks on a frozen ocean, is it?" (Polar Express....) Once I explained that one to him, he was ready to go. :) The train ride was the first event -- then we headed to the gift store, thus the change of clothes in the latter pics. Then it was off to play with the trains, tattoos, slides and more! We even got to see a magic show while we caught up on our hydration. (It was HOT!) Anyway - we hit up Cracker Barrel for lunch and then headed back to Lebanon for a birthday party at 2pm -- that'll be the next post. :) Zachary's smile was priceless and as Nathan put it -- worth every penny of the tickets! :)

Love that face!

The new hat and shirt...too cute.

Eli enjoyed the day a lot -- I think mainly because he was held the whole time!

I don't think Eli can get much cuter!

Watertown Homecoming

Let's Go Purple Tigers!
Watertown High School had it's homecoming last night -- and so we headed down to the football field for some local fun! We enjoy going to any type of sporting event, but we LOVE football games. Titans....Vols...WHS -- we enjoy it all. It's also one of the great things about living in a small country town -- everybody knows everybody....everybody calls you friend...you don't need an invitation, kick off your shoes and come on in...." Okay -- back to the story here... :) Zachary had an even better time this year -- he was excited that he saw #76 on the football team make a big play. But he was even more excited when he realized that #76 was one of the youth at our church who Zachary has always referred to as "Big Ben." So after the game, Big Ben let Zachary try on his football helmet and take a picture with him....you would've thought Zachary was standing next to a Titan or something....but if you ask him, it was a "real Tennessee Tiger!!!"

Zachary & Bethany
Me & Eli

Zachary & Seth

Zachary & Chloe

The Three Musketeers!

Eli snuggled up with Ms. Kim at half time and slept the rest of the game -- he was tuckered out by all the excitement.

Zachary & Big Ben

Not yet little buddy -- give it a few more years...please! :)

Oh - and Watertown did win....50-0!

Remembering 9/11

Wow - what a weekend. We've packed so much into these past two days that it gets FOUR blog posts! :) So let's get started!!
~~~~~
Yesterday, to honor 9/11, Zachary's preschool was invited to the town square to say the Pledge of Allegiance and to sing My Country Tis of Thee...it was adorable! We all met at the preschool/church and walked to the square where all the activities were taking place. After the ceremony, we got to look at the firetrucks again (of course) and then we hit up the town bakery for some DELICIOUS chocolate chip cookies!! Granny (Doris) and Granny Hudson came to see Zachary perform, and so did Daddy!! He surprised Zachary by coming down on his lunch break. It was a great, although HOT afternoon. :)

Zachary and Issac

Granny with the boys...Eli did great too by the way!