Surprise! It's a Crawfish Boil for Chris!

Back in early June, we were all anticipating a big milestone...

...my dad was turning 60!

My mom wanted to do something to celebrate his big day and thought that getting all of his friends/family together for a crawfish boil would be the perfect solution.

So the planning began...

We all were involved in helping plan the party.  I mean, who doesn't love a good party coupled with being sneaky and figuring out ways to keep it all from my dad??

When the big day rolled around, we set our plan in motion.  The party was over at my brother and sister-in-law's house.  The backyard looked exquisite. 

The tables, chairs and hors d'oeuvres were perfectly placed. 

The decorations were out. 

The beverages were chilling. 

The crawfish and shrimp were boiling. 

Now all we needed was the man of honor...and I think we successfully surprised him...

The party was so much fun!  The crawfish and shrimp were spectacular and the company was even better!

It was really neat to be able to honor my dad and reflect on the last 60 years of his life.  After the party, he kept saying how humbling this whole experience was for him- that so many people would take time out of their busy schedules to celebrate with him.  But as evidenced by the wonderful showing of family and friends, I believe that the biggest testament to my dad and the life he's lived are the many great relationships he's formed and the impact he's left on us all. 

Happy 60th birthday Dad!  And may this next phase of life be filled with even more happiness, more fun, and more blessings.  We love you!

In the Midst of a Celebrity

My sister is up in Nashville this week for a financial counseling conference.  This conference is being put on by the financial guru himself, Dave Ramsey. 

I had heard about Dave Ramsey a few years back and have always been intrigued by his financial advice...it's simple, it's to-the-point, and it follows the wise philosophy of "don't buy it if you can't pay for it with CASH!"  Ironically he's teaching us to do exactly what the world is teaching us NOT to do as we are surrounded by credit cards and other forms of endless borrowing...but I digress...

Adam and I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class last fall when it was offered at our church.  My parents, my sister, and my brother and sister-in-law have all also taken the class and we all have been completely inspired.  Erin even began exploring the possibility of becoming a financial advisor through Dave Ramsey's company so that she could help others be "financially at peace."  She learned of this conference opportunity and decided to give it a shot.  Man, am I proud of her for doing this!  She's stepped out of her comfort zone, went to this conference knowing no one, and is coming back with a WEALTH of information and inspiration to help others...way to go Erin!

I received a picture from her today with the big man himself.  This was exciting to the whole family as we all are quite large fans of big Dave.

The text that went along with the picture said, Dave says hi.  In response to that I asked if she gave him a hug...to which she responded, shook hands.  I asked if she was nervous and she replied that she was, which resulted in being a little dorky. (us??  dorky??  never!)  She went on to explain that instead of asking to take a picture with him, she said...

can I smile with you?

All I gotta say is CLASSIC!  We, Middletons, are known for not only our dorky-ness but our tendencies to get words/phrases a little mixed up at times.  We initially thought that this only applied to our mom, thus resulting in Jeanie-isms, but I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that we all seem to have this issue at times...couple that with being in the presence of a celebrity and voila!  Enter the present situation!

Needless to say, I got a good laugh for the afternoon and Erin got to meet someone very cool...I'd say it's a win-win for all!

5 Months

Yay!  Evan is 5 months old!  (Well he was 5 months old almost a month ago but who's counting??)

He's just rocking and rolling along!  Well he's rolling from his stomach to his back...not quite from his back to his stomach yet but hey, there's a lot of mass to roll over!

We've started rice cereal.  I think it's sufficient to say that he likes it!  We've moved to a three-meal-per-day eating schedule, which has worked out really well.  What can I say?  My babies like their food!

He hasn't been weighed in awhile.  We go back to the doctor in a few weeks for his 6 month check-up and I'm interested to see how much we're weighing in.  My prediction is that he's gained some more weight but maybe not at the rate that we were initially gaining...the lightning fast rate!

He's a scooting machine!  Put the child on his back and he's off!  Will go clear across the room if you'll let him!

And he can now sit on his own...yay Evan!  What a big boy!

His smile still lights up a room and he still loves to entertain all present.  Love you sweet boy!

A Marvelous Mama's Day

This year's Mother's Day celebration actually began the Friday before Mother's Day.  Thomas's school had a tea party in honor of their mamas so I got to spend a mid-morning with my sweet boy getting showered with treats!

There were crafts.

There were snacks and lemonade.

There was a sweet card and a flower made specially for me!



The best present of all was getting to spend some time with my Tom-Tom!

Sunday was a relaxing day spent with family.  When asked what we wanted for our celebratory lunch, my mom and I both felt that not making any lunch decisions would be the best gift!  So we were able to come home from church to a yummy lunch that was already prepared...whoo hoo!

It was a great day! 

Mama and her boys...Thomas wasn't feeling the camera at that point...

Mama, her boys, and her mama =)

two Mamas

my Mama and her girls and boy

Being a Mama is so much fun!  I love everything about it and I love everyday that I get to spend with my little lovelies...it's life's biggest blessing!

Catch it Down in New Orleans

In the South Land there's a city
Way down on the river

Where the women are very pretty

And all the men deliver

They got music

It's always playin'
Start in the day time, go all through the night

When you hear that music playin'

Hear what I'm saying, it make you feel alright

Grab somebody, come on down

Bring your paintbrush toothbrush, we're paintin' the town

Oh there's some sweetness goin' 'round

Catch it down in New Orleans

Loved seeing our fun family down in New Orleans!  Happy 2nd birthday to cousin Lucas and we can't wait to see all of you again!!