Back to the house.....

You might remember that we had a surprise visit in June for a gorgeous giant white oak tree as it crashed through our roof.  Well now I can say that the work is finished and even the swing set has been replaced and is a huge hit. :D

It was definitely a long process but because of the age of the house and good insurance we now basically have a new outside shell to protect all the people living inside.  Have a look at the final pictures, now we just need to do a little aesthetic work, and our little house will be simply lovely. :D

 So first off the siding could not be matched since the house is 60+ years old, so off it all came, and believe it or not the wood siding underneath was in good shape.  Woo hoo!!  So brand new Hardy Board went up over the whole house, and this meant new paint too.

 It was already starting to look great even without the paint.

 This is the side of the house where the tree came down.  Now we have a nice graded side play yard for Boogie's new swing set.

 Kitchen side of the house and the dog yard.  I wish it still had beautiful grass but dogs will do bad things to grass, so we struggle to keep it alive.

 Here we are with new siding all finished and new paint.  This color is called Aruba Aqua and it looks fantastic.  We have the matching accent color to put on the lower bricks.

 Play yard side with all the old aluminum siding removed and brand new Hardy Board and paint.  The house looks so fresh and clean now.

 This is before the swing set went up, but you can see the slide sticking up there above the crazy fence.  That is what I am dubbing Jon's attempt at extending the wood fence because believe you me it is definitely crazy.  He promises that he will fix it, and when it is properly cut it will look great. :D  The window at the top is to Charlotte's little room in the attic.  Update on that soon.

 Here is the back and side of the house at the kitchen.  Just a nice clean crisp look with a pretty new roof. It looks like a brand new house.

 Then we had to put up the new swing set for the girls, and its a doozy.  We decided that we could get more bang for our buck if we recycled so that's what we did.  Courtesy of Craigslist we found a fantastic swing set with swirly slide, monkey bars, swings, climbing wall and little picnic bench for what we could have bought the basic structure for.  So we put a little elbow grease into it, with a little plastic paint and wood stain, and we got a fabulous swing set for the girls.

It was definitely a hit with all the kiddos at Boogie's slumber party recently.

 PJ has mastered the climbing wall much to my horror, as I just know that she is going to fall at any moment.

She loves to climb and slide though, so I just keep an eye on her and let her have fun.  She's my little daredevil to be sure.  I miss the shade of that big beautiful tree to be sure, but the girls love the bigger play yard that they have now so I think it was a good trade.

Slow row to hoe...

Sorry guys I am slow getting back into the swing of things.  Between to goings on at home and Corporate tax deadlines looming on the horizon, the blog has suffered.  It might take me till the end of September to get back into the swing of things so consider yourself warned.  However, I do have some great photos to show you today, and I think you'll love them.

Last weekend I got a rare opportunity to spend the entire weekend doing things that I like to do all by myself.  Jon took the little girls and went to the farm for a visit to celebrate Papa Edge's 60th birthday.  I packed up the car early Saturday morning and headed out for a short road trip.  Woo hoo!!  I was headed to Huntsville for some Connie time with a dear friend, but along the way I had plans.  These plans included Pointe Park on Lookout Mountain just outside Chattanooga and a rest area on Nickajack lake.  Sounds kinda funny doesn't it, but just you wait.

On the way to my first stop Pointe Park, I got a call from another Connie friend of mine....she said and I quote..."You are driving entirely to fast".  Huh???  To which she said 82mph is entire to fast...to which I again said huh??  then "Where are you??  Turns out I had just passed her and her husband on their way up to house hunt in Nashville.  So lesson learned Don't think that just because you are no where near your home town, that someone you know won't catch you speeding (just a little, and I did slow down). :D

Anyway once I got through the construction in Chattanooga and on my way up Lookout Mountain.  Now if you like to drive steep curvy roads (all you motorcycle riders) this is the ride to take, it was fabulous.  The views were gorgeous and the atmosphere was amazing.  It took my time but made it to the top of the mountain about 10am, and the light was gorgeous. The park had only been open for a short time so there were few visitors which was perfect for me.

 Pointe Park is a national historic park that was the lookout, hence the name of the mountain, for the confederate forces during the civil war.  Once you get to the lookout areas you can understand why.

These lookouts are positioned straight towards the city of Chattanooga, and out over Moccasin Bend in the Tennessee river below

There was a large battle at the base of Lookout Mountain as well as its slopes as the Union soldiers tried to take such a strategic position.  It was like having a birds eye view, so definitely a place you wanted to be in possession of.

The park is beautiful and well cared for.  There are walking trails that lead all the way down the mountain to the Craven house which has some great significance to the battle but I am embarrassed to say I didn't make it to on this trip.

 There are information plaques scattered around the park to help you understand the role that this position played in the battle of Chattanooga and then also the battle of Chicamagua just down the road in Georgia.

The is one of the paths that leads down the mountain.  It was beautiful and lead to a museum at another lookout point.

This old building held a few exhibits about photography on Lookout Mountain (definitely an interest for me), life in the camps and signaling used during the war to alert troops of enemy movements.  It was well presented and very fascinating.  If you are anything like me then you LOVE looking at old photographs and making up stories, and this little museum was just full of great old pictures.

 This is the view of Moccasin bend from the front patio of the Museum, Chattanooga is over to the right.

 There were many many photos in the museum of people sitting with their legs hanging over on that rock.  I think I would have to pass.

On of the side doors leading back out to the path to return to the top of the mountain.  I unfortunately had to go back up so that I could make it to Huntsville in time to relax in the pool. :D

 While I wouldn't dare go out on the one rock out crop, I did find a very interesting formation that I just had to have a picture near, so it was time to use the good ole timer setting.  Not a perfect picture but better then nothing. :D

 There is a very long stone wall that runs round the park, and has look out towers incorporated into it.  Definitely adds to the picturesque feeling.

 With your $3 entrance fee you also have access to a small interactive museum that tells you all about the Battle of Chattanooga, or The Battle in the Clouds.  The painting above and below was commissioned by one of the generals at the battle to show the last day of battle. 

 Lookout Mountain is in the upper left hand corner of this massive painting.  It is absolutely stunning in person, and the attention to detail is amazing.  Definitely worth seeing, actually the whole park is a must see if your in the area.  It makes for a tranquil couple of hours, with some very majestic views.

Once I left Pointe Park I was heading back North again and stopped at the rest stop on Nickajack lake, which so far in my travels is the most beautiful rest stop.  It sits on an island in the middle of the lake, so you have beautiful water all around you.  It was definitely a good place to stop and take a rest for a moment.

 On the north bound side rest area, you have a great view of this Trussel bridge.  This was the main reason for my stop.  I had seen it before in the car as we zoomed over the lake, but never got a chance to stop and really admire it.  So this trip I did.

There were speed boats everywhere so getting a picture without a boat was a great feet.  However it was  worth the time.

I then took just a couple of minutes to sit and reflect under one of the large shade trees on the bank.  The only other person there was an Asian monk who was also having a moment of reflection.  I thought it was a good sign that my weekend was going to be wonderful.  I had to take a minute to play with my camera again, this time a self portrait was in order, even without make up. With the timer sitting in my out-stretched hand, I think it came out pretty well.

I finally decided it was time to go and hopped back in the car and made it to Huntsville will plenty of time to enjoy the pool, Orange Cremesicles and then a good dinner and great movie with a fabulous friend.  Sunday brought more adventure so stay tune.

Better late then never.....right?

So last year right about this time my hubby and I got the rare occasion to have a whole night to ourselves, no girls.   So we went out and had a nice time, and came home and had a nice time and in May we welcomed our little surprise into our family.  She was a BIG surprise HUGE, and one that took a while to get used to, but now I can not even begin to imagine my life without her.  She is an angel a blessing and something we had no clue we needed until we had her, so without further ado please let me introduce you to....

Eleanor Savannah

Obviously this is not a new born picture, but I love it so I thought I would start off with it. :D

So now all the nitty gritty details.  I had had contractions for days before we went to the hospital, I did the same thing with our other two princesses too. The contractions this time were stronger and more frequent so I thought surely they were leading up to delivery.  Well imagine my disappointment when at my 39 week check up I was nothing, nada, zero.  No dilation no effacement, nothing.  Honestly I was in tears when I left.

I was equally surprised when on Saturday I started having contractions that were getting stronger and stronger and would not stop.  I could time them out to every 7 minutes, but you know they like you to wait till every 5 and when I got to that point I told Jon I thought it was time to go to the hospital, especially since we had to call someone to watch the two other girls.  I was scared that if I called my OB and told her she would tell me to wait and then that would be it the contractions would stop and I would not be going to the hospital to have my daughter.  This had happened before.  So finally at 11:30pm we headed to the hospital and got checked in.  They checked me and I was 2 maybe 3 centimeters, again the tears were close, and the doctor didn't want to induce at all.  I was given the option to walk for an hour and  then be checked again.  If I had progressed they would have me walk for another hour if I kept progressing then I would stay if not then they would possibly send me home.  To say I was determined is an understatement.  So at 12:30am we started walking, they checked me at 1:30 and I was 4cm, that's progress, so we walked until 2:30am and let me tell you by the time I got back to the room, I was in a lot of pain.  The contractions were really strong and I knew this was a go.  Sure enough 5-6cm, and ladies it was time for an epidural.  I was in tears by the time the anesthesiologist got there, they pain was worse then anything I felt with the other two, but once that epidural started all was right with the world. :D

This face says epidurals are good. :D

The  doc came to tell me that we were definitely going to have the baby today, and she thought that by lunch time she would definitely be here.  Well little miss wanted to come a bit earlier then that.  So when the doc came back to check me around 8 she was surprised to find we were ready to go.  Everyone says that you feel the need to push, but not me, so I had no clue.  However Ellie was helpful and after 4 or 5 pushes she was out.

 She might not have been happy to be with us but we sure were happy to have her here.

 She weighed in at a very healthy 8lbs 9oz. Only eclipsed my Boogie at 8lbs 12oz.

 And measured in at 21 inches long, my longest by 1/2 and inch.  Matter of fact the girls went up in half inches for 20 to 21.

 She calmed down once they got her cleaned up and she just loved the heat lamp.

 Once she was all pretty and dressed it was time to meet her public.

First was definitely me since I did all that hard work.

 Then daddy and since Papa Edge, Mrs. Priscilla and Auntie Summer were there they got in on the meet and greet too.

 Once we were comfy and cozy in the room then the big sisters came to visit.

They loved baby Ellie from the very beginning.

 Especially Boogie who is a great big sister.

 And of course since they were now big sisters they had to have shirts that proclaimed their new status.



 We also had to meet Nah Nah and

 Mimi too.

 Finally it was time for some more mommy snuggle time.

Our little Ellie may have been a surprise,  but it was definitely a good surprise and we are so happy to have another little princess to add to our family.