Thanksgiving Break

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Eating too much and spending time with family and the ones we are so thankful for. The Harley's had a busy Thanksgiving break. This was the first year Grant and I fixed a Thanksgiving meal just for us. We stayed home, cooked and relaxed. It was really nice. I missed having our families around, but it was awesome cooking for just us.

We didn't travel for Thanksgiving this year, because we needed to be in Georgia on Friday for my dear friends wedding, Mary-Katherine and I have been friends since we were 4 years old. It was an honor to be her MOH on her special day. It was wonderful catching up with old friends. When we arrived on Friday afternoon to start the festivities, Grant dropped me at a diner for the Bridesmaids Luncheon while he hit Ikea. He came back with a car full of boxes and didn't even get everything on our list. Oh my... we have another trip in our future.

Here are some pictures from our wonderful, but busy break.

 

Ham, Stuffing and Green Bean Casserole

We also had corn, asparagus, mashed potatoes and rolls

 

Grant working on the ham and rocking the Vera Bradley apron :)

 

 

Enjoying our Thanksgiving lunch, thumbs up

 

 

I was stuffed and ready to POP



 

Mary-Katherine was a beautiful bride... here are some pictures from the wedding.

 

 

The Bride and her Daddy walking down the aisle

 

 

 The wedding was at The Four Oaks Manor in Buford, GA. It was a beautiful location. The high on Saturday was 52 degrees, oh my it was cold outside but worth it to see my dear friend get married.

 

Us at the wedding ceremony

I have such a handsome husband :)

 

 

Acting our usual selves!

We can't take all serious pictures, where is the fun in that.

 

 

With Jamie Lawhon Compton, It was great to see her again. It has been way too long.

 

 

Friends since Elementary school.

Growing up with these two was never boring, we have TONS of amazing memories.

 

 

Mary-Katherine and Taylor Kimbal cutting their beautiful wedding cake

Red Velvet... yum yum

 

 

With Grant at the wedding reception

 

 

I love my Momma!!

 

 

Hannah and Carly... I have beautiful sisters

 

We made it home and put together our Ikea purchases... It was like Christmas in November. :)

 

Until next time, God Bless!

Baby Update... 7 months

Well, we've officially made it to 7 months. Wow! Missing the whole first half has made everything happen so fast. My body has changed to so much and I couldn't be happier. Here are a few photos that I've taken since we found out about our new little bundle.

 

This wasn't too long after the pregnancy was confirmed.

I was about 18 weeks in this picture.

 

Late September, 2012

Approximately 21 weeks

 

 From the side...

24 weeks

 

From the front

 

Family picture in front of our new house, October 2012.

 

My new view :)

Another side view... 27 weeks

My new favorite shirt... 27 weeks

 

Well... that's all if have. It isn't my ideal photo collection, but I'm loving every minute of my bundle of joy. I can't wait to meet him in February.

 

Best wishes and happiness to all during this holiday season! God Bless

 

 

Trip to Babies 'R Us

Well, Grant and I decided we needed to go ahead and register for our upcoming baby shower for our sweet little bundle. So Saturday was the big day, we didn't know what to expect going in, but I was really excited...

 

See... I couldn't wait to get there :)

 

It was a two hour drive for us to get to the closest Babies 'R Us, yes you read that right... 2 HOURS! Needless to say, this was a whole day trip. Nonetheless, I was ready to shop for my little boy.

 

We finally arrived and started the registry process, Grant got the gun (of course... I think that was the only reason he agreed to go).

 

Two hours later, we finished and were both completely overwhelmed. I knew there would be a lot to take in, but I didn't fully prepare myself for everything that involves our little man. WOW!! I don't know what we would've done without my Mom and cousin Jenny, who I called with tons of questions while we were walking up and down the aisles. Thank you ladies... you were a true blessing!

 

When we finally left (two hours later) with spinning heads and even more questions. After grabbing a bite to eat at Jaco's Taco (I highly recommend if you're in the Jackson area) we heading home.

 

On Sunday, we hit Target to finish out the Little Man weekend. I know there is plenty we forgot and somethings we didn't need to scan (disclaimer... Grant was scanning). We had much more fun at Target, it wasn't as overwhelming, thank goodness.

 

Moms out there, I should have been warned!

Once a Brave... Always a Brave - 10 Year Reunion

Wow... it's been 10 years since I graduated high school. My loving husband drove me half way to Lakeland to meet Lindsay (sister in law) and George (father in law) to take me to my reunion. I wouldn't have been able to attend without their help.

Grant was doing field work in Alabama while I was visiting with old friends. (I know he was heartbroken that he couldn't attend) haha

We attended the Friday night football game where Lake Gibson beat Lake Region 41-7.

Here are a few pictures from my weekend in Lakeland (11.2-3.2012)...

Friday Night Football Game Gang 11.2.2012

 

 

This weekend was Carly's first Homecoming... I'm so glad it fell on the same weekend I was in town. I was able to do her hair and make-up on Saturday afternoon before the reunion.

She's growing up so fast, into an amazing young lady.

 

 

Becki and Melodee... I'm so blessed to still have my close friends from high school.

These three women are amazing examples for any young women. I'm honored to know each of them.

(L-R: Teresa Helms, Dawn Anspaugh, Tina Earley)

 

 

Once a Brave... Always a Brave!

Knowledge is Power and the Power is On

 

 

During this whirlwind weekend, I was able to hit Grant's younger cousin, Olivia's baby shower. It was so nice to see the family and visit with everyone while I was in town.

 

Now... I'm beat! :)

 

Families are a Blessing

Grant and I moved into our new house at the end of September. We were blessed to have Grant's dad, George and Uncle Bocky come help us move... aka move us. Grant was super busy with his new job and I can't move our HEAVY furniture. We wouldn't have been able to get it done without their help. I can't thank them enough. They stayed with us for two weeks, working around the house, making sure everything was set up. Our floors were laid and my breakfast nook was built. I LOVE it all!

When all the main manual labor was complete, they headed back to Florida. I'm sure they were happy to get home.

We still had a garage FULL of all our stuff... this was going to take forever. We worked a little each night after work, but were both exhausted after long days at work. The weekend before Grant's family was set to arrive, we hit the garage hard. OH my... that did a toll on me. Even though I was only working on small things, you wouldn't believe the amount of small things we own. Time to de-junk!! We made a nice, at least in our eyes. When the Harley's and Heruska's arrived, they asked if we had done anything at all. :( We really did, but they were right, it sure didn't look like it.

That whole weekend, we ALL worked on the garage and house. The girls were able to do a little shopping (of course). But even that was tiring, I was worn out. Here are a few pictures from that weekend... more to come.




 

Product of shopping at Hobby Lobby
Lynda and Lindsay did an amazing job!


Lynda found two old shutters from our house in Knoxville... and went to work
She loves Annie Sloan paint :)

 

Paris shutter with coat hooks... I love it

VERA!! My vera shutter :)

 

We made sure to attempt our annual family picture, since we wouldn't be together on Thanksgiving. Oh my... what a challenge! :)

Option 1: Girls in front, lets all stand...

 

 

Option 2: Lets put Douglas in the front and have George sit...

 

 

Option 3: Nope... Lynda on a chair in the front, yep this works

This was about the 10th one we took... Oh My! :)

 

Time for pictures of the expecting parents...

 

We're SO excited... can't wait to meet our little Logan!

 

 

You know us... at least one silly pose (Grant's face is my favorite)

 

Thank you again to our family for all of their help! 

Happy Birthday Grant!

Today is Grant's 30th birthday!! I am completely blessed to have landed such an amazing husband. We've know each other since high school and I still can't get enough of him. He has been a loving husband and amazing best friend and I know he will be a wonderful father.

 

Grant and Mandi - Bartow Homecoming 2001

Our first date

We're going to celebrate this weekend at our favorite restaurant, Del Sol. We've eaten several of our meals there since moving to Hattiesburg.

Happy Birthday Grant Logan!!

What a whirlwind...

I hate that I'm not better at this blogging thing, it's a great way to keep family updated and look back and remember all the wonderful things that happen in your life.

It is now October, 2012. Grant and I have had some major changes in our lives over that last few months. Here is the break down...

Grant graduated with his PhD in Environmental Geography in May. I couldn't be more proud of him! He got a job teaching as The University of Southern Mississippi starting August, 2012. We are excited about the change, but will miss all of our Knoxville friends that we've gained the last four years.

 

Grant and Mandi, May 2012

Grant's PhD Graduation

Knoxville, TN

On May 25, 2012 we sold our house to our friend Matt. He was excited and we were too knowing that our little bird house would be in good hands. After signing the papers we hit the road the same day, moving ALL our belongings to Hattiesburg, MS.

We spent our summer in Lakeland, FL with family and had a great time visiting, shopping and hitting the beach. For the 4th of July the Harley Family spent five days in Sand Key. It was beautiful!

 

Water front set up on our private beach

 

 

Lindsay and Doug brought their boat, we all had a blast

 

Grant and Mandi... the annual 4th of July picture

 

At the end of July, we packed up and headed for Hattiesburg. We hadn't found a house yet, but were able to stay with head of Grant's department. Everyone in Hattiesburg was very welcoming. We looked at a few more houses the day after we arrived. WE FOUND IT!! We were so excited, we placed our offer and couldn't wait to hear back from the owners. On the way to MS, I received two calls for job interviews at USM. They weren't scheduled for another week and we didn't want to over stay our welcome. We found an apartment until we could move into our house and headed back to FL for a week.

 

When we arrived back in Hattiesburg, my interviews went well. I received a job offer from the Office of Admissions and I love it.

 

August was a busy month, we both started our new jobs. We were still living in the temporary apartment and realized that we are no longer apartment people. Our dogs weren't happy either without their yard. We did find an amazing Mexican Restaurant... we love Mexican food!

 

 

Del Sol... We can't get enough!

 

September didn't slow down... Labor Day Weekend we found out we were expecting! Believe it or not I was 5 months pregnant and didn't even know. It wasn't long before I started to show and we had our first OB appointment on Friday, September 14th. The doctors office staff couldn't believe that I didn't know and had a great time trying to find out how far along I was. :)

 

We made an ultrasound appointment for the following Monday, September 17th, I was going nuts all weekend hoping and praying that we would be far enough along to find out if we were having a Boy or Girl. 

 

It's a BOY!! Logan Sawyer Harley will arrive in February

 

At the end of this same week, we closed on our house (I wasn't lying... busy couple of months). We're blessed to have George and Bocky (Grant's dad and uncle) drive from FL to help us move. It would've been rough on Grant without them. Thank you so much!!

 

Updates on the house took about two weeks and the house looks great! We are slowly unpacking a few boxes at a time.

 

The Harley family is coming for a visit soon and I can't wait to see family and shop for Logan's new room.

 

Well... we're all caught up. Hopefully I'll keep up with the blog this time. :)

New Beginnings

I can't believe it's already February 3, 2012.

I am pretty sure I haven't recovered from our Homecoming event in early November. It was a great visiting with all the UT fans that are proud supports of Orange Country. GO VOLS!!

The holidays were soon after, we were in Florida for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year and had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends. Thanksgiving wasn't a long enough visit. My side of the family went to West Virginia for Thanksgiving, but I was able to get to Florida a few days before they left so I could spend some time with them all. My niece and nephew growing so quickly, I can hardly keep up. :)

Kate enjoyed using her MiMi's purse and wearing my shoes :)

Once my side of the family went to West Virginia I spent the rest of the week, shopping and have a blast with my wonderful in-laws. On Thanksgiving night we spent the night in the hotel at the Florida Mall, it was a great idea. I don't know why we didn't do this before. The hotel was right there, for naps or dropping off ALL our shopping bags. :) We all had a blast and need to add this to our MUST do every year list.

Here is our Harley Christmas picture this year, we take it over Thanksgiving each year. I am truly blessed to have married into a wonderful family.

Grant, Mandi, George, Lynda, Douglas and Lindsay

Christmas pictures to come...

Cheerfully,

Mandi