N is for New Furniture

Today was an exciting day in the Sharp house. We got a new couch, chair and ottoman delivered! We went to lunch with Brad's dad yesterday and he said he wanted to take us furniture shopping. We finally accepted after trying to refuse. It was fun to go and pick out anything we wanted. Our old stuff did the job but it was getting pretty tattered since we've had it for almost 4 years and the Sharps had it several years before that. We've wanted to replace it but there was always something else to spend our money on. Its so nice to have new stuff to sit on (including the recliner our dads gave us after Will was born). Now we need to get some new tables and repaint. I've wanted to paint the woodwork white since we bought the house but if you've ever painted trim - well its not fun. But maybe we can make some time to get it done now that we have some inspiration.

M is for Monkey Bread

(I forgot to take a picture yesterday so I got this off a recipe website)

I made some Monkey Bread yesterday and it was sooooo yummy. I'll admit its not very nutritious so it shouldn't be eaten with regularity but my goodness it was good! My mom used to make this for us.

Monkey Bread

3 cans biscuits (the cheap kind are best)

3/4 cup sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup pecans (chopped, halves or pieces)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Mix first set cinnamon and sugar in bowl or bag. Cut biscuits into 1/4s (pizza cutter works great) and put in bowl or bag then coat well with mixture. Grease bundt, bread or 9inch cake pan with nonstick spray then place pecans on bottom. Place coated biscuits on top of pecans. Mix melted butter with 2nd set of sugar and cinnamon, then pour over biscuits. Bake about 35 minutes. Turn over onto large plate or platter to let gooey goodness run to bottom. Serve immediately.

L is for Lucy

Lucy and her daddy
1 year old
2 years old
3 years old with one of MANY splints we went through in 2 weeks for a fracture

Lucy was our first Golden. She is a total daddy's girl and isn't as thrilled about the new arrival to our household as Jake is. She isn't aggressive toward Will or anything but you can tell she misses the attention she used to get. I do think she likes him more than she lets on. Anytime I go in the nursery, she follows if she's not already asleep in there. She loves riding in the car and is a faithful paper-getter (not the Sunday paper but the small ones). She is good at obeying commands and doesn't leave the yard like Jake does. She is such a sweet dog and constantly has a smile on her face. She can be pretty annoying in the mornings though - she's just so darn happy that a new day has dawned! She's been known to walk up and down the middle of our bed until we get up and let her outside, no matter how long we lay in protest. Don't think we're cruel for making her wait - she's not anxious to use the bathroom - she just loves to start the day!

K is for Kissable Cheeks

I just love to smooch them!

J is for Jake

About 8 weeks old
5 months old
1 year old
2 years old
Jake with Will

We have two wonderful Golden Retrievers, Lucy and Jake. We got Jake on a whim right after Hurricane Katrina. We went thinking we would 'just look' at some puppies. Well, you know how that goes. We call him our 'discount doggie' because he and a few other puppies had ringworm and it caused some bald spots on his paws and tail. The puppies were already over 7 weeks old and the lady didn't have many prospects for homes for them. They were AKC registered and come from champion bloodlines and she said she usually charges $450 for them but was only asking $250. Then she told us if we chose a ringworm puppy we could just have it for free. We didn't feel right about just taking him so we paid her $100. It evened out in the end because we had to spend so much money on vet bills to treat the ringworm. He now has a very fluffy tail so we obviously got rid of the problem! Jake will be 3 next month and has been such a great addition to our family. He gets a little wild when he goes out front and there are no walls or fences to hold him in, but otherwise he's very gentle and sweet. And he's lazy, too, which I love. Lucy rises with the sun ready to start her day but Jake enjoys getting in the bed with me and sleeping in (not that I do to much of that anymore!). I think he and Will are going to be very good friends. Jake loves to be near him and has an endless supply of kisses for him (he's not too good at listening when we tell him to stop licking the baby).

I is for Introductions

Will and Betty Jo
Will and Kat
Sadie and Will

This weekend we took Will to Corinth to meet his great grandmother (my mother's mother), Betty Jo and his great great Aunt Kat (my late grandfather's sister). It was our longest trip away from home (about 4 hours) and he did really well. Betty Jo doesn't travel by herself anymore and it was nice to go see her. Kat lives in Arizona and just happened to fly in last weekend so it was a treat to see her, too. After visiting for a few hours we drove to Memphis and stayed with our friends Alyssa and Chris and then met Brad's grandparents for lunch on Sunday. It takes awhile to get from Memphis to Jackson when you have to stop and feed a baby but it was a good trip. Then today we got to meet Sadie for the first time! We wanted to go see her last week but Brad wasn't feeling well and we knew they'd probably be overwhelmed with visitors those first few days. She was so tiny! It's hard to believe Will was that small just 2 months ago. Will was a gentleman and brought her flowers. First impressions are important!

H is for Husband

In December of 1998, I met the most wonderful man (well, almost man - we were teenagers!) and was instantly smitten with him. We started dating and I fell in love pretty quickly. After several years of ups and downs and a big breakup in college, we got engaged. The day we married in October 2004 was one of the best days of my life. I love this man and he is such a great husband. I can't imagine my life without him. The few times he's gone out of town I just feel lost at home by myself. He makes me laugh and smile all the time. Neither of us are perfect, but I think our relationship is about as good as it can get. I'm very lucky to have a sweet husband and now a beautiful son. Life is good and we have been blessed!