Finally!!! This is what we've been up to....

If you've been wondering what's been going on with us, this is it!
We had some very special visitors with us and we took some much needed time to spend with them. We can't even begin to tell you how much we enjoyed having them here. So, since it's been so long since we've posted, we thought we'd just share a few pictures from our visit so you know what we've been up to!

Here's Me-Ma after getting off the plane!

And here's Miss Hollywood, Brooklin and my sister, Kristi.
We tried to take pictures but we got so excited and ran screaming for them before they could even get off the escalator! A man in front of them held out his arms and ran toward us and said, "Oh, I thought you were happy to see ME!" Haha

Ah, this is how it is supposed to be! There were lots of hugs and tears.

Unel Rick and Brooklin

Just look at this smile!

Of course, Ti's first stop was the scrapbook store because they were having a HUGE 70% off sale. So we couldn't tell her no.....straight there we went!

Ashley was so glad to see Brooklin again!

When Brooklin, T and Mom finally saw Alex it was pure excitement for him!

Aren't they just so cute?!

Brooklin's big thing was watering the flowers on our patio. Every morning she would wake up and say, "Cmon Aunt Sheri, I have to water the flowers!" Of course, I jumped up and we watered the flowers. Simply adorable.....simple pleasures!

Sunday at church, Brooklin fit right in with all the kids....having fun was her purpose!

And these little boys have been wanting mohawk hair for so long. Who better to show them how than Bubba Gump's mom! They LOVED it!

Brooklin just loved them! She kept telling them, "You look like Kameron!"

Brooklin and Alex


Me-Ma found a man!!!


Brooklin wasn't so sure at first!

We had lots of fun shopping!

Kristi and I had a good laugh at this towel, we told Mom we were going to get it for her.

Ok Mema, you already found a man!

We took Brooklin to the Aquarium Restaurant. We knew she would absolutely love it because of her love of sea life and fish!

We couldn't pull her away from the tanks in the restaurant.

She was carrying on conversations with the fish. And this eel was literally staying right in front of her for the longest time just looking at her.

We took her to the Stingray Reef. She got to feed and touch the stingrays. She loved it. They were very active, jumping up out of the water on the edge. She loved them! She wasn't afraid at all. She was calling them Mr. Ray!

The Stingray Reef also had a carousel so of course she had to ride the carousel.

Yee-haw! Mema and T found the cowboy hats!

Watch out! She's going to be famous!

Love these two cute cowgirls!

Shopping......

shopping.......

....and more shopping!

We went to see the Grand Ole Opry.

Here we all are.....and Brooklin with Felix, her frog, which by the way, sticks to your skin when it's thrown at you.....I know this personally as it became Brooklin's favorite pasttime!

Everyone joining in on "How Great Thou Art" playing from the speakers on the grounds of the Grand Ole Opry!


And here is the close up of Brooklin and Felix, the sticky frog!

The grounds of the Grand Ole Opry are so beautiful. It makes you just want to go have a picnic there!

Isn't Mema cute?! Giddee up Cowgirl!

Brooklin loved these rocking chairs they have at Cracker Barrel. She just had to sit in them.

T and Ashley...together again!

Brooklin has a thing about benches. Everytime she saw one, whether at a restaurant or this one outside our front door, she had to run and sit on it and she'd say, "Come on, we have to sit on the bench and wait for the bus!" So cute!

Then one evening after her bath she came in to the room wearing Travis' huge shoes!

Then we discovered something here in Nashville that we didn't know was here. Apparently, Kristi used to come to this when she lived in Clarksville years ago. That is the Nashville Flea Market. This only takes place one weekend a month. And it is HUGE! I have never seen so many vendors. Old, new, antiques, produce, flowers, furniture.....you just wouldn't believe all the stuff they have.

T found watermelons!

Ashley and Ti got so excited about this store in the market. They had all kinds of purses and bags. They were jumping up and down and being silly.

They have a huge section of all new stuff. Great bags, costume jewelry, fun girl stuff! We had so much fun together looking at everything. (And carrying Kristi's bags!) haha

A little shopper in training by a pro!

Angela found a little corner of the place she liked! Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? No, I am!

Ok, get these two together and there's probably trouble lurking somewhere in the distance! My sister surprised me with these two great finds! The red ladder! And the red caddy for my scrapbooking space! She's the best sister.....she knows me well! And Ashley found this phone she's been wanting.....T spoiled her and got it for her too! She has such a generous heart! I love her!

We were so glad Ti got to stay for the Nashville Bridal Show. Ashley was so excited that she got to be a part of that with her.

They were having a ball goofing off in the Hummer Stretch limo.

This was at the Fashion Show mind you!

This is Brooklin's way of saying, "Shhhh!"

Then after the Fashion Show, they decided to try out the runway! There are so many other hilarious pictures of this but I knew my sister would kill me if I shared them so they are in my "special photo" file!

Before Ti left, she wanted to hit the boot store!

She makes a cute cowgirl doesn't she?

The last night before Mema left, we all went out to a family dinner.
I miss my mom and sister so much.

I think she actually missed him!

The best thing about this place for Brooklin was that you get to throw your peanut shells on the floor! She was taking whole peanuts and throwing them on the floor and then stepping on them!

Travis and Ashley

Brooklin and Ashley having fun!

Here's trouble again! T and Ashley were gettin' in on the Hoedown!

Our family all together!
(Except of course, Hugo, Shine, Kameron and Grandma...we missed you guys!)

Yee Haw! Ride that pony!


And the highlight of the entire trip for T!

Miss Loretta Lynn's tour bus!
I kid you not, we saw it in the Walmart parking lot in Bellevue. Kristi was just absolutely beside herself. For those of you who know her, her all time favorite movie is "Coal Miner's Daughter" which is the true story of Loretta Lynn's life. Kristi can quote it word for word. She was actually jumping up and down in this picture. I was so glad she got to see this because it made her trip complete!
"Doo, why ya' gotta put the bedroom in the dad-gum front of the house?"


Time passed so quickly....before we knew it we were going back to the airport to see them off.

So, we apologize for leaving you for so long but we stayed so busy with the family here and we wanted to spend every minute we could with them. We had such a great visit. I don't think we realized how much we missed them until we saw them. For our family, six months is a long time to go without seeing each other....we are such a close family. We love them and miss them so much. But....even though we're far apart, we're together in our hearts and we are so focused on what God has called us here to do.

We love you all and we'll post more regularly now!