My Husband the Handyman

Most of the time, I feel that I do not give my husband enough credit for all he does around the house. He is really good at building things and seems to enjoy the process, but he will also do just about anything that needs to be done to maintain or upgrade our house...enjoyable or not.

Steven has went above and beyond to make our new house feel more like a home, even when that means long nights spent working AFTER he gets off of his "real" work.  Below are just a few pictures I have taken of him doing random things around the house, but trust me there are so many more instances that I didn't catch on camera.  I feel like such a blessed woman to be married to a Godly man who is always willing to do what needs to be done!  I love you, Steven!

building our headboard

flooring our living and dining room

tiling the bathroom floor

putting shingles on the roof after the hurricane (at night=Scary!)

sealing the upstairs windows

hanging an extra clothes rack in my closet :)

heading down to the basement after the hurricane to clean out the water (notice he is wearing my leopard print rain boots  haha...at this point neither of cared what we looked like)

painting the new tv built-in he made

Baby Bump Watch

Diclaimer: This post will probably bore a lot of you, but since I live over 12 hours away from my family and friends in Alabama, I thought I would finally update them on my rapidly growing baby bump.  (My apologies for the bad lighting.)

 We can't wait to meet baby Sawyer!

25 weeks

Week at Emerald Isle

This year, there was a slight "mix-up" with the vacation dates, so the McCulloch's made a last minute decision to travel up to North Carolina to spend a week on Emerald Isle.  We all have crazy schedules, so everyone came up when they could get away from work.  Whitney, Chris, Taylor, and Patches came up a couple of days early and hung out with us until we could get into the beach house on Sunday.  Mom, Dad, and Cash came up on Sunday night/early Monday morning.  Betsy and Michael got to the house earlyWednesday morning, and Steven came right after work Wednesday night.  It was so great to finally have the whole family together!!!

We spent most of our time laying out on the beach, playing in the ocean, cooking, EATING, playing Mario Cart and Commotion, and of course laughing. There is nothing we like to do more than talk and laugh, so we definitely got our fill over our week of vacation. 

I was so so so thankful that everyone got to come (even though it is a crazy long drive for all of them).  It meant the world to me and Steven.  Can't wait until next year because there will be a new little addition to our family to share in the fun :) 

Below are some pictures of our wonderful vacay!

Dinner at Crabby Jack's on Thursday night

Nintendo 64 = most of the boys vacation time

Friday night at the arcade

sand recliners at Cape Lookout

all the girls at Cape Lookout

Ferry back from the island

Dad, Mom, and Cash on Saturday night

Steven and I before dinner Saturday night

Me and Dad at dinner on our last night

Peace out Emerald Isle. Back to reality....

Introducing Steven Sawyer Meadows!

First off, I am way behind on this post...I am now entering my 20th week, but the sonogram pictures were taken during my 17th week.  Anway, moving on...

Steven and I were so excited to find out that we are having a baby boy!  We were even more thrilled to find out from both the sonographer and Dr. Joyner that our little boy looks completely healthy and is growing perfectly.  We feel so blessed.  God is so good!

So, without further adieu, here are the pictures of baby Sawyer :)

Our first family photo!

Patrick and Bethany's Wedding

Because Steven and I are probably two of the most frugal (ahem...cheap) people on the planet, we decided to make the drive down to Oxford, Mississippi, to celebrate our dear friend, Patrick's, wedding to his beautiful bride.  The drive down was not without its fair share of issues.  First off, Steven decided to take a different route home via the Tennessee mountains.  I am sure it would have been very scenic and beautiful if we were driving during the day; however, in the pitch black, it was just plain scary.  It was just us, the diesel trucks, and the tornado...yes, you heard me.  We basically went through the backside of a tornado while driving through Knoxville.  We finally made it to Mom and Dad's house Friday morning around 5:00 AM.  We slept until 10:30 then got ready and went to eat some Alabama bar-b-que.  There are no words to express how much we miss it, especially the sauce.  North Carolina BBQ is good, but they use vinagar on everything...we are red and white sauce kind of people--that's all there is to it.

It only took a couple of hours to make it to Bruce, MS from Moulton, so we got on the road around 2:00.  I dropped Steven off at the church for the rehearsal and went straight to the hotel to get ready for the rehearsal dinner.  I met everyone at the restaurant in downtown Oxford later that evening.  Let me just say right now...Oxford is beautiful!  It was just a picture of a gorgeous southern town.  We ate at this awesome restaurant called Boure and had a chance to sit down and catch up with all of our old friends. 



I love these guys!



the Auburn boys :)

best friends since middle school

Steven and I with the bride and groom

On Saturday, we all met Patrick at the beautiful new house that he just bought (but was DEFINITELY decorated by Bethany, no offense Pat).  Afterward, we all went out to eat for lunch.  The boys stayed at Patrick's and got ready for pictures, while us girls made our way back to the hotel in Oxford.  That night, I watched as Patrick got married to a gorgeous girl in a beautiful ceremony.  The reception took place right after the wedding and we all got to enjoy some of the best southern food I have ever eaten.  I mean it...best wedding food ever!  It was also really great to get to sit and catch up with Steven's family because they were all able to come to the wedding as well.  All in all, it was a absolutely gorgeous and fun-filled weekend!

Taylor and Maryanne

Justin, Emily, Ashley, and Austin



the whole gang :)



White Lake

Every year the people of Asbury take their annual trek to White Lake, NC for a week of fun and relaxation on the water.  Steven and I have heard a million stories about this place, and we were very excited to join in on the fun this year.  It truly lived up to the hype. 

Emily, Lauren, and I left for the lake on Wednesday morning, so we would have plenty of time to soak up the sun. Brandon, Ryan, and Steven came down Thursday night after work.  Our time at the lake was spent floating around in rafts, eating lunch at the sandwich shop/dinners in Elizabethtown, taking pictures out at the dock, sitting around talking on the porch, and hanging out at the arcade at night.  It was such a relaxing way to wind down after a LONG year of teaching. 

I can't wait until next year!!!

"Put Up" Corn

A few weeks ago, Emily's family asked me if I wanted to help them put up their corn crop.  I had never ever been a part of this process even though grew up in the middle of the country. When I got to Mrs. Lucille's house that morning (she said she would let us "sleep in" until 7:30), the corn had already been picked and were stacked in a few different wheel barrows. 

Lauren and Emily took turns helping their grandpaw cut the ends off the corn and remove the outsides, while I sat and silked the corn with Mrs. Lucille. 

After we finished with all the silking (which took FOREVER), we started the blanching process. Mr. Dan and Lauren did the boiling and then moved the corn over to the ice water.  Later, we all took turns reaching our hands in the freezing water to retrieve the corn and give to Jeff to take off the cob. 

Mrs. Lucille, Emily, and I took turns bagging up the corn to put in the freezer.  All in all, we pt up about 600 ears of corn.  It was a lot of work, but I had so much sitting with Mrs. Lucille and hearing all of her stories about old times.