Saying Goodbye…

Today, more than 10 years after Chris and I bought our first home, we said our final goodbyes to the place we came home from our honeymoon, the place we brought home our babies and the only place we have ever called our home.  I remember when we decided we were going to live in Clarksville when we were still planning our wedding.  Chris was working at Whitson-Morgan and I was off for Summer break.  I rode around with our realtor, Tony Warren, and looked at every house in our price range.  Nothing seemed to click with us.  At the very last moment, Tony told me he had one last home.  It was a little out of our price range (actually a lot!) but he thought it was just what we were looking for.  The moment I saw it I fell in love and knew it was the one.  I called Chris and he felt exactly the same way, it was love at first sight.  Looking back, its funny to see how young and naive we were.  The house was fairly new, only built 4 years before, but it had quite a few things that we would have to "finish".  The entire yard was hard, clay dirt.  There wasn't a blade of grass to be seen, much less any landscaping.  The exterior doors were still light blue primer and if you opened the back door you were a mere 6 ft from the ground!  The previous owners built the house but never got around to fixing those last few "little" things.  Since we were young and Chris is the "handy" guy we decided to go for it and ended up getting a pretty good deal.  We jumped in feet first and with a lot of help from both of our families, we made 834 CR 3546 the beautiful home that we said goodbye to today.  It was bittersweet and I cried the entire way home from our closing, but the little family that purchased our home reminded me of us in so many ways.  The Warrens were newlyweds who recently left the Air Force.  They had been stationed in Alaska and decided to move back to Clarksville to start a family.  Laura is about 6 months pregnant.  They fell in love with the house just like we did over 10 years ago.  I love the fact that someone else will bring their babies home to our sweet little home and make as many wonderful memories there as we did.  As we embark on our adventure of building our dream home, I can't believe how far we have come since our little family began July 20, 2002.  The adventures are just beginning.

Move in day…July 27, 2002

First Christmas...

Our first snow!

Margarita party...

Ethan's first day home...

Ava's first day home...

Moving out...

Last St. Nick...

My Knight in Shining Armor and My Little Devil

This year Halloween was so much fun!  Ethan and Ava are at that age where everything we do is such an unforgettable adventure. Ethan chose to be a Knight this year.  I think he was most excited about his sword.  Ava didn't really request a certain costume, but when I saw her little devil number, I know there would be no better match for my cute little devil.

Do It Yourself Family Portrait

We're always talking about our need to have a family portrait made.  For some reason or another it never happens.  While everyone was at our house last weekend, we got a wild hair and just decided to make it happen.  After what seemed like hours of wardrobe and hair for the entire family we ventured over to Turner's house armed with a camera, remote, tripod and candy to bribe the kids.  I think the results turned out pretty good considering it was a total do-it-yourself adventure.

The Fair Comes To Town

Nana, Poppy, Ella, Lilly and Robert came up for a visit to the big city of Clarksville.  Of course, you can't come to Johnson County when the fair is in town and not go!

Ava, ever the sensitive smeller, says, "What's that smells?"

First Day of School

Wow! I can't believe this Summer has come to an end!  Ethan's teacher this year is Mrs. Leeds.  One of his best buds,  Phillip Taylor, is in his class this year so he was ready to get back to school and see all of his friends.

Mexico!

Sand, sun and water! Our little vacation to Riviera Maya, Mexico was filled with fun times and a lot of relaxation.  Can't wait to go back!

Here comes trouble...

And of course, you can't take Krista anywhere without a yoga pose...

Chris's version of the crow...

And the aftermath…LOL!

4-Wheelin' in the Mountains

I find it extremely hard to believe that I have lived in Clarksville for 9 years now and am just starting to see the beauty of the Ozark Mountains. We recently purchased a UTV so now we can go everywhere! It amazes me every time we go for a ride how much there is to do and see here. One thing Chris and I have always talked about is having a weekend at his cabin. Chris and his family would go to the cabin almost every weekend when he was young. I can't believe we had never done this, but with work and kids and everything else there just never seemed like a good time! We decided it was past due and mom, dad and Robert were in for weekend of riding!

We stayed an entire weekend and rode everyday. We logged over 20 miles each day through the mountains and creeks. Mom and I packed sandwiches and snacks and we stayed out all day. We took an after lunch dip in the Mulberry River then headed down to the old swinging bridge in Oark. It hadn't rained in forever so finding a place to swim was next to impossible. All of the creeks were dried up. Michael joined us on Sunday and started off the day with a delicious breakfast/lunch at the Catalpa Cafe. Dad had his eye on a piece of homemade blackberry pie all during lunch. We were about to order our desert when a lady came in and ordered the rest of the much coveted pie. He was heartbroken! We will have to take Dad back to get him that pie one day! After the pie debacle we headed out on another ride. The day's adventure took us to a trail off of Porter Road across Highway 21 from the cabin. The road was steep all the way down the mountain, but the treasure that awaited us at the bottom was worth every moment! At the bottom is an entirely restored cabin from the 1800's. It is something that isn't advertised to protect it from vandals so you just have to know where it is. That's where my Johnson County boys come in handy! The cabin is completely furnished with period pieces and is a true treasure. The land around is surrounded with hand stacked rock walls and gorgeous, huge old oak trees. It looks like something that should be in a museum and is absolutely amazing that it still stands untouched in its original location.

Cooking breakfast at the cabin.

Ready to roll!!!

Robert caught a water mocasin in a creek. It's a little odd but I grew up with him and my papaw doing this. He's never been bit but...ewww!

Bud Pearson's cabin

Bear track!!!