Ft Campbell Baby Shower

A few weeks ago, my wonderful friend Claire Teter threw me my last baby shower here at Ft. Campbell. She threw a FABULOUS party full of incredible food, games and presents. I definitely felt loved and supported from family and friends after that party. Some of Jesse's family were able to make it (Jana, Linda, Nana and Jamie) and my mom and sis-in-law (Jennifer) made it as well. A few girls from our Bible Study on post also came. All-in-all, it was a great shower and I really appreciated everyone who came and helped make it so special!

Thanks, Claire!

Knoxville Baby Shower

This past weekend, Becca (my best friend from FL that lives in Knoxville) with the help of Jesse's mom and sisters threw me a baby shower. It was a great opportunity for me to introduce her to many of my friends and family. It was bizarre having so many of them in the same room, but it was great to see everyone. We had YUMMY food including a famous Publix cake (nice touch Becca) and she had some cute games for us to play. Thanks to everyone for coming - it meant a lot to me!

Ellie's Party

My co-workers and students at Austin Peay threw me a baby shower last week but they called it "Ellie's Party"! It was great - good food, cute cake, sweet presents and fun times with the people there. Thanks to Alexandra, Carrie, Brianna, Jonell and Teanna for all they did to make it a special day! Here are some pictures from the event:

Student Life & Leadership Staff

A Taste of the Busiest Week of My Career

So this past week was the busiest week of my entire career - Homecoming at Austin Peay State University! Since we are still without a Director in our office, the entire week has been coordinated by me. I didn't do every event during the week due to some other offices helping out, but I definitely did the big stuff. Monday, I was in charge of our annual Step Off, where organizations compete against each other in step routines (http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910270322). Tuesday, we had a Bonfire (minus the fire due to rain) to announce the Homecoming Court and have a pep rally for the football team. Wednesday was the AP Apollo, the annual talent show put on by my students in the Govs Programming Council. We actually went over capacity of the auditorium and had to kick people out (who we saw watching from the windows)! Thursday, was the largest event - LADY ANTEBELLUM!! This event took the most planning and was the peak of my week. Catherine Raney, Tim McGraw's cousin, was the opener and she did a great job. I met Tim's mom and she was so sweet. Lady Antebellum did a great job and really enjoyed the students. We had over 1,000 come to the concert and everything went without a hitch. Friday was my catch-up day that other department did events and then the week finished with Saturday's parade and half-time Queen/King announcement that I had to organize. I'm so glad the week is done - it wore me out and it definitely didn't help that I was 8 months pregnant doing it all! Now, I am enjoying my day of rest. Enjoy the pictures of the concert!

Catherine Raney (Opener)

Early Halloween

My mom brought Jesse and I a really great pumpkin a few weeks ago and we decided to celebrate Halloween a little early since Jesse will be gone next 2 weeks (training at Ft. Knox) by carving the pumpkin. We both haven't carved one in YEARS, but we thought it would be fun to do together and also to practice since we'll have a child next year. Jesse thought of our design so we cut off the top and then took out the insides, keeping the seeds. We actually baked the pumpkin seeds to use as our snack during the UT v. Alabama game once we were finished. We are proud to reveal our Cragwall pumpkin for 2009!

Hardwick Family Baby Shower

Jesse and I had our first baby shower Oct. 11th in Macon, GA from the Hardwick Family. They put together a shower/reunion for the family and it was great to see everyone! We got some very thoughtful and adorable (of course) gifts for Ellie. We knew the food would be amazing with the Hardwick women cooking (our caterer from our wedding was one of them) and they definitely didn't disappoint.

I wanted everyone to see the Hardwick women that came so people can see my dad's side of the family. (From left to right) My HUGE self, Norma Banks, Aunt Barbara, Mom, Kala Hardwick, Bobbie Jo Carver, Maxine Hardwick & Jeanne Hardwick. (Missing but were there -Ashley Carver, Jewett Hardwick, Pam Smith, Judy, and Martha McMahon Stewart)

We now have a great start on stuff for Ellie - we only had a few clothes beforehand! Thanks to all of these ladies for putting together a great afternoon of family, food, and generous presents for our future baby girl!

Back to Orange Country

Last football season, Jesse was deployed to Iraq and one of the hardest things he missed was most of the college football season - especially UT games. I was able to go to one with my best friend and her hubby last year, but this year, we were very intentional about getting tickets for the first game! My parents ended up being able to come up for the weekend and join us, so it was a lot of fun to share it with them. Technically, this was Ellie's first game and she was definitely kicking up a storm with all the noise in Neyland Stadium! I think it was a sweet moment for Jesse and I to be back at a game together, something we plan to do for many years to come once we move back to K-town. Here's a short video of the football team entrance through the team for those of you who have never experienced this tradition in Orange Country!