Halloween 2011

It's hard to believe that this week began with Halloween.  As I was going through the pictures, it seemed as though Halloween was forever ago.  It was a fun night and the boys, especially Lawson, had a lot of fun.

Lawson was a cowboy... and he was the most handsome one I've ever seen.

He shot many bears, coyotes, birds, squirrels, raccoons, and the such that night. 

And if you're wondering, the cowboys that live on our farm are also hunters. ;)

I love this.  It makes his mama's heart smile so big.

I know I am way biased, but he really is the cutest big brother in the whole wide world!

And then Mr. Emmitt... he didn't enjoy his costume so much.

Do you see him?

He is in the dog stage right now.  The stage where he is learning the different animals and the sounds they make.  Dogs are his fave.  Hence, the dog costume... he wasn't digging it.

{And for our memory, Russ' parents have a Jack Russell named Parker.  Just this week he is saying Parker very clearly.  Exciting!}

So, I didn't push it.  He just wore his costume without his ears... and he was an adorable little puppy, wasn't he? :)

As Russ and I were looking through the memories from the night, I got to this picture and said, "if only he weren't trying to pull his hood off!"  And Russ' response... "that's the perfect memory for this year... that's how the night went.  If the hood was up, he was pulling at his ears."  He is right. 

Halloween 2011 was Emmitt, the puppy dog, "scratching" at his ears.

Sweetness...

...I could eat him up!  Definitely the cutest little brother in the whole wide world!

And a quick family picture before the trick-or-treating began...

It was a fun night.  Lawson is at the perfect age to thoroughly enjoy himself... both the costume and the trick-or-treating.  Sadly enough, he's had the croup so we visited family at a distance to prevent the spreading of germs.  Our trick-or-treat stops began at Mama B and Daddy Denton's where we met up with my dad, Mrs. Anita, and Abby.  Next, we visited MeMaw and PePaw.  And we finished our night up at my mom's.

We returned to Russ' parent's house for a warm bowl of chili and a boo-licious dessert!

Introducing the Flaming-eye Ghost! 

He was uber-cool, fluffy, and so yummy!

I expect him to become a family tradition, reappearing each year.

And that sums up our Halloween... Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!

Last Day of school + A play date

Today was a bittersweet day, to say the least.

Moving brings on a mixture of emotions... excitement, anxiety, hesitation, hope, fear, happiness, thanksgiving for answered prayers, and more.

The thing I struggle with most when it comes to moving is the fact that we are leaving an area where we've made friends, where our children have made friends, and where our family has grown and experienced new things, and when we depart from an area, I {we} recognize that we may never see those influential people again.  This is very hard for me.  I just can't block that thought from my mind when it comes to moving.  Every time we've moved I have struggled with this, and this time is no different.  Tears are rolling down my cheeks as I type this.

We will miss many people here in Columbia, Missouri.

With that said, today was Lawson's last day at school.  I felt pretty good as I was on my way to pick him up, but when I got there I couldn't help but cry as we said our "see you later's".  If you remember, I mentioned in this back to school post, that our favorite teacher here in Columbia was retiring and that I was extremely sad; those feelings returned today as I hugged his teachers and told them I'd see them later. I just can't do "good-bye's".

So, anyway, {sniff}, we will move on with new teachers and friends in Martin and new memories and attachments will be made.  We've been extremely fortunate with the care of our children, expectations have always been exceeded {remember Mandy in Evansville?!}, and I expect nothing different at his new school. 

Here is Lawson and his friend, Ben...

Pick-up is so busy, and Ben was the only one that I could convince to sit still long enough for a quick picture...

And here is Mrs. Stephanie whom I grew to like... she did a great job with Lawson!

And the "sweet" part of the day was another play date with Jorah and Lyla. 

Lyla's mother so generously invited us to their home and it was SO enjoyable!

These girls have great moms and the kids play so well together.

I DO hope we will get to see them again some day.

-Emmitt, Lawson, Lyla, and Jorah-

Does Emmitt look like a big boy, or what?!

And to close the night, these boys are enjoying another Cardinal's game with their daddy.

Awww man... they just lost. :(

This is not the end so we'll keep cheering them on!

This is the scene around here these days...

Batting helmet, farm batting gloves, baseball bat, Cardinal shirt which is dirty, and dad throwing the ball.

This combination equals one happy little boy!

I will be sneaking the shirt into the washer while he sleeps tonight.

Thanks for taking this picture, Dad!

Thanks for reading... another play date scheduled for tomorrow followed by the packing of the first boxes!

Should be a FUN FRIDAY!

Lawson's first day at his new school will be November 3 which I am hoping will be a "sweet" day.

More pictures coming soon!

We've been BOOED! and Go Cards!

When we got home from church tonight, we noticed a surprise on our front porch... we've been "BOOED"! So exciting!  The boys acted like it was Christmas as they tore through the treasures in the pumpkin.

Can't wait to BOO two of our neighbors in the next few days!

Martin friends and family... "Booed" is coming your way next October!

***

I am sure {at least I hope} you are aware that the Cardinals are playing in the World Series.

And I am sure you recognize that we are fans from the header picture on our blog.

Lawson loves the Cardinals and Emmitt just wears what we put on him. :)

Lawson is old enough to understand the game, therefore he is enjoying every minute of watching the game with his daddy, even if it is an hour past his bedtime.

Go Cardinals!

The Bragg Household supports you ALL THE WAY!

And #5, Albert Pujols, you are our favorite!

Lawson has finally learned to say Pujols correctly. :)

It was really neat to see the Cardinal fans at church tonight sporting their red... we will miss living in Cardinal Country!

Fall Fest

Two weeks ago, our church held their annual Fall Fest at Mr. and Mrs. Osburn's farm.

It was so enjoyable for everyone!

I captured a few memories...

-Boys and girls of all ages enjoyed the swing-

When we arrived, approximately 20 girls and boys, actually teens, were playing a game of football... Like the kind of game, where you will get run over if you get within two feet of their "area".  And wouldn't you know that our Lawson, who is often confident beyond our belief, just walked right over to one of the younger teens and asked if he could play with his football... and he said, "yes".

So our boys then had a lime green and black Nerf football all to themselves. 

What should we do with him?

This is Grant.  He is our preacher's middle son. 
Lawson thinks that each and everyone of their children hung the moon.  He speaks of Justin, Grant, and Mark at least once per day, and they are so sweet to humor his obsession with them.

I love this!

Here are Lawson and his friends...

Cash, Lawson, Aliya, and Cameron

Emmitt wanted to sit on the boat, too.

The pond was so peaceful, but far from peaceful all at the same time.

I was a nervous wreck the whole time.  People were just letting their kids freely roam and it was all Russ and I could do to keep up with ours so that they didn't decide to take a dip.

It was a soup and chili potluck, complete with the fixings of corn chips, cheese, and sour cream... all followed with yummy desserts.

We sang songs of praise, and had an encouraging devotional.  Worshiping outside always seems so refreshing to the soul.  Maybe it's just me, but it was very enjoyable and uplifting.

The night came to a close with the annual talent show which was so entertaining. 

Our kids even sat still and quiet!

This is our friend, Brei and her little boy, Cash.

Here are Grant and Mark.

Lawson was totally into their comedy act of "Who's on First?"

They did an awesome job!

Pretty Ragan...

And mischievous, but handsome Emmitt...

A few more comedy acts...

These were a little more serious...

This group of geese flew over during the talent show and were so pretty in the setting sun...

Introducing studious Elora.  We love her family... her mom loves our boys, too.

Pretty dedicated, isn't she?  It left me wondering what teacher assigned homework on a weekend?

{I'm not a fan of homework...}

That concludes the memories of the Fairview Road Church of Christ Fall Fest 2011!

***

I decided to add a few other fall memories...

Our friends, Ben and Jennifer, have a pumpkin patch on their farm in Dresden, TN, and we visited them a few weeks ago, and we got to pick our own pumpkins!

It was so much muddy fun!

I attempted a few pictures, but our boys were less than cooperative when it came to sitting/standing still so this is the best I got...

And here they are on our front porch!

We also scattered a few throughout the house.

This pumpkin's home was in the kitchen, standing on a cup and saucer.

No laughing!  I saw it on another blog and thought it was cute... Russ wasn't so sure, but it fit the "story" of my kitchen and I really liked it!

That's all for now.

Hope you've had a Happy Fall...

More to come on Halloween night!

A quick tour

So, now that our house has sold and we are getting ready to begin a new journey in our new house, I thought I would share a few pics of our home here in Columbia.  

I had all intentions of doing a few "before and afters shots" in a series of "house to home", however the unexpected decision to move back to Martin, combined with the immediate need of getting the house in show condition didn't allow me much time to do so. 

So here you go, in no particular order. 

Welcome to our home...

Here is Lawson's room...

This is the bathroom located between the boys' bedrooms...

This is Emmitt's room...

This is the dining room.  The unusually placed closet is a "china closet".  I had never seen such, but oh, well... if there is a closet, you will use it, right?  It has served its purpose well.

A few pictures of the upstairs living room which we use every day...

And then the kitchen and breakfast room...

Our bedroom and bath...

The laundry room...

The living room in the basement... I will add that I didn't quite understand the excitement about having a basement as I had never had one, but I must say that we will miss this space. Since Russ works down here during the day, it has not been used like it should have been, but it really is nice.  (and always clean because our sweet boys are never down there... it's like a retreat to the down under!)

The French doors go to the stair case...

Russ' office... This is where he works every day.

Guest room in the basement. I know... no pictures.  By the time we were ready to "stage" the basement, I decided that less was best.  There is however, a small chest and mirror on the wall to the left that you can't see.

Basement bathroom...

Exercise room... Never used.  Equipment will be sold when we move.  If you know of someone who would like to buy it, let us know!  We would happily sell it to anyone in Mid-Missouri or West Tennessee.  It must go as we have no room for it in our new house. It may have been used five times.  This was a New Year's Resolution purchase.  I'm sure some of you understand.  :)

Let us cut you a DEAL!

You can buy it all or one piece.

Eliptical, free weights with bench, and foam mat.

=Feel free to leave me a comment or email me at selenabragg@gmail.com=

And then our favorite space.  Our storage area in the basement.  It is wonderful!  This space is referred to as the John Deere room in houses around the area.  It has double doors that open to the outside. 

Russ loves this space!

{I think know we have TOO much stuff!}

And this is the back of the house. 

The double doors on the bottom right are the doors to the John Deere room.

There you go!  A quick little tour of the place we call home.  And as to the "place".  It truly is a place.  We all live in shells in which we create into our homes.  I am excited about creating our new home in Martin.  By the way, didn't Russ do a fabulous job of painting?! He is filled with excitement exhaustion as he thinks about painting our new house, but I have total faith in him! :)


I must admit, however, that as I sit here and type this, it is hard for me as I look around our home, realizing that we are going to begin packing boxes and that life will be in a disarray for several weeks to come.  Things go from seemingly perfect shape to a perfect mess when preparing to move.
It will all come together in time, I know.

Thanks for reading, and once again, thank you for praying for us during this process.
I will keep you posted as we head South to make our new home in Tennessee.