Jottings from Jon

Hey everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. The past couple of weeks have been very busy for me. Charlotte has seemed to become my home base of sales. It seems that business is starting to pick up but I am anxious to get some deals closed in the near future.

Lately, we have spent a lot of time working in our backyard. Our first step in the process was defining our beds with timber edging. This involved digging trenches, leveling the timbers, drilling holes and finally driving rebar through the timbers and into the ground. (I thought this project was going to go a little faster then it did but it ended up taking a majority of the day).

Recently, we have begun landscaping the beds. We hope to be able to expand our patio for more of an outdoor living experience soon. Once the patio has been finished, our plan is to add sod so Parker will have somewhere to play. Pretty soon, we'll have to start looking for a swingset! Below are some photos of our progress. We hope to have it completed soon!

Before:


After:

Parker's Baptism

We celebrated Parker's Baptism this past Sunday. Parker's Granddaddy baptized him. It was such a special day. We had lots of family and friends in town for the big event. Here are a couple of pictures from the service...Click here for all of the Baptism pictures

Before the service

So sleepy

Family photo after the service

With Granddaddy

With the sponsors- Aunt Laura and Uncle Jacob

After the service, we had everyone over to our house for lunch and cake. It was so much fun!

Some of our guests

The Chapmans

Great-Granddaddy and Parker

Gramsy (I couldn't have gotten everything ready if it wasn't for her)!

My centerpiece

Brice - why doesn't anyone pay attention to me anymore???

Cameron and Jacob - we can't wait until their wedding!

Gramsy and Parker (worn out from the long day)

Parker hanging out on the hammock with Aunt Laura and soon-to-be Aunt Cameron

Sleepyhead

There's nothing sweeter than a just bathed baby in footed pj's ready for bed! He's even giving us a thumbs up! (Notice the scratch on his face...he's finally found his thumb, but can't quite get it into his mouth).


We have a busy weekend ahead. Parker is getting baptized on Sunday, so we have a weekend of family, friends and celebrations planned. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous, so hopefully we will also get some yard work finished. Gramsy, Parker's great-grandmother, is coming in tonight to spend some time with us!

Also exciting news: I think Parker might be about ready to roll over. We'll see if it happens this weekend.

Remembering Italy

Two years ago this week, Jon and I were drinking Italian wine, eating homemade pasta and overlooking Mt. Vesuvius. We had an amazing time in Italy. Our honeymoon was an unforgettable experience and I can't wait until we have the opportunity to go back and take Parker with us!

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from our trip: (to see all of our photos from Italy, click here).

First arriving in Sorrento after a long day of traveling

View of our hotel from the Bay of Naples

Yum...limencello!

On top of Mt. Vesuvius looking over the volcano

Inside the Blue Grotto at Capri (one of my favorite)

Isle of Capri - so beautiful

Beach at Positano

Sunset over Sorrento

Looking over Mt. Vesuvius

In Rome

The old Roman Forum

Ciao!

Happy Two Years!

It's hard to believe how fast the past two years have flown by; actually, it's hard to believe how fast the past eight years have flown by! So much has changed since we first met.

Happy Anniversary Jon! I love you :)

"Going to the Chapel..."

First Dance

Visit from Aunt Jen and Uncle Bob

We had a wonderful weekend visit with Uncle Bob and Aunt Jen who flew in this past Friday from California. Parker was so happy to meet them! I think they were pretty excited to meet him too :)

The weather was beautiful all weekend. Friday evening we grilled out and had a great time catching up with them. Saturday we headed to Isle Of Palms for the day where we met up with even more family. Parker had his first beach experience. I think he liked it, although it was a little breezy. We ended up eating in Charleston Saturday night before heading back to Columbia. We went to Shem Creek and had great company, but mediocre food.

Meeting Aunt Jen for the first time

Beach time!

Ten little toes in the sand

Aunt Laura

Cameron and Uncle Jake

Family photo on the beach

Hanging out with Daddy - not really sure what to think

Aunt Meredith

Sailboats out to sea

Lounging on the beach

Dolphins at Shem Creek

Sunday night we enjoyed dinner with Jon's family and spent more time with Uncle Bob and Aunt Jen. We had a great time and are so glad they were able to visit. We hope that you hurry back soon!

Hanging out with Uncle Bob and Aunt Jen

SO big!

Parker loves Aunt Jen!

Handing out big smiles

Happy Easter!

Wow - what a busy weekend! We had a very nice Easter this year. Parker looked handsome dressed up for church and we enjoyed a nice afternoon eating outside and working in the yard. We have a very busy week ahead with softball and kickball games are are looking forward to seeing Bob and Jen, who are flying in this weekend! Below are some pictures from this past weekend: