Treat or Tricking

Tonight we went to the Bellevue Publix for some treat or tricking. We carpooled with our neighbors, the Peacock family. Abby and Mary enjoyed riding together in their van :)

The workers at Publix seemed to be just as excited watching Abby and Mary walking around as they did getting candy!

Afterwards, we came back to our neighborhood and wagoned around for more treats. Abby is a lot more aware this year about candy and what it means :) She kept wanting to know what each each piece of candy was called and if she could eat it.

Sweating to the Candy

Tonight we went to the Bellevue YMCA for a pre-Halloween event. There was candy, crafts, activities, etc...

We met up with the Guinness family and toured the festivities.

Although there was some candy, Abby most enjoyed the craft area. She loves to color and create things.

For more pictures go to my Sweating to the Candy Picasa Web Album.

Pumpkin Carving

We carved our pumpkin tonight. I looked around on the internet for several minutes to find this year's pumpkin pattern. We settled on the Jack Junior.

This was Abby's first experience participating with carving a pumpkin. I kept the sharp utensils to myself, but she enjoyed looking inside the pumpkin and touching the slimy pumpkin seeds :)

For more pictures go to my Pumpkin Carving Picasa Web Album.

Family Fall Fest

We all went to the Family Fall Fest this evening at the Western Hills Church of Christ. There were hayrides, trick or treating, games, hot dogs, a fire pit with smores, a costume parade and much more.

The Talley family is shown in the above picture along with Andrea and our little chick Abby. Since I am allergic to hay, I stood a safe distance and took pictures and video :)

We had a great time and look forward to going again next year!

For more pictures go to my Family Fall Fest Picasa Web Album.

Bouncing Grace Party

Andrea and Abby joined in celebrating Grace Talley's third birthday on Saturday. The party was at "Go Jump" in Ashland City. Both Abby and Andrea had a great time jumping in the bounce houses. Thanks Talley's!

For more pictures go to my Bouncing Grace Party Picasa Web Album.

Fiesta Forever

FIESTA FOREVER!!

Tonight Andrea and I went to a special event at the Fellowship Bible Church called Parents of Preschoolers 'Fiesta' Event.

Joel and Jill Guinness, our community group leaders, hosted the event. They did an awesome job. We had a great time.

Joel rocks! He performed 3 songs that he wrote, 2 of which he completed this week! The food was delicious, the songs were funny & touching, the newlywed game was a barrel of laughs, and we sat next the neatest couple :)

Dave Ramsey, a local celebrity, attended the event. Andrea and I have been following his financial plan since January. As a side note, I encourage all of you to read or attend Dave's Financial Peace University. It has really helped to get us on the right track.

Archeology in Parsons

My Dad is doing an Archeology and Bible Seminar entitled "Digging for the Truth" at Parsons church of Christ for the next several days. We all drove over to Parsons this morning to attend church with my parents and visit with them afterwards.

My Dad's presentations were impressive and insightful as always. He is a very dedicated and enthusiastic speaker and you can tell he loves what he does. After church the congregation met in the basement for a fellowship meal (a.k.a. Potluck)!

We had some time after the potluck to visit with my parents at the house they are staying in. That is where the above picture was taken. It was great to see my parents and we look forward to seeing them later this year.

If you are interested, you can listen to his presentations at the Parsons church of Christ website

Gentry Pumpkin Patch

Today we all went to Gentry's Farm and we had a great time! It was a beautiful day outside to visit a pumpkin patch.

We arrived at the farm just as it was opening, which enabled us to experience the farm in an open and relaxed manner.

Abby had a great time playing in the kid sized log cabin they had, seeing the cows on the hay ride, playing in the feeding trof, going through a hay maze, etc...

For more pictures go to my Gentry Pumpkin Patch Picasa Web Album.

Dustin Overbeek

Tonight, we went to the local Notable Bistro in Bellevue to support our friend Dustin Overbeek who was performing his music.

We first met Dustin in our Fellowship Bible Church community group. I also play racquetball with him and Joel Guinness on a weekly basis (when our schedules work out).

Many of us from the community group came together for a fun night of good food and great music. I hope we can all get together and do this again soon.

If you have not heard Dustin's music, you should definitely check it out!

Cookeville Friends

Andrea and Abby had the opportunity to visit with their good friends, Ashely and Alana Atnip, who live in Texas now.

They were in Cookeville visiting family and invited Andrea, Crissy and Barbara to spend the day with them. They had a great time vising with friends. Miss Janet and Mr. Jim made a delicious lunch and set a beautiful table for them. They even had a little table set for the kids.

The kids, Alana, Abby, Grace and Jamison had a fun time together, too. They captured the kids playing "ring around the rosie" together.

For more pictures go to my Cookeville Picasa Web Album.

Deceptively Delicious

Andrea and several of her friends got together tonight to try out several recipes from the new Deceptively Delicious cookbook (written by Jessica Seinfeld) that just came out and was spotlighted on a recent Oprah episode.

"Jessica Seinfeld, like many busy parents, struggled to get her three kids to eat healthily. After much trial-and-error — and many mealtime battles — she discovered a foolproof system: delicious and easy-to-make stealth recipes that sneak in puréed veggies so kids will never suspect the foods they love are actually good for them!"

Andrea's Birthday Party

I gave Andrea a surprise birthday party this year. The great thing is that she didn't even see it coming until she opened the door to our house!

I made the following movie to commemorate her childhood. As you watch the movie notice how similar Abby looks when Andrea was her age. Its almost as if we have a glimpse as to how Abby will look in a couple years. If she turns out anything like Andrea, she will be breath taking.

Thank all of you who attended the party and for helping me make it a success. A lot of work went into planning, preparing, and executing the party. A special thanks goes out to Barbara O'hara, Chris Peacock, Carole McDonald, and John and Freda Hall. Also, thanks to everyone for keeping it a secret!

You can also view a larger version of the above video on Google Video.

Zoe Conference

We were blessed to attend the Zoe Conference this year with our good friends Erik and Sonya Luchauer.

Their friends in Knoxville count not attend and offered their tickets to us. Thank you Luchauers' friends! With very late notice, Andrea's parents came by to pick up Abby for the weekend. Thank you Andrea's parents!

We had a great weekend of awesome worship, powerful teaching, and reflective contemplation. It was a treat to invest time with the Luchauers Spiritually and relationally. It has been a long time since we have shared our lives with them. They are a joy to be with. It was very refreshing.

We hope it won't be nearly as long until we get back together with the Luchauers again.

Abby's First Haricut

We let Abby's hair grow and grow since she was born and it was finally time for her to get a haircut.

Abby was very cooperative and content during the haircut. It appears that she really enjoyed the experience. The hair stylist told me that she saw large hair bills in my future.

Andrea and my Mom have both painted Abby's toes previously and I tell you, she loves being pampered!

For more pictures go to my Abby's First Haircut Picasa Web Album.