a visit from sweet friends

Several weeks ago, our dear friends, the Riches, came to visit. We loved our time together talking late into the night, watching our boys play, crafting, and playing games. We always treasure our time with them and look forward to the next time we can be together. This is basically a repeat of Tara's blog post a couple of weeks ago. She's a much more on-the-ball blogger than I am:)

Our sweet boys are really close in age and had fun playing together. This is the third time they've been together, and I have a feeling it's going to continue to be more and more fun each time.

hanging with their sweet daddies:)

crafting!

ticket to ride on the ipad!

This photo captures a good bit of our time together: Carson attempting to attack Jaxon with hugs and kisses:) He's a lot bigger than Jaxon and sometimes knocked him down with his aggressive affection!

We are so thankful for these sweet friends!

Thanks for coming to visit, Mark, Tara, and Jaxon!

sweet Texas friends

Since moving to Tennessee, we've been blessed by sweet friends from Texas coming to visit!!! It has been so special to spend time with these sweet friends, introduce them to our church family, and show them our new home. We've had fun showing them around Music City, and our tour guide skills have improved a little bit each time!

January: Mark and Tara

Keith and Mark were roommates at ACU, and he and Tara have been dear friends of ours ever since. We always pick up right where we left off, stay up late, and have the best conversations with them! This visit was extra special because Tara and I were both pregnant, so we had lots of conversations about becoming parents:) We can't wait to meet sweet Jaxon!!

rockin' out!

waiting in line at Pancake Pantry on a cold winter morning....totally worth it:)

March: Spruce, Jacquie, Lynlee, and Kyndall

Jacquie and I were in club together at ACU and had lots of education classes together. We started hanging out with her and Spruce soon after we got married. We would hang out at least two or three times a week, playing games, watching TV, cooking, and sharing teaching and ministry ideas! They are such special friends. We've spent several spring breaks with them since they moved from Abilene a few years before we did. It was sweet of them to make the long drive to spend their spring break with us this year! We absolutely love their precious girls, Lynlee and Kyndall!!!

family pic at the Loveless Cafe...a Nashville hot spot with the most delicious biscuits ever!

the sweet girls were adorable in their matching coats:)

Jacquie and Kendall

Lynlee and me

May: Nick, Lauren, Emmy, and David

Keith and Lauren became friends when Keith's family moved to Jackson his freshman year of high school and have remained friends since then. Nick and I easily joined the friendship when we started dating the two of them:) During our last six months in Abilene, Nick, Lauren, and Emmy moved there!! It was such a blessing to have such good friends in town! We had lots of fun game nights and learned some great recipes from them. They were even sweet enough to help us with our home renovation!! Emmy was always such a joy, and after we left Abilene, they had sweet David! This is another precious family!!

family pic while David naps

Keith and Emmy

me with both precious kiddos!

July: Augie and Ashley

Ashley and I have been best friends since I moved to Roby in eighth grade and she invited the new girl to her slumber party:) We've remained friends since high school. We had fun working summers at BCEC together during college! Ashley and I have shared so many special parts of life together. We've had lots of serious conversations and had more than our share of silly moments, too:) We stood beside one another on our wedding days. Ashley and Augie got married last October. They make such a great couple! It was neat to spend more time getting to know Augie!

We picked them up at the airport and we matched:) Here we are at the factory in Franklin.

Ashley was brave and asked Waylon if we could have a picture with him at the Outlaws' game!

4th of July...everyone else went with blue and white, and I was the loner sportin' red and white...at least all three colors were represented:)

Loveless Cafe for some coouuntry ham and biscuits! We matched again without planning it:) I guess that's what happens when you're friends for SIXTEEN years!!!

spring break

My parents came to visit us for spring break. It was so good to see them and show them our new home! We relaxed, toured, and ate lots of good food! When they got here Saturday, I was soooo excited and hugged them tight! I was really excited to show them our house, and they loved it! Then, we toured Hohenwald, went to the antique fair, and had dinner at The Junkyard Dog. We loved having them at church with us on Sunday and introducing them to our new church family. 

Saturday:  having fun at the antique fair

Monday: We enjoyed breakfast at Hardees, then headed to Columbia to return the UHaul trailer. They brought the rest of our stuff from Abilene; there were a few things that wouldn't fit in the truck when we moved including our grill and lawn mower. We had lunch at Marble Slab...yum! That's my kind of lunch:) Then, we toured the rest of Lewis County. We saw the Natchez Trace Parkway and Meriwether Lewis's cabin and burial site. We went out to Yoder's Market, a traditional Amish market, and got some cinnamon rolls, and sandwich stuff for later in the week. Then, we went to the local butcher shop, got some delicious steaks, and Keith grilled out! Yum! We'd missed our grill! 

Meriwether Lewis is buried here

chillin at his cabin 

Yoder's Market

Tuesday: Not only was it Saint Patty's Day, but it was also Mama and Daddy's 30th anniversary! We decked out in green and headed to Nashville to tour and celebrate! We hit up the famous Loveless Cafe for some delicious biscuits, country ham, and red-eye gravy! Then, we toured the city, saw all the big houses, walked down broadway, and had some yummy burgers at Ruby Tuesday!

hangin out with Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff at the Ryman

Wednesday we cooked breakfast, ran errands, and worked on the house, enjoyed sandwiches from Yoder's, spent more time with our church family, and had dessert with friends. Thursday morning we all filled out our NCAA brackets, had chocolate gravy, a Hohenwald favorite, and hung out at home. Mama and I were crafty while Daddy and Keith watched basketball. Mama and I both got cricuts for Christmas, but hadn't had much time to use them, so we had fun figuring it out and even put some scripture on the living room wall! Thursday night we met up with Keith's parents and had some delicious catfish at Little Josh's near the Tennessee river. 

We relaxed together on Friday morning, fixed some Tennessee pork barbque for lunch, then said goodbye. What a great week! I am so thankful Mama and Daddy were able to come visit! They made it safely home Saturday evening after an 1, 800 mile journey!