AJ's First Halloween, Lady T's Baby Shower and Dad Everett's Birthday...

Trick-or-Treat!!! We had a great time this weekend with Halloween, birthday and babyshower parties...

The parties kicked off at AJ's daycare...and he was, guess who?!?....POOH!!!

Aubrenae is ready for her trick-or-treat goody bag

Let's see, how many pics does it take to get a baby pooh to smile AND have his eyes open with his grandmommy?....hmmm

One...eyes are open, but is distracted, no smile...

Two...ahh, we're getting there, but the preflash will get you everytime...

Three...ditto

Four...

okay, okay...I think we can all agree that this one is close enough :)

AJ and guess who?....

...Aunt Janice!

We are sooo happy and excited for our Pastor and First Lady, James and Tara Jackson! They are expecting their first little one, James Anthony Jr. There was a tremendous outpouring of blessings, love and support from the New Beginnings family! Congrats to the Mom and Dad-to-be and we look forward to meeting Little James Anthony Jr!!!

...and then, we were off to another shindig! AJ & Aunt Niya posing before we head off...

We went over to celebrate Yvette's son, Jeremiah's 2nd birthday...awww, somebody's a little sleepy, all the birthday celebrations have worn him out (pictured: Jeremiah and Michelle, Yvette's sister)!

Yvette and I go waay back; we've been friends since Jr. High and have some awesome memories!

Yvette and AJ

"...whew, so many parties...so little time...I think I need a nap!..."

AJ and Paw Paw Everett, just kickin' it...

Dad Everett's birthday dinner...

AJ enjoying a little Jell-O

Theo and AJ

Erika, AJ, Theo and Venus

Ms. Mary, Grandpa Everett and Erika catching up...Kaila & Arian in the background

Aunt Sis and Uncle Bo

Me and Uncle John

Naima, Keith, Aunt Lois and Uncle Jr. chatting...

Ms. Mary and Grandpa Everett

"...We won...Go Colts!!!"

A Tribute to Mom Everett

I find myself sitting here thinking where to begin to pay tribute to my late Mother-in-law, where to begin sharing how wonderful she was and how much I love her. I remember first meeting Mom Everett at their home. Arian and I had only been out on a few dates and he wanted me to meet his parents and I looked forward to meeting them. From the start I knew that Arian was from a strong, loving, Christian family - it was solidified when I met Mom & Dad. I met Mom first and as I recall the jittery feelings of meeting her melted away when we started talking. She was always so kind, loving and funny among other things. I have always, from the very beginning, been welcomed into my husband's entire family and it all began with Mom.

Mom was a great example of what it means to walk in faith, to be a devoted wife, to be a loving mother and to be available to not only those she loved, but to anyone who needed her. I will miss her, we all will, but to paraphrase Aunt Lois (Mom's oldest sister), "it was a blow to hear that she was gone, but it's not a knock-out punch!", and that's because we know that she is with Christ & we praise God for that!!!

We'd like to thank & bless each and every one of you that has kept us lifted in prayer, checked in on us and/or have done a kind deed as we adjust to life without Mom Everett. We love you, God bless you!

Catching Up...

We are playing catch up for sure! These are AJ's six month portraits...by the way, past these portraits, this posting is in reverse chronological order...ooopps!

I couldn't help but to admire the fall colors...this is the view from my craft room, talk about inspiration!

Arian and I celebrated 6 years of marriage by taking our first family trip to Galena, IL which is in the NW corner of the state. The drive up and back was lovely, autumn added to the entire ambiance of the trip. AJ was fantastic the entire drive up (6 hours) playing and mostly sleeping.

Sr. and Jr. posing in front of the fireplace in our room

Pics from our balcony

The view from our room was awesome!

All bundled up!

...heading into town, to Galena's Main St....


What I tried to capture here was how hilly the landscape is, we learned that it was because the glaciers did not pass through this area eons ago...

It was chilly, but pleasant...we were so grateful that it did not rain as forecasted while we were there, so we were able to enjoy the town...beginning with a trolly ride with a tourguide who shared the highlights of this historic town (est. ~1836, birthplace of President Ulysses S. Grant, etc.)


one of the town's historic mansions, turned museum...
Galena has a gazillion overlooks, this was a view from the trolly looking down on the town

Galena's Main St. is filled with quaint shops, classic storefronts, and sections of original cobbled stone sidewalks...the architecture is stunning!

The lobby area of the resort...

We drove down from Galena to visit Rayshawn and Sabrina in Chicago...we always have a great time!...

...and then we stayed in Lombard, IL...our old stomping grounds...where we were able to fellowship with our former church family the next day...
We came back home just in time to celebrate with our cousin Kayla...she turned 13 on Oct. 17th...an "official" teenager WOW...so this began to make Arian and I feel a little old only because we remember Aunt Janice was pregnant with Kayla when Arian and I started dating!

Paw Paw Everett over for a visit & getting in a few stories before bedtime

Our cousin Charla and her daughter Samara were visiting from California and we're so glad that we had a chance to spend time with them! It's amazing, it seems like yesterday that we were just playing together as children and here we are with our own :)

In this pic AJ is 7 months, Samara is 5 months

Charla and her baby girl

Some pics you just can't resist...I don't know what it was about seeing him in this cute little fleece, but I just had to take it!

...giving greenbeans and bananas try..."two thumbs up!"

...Sweet Dreams...

Sometimes you play yourself right into Snoozeville

Cheering Malik (newphew) on at one of his football games

transitioning to a sippy cup like a champ!

"...actually, Mom's water is even better!"

tr

Mmmm...baby Mum Mum's (rice biscuits)

Our family from Mississippi that came up to help celebrate Mom Everett's homegoing

Jermaine, April and their son Jermarius stayed with us

a glimpse of AJ's first two teeth coming through...

okay, so you can't see his teeth in this photo, but he's just having so much fun!

Theo, Maurice and their children Joe and Venus (aunt, uncle and cousins) watched AJ for us...

Theo and AJ

Joe off to school

Gary, Arian's childhood friend, visiting from Atlanta. This was his first time meeting AJ.

"hmmm...and then if I spin it around like this it will stay on...fascinating!"

Our dear friend, Jonathan, came to visit from California...this was his first time meeting AJ

...this is one way you know your child has out grown a toy, when he's had so much fun he's pulled it down...don't worry folks, no one was harmed-it's all cloth and foam... :)

At daycare this day, we all celebrated Aubrenae's (our niece) 1st birthday

Daycare children

My Mom holding the Birthday Girl! Everyone gathered to sing...

Aubrenae with here mommy (Brittany)

Proud Grama: AJ and Aubrenae
Sr. and Jr. with Grandma Harris

AJ's first time with being spoon fed cereal

WHEW! All caught up...for now!