SPOILED AT GRANNIE AND POPS!

Today Pete and I went to Rockwood to help finish the "Cabin" (playhouse). It has been a project for quite some time now. Mom, Pete and I went to Lowe's for Grannie to buy the supplies somewhat early this morning. Pete and Daddy worked on the cabin while Mom and I picked out wedding pictures. They built rails on the front porch, framed the windows, put up a mailbox, built steps and lined up the front door to make it funtion better. All that we need to do now is paint. We are going to paint the inside a neutral color and Mom ordered chalk board paint today for one of the walls. We also have to paint the framing around the windows and the front of the cabin. Pops bought a futon for it, so hopefully there will be many sleep overs and they have miniature chairs that will look adorable on the front porch. It is ready for lots of kids! SPOILED, SPOILED, SPOILED. Connor, Kaitlyn, Paisley and Jacalyn will love it (as well as future granchildren)!
Now, question is.... Where was Brad and my "CABIN"? We had a 2x4 wedged between two tree limbs to sit on. I can remember Brad and myself doing this when Daddy would have extra wood. It worked... but man, it would have been nice to have a whole house! Ha ha. I am very happy though that the grandkids get one at Grannie and Pops because we won't have to have one! :) Enjoy the pictures!

HONEYMOON!

Well, we are back! We got home at about 12:30 am this Sunday.
We had an absolute blast. For those of you who do not know... We were in St. Lucia, W.I. for 12 days. Man, am I spoiled! Pete treats me so well. I don't think I deserve it.
So, we did a lot. We stayed at the Sandals Grande for the first 7 days, then at the Windjammer for the last 5 days. Both were amazing in their own ways. At Sandals we had a very nice honeymoon suite and at Windjammer we had our own villa. I can't explain how nice it was. Pics to follow...
At Sandals, we had a candlelight dinner on the beach with white glove service (Pete also asked me to dance on the beach - precious), we also had a cabana for a day with lunch and champagne served to us. As far as excursions go, we went deep sea fishing and caught nothing, went ziplining in the canopy of the rainforest which was fantastic, we then went to the market in Castries (the Capitol of St. Lucia), then we went on a day cruise to the volcanos and gardens, and on a Sunset Cruise, we also went to a street jam - a local party they have in Gros Islet on friday nights with local food, music and drinks!
We met many locals and a lot of honeymooners but stayed to ourselves for the most part.
Wow, a perfect wedding, then a perfect honeymoon. When I get pics of the wedding, I will post them.
Everything was like a fantasy!
Back to reality now!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Perfect Friends and Family!

I have 2 showers so far and one to go! The first was for family and was given to me and Pete by Tara and Benita (Lady). It was so much fun. There were probably 25 or 30 people there. Heather came in from Destin, FL and Pete's parents even came in from PA! The second shower was this last weekend. Jessica and Lynn threw this shower for me. Unfortunately, Lynn could not be here but, she will be in soon. It was held in Townsend at Ms. Lily's Cafe. It was a very nice shower and we had a very good time! Heather suprised me and showed up to the shower from Destin. I had so much fun. I have the best friends and family!

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah... I know

OK. I know I have not been doing very well at this. It has been a blur! Just a quick rundown of the wedding so far. Wedding invites are out! Wedding rehearsal is at 5:30pm on Friday night May 29th. Dinner immediately following at the L&N Station. Saturday, May 30th is the wedding at Messiah Lutheran Church and the reception immediately following at the Knoxville Museum of Art.
All is going well. We are wore out! Pete and I both have worked very hard. I am so thankful for such a helpful fiancee'. I can't imagine any other male helping as much as he has. He has also dealt with my moods! I have been a bridezilla to an extent :) He likes to call me that.
Every Tuesday my girlfriends and sometimes guy friends have came over and worked on favors and centerpieces. I don't know what we would do without them! We finally finished tonight! That was a huge accomplishment. Tara made a lot of the centerpieces and she also came up with the idea! It is so nice to have such a creative sister! I could not ask for better friends and family. My Mom of course has been great and has made numerous trips to Knoxville to help. I don't know what I would do without her. She keeps me sane. She is always the first to know when I need a stress reliever.
I am so very excited. At this point, Pete and I both agree that we are just ready for it to get here. We have worked very hard and can't wait to see all of the benefits of our hard work. Most of all, we will be Mr. and Mrs. Reckard! Scary but exciting at the same time.
We finally had our engagement pics done and they will be posted soon! I hope all is well with everyone and we look forward to seeing you all in ONE MONTH!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Mom's birthday was January 14th! She turned 85! (ha ha j/k - I won't disclose the age) Anyway, Pete and I were able to go down and spend her birthday evening with her and daddy at Ruby Tuesday's. We had a quick, but good visit. All of us then had her house cleaned for her and spent Friday and Saturday with her. Of course, I think her favorite part was spending time with Connor! Any who, Mom I hope you enjoyed your birthday! We are so blessed to have a Mom like you! We love you dearly.

MY BOYS AND THEIR TOYS!!!

Well here is a fun video for you! Pete got this helicopter when playing "Dirty Santa" with the Thompson family. He likes it so much that we have ordered a bigger one! Cadillac either really likes it or it drives him nuts. We can't decide... You tell us what you think. I also can't figure out why in this video he bites his bed?!?!

CATCH UP!

OK... So let's play catch up! The wedding plans are going well. We are getting married at Messiah Lutheran Church in Knoxville which is our new church home! The reception will then be at Knoxville Museum of Art. I have my wedding coordinator, we also have the photographer and have a couple of meetings in the next two weeks with catering companies! Everything is falling into place! I can't wait. I also have my girls dresses picked out and my wedding dress and accessories are in and ready to go! We start our marriage counseling this Sunday!!!

We finally wrapped up at Susie's, just before the holidays. It looked so empty and lonely, but we are helping Matthew and Pam move in this weekend so maybe that will help. We really had a good Christmas even though at times it seemed a little somber. Susie loved Thanksgiving and Christmas! I miss her so bad. Her birthday was on the 30th and that was hard. We need your prayers for Benny as he has been very sick. As far as I know they are relating it all to his thyroid. He is just very weak and has lost about 40 pounds in about 1 1/2 months or so. We are all very concerned.

Heather and Zach came in and we got to spend some time with them! I was so excited that she came home. Thanks for fitting us in! I know it is hard when you live away to fit everyone in to a short time frame...

The Day family got together for Christmas at the nursing home with our little Granny. We got to celebrate with her one more year! She is the best Granny ever. All of Mom's brothers and sisters were there. We have a pretty large family on that side and getting together is always a trip!

Pete and I did Christmas on Christmas Eve! I got a Roomba! I can't wait to use it. We have to wait to take down the tree first. I got several other things, gift cards, etc. I got Pete a Citizen watch and small things to go with it. We limited ourselves this year because last year, we both WAY over did Christmas! We spent the day together and then went down to Roane County for dinner and a slumber party with Mom and Daddy! Thank you for a wonderful Christmas Pete! I love you!
We had Christmas at Mom and Daddy's! As usual they spoiled us! (Except the fact that evidently Tara out ranks me now - ha ha inside joke)... And we really had a good time with Connor. He is so precious! I love that little man! I have a challenge for everyone. The next time you buy for Connor, make sure it is the loudest toy you can find. Brad and Tara absolutely hate silence! Thank you for such a good Christmas everyone! I am so happy that we could all be together.

We were unable to make it to see Pete's family because as you will be able to tell in the pics, he went hunting in Texas the day after Christmas. Thank you all for our gifts! They were all really nice. We missed you all though and can't wait to see you soon!

I got the opportunity to reunite with old friends from school on the 27th. We had a really good time. There were a lot of us there! Everyone seemed very happy and very successful! It was nice to visit with you all and I can't wait to see you again. We have 3 couples getting married and Mrs. Isham of course is expecting! This is going to be a fun filled and busy year!

New years was a lot of fun. Because Pete was just getting home, we decided to stay in! Our family came to celebrate with us and we really had a good time! Even my Aunt's and Uncle's stayed until midnight (mind you they are the younger aunt's and uncles - ha ha) - let's see how many comments I get about that!!! We had a toast at midnight in fancy coke paper cups! I love it. We played games all night and just enjoyed our family. We have so much to be thankful for! Thank you everyone for coming, we love you all!

Here are pics of the holidays! Enjoy and Happy New Year to you ALL!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com