The New Digs

Here are some pictures of our new house! I have been requested by several of you to post some pictures of the new place we are renting in Starkvegas, so here ya go! The house is really great and spacious and we are enjoying it soooo much. Now if the rain would only stop, we could do some front porch sittin on our porches! :)
On a side note, we are soo ready to sell our house in Bham so that we can be down to 1 residence! Wouldn't that be nice? Keep us in all of your prayers please!!!!

And on with the pictures....

411 Mallory Lane

The living room looking in from the kitchen. The front door would be to the far right side of the 1st picture.


Kitchen looking into Dining Room



What we like to call "Will Corner"

Guest Bedroom...ready for anyone who would like to come and visit us!!



Will Baby's Room!

We turned the landing area at the top of the stairs into an office space.

Our Bedroom


Our bedroom is on the front of the house and has a door leading out to the balcony.

A Whole Lotta Fun!

This past weekend, we went to Jackson to house sit for my parents while they were in Indiana for my dad's family reunion. On Saturday, we got to spend the day with the Kirks! Molly and I took the kids to Kids' World which was an event going on downtown where they had jumping inflatables and booths with games and things for the kiddies. Our two kids were probably a little young to enjoy most of what was there, but we had a great time checking it out anyway! :) Will was apprehensive about the jumping things at first, but like every other new thing he encounters, once he warms up to it, he is all over it!! He played and played. He squeezed through tunnels, jumped over the hurdles, everything! We got full entertainment out of watching him have fun! Then, on Saturday afternoon, we swam for a little while and Will got brave enough to jump off of the diving board! What am I going to do with this kid? We then cooked out with the Kirks and Natalie and Jess came over after they got off work too! It was such a fun day.
On Sunday, we had lunch with Amma and Papa and it was really nice seeing them too! The only sad part about being at Nonnie and Papaw's house was that they were not there! :( Oh well, I know they had a great trip and we will surely see them soon!

Most of these pictures are action shots so you will have to forgive the poor photography. It is hard with a moving target!




Dan Whatley, Jr!!!!!!! Will's expression looks soooo much like Dan here.

The Gypsies Have Found Home

We are officially moved into our new house in Starkville! Last weekend, we moved EVERYTHING out of our house in Birmingham and over here to Starkville! To say that we could not have made the move without the help of our families would be an understatement. It all started with Brett taking Will to Jackson last Thursday so that he could spend the weekend with Nonnie and Papaw and we were able to work baby free which I am sure was better for all involved especially Will! Then, on Friday, Dan's parents and Clay came down from Hartselle to help pack and load the truck. They were awesome!! It amazed me how quickly things went along once they came in town. Jabo came with a plan and before we knew it, the truck was organized and loaded. Meanwhile, Gigi and I packed the house and then cleaned. Gigi did such a GREAT job cleaning the house and now it looks as good as the day we bought it! The caravan left Birmingham on Saturday around 1:00 (well ahead of the schedule I had in my mind to begin with) and as soon as we made it to Starkville, Kelly and Brett met us over here at the house to begin the unloading process. It took us no time to get the truck unloaded thanks to the strong backs of Brett, Clay, Jabo, and Dan. Kelly, Gigi, and I started putting boxes where they belonged and even got some unpacking done. Nonnie and Papaw arrived into town that evening with Will and were shocked that the Uhaul was not only unloaded but already returned! Everyone stayed in town until Monday and helped out with any and everything we needed to get settled. There are no words to describe the enormous amount of help we recieved in this move! We have the BEST family out there and we love you all sooooo much! Thanks for all of your hard work!! WE OWE YOU ALL BIG TIME!! I will publish pictures of the new digs as soon as I get a chance to take some!

4 Year Anniversary

Our 4 Year Anniversary

Let us be grateful
for the capacity to see, feel, hear, and understand.
Let us be grateful for this incredible gift of life.
Let us be especially grateful
for the ties of love which bind us together,
giving dignity, meaning, worth and joy to all our days.
This is indeed a day which the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice in it and be glad,
and let us count our many blessings.

Happy Anniversary! We are celebrating 4 fantastic years of marriage and almost 8 years together as a couple! I view my life with Dan as a true blessing. We have been so fortunate and shared so many wonderful times together and I know that it is only going to get better. It doesn't matter where we are living or what we are doing, having one another to share all of life's moments with is what really counts! Dan, you are my soulmate and my one true love and I am happy that I will spend the rest of my life with you! I love you!

A Day at Lake Tiak O'Khata

Last weekend, we went ot Lake Tiak O'Khata in Louisville which is only about 25 miles from Starkville. I think that we have definetly uncovered a treasure on a fun family thing to do around here! They have a sand beach on the lake and part of the lake is roped off to keep the funky stuff out and make it a good swim area. Believe me, neither Will nor I would have gone swimming in some nasty lake water! :) Anyway, there was a really nice kiddie area with a water spout for the little ones to run under and a big slide. Will took a little time to warm up to the water and wasn't so sure about his footing on the sandy bottom, but after about 30 minutes, he got brave and started letting go of me and Dan to walk around in the water. Then, once he was comfortable, it was on! He played and played.






We brought a picnic lunch and got out of the sun for a little while to eat. Will and I then threw some bread to the fish...He got a good arm on it, but sadly most of the bread he threw never made it off the shore! Oh well, he thought he was doing great!




Then, back to the swim area. Dan and I looked at each other around 2:00 and made the mistake of saying, "Man, he is really doing well and doesn't seem to be getting tired yet." At about 2:08, he pitched a fit over not being able to go underneath the slide and we looked at each other and simultaneously declared that it was time to go! We got all the sand washed off by the hardest and made our way to the car. It was not long after we got on the road back home that Will was out! We transfered him to bed when we got home and he slept until 5:00 when I finally woke him up so that he would go back to sleep that night.
It was some much needed fun family time together before the big move coming this weekend. I think we all enjoyed ourselves!!

Here is a video of me and Will going down the slide. I think I was having as much fun as he was! :)