Spartanburg here we come!

Hey everyone,

I have taken a LONG break from here to focus on my photography blog. I thought it was probably about time I caught everyone up on our life. To start, we are expecting another addition to our family in June, and we find out what we are having next Monday (Feb 6). After Jim was transferred to Spartanburg, SC in June 2010, we have had our house in the market and have been living apart Mon-Fri most weeks, Jim in SC and James and I back in ATL. The night before I left for Nicaragua, Central America for my best friend's wedding we received an offer on our house. Jim and the buyers went back and forth for several days while I was in Nicarauga and finally settled on a price on Thurs Jan 19, the day before my birthday. What a wonderful present! We get to be together again!

Well... last Friday was the inspection and appraisal. We haven't heard back from either one yet, but we are trusting that this sell will work out, and we can finally have both feet in one state!

This week James and I are up in Spartanburg looking for somewhere to live. We could really use your prayers for this. We are hesitant to buy because we are still not sure exactly what area we want to live in yet, and rental houses have proven to be FEW and far between. We have only see one real possibility so far, and Jim is calling today to see if it is still available. Please pray for wisdom as we seek God's will for this next season of our lives.

I also have to share a cute story about James that I know you will all get a smile from. James is definitely getting close to the terrible two's and is showing signs of the extreme stubborness that comes with that age and with being part of the Garrison/Hall clan. He receives his fair share of "panks" every day, and has finally learned that when mommy counts to 3, he had better decide to mind before she gets to 3 or face the consequences. Today, I told him to stop doing something, and he got a surprised/excited look on his face and said, "1... 2... pank?" and used his finger to show how mommy counts. I had to quickly turn away to keep from laughing. Kids are so funny and graciously provide comic relief to life's challenging moments. :)

Love to you all,
Jim, Ally and James

Aunt Lala comes to town!!

Melissa is FINALLY in the states! YAY!! She is here for a 5 month sabbatical, and she spent the first 6 days here with me! We had a blast! She and her boyfriend, Coburn, were able to spend some nice quality time together as well as make some important visits over the weekend, and then we all got a chance to hang out Friday night (at Trivia) and Sunday (at Stone Mountain). (As a side note: I'm not writing a whole lot in this post (sorry to you detail lovers out there), but if I did, it wouldn't get out 'til next week. Yes, it's been a crazy week, and it's not over yet! I just have a few minutes of down time while James is sleeping.)

The last two days it was just the three of us- Melissa (a.k.a. Lala), James and me. James loved following his Tia (Aunt) Lala everywhere. She gets a little crazy... I mean goofy... when she's around little kids, which kept him laughing all the time, and he even cried when she closed the bathroom door to take a shower and he couldn't be in there with her. Haha! It was so cute!

We're sad she's gone, but the good news is that Nana is coming for a visit next weekend, so we're busy looking forward to that!

Love to you all!

Jim, Ally and James-z ;)

Us, Brainiacs at trivia... we came in 3rd place, but unfortunately there were only prizes for 1st and 2nd

James had fun looking for rocks and then handing them to Daddy. Mommy can't get enough of watching them interact!

(Here's the view above from Melissa's camera)

Jim and Coburn are pretending to be falling off Stone Mountain. (Coburn was a drama major in college... can you tell? haha!) (Here's Lala's view) And the girls tried it too... nope, no drama majors among us...

James's first b-day party

I know... I know... I am WAY late posting these photos. But better late than never. I made a resolution this year to post on my photography blog at least once a week (twice if possible), so I've been focusing my attention there. Maybe next year my goal will be updating this blog more often... or maybe it'll be to stop being so perfectionistic an just post something so you don't think we fell off the planet while I'm working on creating perfectly organized, photo-sized, and well-written post. Haha! Such is my life!

Anyway... James' 1st birthday was in Tallahassee, and the theme was giraffe's. (His favorite stuffed animal is a wind-up giraffe that Jim's cousin gave him.) We asked everybody to dress in yellow and brown (giraffe colors) and my parents and Emily found a little giraffe figurine at the Tampa zoo to use as a cake topper (see below). Jim's and my parents were all there as well as my siblings (I still can't believe they all made it) and some friends from Tallahassee (basically the fellow church staff families). We had a great time, and James was so much fun with his cake. He started off timidly at first. When he first got the icing of his hand he held it up to Daddy as if to say, "Eww... please get that off, Dada." But after mommy broke open the cake and showed him how good it tasted, he was ready to dig in. He eventually had cake on both hands, all over his face, in his ears and on his shirt and pants. What sweet memories these photos will bring in the years to come.

Enjoy!

The Garrisons

This little guy is the reason for the theme!

Somehow I didn't get a front shot of Pa G. (on left)

Mommy helped show James how tasty his cake could be. (Side note: Fox, who is standing behind me and James was so excited about his party hat that he just had to wear it to church the next day... too cute!)

So that's how it got in his ear...

James shared with Nana and Grandmom too!

Daddy came up with his own way to wear the birthday hat!

James got to use his present from Pa G and Nana as soon as the party was over!

1 year old shots!

Wow! How is it possible that it's already been a year since I met my little guy face to face for the first time? What a year it has been! I have absolutely loved watching him grow and change. I hear from so many moms that they wish their child was still a baby or they wish their teenager was still 3 or 4. Well... I don't have any experience with the teenager thing yet, but I have to admit that I am totally NOT missing James being a baby. Not that I didn't enjoy those stages too, but he is such a precious, fun, inquisitive, happy toddler now that I just can't imagine wishing for anything else! I hope that I can slow down and really take time to enjoy every stage like I am this one... and please, Lord, don't let James turn into a little whiner like I was when he gets a little older! Mom and Dad, I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for every single time I ever whined!! (I know there were a LOOOOOOOOOOOT of them!) ;)

The photos below were taken at my favorite park (McDaniel Farm Park) here in Duluth. Enjoy! And if you want to see more, check out my most recent TJBA photography blog post.

Love and Smiles from the three of us!

Bathtime blunders, lemons, and 1st Valentines

So I'm already two weeks overdue for a post! How does the time fly so fast?!! Here's a quick recap: we are still waiting for a buyer for the house, Jim is still able to work from ATL most days and only goes to Spartanburg once every week or two, James can stand on his own but hasn't had the nerve to try walking yet, and he turns 1 on the 26th! Wow!

Below are photos to catch you up on his cuteness! ;) Enjoy!

Love,

Jim, Ally & James

Playing with mommy, "helping" Daddy work, pulling the diaper baskets off the shelves...

Practicing for rolling Toomer's Corner next season, playing with his remote, watching "Little House on the Prairie"... okay maybe that last one is mommy's favorite ;)

While Daddy was in Spartanburg two weeks ago, James had his first accident in the tub. GROSSNESS!!! So we had to have another bath... with bubbles this time!

The weekend before last mommy just had to have chocolate dessert (Jim and I are trying to eat more healthy which means only one dessert a week on the weekends.) so we headed to Longhorn Steakhouse for the Chocolate Stampede. James preferred the lemons, as you can see above.

Yesterday, James got his first Valentine ever care of Granny!

Christmas 2010 and New Years 2011

This Christmas was a "Garrison" year (we swap between our families every year) so we headed down to Tampa on Dec. 23. It was a LONG trip, but James did so well! I was proud of what a good car rider he was... no hour-long scream sessions like our last Tampa trip! His "big boy seat" made a big difference this time!

Christmas Eve morning we ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel (one of my favorite Garrison family Christmas traditions) and then spent the day just hanging out back at the house. That night Jim and his family went to the Christmas Eve Service while I stayed with a sick, sleeping little boy. (James was sick on Christmas, and we ended up taking him to urgent care on Sunday, but all was well... just a really bad, long cold). Thankfully I got to watch the Christmas Eve service online while I was making cheddar chowder (one of my favorite Hall family Christmas traditions), and I even got to see my Dad's message too, which was almost as nice as hearing it in person! (Dad, I admit it did make me a little homesick for y'all, but it was a special treat too!) After church and dinner, we went outside enjoy the firepit that the neighbors had set up. It's really neat how the neighbors really hang out together in the Garrison's new neighborhood! They all know each other, spend time together and help each other out in a pinch. :)

Santa came to see James for the first time on Christmas Eve! Christmas morning we got up when James woke up, and everyone had to be in the room and ready before we brought James in because no one wanted to miss seeing how he'd react. He has a great time getting into the Santa presents, and then it was time to open the family gifts. I knew he probably would enjoy the paper more than the presents, but bless his heart he was a little overwhelmed by it all. As soon as he got one present opened, someone gave him a new one to open. He was so excited that we wanted him to rip the paper, but he couldn't understand why we didn't want him to eat it afterwards! For Christmas dinner we had prime rib (my other favorite Garrison family Christmas tradition)! Then I made all my important Christmas calls home and to Nicaragua, and we just hung out together for the rest of the day.

The rest of the week consisted of shopping, playing golf, taking family photos, bowling, meeting Emily's room mate, cooking tasty treats, and just spending time together! It was sad to leave, but we were al consoled by the fact that the Garrisons were headed on a cruise and we were headed to my parents house for more Christmas fun.


On the way to my parents, we stopped by my Granddad's house so that he could meet James. We ate sloppy joes for lunch and had a great time sitting outside in the beautiful Florida weather talking. Then we headed to Tallahassee for New Years. We opened more presents and ate a yummy New Years dinner... and a few homemade caramels! It was a short visit, but I got my "family fix". Somehow I managed to forget to get my camera out when we opened presents or for New Years dinner, so the photo with my dad is the only one.

I think I'm almost caught up on posts.... phew! More to come soon!

Lots of Love,
Jim, Ally & James

Our family photo... posed by me and taken with my tripod and the 10 sec timer on my camera! ;)

Aunt Lauren took James over to see the horses at the park where we took our family photos. He'd never seen a horse before!

Sleepy James chills on Nana's shoulder at the fire pit.

Santa brought James: books, Disney's Robin Hood (mommy's favorite Disney movie), puzzles, a shape toy, a dump truck, more cloth diapers, clothes and a two stockings full of goodies!

Aunt Lollie, James and Nana sport matching Christmas attire.

Aunt Ginny helps James play with his school bus!

James had to check out the Christmas tree.... but Nana was smart and put a gate up... darn...

Ginny reading the family cook book I made for all the sisters.

This is a funny story. Jim's dad used my brownie spatula to lay tile in our kitchen and broke it. so he bought me another one and had Ginny wrap it up like it was his present... then he passed it to me. It was hilarious!

One of Jim's favorite presents- a new Georgia Tech polo!

James had fun playing with his new school bus toy from Nana and holding the rope for Jackson.

But he didn't like it when his little friend was banished outside for a while.

When he came back in, James and Pa G. played with him in his cage.

Daddy bowled while James...

chased cheerios and...

played with Pa G's hair!

James had a blast with the celery sticks and straws at dinner one night!

Beth, doesn't he look so much like Blayne in this picture? ... I mean his"best friend Blayne that he hasn't met yet" :)

James with my mom's dad... my Granddad... his Great Granddad!

James and his BigDad play dinosaurs... roarrrrrr!