Happy Birthday!!

The month of November is a big birthday month for the Bowen family. We have Eli, Caleb, and Myles all within a week of each other! We went over to the Norris's to celebrate as we usually do.

Eli is at the age now where he is really into the opening presents thing! He was even kind enough to open some of Myles' gifts for him. :) Here he is with the Handy Manny toy that Mama J and Daddy J gave him. And might I say, this is one pretty cool toy! We were very impressed that Eli knew what most all of the tools were used for!

I think Myles enjoyed himself too, but it was a lot for him to take in! Here he is opening some of his presents.

He was not shy at all about eating his birthday cake. HE started off a little slow but it wasn't long before he was double-fisting it!

Eli...very excited about ALL his new toys!

Myles...being his sweet little self...is he not precious?!

In the words of Eli...

...GO TENNESSEE!!

This past weekend we went to Knoxville with my parents for the Tennessee Homecoming game. Even though this season has been slightly painful to watch, this actually turned out to be a very exciting game to be at! It may have just been pure luck, but we actually played well and looked like a pretty decent football team! I guess there is hope for next year after all!

The Power T marching down the field

It's football time in Tennessee!!

My dad's aunt and her husband have season tickets to the games, so they were there Saturday as well. My parents were able to find them with our handy dandy binoculars. They were on the complete opposite end of field from where we were...but I still managed to get this picture of them from our seats! I love the zoom on my camera!! They are the three in the middle of the crowd waving.

We won...the weather was beautiful...good food...all in all it was a great Saturday on Rocky Top!

'Tis the Season

That's right! It's not even Thanksgiving yet and we are already putting up our Christmas decorations! What can I say? We love Christmas! Might as well enjoy the pretty decorations as long as we can!

What else??

So what else went on during the month of October?? Well, here are just a couple of my favorite pictures from the month.

Stacy made Chad's birthday cake this year and it turned out great!!!

Myles thoroughly enjoyed the cake. Can you see that it is even in his eyelashes?!

Eli enjoyed not having to twist anyone's arm to go outside and play. The weather has been soo beautiful the past few weeks! We all took advantage of it and spent some time outside!

And this may be my favorite picture of Seth and Myles...just hanging out on the couch. Such sweet boys! (At least in this picture they are!!)

Trick or Treat!!

This past weekend was the Fall Festival at Maysville. This year we had food and games inside, then went outside for "Trunk or Treat." I think all the kids had a great time! They left with huge bags of goodies, so how could they not have had a great time! :)

Seth and Daddy J made a couple new games this year. You may remember that last year they made the Frog Launcher. This was a HUGE hit with the kids because they got to be violent. You hit the bullseye with the hammer and try to launch the frog onto one of the lily pads.

This year they made "The Cat in the Hat Game" and "Jack O' Linko." For The Cat in the Hat you have to throw the ball into the top of the hat and it will come back out of the front of the box. It is actually much harder than it looks!

"Jack O' Linko" is the Halloween version of Plinko. Both new games were bigs hits this year too!

Seth was soooo excited that he got to dress up as a Ninja this year! I got to dress up as a Ninja, too, but Seth got waaay more into the character than I did. :)

I was more pumped about the cute cupcakes that I got to make!

Eli went as a Pirate this year. I told him to say "Cheeese!" but instead he said "Arrrgghh!".....thus the scrunched up face.


Myles went as a caveman and was the cutest thing ever!! He even had a club!

Do you like it, really??

Over the past few years, I have been asked many times if I “like” baseball just because of Seth. I guess some may find it hard to believe that before Seth ever came into the picture I went to my brother’s little league and high school games…to Braves and Cardinals games…to Freed and Auburn games…and I greatly enjoyed it ALL!! I may not have the same passion for baseball that my husband does, but I still enjoy a sunny spring afternoon at any ballpark. I consider myself very blessed that my husband’s favorite pastime is something that I can easily enjoy with him!

If you were to ask me who one of my favorite ballplayers is, I would say Josh Hamilton. The past few days I have been reading his book “Beyond Belief.” I liked him before reading the whole story of his decline, but now I am even more impressed with him. It is absolutely amazing that this young man survived the things that he put himself through. I find it even more impressive that he only blames himself and is not ashamed to give all the glory to God for his success. Even though we may not have exactly the same beliefs and even though he has made other mistakes …I am still impressed with his attitude and determination.

If you were to ask me who my favorite team is…I would have to say…yeahhh, don’t have one…not that big of a fan! :) Ha! But who am I pulling for in the playoffs this year?? The Texas Rangers! Seth and I watched them beat the Rays a couple nights ago. When they went to the locker room to celebrate, I mentioned to Seth that it looked like they were using soda instead of champagne. Was that really what I saw?? Then the next day I read this article, solidifying my support of the Rangers this year!


“In the minutes after the Texas Rangers clinched their first division title in 11 years, the team’s best player hid in the trainer’s room. Josh Hamilton is the leading candidate for the American League MVP award. He’s also made a remarkable recovery since his nascent career was derailed by crippling addiction to drugs and alcohol. So when his teammates popped champagne after clinching in late September, Hamilton absented himself. While the team whooped it up, Hamilton left early to address church groups. Mindful of his absence, the Rangers re-jigged their celebrations after Tuesday night’s Game 5 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. This time, as Hamilton jogged into the tunnel toward the visitor’s clubhouse at Tropicana Field, team staffers stopped him and gave him a pair of goggles. As Hamilton walked warily into the locker room, teammates screamed “Ginger ale!” and doused him with bottles of Canada Dry. “It was the coolest thing for my teammates to understand why I can't be a part of the celebration, and for them to adapt it for me to be a part of it says a lot about my teammates,” Hamilton said afterward." ... "Asked to describe his bumpy journey to stardom, Hamilton once told ESPN, “I’m proof that hope is never lost.” "

Now, that’s pretty classy of his teammates if you ask me!!

Finally, it's Fall!!

The changing of the seasons is such a spectacular thing to me. I am so thankful that God blessed us with four seasons to experience every year. I am one who thorougly enjoys each season. I am not a cold weather person, but I do enjoy the winter because of all the holiday fun it brings....and maybe even a little snow. :) Once the holidays are over, I am usually tired of the cold...and that's okay, because spring is right around the corner! I love the summer, because it means enjoying the sunshine, going to the river, getting a tan. But by about the end of August, the heat has worn out it's welcome and I am ready for a little cooler weather. Which is where we find ourselves now, Fall. Ahhh. :)

Here are a few of my favorite things about the Fall:

(1) Decorations. My mom always had the most beautiful decorations for every season....and still does. Now, I can put up decorations at our home...and even though we are many miles from my family, it reminds me of that home I grew up in.

(2) Sweet Goodies. There are those few little sweets that for some reason are only made during the fall season. Those are always something to look forward to!

(3) College Football. Even though Tennessee is not having the greatest year, I still enjoy spending Saturdays with family watching the game and eating tailgate food.

(4) Fall Scents. My current favorite from Bath and Body Works is Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin.

(5) Halloween. I always enjoyed Halloween growing up, but it wasn't my favorite holiday. Seth, however, LOOOVES Halloween!! He turns into an even bigger kid than he normally is. I love seeing him get so excited about it. It can be pretty entertaining! :)

(6) And finally, I like the fall because I know Christmas is right around the corner!!! My favorite holiday!!