Do you have a spare Ark we can use???

We had major storms in the Memphis area this afternoon, which caused some serious flash flooding in Collierville. Chris was home with Riley during the activities while I was stuck at work, watching the news on my laptop, and waiting for the tornadoes to pass. The last time I heard, we had 3 tornadoes confirmed in the area, but don't quote me on that. Luckily, we didn't have any reported in Collierville, but we had a lot of rain, and I had to make multiple detours in Collierville just to find streets that weren't flooded. I saw many homes that had water flowing backwards, out of the street into the garages, and I'm sure those homes had flooding inside.

Chris had been taking pictures of the weather, since it is a common practice for the creek below to flood some. This creek runs through the east side of Collierville, and into the Wolf River, further north of our neighborhood.

This picture is actually after it was all over, but it gives you a reference point of where the creek is in relation to our house and other land marks. We have been waiting for 2 weeks to get a fence up...note the post already in place. Also note the bird feeder hanging from the little shepard's crook.

This was the worst of it, and this is what I saw when I arrived home. Our neighbor's fence is 4 feet tall, and you can see the little black speck on the right side of this picture which is that bird feeder from the picture above. My flower beds are under this with our beautiful daylilies. :(
This is our other neighbor's fence...

...which didn't make it. It's hard to tell, but there are at least 3 fences in a row that lost this section due to all the rushing water.

This is our front yard. Due to our neighbor's fence, it pushed the water into the street. This was also one of the first things I saw as I pulled in.

Here is the water mark on our house. Luckily, our house is built up, unlike many houses on our street.

Chris also put together a short video of clips of the water and damage, which was just impressive.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today happens to be my dad's birthday. I just so happen to have pictures to post of him with Riley from my last trip to Hattiesburg, two weeks ago! My parents have a neighborhood pool and clubhouse, so we enjoyed a quick play time at the pool.

I was brave enough to take Riley by myself on the 5 hour trip to Hattiesburg by myself. We did splurge on a DVD player for the car, one that straps onto the back of the headrest, and it was a HUGE help. She did great on the trip, and we had fun with the short weekend visiting her Granddaddy and Nana B.

She found this hatbox/gift box in my room, and proceeded to enjoy playing with it. Notice in the back ground the watering pitcher and multiple decorative tins on the floor. If Riley can reach it, it is fair game to be played with!

11 months old

I say it every month, but I can't believe she will be a year old next month! I'm going to have to figure out a different photo shoot method, because she's over the bed pictures. It takes a lot of work to get her to sit still long enough to capture a good picture. I don't know that much has changed this month, except that she has gained a little more weight, and finally grew taller. We still don't have our front 2 teeth yet, and can walk, but just choose to bear crawl everywhere. My hope is that she will be walking by her first birthday, but I'm making no guarantees. She has found the enjoyment of opening the kitchen cabinets and drawers, and removing items to play with. She is also showing signs of attachment, either wanting to be around me all the time, or not wanting to leave Kim's house when Chris picks her up. That part is sad, but I am glad that she enjoys it enough to want to stay and play.

Riley's point of view

Look mom, I discovered the kleenex box. Maybe If I pull them all out, you will quit attacking my nose!

Umm, I'm trying not to let my toes touch the grass. It tickles my feet! But I still look cute sitting here.

Yes, I know you have me standing next to a pretty flower, and it would be a great picture for my party invitation, but I'm not into this photo shoot right now?


When do I get paid for my modeling sessions. You would think after the thousands of pictures you have taken of me, you would give up and use something on file.


I give up. See, I'm cute here. Use this one for my party invitation. ***we did!

Reunion, grandparents, and a birthday party

The weekend prior to the 4th of July, we took off to Columbus for Chris's 10 year reunion. I knew no-one, but had fun meeting some of his old classmates, and putting a face with names and stories I had heard about. We had fun, and I think Chris enjoyed it more than he expected. It took a little arm twisting to get him to go, but I think it was worth it.

I was also able to take Riley to Columbus that Saturday morning to visit with my grandmother, Granny Ann. We had a great lunch together, did a little shopping, and Riley put on here usual show for her Granny!

We did a first this particular weekend. We left Riley at Chris's parents to spend the week (until Thursday when we returned) with her grandparents, and great grandparents. They graciously :) volunteered to keep her, while we accomplished a laundry list of around the house chores, which were much easier to do without having to chase a little one around. She put on a full show each day, ate them out of house and home, but had a wonderful time.

Cobol, the dog, had to learn he was no longer number one with Pop's. After about day 2, he finally gave us, and allowed Riley to take over his domain of the living room.


Below is Sharpie, the black lab. He's obsessed with Riley, even though we haven't let him be around her so much, because even at over 100 pounds, he thinks he's a lap dog sometimes, and doesn't realize his size. He greets us at the car whenever we arrive with her, and is constantly trying to get to her. He was so happy that they let him "play" with Riley. He just wants to love on her all the time.

As you can see, Sharpie even helped bath Riley in the evenings. He just couldn't let her out of his sight! Too cute!

I'm not always a fan of the 2 piece bathing suits for kids these days, but her GG had to get this, even if it was a little snug. Everyone needs a Tini-weeny, yellow polka-dot bikini!

We returned on Thursday, since we were off that Friday for the 4th of July. The 4th also happens to be my birthday, and Chris's family loves birthdays, or any celebration. So Mrs. Renee went all out with the balloons, decorations, cake and homemade ice cream. It was a fun day and weekend had by all.

Pardon me for bragging...

But it's my blog, and I'd like to! Just a couple of months after we were married, our good friends Cager and Maris suggested for us to read up on Dave Ramsey regarding our financial management. They lent us two books they had, and we each read one within that first week. You see, we purchased our house 4 months before we married and got stuck having to pay for a new roof out of pocket within a few months, which we got a HELOC for because we had all but emptied our savings on the house. We also had a small amount of student loans from my last year in college. The November after we were married (only 2 months after) we killed the engine of my car on the Interstate in Jackson, whick Cager graciously rescued us from. So I got a new car a week later.

Now, onto the title of this blog. In just under our 3 year wedding anniversary, we are now debt free, other than our mortgage, which we even refinanced earlier this year. We followed Dave's principles of the Debt Snowball, and managed to pay off everything including some credit card debt, the roof, student loans, and as of yesterday my car. We even have our vacation in September already paid for.

I know a lot of people already use Dave's principles, but we have found them to be very rewarding and a major help in our marriage! We recommend him to anyone looking for financial peace.


-- Post From My iPhone