GROWING!!

I continue to grow all the time. McCoy is a mover and a shaker! He likes to do a wiggle dance in my belly all day long and sometimes through the night. We have started on his room, but still lots to get done. Bo and I recently went to Gatlinburg and had a nice time. Here are some pics!

It's a BOY!

Bo and I will be expecting a little baby boy in April!

So far he is doing very well. We have decided on Glen McCoy Payne and calling him McCoy/Mack. Glen is Bo's dad's name and his grandmother's maiden name. McCoy is Bo's middle name and his mother's father's name. Mack is actually my great grandfathers name :) I had to get in there somewhere!! We do have our house for sell, but no real movement. We both have great jobs here, but are looking to be closer to family. If it doesn't work out we know that it is God's plan for us to stay. I can't wait to get his room started! I have been feeling great. My Lupus is being closely monitored so that nothing happens to little Mack! We feel so blessed. Please pray that our little angel will be healthy.

Gatlinburg Trip!

Bo and I took some time off to visit Gatlinburg. We had an awesome cabin with an amazing view!

We ate at our favorite Reuben place and did lots of hiking!

The Nashville Flood

The weekend of the Nashville Flood Bo and I were in Birmingham having our class reunion. It was great! We left on Sunday to come home and heard there was some flooding :) We really had no idea what that entailed.

Bo had been in Mobile all week working so we were in separate cars. We remained on the phone in case one of us floated off the road because we couldn't see each other it was raining so bad. I took Penny (our girl dog) and Bo took Paul (our boy dog). Right when we past into TN we started to see what flooding meant. It looked like we were driving through Niagara Falls the water was pouring over the rocks on the interstate. We were going through massive pools of water...scary times...even for the dogs. Paul started to get a little gassy at the thought of all this going on AND THEN, WE HAD DIARRHEA!!!. Poor Bo was gagging. Paul was in his lap when it happened and to keep it contained in his car, he held Paul IN HIS LAP!! We had to pull over at a gas station (along with 50 other drivers trying to get out of the flood) so I could take Paul. Yes...Bo couldn't handle the poop. Given...it was REALLY bad. We managed to make it home. It looked like White Water rapids on the sides of the roads and the city was under water so we had to take detours everywhere we went. But THANK YOU GOD that our house was fine and after a good shower and a $200 car detail so was Bo :)

10 year reunion

Well, for those that don't know I was ambitious in High School and decided to run for President. Little did I know that 10 years later I would be stressing out over my reunion. I (and one lucky VP) have been working on this for a year now. It's scheduled for May 1st and I'm hoping people come because we have put a lot into it. This is the place we are having it:
And for those of you who aren't going to your 10 year reunion...YOU SHOULD!! There is a lot of work that goes into it and at least show up and say hey to everyone.

REAL SNOW!!

Last weekend we had 4in of snow and then 2in of ice on top of it! It made for some fun sled riding! This video is of my sister-in-law Honnie and her son Luke. Bo is riding backwards in front of them (please excuse his language!)

Bo is out of town this week in Rhode Island so he is getting to continue the joy of snow. My parents are coming up this weekend to visit. We are going to go to Henpeck Market in Franklin. I just went there the other day and there is so much I want to buy and eat! http://henpeckmarket.com/

Snow!

Well, it didn't last long, but we did get some snow! The dogs felt it was their responsibility to each all the snow off the porch...

Hollywood!

So, Bo had to be in California for 3 weeks for training, but we made the best of it. I flew down for a weekend and we got to do some cool things. I went to the San Diego Zoo....AMAZING! I've never seen so much in one zoo. Here are some pics:

We also made it over to Hollywood which was a disappointment. It's cool to say we went, but I doubt I'll be there again.

I'm on-call all weekend so we can't make it to Birmingham, but we will be leaving on Wednesday night. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Gatlinburg! There were good times...There were bad times...

On Thursday we went to Gatlinburg and get in our cabin. It was one of those open rooms with the bed/TV/couch/kitchen all in the same room. We started drinking and enjoying the hot tub and then Bo gets a call from work...he got a promotion! (good times)...so I decide we need to celebrate even more so we open more wine!!

While I'm getting us more wine I noticed a small brown furry thing moving across the kitchen. I tell Bo and he says "yeah, I hoped you wouldn't notice". I've never been around a mouse, but he assures me that they will not come near me and it is fine. So...drunk Brooke thinks it's cool and I even named him Despereaux b/c he has big ears. The minute we turn out the light I start hearing a lot of scurrying on the floor (bad times)...so I tell Bo I want to sleep in the car and he is really against it. Then all the sudden Bo does this wild jerk in bed and then tells me he is now cool with us sleeping in the car. I turn on the lights...mice everywhere!!! There is a baby stuck in the bathtub and his mamma is trying to help him out...Despereaux is still in the kitchen...and then Bo admits that one was on the bed and touched him.

We did go on lots of tails and saw lots of wild life! It was a fun trip and we have good stories!

Roll Tide!

Bo and I went to the football game this weekend! We stayed with Amber and Chris and had such a good time! Roll Tide!

On Sunday we went to AL to visit Bo's brother and family. Cougar is home for a week before he is deployed for the first time. It was so good to see everyone and it’s the first time the whole family has been together in 5 years. Please say a prayer that Cougar will have a safe deployment.

Amber's Wedding

We had so much fun at Amber's wedding. It was so perfect and totally Amber! She looked absolutely amazing and sooo happy!

On Saturday she had a bridal tea at this beautiful winery. She had everyone wear hats and pearls! It was so cute and made for some very cool pictures.
That night we were all so worried about the weather since it was an outside wedding, but it ended up being perfect! God was watching out for us because when the reception started…so did the rain! We had such a great time. Congrats Mrs. Shumate!!

Not much going on...

...which is awesome b/c for so long things were so crazy! First, Louie is doing fine. He is back to his old Dr. Evil ways and recently has been very interesting to watch. Everyday is a new way on how it plans to escape...he is getting pretty creative! You have to keep an 'eye' on him :)

Penny and Paulie are growing up so fast! Penny is a young lady and Paulie is straight up male dog.

Bo has been out of town all week and he gets to come home tonight! Its suppose to be a very nice weekend so we can't wait to enjoy the weather!

poor Louie...

We aren't exactly sure what happened, but the vet thinks he was hit by a car. I was taking Paulie out on Wednesday morning and Louie came walking up looking very mangled. We rushed him to the emergency vet and they said his eye wasn't recoverable. He went through surgery that day and they removed his eye and wired his jaw closed. We were able to pick him up on Saturday and bring him home. He is doing ok…he has to be in a lot of pain. But he is eating well and staying still.

Diving Dolphin

This weekend was Amber's Bachelorette party. We went to Sandestin on Friday and met Amber out by the pool! We went out on Friday night and then made our way to the beach on Saturday!! The weather was perfect and we got lots of sun, plus the ocean was very clear. Amber opened her scandalous presents to prepare for her honeymoon...the diving dolphin was by far the best gift and made for good entertainment. Saturday night was so much fun...we went to a dueling piano bar and got our drink on. Made for a long trip home, but we made it.

Puppies

Paulie is growing up so fast! He went to the vet yesterday and got a good check up. Penny loves her new brother and plays with him constantly...the little guy holds his own though.

Here is one of Penny playing dress up!

I have to put Paulie in the tub while I'm getting ready in the mornings...keeps him from having accidents. However he is not a fan

To Grandmothers House we Go...

This past weekend we made went to Birmingham to wish our dads a Happy Fathers Day! Penny has a hard time in the car but as you can see, Paulie takes it as an opportunity to catch some zzzzz. Friday night Robyn (my middle sister) had a shrimp boil at her house. All 6 of the kids LOVED Paulie almost to death (literally). The poor guy refused to move after we left! Sunday we went to Oneonta to visit Bo's Dad. We got to go to church with them up on the mountain. They have good ol southern gospel! You don't hear it like that anymore! Bo's brother plays in the band so it was cool to hear him play.

Yo Paulie

We have a new addition to the family...meet Paulie :)


We went to Clarksville, TN this afternoon and picked him up. He is already very different from Penny. He isn't afraid of the car and he is showing a fearless personality. His coat is much lighter...he is only 6 weeks old, so he is 4 weeks younger than when we got Penny. Penny is doing good with him. She is ready to play!!! And he is ready to take a nap....Louie (cat) showed his disgust and left the house. He is very precious and we are excited to have him in the fam!

Ron and Debs

My mom and dad came up this weekend! They brought up some outside furniture for us. On Saturday I took them on Vanderbilt campus so they could see where I work. We went back to the house and decided to paint the furniture, it turned out really pretty!

http://www.arringtonvineyards.com/ Saturday night we went to Arrington Vineyards...it was packed! There were so many people there, but we still got around good. We laid down a blanket and got some bottles of wine. It was a good evening.

Luke turns 1

My youngest nephew (Luke Arnold) turned 1 years old this weekend. Bo's family came into town and had a party for him on Saturday. He is so cute...I hope to have some pics from Honnie soon.

Sunday we tried our hand at gardening. I hope these live! We still want to plant in the front yard, but I need to find a plant that will stay alive for me first. My parents are coming up this weekend so she can put her green thumb on everything! Can't wait for them to see the house :)

NYC

This past week I was in NY for training. We went to a Yankee's game, top of the Rockafeller Center and went to see Phantom of the Opera! We had such a good time, it was me and 3 other co-workers.

When I got back my sister Wendi and her family came up (Whit, Jack, Elly and Annalee)...full house!! We got to hang out and feed the goats at our house. On Sunday we went to the Nashville Zoo...I was pretty good. Glad to be back home...I missed my hubby!!!