The latest...

I love friends. Last night, Rob and Katherine joined us for dinner. It was the first sit down meal in our new home! We also carved Tripp's first pumpkin! Rob came up with a cute little design of a face that incorporates "Boo Boo," a nickname Rob has given his son. Too cute. So here is the final outcome from our pumpkin carving experience. Michael and I are also going to carve a pumpkin this weekend. I'm not exactly sure, but I think the pumpkin Michael chose is probably 30 pounds. I'll add another photo in this blog of Tripp with pumpkin. I just love kids.

On Wednesday, I made a trip to Marion. I had to see the judge about a traffic ticket I received and wanted to plead not guilty on. Good ole Don was very kind - he dismissed the ticket and lowered the court costs by half. I also dropped Jackson off to get his little manlihood taken from him. Poor little guy. I had lunch with some great friends, young and old. Dr. Betty is always good for some stories and laughs. I made my rounds to all of the offices on campus and met the new alumnae director. It's always surreal for me to return to Judson. The place is the same - but the students are different. I can always vividly remember a moment or a story as I walk around that campus.

Anywho, I picked up Jackson Thursday morning and returned to Birmingham. By the way - for those interested, Brent has a Super Walmart now. The students can trek to Brent instead of Selma, now! I spent the day working from home and keeping an eye on the little one. He's recovering well.

As for me, I'm recovering slowly but surely. I often try to do more than I should, and that gets me in trouble. I'm trying to go as much as possible without pain medication. My jawline is still a good bit tender, and I'm still not yet open to 35mm on my own. Getting to sleep in a comfortable position is a nightly battle, but I have managed to get more sleep lately once I do get comfortable. The soft foods diet is going surprisingly well, though I do very much miss pizza.

Michael and I have continued to make progress on the house by doing little things along the way. I think we will be painting the kitchen very soon - once we agree on a color. We also will have to first remove the oh-so-nice wallpaper border that the previous tenants thought was necessary. Once we get our pumpkin carved, I'll post some new pics of the outside (with our new flag :) and maybe some shots of the inside where we have painted.

We're looking forward to all of the trick-or-treaters next week. We hear our neighborhood is "the" place for all things trick and treat. I've even heard rumor that they bring a couple bus-loads of children in for the occasion.

This weekend we will make another trip to Auburn for what I hope will be a win. I'm a little excited about the change in weather. I've been wanting to experience a game while bundled up a bit.

Until next time, friends...(and stalkers)...