Today, June 30th is a glorious day. Today 50 years ago Martha Buck Hobbs and George Harold Hobbs Sr. became parents to their first daughter, Judyth Anne, one of the sweetest souls I have ever known.
Now, I know Hannah has already written several blog posts in tribute to our mother, but here I will attempt to write my first.
I am forever grateful for the Mother God has given to me and my family. She is a steadfast, faithful woman, who loves her Lord with all of her heart.
I cherish the childhood that I had. Mom made great sacrifices to raise her five children (staying at home, forfitting any pursuit of career or hobby). It brings great joy to my heart to see the fruits of her labor.
It is so amazing how much more you find in common with your mother when you become one yourself. Her example as a Godly mother encourages me to strive to be more like her. I find myself appreciating her more and more as I get older. I covet her prayers and motherly words of advice. I am blessed.
What a beautiful, compassionate, talented, tender, hilarious and sweet Momma she is. I am so excited to celebrate her 50 years of life today and praying that God would grant her 50 more! I love you Mom, you are truly the best!
CHOO CHOO!!!!! Matt and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary a few weekends ago in Chattanooga, TN. We had a wonderful time. Here is a quick glance at our trip:
day 1:
Lunchtime! As soon as we arrived in Chattanooga we drove around and looked for some place interesting to eat. We chose the blue water grille downtown. This was a very pleasant dining experience. It is a seafood restaurant with fresh fish shipped daily from Florida from the PacificCoast??? Doesn't make sense! This is what our waitress told us. However, we will cut her some slack because she was wonderful. She kindly gave us all the ins and outs of the city, where to go and definitely where we shouldn't waste our time on our short trip. She was very thoughtful and surprised us with 2 glasses of champagne with strawberries floating in them at the end of our meal! Great start to the trip.
Next stop, ROCK CITY. This was a very interesting recommendation from several Chattanoogan's. This was a wonderful little adventure to the top of this cliff, mountain, foothill. Whatever you want to call it! This was a self-guided tour through these really interesting rock formations. It was sort of maze like. There was even a portion of the tour called fairy tale land with lots of frightening fairy tale scenes in a cave with black lights shining on them making them even more frightening. It was neat. Kind of scary though!lol. There was also a part of the tour where you can see the view of Chattanooga and there are binoculars that you could pay a quarter to see into "7" different states. Now, that's impressive! NOT.lol. I didn't care much for seeing into seven different states, much less paying a quarter to do so. But, still it was interesting.
After Rock City, we headed to Stone Fort Inn to check in. We found the Inn to be very charming. Upon arrival we were kindly greeted by the Inn's staff who showed us to our room and gave us the run down on the place. We went to FREE wine and cheese before dinner in the parlor. This little picture is exactly where we sat. Isn't it pretty?
For dinner we went to a restaurant recommended by my Aunt Melanie called Acropolis. This was an authentic Greek restaurant. I ordered the Chicken Souvlaki. Unfortunately I got really sick that night. For your sake, I won't mention the details! So, the night was still young and we headed to a tavern within a block of the Inn for some sweet water and wine. Very relaxing!
At the end of a good night's rest we had a gourmet breakfast in the dining room at the inn. And can I just say it was fabulous. I'm sad to say that I do not have a picture of my plate, but believe me it was impressive. Included in our Weekend Romance package at the Inn, we had 2 tickets to the Tennessee Aquarium just alongside the river, as well as 2 tickets to the IMAX. We toured both the River and Ocean aquariums. Very interesting experience, although we managed to end up behind a huge group of highschool students from a science camp. ANNOYING. I know i'm mean. I was their age once, I'll cut them some slack I guess. But come on, you know being behind groups can be inconvenient to say the least! lol. So yeah, this was fun, not the best aquarium I've been too (Ripley's in Gatlinburg), but still it was a fun part to our day.
Once we left the aquarium, it was time for lunch. We went to the Terminal that was downtown Chattanooga. They had their own brewery in the building that was really cool. It was a triangular building 3 stories high. Awesome atmosphere. The kitchen was on the main floor, we were seated on the second. The waiters had to run up and down the stairs with food and trays in hand. This made for some sweaty waiters, but great food and great experience! Highly recommend this for lunch in Chattanooga!
We still had some time to spend before going to the IMAX later in the afternoon. Matt had really wanted to visit some historical sites and Civil War battlefields, so we headed back to the top of the mountain, foothill, cliff, whatever, and toured a few battlegrounds. This was called Pointe Park. It was about $3 per person, but definitely interesting. Nothing like a good reminder of our countries history to help us appreciate our freedom and to be thankful for the sacrifices made of those who came before us. This was a refreshing 45 minute self-guided tour through a park with memorials, cannons and an abundance of historical information.
And still more time to spend before IMAX , and a Starbucks gift card waiting to be redeemed! This Starbucks was really cool. It looked like a castle to me. I kept imagining how beautiful it will be in the Winter with all the snow around and this cozy little Starbucks with caffeine addicts sipping on their Coffee. Anyways. That was random. But yeah, this was cute. Had to post a pic so you could imagine with me!lol.
Oh yeah. One more Civil war Battleground Stop. This was on the way down the mountain, so why not?! This is the Craven's House. Mr. Craven was a blacksmith whose home eventually was taken over by the Yankees? I think. To house soldiers during the war. It was really neat to see, AND it was FREE!
Last, but most certainly NOT least, we had tickets to view Hubble 3D at the IMAX! This was probably the highlight of our trip, for me atleast! This was a 45 minute film, narrated by the great Leonardo Dicaprio. It was very informative about the progress of the Hubble Telescope, something I knew very little about. It was an inspiring film. It reminded me of how un-appreciative I am of modern technology. Also, it reminded me of the unimaginable knowledge that astronauts have. I was astonished at the amazing pictures that the Hubble Telescope produces and its incredible magnification abilities. Very, very impressive. I recommend this to anyone going the IMAX in the near future!!
So this was it blog followers. I didn't intend to bore you with this post, but hopefully it gives you a little taste of our Anniversary trip. I had so much fun, and really enjoyed the alone time with Matt. It was a great way to celebrate 2 years of marriage to my wonderful husband! Love you Matt.
So far, living on the East Side of Nashville has been good. Why? Well here are a couple of reasons why:
- We are seriously minutes from the heart of downtown (approximately 8-10 minutes). Which is nice. I work out downtown at the YMCA daily throughout the week.
- Also, downtown has a Farmer's Market open every day, which is splendid because we love fresh fruits and vegetables. We also love the atmosphere of the market. Makes for a fun-filled day out with Tillman.
- We are surrounded with an abundance of good churches to choose from. We have attended Immanuel Church in Brentwood twice and have really enjoyed it. http://www.immanuelnashville.com/
- We have some good friends that live in our neighborhood, who also have kiddos, that like to hang out with us! Always a plus.
- I now am 25 minutes away from my Aunt Melanie who lives in Gallatin, TN. I used to live over an hour away from her. I am able to visit her much more often and spend more time with her and her family. Oh yeah, they have a pool too, and Tillman LOVES it!
- We have a little village about 30 seconds from our driveway with several really rad places. There is Castrillo's Pizza takeout/delivery, which is amazing and cheap; The Sip Cafe, Mikes Ice cream, Mitchell's Deli, Bailey & Cato soul food, Watanabe's Sushi/Bar, Citgo (everyone likes having a gas station close by!), and the Village Pub. This Riverside Village adds a bit of character to our neighborhood.
- I have a Kroger, a U.S. bank within 2 minutes of my apartment. Essentials.
- We live really close to Shelby Bottoms park that has a Greenway that will cross over the river into the city. Really fun. Matt and I took Tillman and Dylan there last weekend. Dylan wore out pretty quickly. He is in BAD shape. We have to take that little puppy on more walks! Oh, and Matt decided after that experience on the Greenway that he wanted to take up Rollerblading! That should be interesting! HA.
That should do for now. Maybe I will share some more reasons why I like living here once I discover them. Hope this blog post finds you well and and enjoying your rainy Wednesday afternoon. Well rainy if you are in Nashy!
- SLEEPING- So how many times this week have I entered little Till's nursery to find him standing in the corner of the crib, holding on for dear life, eyes closed, wailing his poor little head off, and lay him back down again and tell him its time for bed? Let's just say too many times. However, I have laughed inside every time I've had to go remind him its time for bed and not for crying and standing in the corner of his bed.LOL. Oh yeah. He also likes to wake up at 5:30 to 6:00 every morning. He goes to bed at 6:30-7:00 at night so he really is sleeping good. But seriously, 6:00 am is too early for Mommy. I can hardly get up in the morning these days as it is!
-EATING- This kid loves to EAT. Only FRUIT! Cannot get him to eat those darned veggies. However, he did love some guacamole that we introduced the other day at a fabulous Mexican restaurant called The Rosepepper. He also ate refried beans and some tomatillo sauce. He is hilarious. But don't you dare try to give him some Gerber veggies! He's just not having it. So, I'm trying harder, and harder. He will learn, because this Momma will not let him get away with not eating wonderful VEGETABLES!!!! His two teeth on the bottom are pretty cutie patootie too! (they are also very helpful in chewing up his food). Oh I forgot to mention. I am giving him little pieces of table foods, and he gags every bite because of the new and unfamiliar texture he is experiencing. LOVE it.
-CRAWLING- He is just everywhere! Into EVERYTHING. Lately crawling under the coffee table and hitting his head a million times and different ways seems to be his fav. He has also made his way to a book shelf where I have had to move all my picture frames. He will pull out books individually and try to devour them. Not liking this. It is cute, but I don't want my books that I have yet to read become UNREADABLE.. not a word. But anyways. I love his cute little self crawling from corner to corner and shelf to table to chair. It's Precious. We have waited a long time for this stage to arrive, and here it is, its amazing. I can't believe how BIG he has become.
-SWIMMING- I wish that everyone of you reading this blog could see my precious Tilly Monster in the swimming pool. He LOVES it. He seriously is a natural when it comes to water. He acts like he was born to be in the water. Maybe he will be the next Michael Phelps!YESSSS!!! Either way, I'll be proud of him. Its really exciting to see him in the pool and splashing around, and enjoying every second of it.
Matt and I when it comes to:
- MARRIAGE- We have officially been united in marriage today for 2 whole years! WOW. That is a really long time. Today I figured out that I have been with him for 1/6 of his 24 years of life. Isn't that amazing. I also calculated that if he lives to be 70 years old and I'm still alive and kicking, I will have been with him for 68% of his life. That's crazy! Our first two years have been absolutely: crazy, ridiculous, unpredictable, frightening, remarkable, spontaneous, annoying, challenging, HARD, but all at the same time WONDERFUL. In 2 years we have accomplished: 2 college degrees, a pregnancy, giving birth to an amazing little boy, several moves, living with our in-laws, having a miscarriage, moving to a new state, and living life here in the now. I am thankful for the husband that Matt is. He is a wonderful provider for our family. We are learning to love each other truer and deeper each day by the grace of God. I am really excited because we are going on a little getaway to celebrate this weekend. We will be traveling to Chattanooga,TN and staying at www.stonefortinn.com. You should check out the site. It's just charming! Hopefully I will be able to post pictures when we return.
Hopefully this blog post will do for an update on the Wilson chaos as of late.
So I am getting rather frustrated right now. I have a few, AMAZING, short video clips of little Til from my phone that I am having trouble downloading to my computer. I REALLY wanted to share them on here. Not happening today. I even have several, even more AMAZING pictures I have taken on my camera that I would like to share with you. I have also attempted to post them (Can't find the correct USB cord to my camera). Unsuccessful.
What I really wanted you to get from all this is that Tillman is getting HUGE! This morning I put him down for a nap and found him standing up in his crib hanging on to the railing of the crib. I have never seen him pull up on anything like that. Not only is he pulling up, but he is crawling everywhere. He even has a tooth!!!! I am so excited and sad all at the same time!!! Where has my little infant child gone? On top of this, I went to work out at the YMCA around noon and took Tillman to the nursery. One of the women in the nursery informed me that my child was HUGE for being almost 9 months old! No one has EVER told me my kid was HUGE. Thanks for the reminder YMCA lady!
Reality is setting in. Tillman is morphing into a HUGE human! And I am sort of sad.
I am also disappointed that I have no proof (aka pictures/videos) of his HUGENESS!
Happy 50th Birthday Momma!
