Happy New Year!

2007 has been a year full of change, happiness, and excitement! I can't believe it's almost 2008. Brad and I are lame "old people" (plus we have a baby on the way) so we don't have any exciting plans to bring the New Year in. Actually, we'll probably not even be awake past 10:00. :)

Speaking of baby on the way, I wanted to make a post relating to the "how did that happen" of our lovely honeymoon baby...

Let me say this first: The "how" really doesn't matter, and we feel SO BLESSED to become parents of Brody in a few short months. However, for those of you who are into PLANNING, READ THIS. :) We thought we were planning baby #1 for 2-3 years down the road, but my how things changed.

Now- for those of you who heard the news in July that Brad and I have a baby on the way A MONTH after getting married and thought to yourself "What the crap were they thinking"- this should answer your question... :)

No, we aren't careless morons. I was on the pill. What I did NOT know (and only thought was an old wives tale) is that ANTIBIOTICS CANCEL your birth control. Yes people, I took some medicine the week before and the week of the wedding. So yep, it really happens! That is the main reason for this post so that you married lovely ladies know that it's true! Brad's mom said there should be billboards posted all over the country about this topic.

Just a little FYI. Like I said, it doesn't matter- we are SO EXCITED about Brody. Just thought some of you might want to know so you aren't eating your wedding cake topper for your 1 Year Anniversary while a newborn is testing out his new lungs in the background! Yayy can't wait! :)

New York City

I should've gotten these pictures posted long before now, but everything has been really busy. The first weekend of December Brad, me, Dani, and Kevin (her bf) went to New York. Danielle and I neither one had been before, so it was alot of fun to see all the sights for the first time. Yes, I am a "small town girl", but I will NEVER understand how anyone would want to live in that place. It was crazy. People EVERYWHERE who had no problem RUNNING RIGHT OVER YOU. Taxis constantly honking. Freezing cold temperatures and wind chills. However, I LOVED being a visitor and I would LOVE to go back again. My 3 days was long enough. The positives?

1. We got to see a GREAT play on Broadway called Wicked. I would highly recommend it. It was the "untold" story of the witches of the Wizard of Oz. So cool. And hilarious.

2. CHINATOWN- that place was oh so sketchy, but it was fun to finally experience it.

3. John's Pizza- best stuff I've ever eaten. Supposedly the water in New York makes the pizza good. Who knew.

4. Seeing Times Square. It is bigger than life. Really cool place. (And we got to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center- that thing was huge.)

5. Visiting Ground Zero. I've seen all the movies they've made. I watched alot of the shows that came on around the anniversary last year. But NOTHING can portray what it's really like. Those buildings were HUGE, and there were so many people in there. The coolest thing was the church nearby that was used as a shelter for firefighters following the disaster. Despite surrounding buildings being torn to pieces from the explosion, NO WINDOW WAS EVEN SCRATCHED. We walked through it and there were still pieces of the fence with photos and letters. Chillbumps.

The trip was alot of fun and it really got me in the Christmas spirit even more than I already was. Did I mention it was FREEZING THERE?

Meanwhile, back in Mississippi, 3 day old Julian was out on the porch in 70 degree weather... :)

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT CHRISTMAS!

pictures of Julian

He is so sweet and perfect!

SURPRISE!!!

Julian Michael Kraker surprised everyone and arrived today- 3 weeks early!!! We are in New York City right now, but pictures will come soon! Yayy for Slade and Julia! All 3 are doing well!

Christmas!!!

I'm going to have to copy LT and put up pictures of our decorations. :) Danielle was in town this weekend, so she made everything look really cute. On Saturday Dad took us to a country road, and we cut down a REAL tree. It is HUGE!
MANTLE

THE BIG TREE!!!!!

BREAKFAST AREA

FRONT OF THE HOUSE
BACK DOOR
DINING ROOM

new Moose pics

411 Louisville St.

HILARIOUS WEDDING DANCE

I don't usually look at dumb videos in emails, but THIS ONE is SO great. If you want to smile today, WATCH IT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35ak9ht_HKw

new blog friends

Yayy for Morgan and Josh AND Lauren and Jeff who have made blogs! Brad played baseball with both of these guys, and I have had the priveledge of meeting their LOVELY girls along the way!

busy busy

Well, we've been really busy the last couple of weeks getting everything moved from Memphis. We still have one last trip of moving, but for the most part it's done. And it's GREAT to be back in STARKVILLE!!! It still doesn't feel like this is our new home- just kindof like we're having a long vacation.

The house is looking really good, and there's still a lot to be done. Pictures will come as soon as I get a chance to take a few.

This weekend was SO much fun with our win over Alabama! It was awesome to be at the game at the very end, and all our fans stayed in the stands chanting!!! When has that EVER happened?! It was really great to be part of that.

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away. I'm ready for some good food! And then, it's only a month until Christmas- I can't wait!!!

LT AND THE SPOON WERE RIGHT!!!

BABY JONES IS GOING TO BE A BOY!!!!!!!

Brody Mason Jones

WE ARE SO EXCITED!!! HE IS HEALTHY AND PERFECT! GOD IS SO GOOD!

the past week

Well, not a lot has been going on. Brad is getting ready for his big transfer. I've been steadily trying to keep the house clean in case people call to come see it. It's quite exhausting...

I'm loving the cool weather. I even made hot chocolate this morning and pretended it was more like December already. Speaking of that, I'm SO READY FOR CHRISTMAS! I don't know what's gotten into me this year, but I have already broken out Christmas music and am listening to it in my car! How can you not be happy when you listen to Celine belt out "Oh Holy Night". It's so great...I'm ready to see Christmas stuff everywhere instead of all these yards I've seen with CRAZY Halloween decor. Some people get a little too into the cobwebs and such. I mean- I like pumpkins and cute stuff, but all this dark gothic stuff freaks me out...

On an exciting note, we will be going to the doctor this Friday for our big boy/girl visit!!! Brad ended up having a meeting next Tuesday in Nashville, so we had to reschedule. I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep Thursday night I'll be so anxious. Everyone asks me if I have any feelings of what it will be, and I absolutely do not have a clue. If old wives tales are any indication, I read a HILARIOUS ONE in a book and made Brad do it the other night. He had to take 2 pillows and set them on the floor. He put a spoon under one and a fork under the other. Then I had to pick a pillow, and go sit on it. Spoon=boy Fork=girl . Well...I sat on the spoon. BOY??? We'll see Friday...

BOY OR GIRL?

Several people have asked about my "baby bump" and also when we'll be finding out what we're having. YES, I am getting a belly by the day. My jeans were the first thing to go...so sad. I am looking more frumpy than pregnant, but I think it's all about to start looking more on the pregnant side over the next month or so.

And about our visit for the big sonogram, it's 2 weeks from tomorrow! I'll be 20 weeks, so "it"/lack of "it" should be definitely easy to see. :) Now days, people have the gender determined as early as 16 weeks, but the way my appointments fell, I've got to wait all the way to 20! After that visit, I MIGHT post a picture of "The Bump". Brad thinks it's hilarious. I, on the otherhand, do not. This is quite an extreme for me- going from fitting in a itty bitty wedding dress- to elastic jeans all in 6 months time. Crazy...I cannot complain though. I LOVE this little baby already. He/she has rearranged my insides to make its place, but all this pain and nausea and yuckiness will be well worth it come March. I'm still amazed by how incredible Our Creator is.

more pictures

Here are a couple of other pictures of the house in Starkville. Also, there's a new picture of Moose- he no longer fits on the couch. And the last one is of the mums I planted to help spruce our Memphis house up that's for sale!

Starkville weekend

This past weekend we went to Starkville to watch the Bulldogs play. It was a great weekend- we got to see Dani and Kevin and Layla again. We also got to visit what's going to be our new home in Starkville!

Dad bought some land on Louisville St. and he's developing a small subdivision of 12 "craftsman style" homes over the next year. Well, this neat old house came along with the land. Dad couldn't decide what to do with it, and it's just sitting there right now. Thanks to mom and dad's generosity, Brad and I will make it our home in about a month! These are kindof the "before" pictures because it's about to get painted inside and out in a couple of weeks so I'll post the after pictures later (don't worry- the terrible purple paint inside is going to be gone soon). It's really cool with hardwood floors throughout and HUGE ceilings. We love it! We can't wait to put swings out on the porch and big rocking chairs like Cracker Barrel. We think it will be the perfect place to bring home the new baby Jones in March! Here are some pictures from the weekend...

NEWS

The big news of the week:

the jones family is moving to Starkville!!!

Brad is getting transferred with Wells Fargo to the Columbus, MS branch beginning the first week of November so we're packing up! I will be in Memphis until our house sells.

We are both VERY excited. Brad is basically more in love with Starkville than me. He's wanted to move back there ever since we left. My parents are there, and his parents own a house site in Browining Creek to eventually retire there, so it all works out!

Everybody pray for our house to sell quickly because it could lead to a very stressful time. If anyone knows of someone looking for an adorable small house in a great area, let me know.

Nashville

Brad and I are going to Nashville this weekend for a wedding. We are staying at the Vanderbilt Loews Hotel, and I need any suggestions for good restaurants nearby! Believe it or not, neither of us have ever visited Nashville before so we need help finding some good food!

Meet Layla

We spent last weekend in Starkville for my cousin's wedding. Dani came to town too, and she brought her new GOLDENDOODLE, Layla! Layla's dad was a Golden Retriever, and her mom was a standard poodle. She is one of the most adorable puppies I've ever seen. We brought Moose along, and he got a little too rowdy for the puppy, but they had a great time. Here are a few pictures.

New Gadget

This morning I read in the USA Today how Apple dropped the price $200 on the iPhone last night. As in- people who bought them 2 days ago just lost a wad of money overnight. Well...I love my husband, and my husband loves---GADGETS. So I just returned home with our new phone/camera/internet surfer/ipod/thing you can watch tv shows on. I can't believe I bought it, but Brad has wanted one ever since they came out a few months ago- when I heard they were $600 I said "ha yeah right". Now that they dropped the price, I gave in and became part of the craze. Anyway I opened the box, and just looked at it. I don't want to get it out because I think I'll break something on it before Brad gets home from work.

He deserves it- he is a great husband...and he lets me buy new shoes sometimes when I have a bad day. You can't beat that.

Lately

Brad and I spent a great Labor Day weekend visiting his parents at their new house in The Woodlands, TX (just outside Houston). His sister, Shelby, was there as well and we all had a really good time. You just can't beat eating at PF Chang's, Cheesecake Factory, and a REAL Mexican joint all in 3 days. We relaxed and shopped, and all to soon it was time to fly back home to the real world.

Luckily, my morning sickness decided to pretty much go away about 2 days before we left, so I was SO glad about that. We went to the doctor yesterday, and Baby Jones is doing good and MOVING alot! I think we have a gymnast on our hands- he/she was flipping all over the place during the sonogram. :) Not the next appointment, but the next we will find out if it's a boy or girl. Of course naturally- Brad wants boy- I want girl. :)

Julia and Slade will have Baby Boy Kraker around Christmas...Baby Jones will be here March 20ish...the Julia's brother Will and his wife Lorin (Langston) just announced they'll be having one about a month after me! Something's in the water...2 for the Krakers in 3 months and 2 for the Chancellors in about 4 months.

Some of you have asked about Julia's other brother, Trey, who was in the horrible boating accident. He recovered and is doing great. It is an absolute MIRACLE that he is alive. If only 1 thing had played out differently that day, he might not have been so lucky. 1. there was a paramedic in the boat who saved him 2. they were in the Columbus area of the river instead of the Brooksville area where they normally go (no cell phone reception) 3. they were very close to the Columbus hospital

Moose is basically a pony now. We sent him to "camp" while we were gone for the weekend. After the guy took him, I cried a little. Brad assured me everyday of how much fun Moose is having. When he got back from doggy camp, he looked like he had been at Fat Camp. He was skinny. Now Moose eats 4 CUPS of food TWICE a day. I told the dude picking him up that, but apparently he didn't remember. On top of Moose's food was a sticky that read "2C x2". Great- they made him anorexic. He only got half of what he normally eats! Our poor buddy...

TOO HOT

Right now I really wish I lived in Alaska. This heat is beyond ridiculous...all my flowers- dead. our grass-pretty much looks dead.

Moose is scared to go outside- he stands at the doorway like he's about to have to step in an oven. I feel like he thinks we're torturing him, when really we just don't want monstorous doggy piles on our hardwood floors.

On another note... I decided that weeks 6-12 of pregnancy should altogether be magically fastforwarded/skipped. These last couple of weeks I've been welcomed to the world of "morning sickness" that lasts morning, noon, and night. This is NOT fun- the fact that I was VERY unprepared and hadn't read up on any books to know what was about to happen to my body doesn't help. If I had known, I probably would have talked to Brad about using 3+ forms of birth control. Just kidding. Anyway- I know it will all be worth it in the end. I've cried like a little girl for my mom on more than one occasion, and I feel like the biggest wuss. I really should make a CD of "Big Girls Don't Cry" and listen to it on repeat- maybe that will pump me up... :)

We can't wait any longer!!!

Ok friends...hope you're sitting down. That's right- the Joneses are having a HONEYMOON BABY!!!

Timeline: Married June 16th-- conception ~June 20= baby due March 20!!!

People- I've heard the stories of it happening, but never thought it would be me, but he we are EXPECTING our very own MIRACLE OF LIFE!
We went to the doctor last Friday, and even this early we saw a tiny heart beating! It was so amazing!

A couple of weeks ago when I first took a test at home, we were in shock and VERY scared, but now we are filled with pure excitement! We are so HAPPY- I'll keep everyone updated!

Heaven

I apologize up front for these last 2 posts being kindof "downers", but it's just what's going on in life right now---
For those of you who don't know, my current job is being a nanny for a family in Memphis. I started a few weeks ago, and it was a very unique opportunity...
I met with the husband/dad initially for an interview, who told me he needed help with his 9 year old son, Carlisle.
Mr. Bruce owns a Hampton Inn in San Juan Puerto Rico, and normally he travels there once a month, so his wife tends to all their son's needs while he's gone. The other part of the story is that his wife is terminally ill with lung cancer that was diagnosed only 6 months ago. She is 47 and had never smoked in her life. She isn't able to care for their son the way she used to. He brought along a picture of her to our meeting, and I could see how in love they are. He was so proud of his beautiful wife. Over the last few weeks, I have come to know Mr. Bruce, Mrs. Lisa, and Carlisle all very well. Mrs. Lisa was put into the hospital 2 weeks ago with pain in her leg, which by the end of the day it was determined she was paralyzed due to the cancer reaching her spine. The cancer was spreading faster than it could be treated. She was brought home last week, and Mr. Bruce has cared for her in the most loving, beautiful way I have ever heard of or witnessed. He has not left her side for a minute. He had an interior designer come 3 days before she was brought home and REDO the entire master bedroom to make it look "the way she always wanted it to"-replacing carpet, bedspreads, pillows, curtains, and a new flat screen TV.
Carlisle is precious, and he is a strong little man. Today, Mrs. Lisa went to meet Jesus at 4:45. Pray for the Edenton family. You can follow their sweet story at www.caringbridge.org. Go to Visit a Caring Bridge website and type in "lisaedenton".

PRAYER REQUEST

Everyone please pray for Slade's inlaw's family (The Chancellors). Julia (Slade's wife) has 2 brothers, Will and Trey. On Sunday, Trey was with about 12 friends at the Tombigbee river. He fell out of the boat they were all riding in, and it ran over him. One of his lungs collapsed and he was drowning, but there was a fireman/paramedic in the group that saved him and performed CPR. They got him to the Columbus hospital, where he is now in Critical condition on a ventilator. He has lost 5 pints of blood, but has no scrapes or cuts so they've got to determine what is causing it internally. Pray dilligently for Trey and the Chancellors and Slade please. He is very close to Julia's brothers.

Plants and Paint!

This past weekend was a lot of fun at home! Brad and I painted our den a new tan/yellow color. It was interesting, considering neither of us had EVER attempted painting a room before. We were both clueless, but we are so happy with how it turned out!
I also got tired of our plain black mailbox, so I dug a bed around it and planted some zinnias! It was so easy and fun!

More Moose Love

Mr. Moose is now 4 months old. We went to the vet yesterday, and he now weighs a whopping 55 pounds! He's eating nearly 8 cups of food a day-more than me and Brad put together. He is really funny when he knows it's time to eat. He nearly knocks things off the wall with his tail and literally JUMPS in the air with all 4 feet off the ground. It's crazy! He doesn't realize how huge he is, and he still crawls up in our laps like he's a baby. He has been so great, and he adds a lot of happiness to our life. No matter how bad of a day I've had, he still is SO excited to see me and runs at me like I haven't been around in a year. :) He has a really funny personality, and we laugh at him alot. :) We usually walk him around the block 2 times a day, and everyone in the neighborhood knows who "Moose" is and gives him lots of compliments. I bet if he could talk, he'd be so arrogant...

Me and Moosa Loosa hanging out. I LOVE him so much!
The Beast is hugging Brad- sometimes he acts like a person Big long stretch across our bed......on of his favorite activities--but with us still in there. Not good He's so great at saying "cheese" and smiling for a picture
Playing with Brad on the bed..look at those feet- maybe we should've named him Thumper :)
HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT WEEKEND!!!