GSJ

This Sunday my little brother will graduate from high school. This upcoming event has brought back some great memories of watching him grow up. Therefore, I decided to blog about some of the memories so they can be shared with others.

Before Greg was even conceived, I would pray every night for a little brother. I did not want a sister...just a baby brother. My prayers were answered on October 4th, 1990, when my mom gave birth to Gregory Stuart Jones. Gregory came from a Tennessee football player (my dad's choice) and Stuart came from the doctor who delivered both Greg and me, Dr. Mary Stuart. He was such a precious baby! He was jaundice so the doctor told mom to put him in INDIRECT sunlight. Well, mom thought she said in DIRECT sunlight so Greg got his first sunburn at a few days old. I remember being told that I could only hold my brother sitting down. This upset me, because I wanted to hold him standing up and walk around with him. With that said, every time Greg laid down for a nap, I would sneak into his room and hold him standing up. He was such a happy baby and he loved his pappy and blanky.

As he got a little bit older, he started acquiring some unique qualities. One of these unique qualities was his love for vacuum cleaners. Yes, you heard me right....vacuum cleaners. If we went to someone's house, his first question was if he could see their vacuum cleaner. He even got two vacuum cleaners from Santa one year. He couldn't pronounce his "SM" sounds so the word "smoke" sounded like "foke" when he said it and "smart" was "fart" to him. He loved riding in the car! When he got into the car he wouldn't make a sound. He would just look at all of the scenery and take everything in his little head. When it came time for soccer and T-ball, Greg was more interested in day dreaming or pulling up his socks than he was actually playing sports.

Now, my little brother is growing up, and while one chapter in his life is closing, another one is opening. He is graduating with great grades even though he had a full time job all through high school. He has a great head on his shoulders, and is an amazing chef....I hope he opens his own restaurant one day. I am so proud of him...he has accomplished so much in such a short time. I will end with a list of things about my thoughts of my brother.

Moments when Greg made me:

• Proud- when he got his Eagle Scout. That is a major honor and I am so proud of him for staying with it and accomplishing this great goal.
  
• Happy- when he came to visit me at my new house in Brandon. He did not get to stay as long as we would've hoped but he is coming back!!!
  
• Impressed- when he owned his own business and when he cooked for mom and me
  
• Feel loved- when he cried about me getting married and leaving for our home for good
  
• Sad- when he left my house in Brandon
  
• Mad :-)- when he is being stubborn
  
• Honored- when he was in my wedding...he had some major roles and he did them so well.
• Helpful- when he wanted me to help him learn his vocabulary words for a final exam in English
• Laugh- when we mess with Dave....especially when he starts telling his stories and Greg acts like he is falling asleep
• Scared- a few nights before my wedding when we went to Hart's Bridge Road
• Relaxed/Content- riding in his truck listening to music
• Stressed- when he backed into my father-in-law's truck at Thanksgiving
• Blessed- when I think of how great of a brother I have and how blessed to have so many great memories together.

I love you, Gregory Stuart! Congratulations on graduating!

A Few more pictures from Friday night!!!

Sorry it has been so long....

I haven't posted in forever, because I could not think of anything interesting to blog about. I pondered over what to blog about tonight and a couple of things came to my mind.
This weekend was amazing! Justin and I came to the decision that we are always on the go and never stop to just hangout with each other. This sparked our weekend plans. This past weekend we had a date weekend. We wanted to relax and not plan too many things. Justin and I are like two peas in a pod when it comes to liking sleep and watching TV shows. Therefore, we got caught up on some much needed sleep and watched TV shows.
My favorite part of the weekend was on Saturday when we went on a picnic date. We chose to go to a park near the reservoir. The weather was perfect, and we ended up having an amazing time. Belle went with us (of course), and she had a great time as well. She is our little vacuum cleaner, because she eats everything she can get in her mouth! She ate two yucky cigarette butts and someone's old piece of chewed gum.
Also Friday night, we attended Hinds Community College's employee appreciation banquet. I was excited that Justin got to hangout with my coworkers and get to know them better. We had a good time, and the food was delicious!
This weekend, we are going to Shubuta for a wedding and for Mother's Day. The weekend after that we are attending another wedding, then we will be attending my brother's graduation (tear).
We are loving our church and our small group. We both feel like Pinelake is the perfect fit for us. Our church and small group just finished the Jaded series and we are now beginning the Relationship series. I am very excited about the Relationship series! Our small group is so supportive and every Sunday night we get closer and closer. God has been so great to us and he continues to do wonderful things for our church and our relationship as husband and wife.
Last but not least, Belle is as cute as ever! She has gotten so much longer. I have a confession to make....every dog chooses the alpha of the house, which means that dogs love both owners but they usually have one they favor the most. Well, Belle's alpha is her daddy and not her mommy. She is crazy about him and it is so cute. If Justin is anything like he is with Belle when we have children, I will be the luckiest wife ever. He is so good with Belle and even taught her how to rollover last month. She always sleeps on Justin's chest or as close as she possibly can to him. Sometimes I wonder how she doesn't get smothered by him because she is so close. Justin is already not a morning person, but he is even worse since Belle came along. We can't wait for summer, because she loves going outside and getting fresh air. She is just adorable (as usual).
Well, that is all for now....I will try not to wait as long next time! Have a great week!