Playing Catch-up

Life's been crazy the last year or so! Our lives have changed completely, but definitely for the better. It's been hard to keep everyone updated, so here are some things you might have missed out on!


On August 3, 2007, after dating a little over a year, Joey Everett & I were married in the Atlanta, GA temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My name changed & we both inherited a wonderful family of in-laws! Our reception followed the next day in Knoxville, TN. The following Monday we left for a week to spend our honeymoon in Outer Banks, NC. My first time at the beach & I loved it! We moved into the Pleasant Ridge Ward(church) & have remained there since. No callings as of right now.

One month later I wasn't feeling so good, & -you guessed it!- we found out I was one month pregnant & due April 5, 2008. We found out not long after that we were expecting a girl. (Skipping over the sickness, lack of sleep, weight gain, waddling, contractions, & all that jazz.) On March 31, 2008 at 9:54pm, after 14hrs in the hospital & 10hrs of active labor, beautiful Olivia Marie Everett (aka.Livvy) was born. As you can see, she's gorgeous! She is now 9wks old & getting bigger, smarter, & cuter everyday. She truley is heaven on earth & an amazing blessing! Although that might not seem like much to some of you, it is completely life changing not to mention time-consuming. But I wouldn't change a thing.

Joey (now 26) works at Lowes Home Improvement (still), but now as their full-time assembler. In Winter of 2008 he graduated Pellissippi State with his Associates in Journalism. This fall he will be pursuing his Bachelor's in Journalism at UT-K. As you can imagine, he stays quite busy but handles in beautifully. He loves spending time as a family & hanginout with his friends.

As for me (turning 20), I originally decided to take a semester off school to get used to married life. When I found out I was pregnant that became two semesters & now possibly a few more (until Joey's finished, unless I pursue online courses). When I do return I will be continuing my pursuit of an Associates Degree in Business Management. After working at CarMax for a little over a year as a Business Office Associate/Duplicate Title Clerk/Payoff Administrator, in May 2008 I left the company for a job with ABS National Auto Services as a Processor in the Leasing & Titling Dept. A Mon-Fri 8am-5pm job is much better for a family life than retail hours of as early as 7am to as late as 1am. Leaving Livvy at home to return to work was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but it will only be for a little while. Luckily, family is extremely close, so Gramma & Mamaw (my mom & mamaw) are taking care of her instead of us having to put her into daycare. Joey & I both still work with Children's Hospital's Fantasy of Trees & we'll be looking into becomeing a co-chairs in the coming years. This will be my 11th year, & Joey's 3rd.

My family: After battling heart & lung conditions in addition to Alzheimer's for many years, my Papaw passed away in January at the age of 89. Although it has been hard on all the family, we know he is in a better place. It has also taken alot off Mom(51) & Mamaw(71). They still have a ton going on, but it was a relief that he is no longer in pain. They are now caregivers to Livvy & eat up all the baby time! Dad(turning 49) is busy as usual. He is now the High Priest Group leader in our ward, which keeps him busy in addition to work & family things. As for Tucker (the Jack-Russel Terror *cough* I mean Terrier), he's rotten as usual.

Joey's family: Having built a gorgeous new home & horse arena on their new farmland in Crossville, TN, his parents(Carlene & Jim), sister(Elisa), bro-in-law(Dale), & two neices (Jalene & Janele) moved in taking them two hours away. This meant seeing them less, as well as not spending as much time around the animals. Last month, Joey's brother(Jammy) graduated from UT's Veterinary School. He accepted a job in CA, & they (Jammy, his wife Mandee, daughter Ellie & son Karson) moved last week. Needless to say, there have been alot of changes & Joey misses them all. We visit his family as much as possible & are planning on taking turns with his brother on traveling to see eachother.

Head spinning yet? I know mine does sometimes. Isn't it great?!? No, I'm not completely insane (although some may beg to differ). I'm just enjoying our new crazy, beautiful life!
(By the way, I promise that not all of my posts will be this long!)