Home Sweet Home

We started planning our new house as soon as we knew we were moving back to Mississippi. It's been a long process with more decisions that I could have ever anticipated, but with help from my dad and our friend Erika, it's finally complete.

A picture of the house when it was just a plan on paper.
One of the major decisions took us weeks - what color should we paint it?
I think we made the right decision.

Here's the final product with shutters.

The mailbox is temporary while we wait for our new one.


the view from our kitchen table

Jason's office

Happy Easter!

Anne Parks has been in this world for two Easter Sundays, and (poor thing) for the second year in a row, she was up the night before with a fever and an ear infection. So, alas, I have no Easter dress photos to share. We do have a dress, so maybe we'll do some spring pics once the it warms up again.

Anne Parks did get to enjoy her school's Easter party and egg hunt, and because it was Spring Break, I got to go, too!

Can you find the eggs in the picture below?

This is a picture of the Easter eggs just before Anne Parks and her friends were brought in to "hunt" for them. On the day of the event, it was too cold go outside, so the festivities took place in the hall.

Anne Parks knew exactly what her mission was..."don't stop 'til I find all the eggs...

...unless I find a jellybean first."

Each egg had candy in it. Once the kids realized that, the "hunt" turned into a "see-how-much-candy-I-can-shove-into-my-mouth-before-my-friend-gets-it" frenzy!

Once that happened, they were told to "sit on the wall" while Ms. Grace and Ms. Rhonda divided the eggs evenly. I'm proud to say that Anne Parks was one of the few who followed directions.
"sitting on the wall"
Anne Parks with her friends, Samantha and Meredith
Anne Parks and Sam share a treat

After the egg hunt, we went to the room to play until nap time.
After nap, it was time for the party!

It was fun for me to see how Anne Parks goes about her day while at school. I was super impressed at how her class sat the table together. She looked so big! I guess it's peer pressure that keeps them in their seats. I know that at home a Capri Sun would be a major disaster, but no one really made a mess. They just sat and ate and drank and only occassionally took food off of their neighbors plate.

Anne Parks and Taylor Reese

Anne Parks enjoyed the party, but the food was a little too messy for her taste. She must have asked for 10 napkins!
It was a fun day!

Uncle Drew's Biggest Fan

We've been in our new house for 3 weeks, and we just got internet and cable a few days ago. I thought I'd go crazy with out those modern conveniences, but I've been so busy with unpacking and attending basketball games that I really haven't miss either one too much. This is the first chance I've had to log on. My camera has been full of pictures from the Overall State Tournament, so I haven't taken any photos of the house yet. Hopefully, I'll have some to share soon.

Anne Parks wore her b-ball shorts and Uncle Drew's sweatshirt. It's been in the attic since he was small, but Anne Parks has loved wearing it this season. She loves to point out the ball to everyone who looks her way.

We let Anne Parks run off some of her boundless energy before the game started.

After the game, a dad of one of the players told us to put Anne Parks in the team picture. He said that they'd won every time she wore that lucky sweatshirt and that she'd helped the team win the tournament. Good job, AP!

Andrew was interviewed by two radio stations and even made the nightly news.
Anne Parks sure loves Uncle Drew. This is what happened when he had to leave her to go into the locker room.

Tizzie and Grandpa are proud of Drew...

So are Mommasissy and String-bean (baby Stringer)...

Mimi and Ganne are proud, too!

Go Drew!

At the All-Star game, Anne Parks made a new friend, William. His daddy is the basketball coach at JA. For all of you SA Vols, he's Mrs. Flurry's grandson. As you can see, Anne Parks was VERY excited to make a new friend.

The All-Star game was the last we'll see of Uncle Drew in the Patriot uniform. We're sad the see the season end. Don't worry that's not the last you'll see of Andrew. Baseball season has already begun, and I'm sure I'll have some more photos to share.

State Champs!

Uncle Drew and the MRA Patriots are the MPSA Overall State Champions! The following is the article that was in the Clarion Ledger about the win. Click here to see more pictures.

Andrew was selected to the All-Star team and will be playing in that game today. I've got tons of pictures that I'll share very soon. We are so proud of Uncle Drew!

MRA's Andrew Howell, making a steal late in the game,

scored eight straight points in the final period as the Patriots put away Hillcrest 46-42.

UNLIKELY HERO SEALS MRA WIN — Ryan Goolsby scored 14 points in the second half and Andrew Howell had an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter, but the biggest shots in Saturday's MPSA Overall championship game came from Kyle Grantham, a player Madison-Ridgeland Academy coach Richard Duease didn't want on his team.
"I tried to discourage him from coming out, but he wanted to and he kept working," Duease said about Grantham, who made two foul shots with 5.8 seconds left to clinch the Patriots' 46-42 victory over Hillcrest Academy before an estimated 3,000 at Mississippi College's Wood Coliseum. "He was a big contributor to our team winning this year."
"There was lots of pressure, but I was prepared for it and confident in my shot," said Grantham, who watched the past two years before trying out as a senior. "I'll always remember this, shooting the last clutch shots to end my career. This was really special."
MRA's defense of last year's Overall crown marks the first time a fourth-place qualifier has even reached the final game, but the bracket placement meant little.
"We were the fourth seed, but I don't consider us the fourth team in AAA," Duease said. "Pillow beat us last week (in the AAA State tourney) and we didn't give much of an effort in the Jackson Academy game. I just think that helped us adjust and get focused again for one week, one hard push."
MRA (33-9) pushed its man defense to the limit and forced 11 turnovers but couldn't convert baskets during an offensively challenged first half.
"It was 13-13 at halftime, so obviously it was very physical," said Goolsby, a 6-foot-4 junior who finished with a game-high 20 points. "Coach Duease said I was settling too much, being mediocre out there. He told me to start pounding it inside (and) right now, I'm feeling pain all over my body."
Goolsby scored the first eight points in the third quarter to put MRA up 21-15.
Emmanuel Ezejiofo (11 points, 11 rebounds, 7 turnovers) answered for the Cougars (34-7) in the post.
Ezejiofo scored seven straight points and a 3-pointer by Bradley Parker put Hillcrest up two headed into the final frame, but that's when the wheels came off.
"In the beginning of the fourth quarter," said Cougars coach James Crain, "we turned the ball over like three, four times in a row and didn't get any shots."
Meanwhile, a teardrop by freshman guard Caleb Miskelly started a 12-0 run as MRA moved the ball around Hillcrest's 1-3-1 zone.
"They have so much height and are so long, they try to get you to go inside and block your shot ... (but) Coach (Duease) told us in practice that there were a lot of holes," said Howell, who hit two 3-pointers and a scoop layup while Hillcrest was held scoreless in the fourth quarter's first four minutes.
"Hitting the outside shots was huge because it freed up our big guys and then the big guys scoring freed up the outside."
Down 10, the Cougars were forced out of the defense that got them to their first Overall final since winning the title in 2003.
"We couldn't let them just stand there and pass it around," Crain said. "We had to come out and put pressure on the ball."
The full-court man pressure and big shots by Parker (13 points) got the Cougars close, but that would just set the stage for Grantham.
"Kyle didn't know it was a big moment," Duease said. "He was just glad to be there, and we were glad to have him there."