#2,517 Walker’s 3rd + The Holloways.

Today was a day of celebration for us starting with my baby nephew John Walker’s 3rd birthday party!

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It took a little while to pull him away from the very enticing dirt mound behind their brand new house long enough to sing “Happy Birthday” and open his presents, but once he started… I had to choke back tears when my brother would tell him, “Walker, this gift is from Mammaw Dollie,” or “This gift is from Annie and Big” and Walker would stop playing to go to whomever the gift was from and say in the sweetest, sincerest little voice “Thank you, Mammaw Dollie” or “Thank you Annie Big” (what he calls us, which is adorable—Aunt E and Big). He’s such a good boy and I’m honored to be his Annie.

Next, we celebrated our dear old friend Bill’s wedding! He and Jody met a little over a year ago and knew right away it was forever. They’ve been waiting to find The One for so long. Jody was so nervous walking down the aisle, and Bill was on the verge of tears the whole time which of course put everyone else on the verge of tears too.

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And after the wedding we headed out to my parents’ for our Saturday tradition—Ole Miss football on the back porch. It’s been hard for me not being home for so many weekends this fall, which I would love to make non-negotiable in the future, because these Saturdays spent with my parents on their back porch around a fire watching football are the memories I treasure the most in my adult life.

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I’ve become a little obsessed with This Is Us on NBC and just a few weeks ago was an episode that just DESTROYED ME. Kate was talking about how watching football was she and her dad’s tradition, and I won’t spoil anything for you, but it broke my heart when I realized how few games are left this season and how few I got to watch with my family this year. I hope next year we’ll be here more so I don’t miss one touchdown or interception with daddy. It doesn’t matter if we win or lose. It never did. It just feels good to be there with them.

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