A Great Christmas

Well, we had a delightful Christmas at home with Jay and the puppies! This is the first holiday that Jay has been healthy and whole in ten years! Praise God! He has blessed my family SO MUCH this year! We started the morning with fried duck, homeade biscuits with apple butter, and scrambled eggs! We decided not to exchange gifts, but did stockings instead. We had a great time this morning opening our stockings one piece at a time! We all three did a great job of combining gag gifts and real gifts. I got a Browning Buck decal (GAG gift), some cute book marks ( I am the worst about dog earring books), mase spray, some cool new paint brushes, an awesome oil frangrance burner, some super great lotion, and a few other neat little odds and ends. Pretty much the most important thing in my stocking was a glow in the dark compass! For those of you who heard the story of my after dark four wheeler adventure, this was a big plus! Roger and Jay got lots of fishing lures, batteries, deodorant....things that men like or need! I wish I had taken pictures, but I didn't! We are not one of those families that looks all coordinated and styling early on Christmas morning! We spent the day just being kinda lazy! I watched The Christmas Story which is a classic in my book! Roger has been out in the wood shop playing with his new toys! I found an awesome deal on a jointer and planer in the classifeds last week, called the guy and made a deal, and Rog picked the equipment up yesterday afternoon! Jay went over to Jonathan and Courtney's house this afternoon for a few hours! He really enjoyed it! They have been such a HUGE blessing to Jay and to me and Roger the past few months! God knows what to do, and placing Jonathan in our lives when he did leaves me without words! I appreciate Jonathan and Courtney and their kindness so much!

I have a turkey cooking, mashed potatoes, asparagus, pineapple and cheese casserole, rolls, and cranberry sauce getting ready for the three of us to enjoy christmas dinner together tonight! I absolutely love my life and the people in it! I will be American, and make a list of resolutions next week, but the two words that I am can best use to describe 2009 would have to be "Growth" and "Gratitude". I have grown so much as a person, in all of my relationships, and in my walk with God this year. I am grateful or the abundance of blessings that have been showered on us! God is good!

Next Thursday will make 2 years since my sweet Mama went to be with Jesus. It seems like yesterday in a lot of ways! I miss her and Gary so much, but am filled with gratitude and wonderful memories! I wish that they had lived long enough to share in the joys that me and Jay are experiencing in our lives, but my heart is full of happines and I will dwell on that!

Erin Elizabeth!

I am going to go ahead and warn you! This post is crammed full of pictures! My sweet and beautiful neice Erin has been visiting us, and I am just in aw of her talent and beauty! I have been really blessed this past year to get closer to my family! We have had a great time with Erin! I love painting canvases, and she decided she wanted to get in the action! She painted some super cute stuff! I am impressed with her artistic talent! Roger has gotten into woodworking, and she got in on that action too! She and Rog made a really pretty blanket chest for her to take home with her! She was a pro with the power tools! Last night, we hit up Old Venice for great italian food, and hit up a few neighborhoods for Christmas lights afterword! In the truck, she told Roger that she had never shot a pistol, so he got her some ear muffs, a pistol, a target, and a gun safety lessson, and she rocked it! Her first time, all of her shots were on the target, and two were in the black. Her second round, she hit a near perfect bulls eye! Maybe we can turn her into a country girl!! Today, I blow dried and curled her hair, and took her out to MSU where we took some super cute shots of her! She is SO photogenic!! The plan for tomorrow is a girls day with mani/pedi's, hair extensions, lunch, and pictures of her taken out at the Refuge! Tuesday, we are going to paint pottery, and will hit up the mall before she goes home!
Erin with a picture she painted for her teacher!

Jay and Erin. She looks SO grown up!

Pretty Girl!

Erin can work the power tools!

And Shoot a pistol!

America's Next Top Model@

Santa Clause is coming to town!!

"I stopped believing in Santa Clause when I was nine. Mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph.." Shirley Temple

I came across this quote this morning, and had to laugh out loud. Me and Tracy were talking about Santa Clause yesterday and how all kids are scared of him at the mall. Wyatt screams! I get it! He usually is some creepy old man who smells like Old Spice and stale cigerettes.

I don't remember believing in Santa Clause all that much. My sisters were 9 and 11 years older than me, so they were pretty much over it by the time I came along. I just always thought of it as a funnny game that my mom played with us. I mean I knew that my mom was way too classy to be kissing on some fat old man in a silly red suit!

I had my mini break down for the holidays last night, and hopefully got it out of my system. I don't think that a Christmas will ever come and go without a moment of nostalgia when I miss my parents. We had so many really great christmases, and for that I am grateful! Speaking of Santa Clause, my step dad was really goofy and dramatic. I remember one time when me and Jay were little, we thought it would be fun to leave cookies and carrots and milk for him. Obviously, we knew it was for Gary and Mama, but for whatever reason we did. Ants came in through the fire place and were on the cookies. It was dark, and Gary just grabbed a cookie to take a bite so it would look like Santa Clause did. Ants bit him on him mouth. He was deathly allergic and his whole face swole up. He was screaming and carrying on which woke us up. Christmas was on a Sunday that year, and we went to church with him swollen up looking like Mama had gone after him with a frying pan. After that, we put the Santa Clause game to rest!

My mom always made Christmas a magic time, but made sure to keep it in check. One year, when her and Gary were first married and had no money, we did not have enought ornaments for our tree. We went out in the yard and picked up pine cones, dipped them in white paint and glitter, tied a red ribbon on them, and hung them on the tree with dental floss. It was beautiful, and such a great memory! She always gave everybody calendars, and we all joked as if we didn't know what was in the thin rectangular package! We got socks and underwear in our stockings. We always got a new pair of sweats or pajamas. And, we always got one frivilous gift. I never felt like christmas was no good. I never thought that I got shorted. We made homeade cookies, and spiced tea. Me and Gary watched "Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Clause" and "It's a Wonderful Life" every year. We usually watched "A Christmas Story" as a family. We had a small traditions, but it was comfortable and cozy!

I am starting my own traditions with my small non traditional family. This year in our stocking, I asked Roger to get an ornament that reminds him of something fun we did this year. We will start to build our personal tree! Last year, we ate fried duck with biscuits and apple butter for Christmas brunch, and we plan to do it again this year!

Merry Christmas everybody! Love on your families!

Our Latest Addition

How could I resist such a sweet baby?

She looks like she has a little pit bull in her!

So....a man was giving puppies away out of the back of his truck at Walmart. They were so little, and cute, and cold! Yes, I brought one home. No, Roger was not too thrilled. She is sweet, and the other dogs and the cats seem to like her just fine! Her name is AnnaBelle and she is just a baby! I hope she grows up to be a sweet girl! There is no telling how big she is going to get, but I will love her any ways! And, Roger will love me anyways too....even though I bring home strays!

A GREAT weekend in Memphis

We went to Memphis this past weekend, and had an absolute blast! The plan was to got to the Orpheum to see the Nutcracker for my birthday! Jay graciously "babysat" Zeus while we were gone. I really appreciated it. I have only been away from Zeus 3 nights since I got him. Once, he went to the duck camp with Roger, and the other two nights I was in the hospital with my shoulder surgery. He is spoiled rotten, and I really appreciated Jay being willing to stay home with him. They did great!

I was really disappointed with the Nutcracker. Roger is not much of a music and arts person, and I really am. I knew that going to the balled would be a different kind of experience for him. I knew he wouldn't love it, but I hoped that he could appreciate the abilities of the dancers, and the colors and costumes. Unfortunately, the performance that we saw was not very good. I was very disappointed that it was not a dynamic and catching performance at all. There was very little energy, and even I (the experienced one) wanted to leave at intermission. Roger was a good sport, and hopefully something good will come to the Orpheum in the new year, and we will go so I can introduce him to the thrill of a Broadway play (that is more fun to me than the ballet anyway).

Despite the disappointment of the ballet, we had an awesome time. As we were leaving the Orpheum, we came across a "cinderella carriage" with an 11 week old yellow lab riding with the driver! On the carriage ride, I got to snuggle with the puppy. She was so sweet! Roger said he was glad that I didn't have $500 cash on me because he is pretty sure that if I had we would have gone home with a new puppy!! We also hit up a little blues bar, and finished the night at Texas de Brazil which is the BEST food!!

We spent the night that the Peabody hotel, which was of course nice. Roger has never even seent the ducks walk! Unfortunately, we were not around when they walked, so he still hasn't seen them. That hotel has special meaning to me. It is where Gary proposed to my mom. It was also the place where we took our last trip with my mom. Her last Christmas, Me, Jay, and my grandmother took her to see a play at the Orpheum and to the Peabody. It is a wonderful memory, and I am glad that I was able to go again during Christmas time. It was one of her favorite places! The decorations for christmas were breathtaking. The Peabody is just one of those silly places where I feel at home. It is very comforting in a way.

It was great for me and Roger to have a weekend just us. It was also really fun for me to do something that I wanted to do that was completely frivilous. Don't get me wrong, I love fishing and hunting and all that we do outside, but it was fun to dress up and drink martinis! We did, of course finish the weekend with a trip to the wood store for Roger!

Would you not have bought this sweet girl? Her name was Maggie, and I felt like she would have made the perfect little sister for Zeus and Boss!!

Tell us what you really thought of the ballet, Roger! :)

The biggest tree EVER at the Peabody! All of the Christmas decorations were great!

Holly Jolly Holiday

My sweet nephew Eli and my brother Jay. Eli definately looks a lot like his Uncle Jay!!

The sweetest two boys ever in their new camo overalls!

The best dirty santa gift was a mallard skirt that was handcrafted by my mother several years ago (and a $25 Cabelas gift card). William was a great sport about the skirt! The most exciting part is that next year somebody else will get it!

My beautiful sisters!

Fun Family Times!

My family has combined our Christmas and Thanksgiving celebration the last several years. It made it easier than having to try to travel to include everybody for both holidays. We just pick one random day, and have a Thanksgiving meal and open presents. The past few years, we only gave gifts to the kids. This year, we gave gifts to the little kids (my two toddler nephews) and the rest of us played a game of Dirty Santa. It was Tracy's idea, and it was awesome! We had an absolute blast! My house is pretty small, but with the pretty weather, we were able to play outside, ride the four wheeler, make a small fire, and play with all the dogs. It was just a wonderful day!!

My Gratitude List!

My Gratitude List:

This year I have a lot to be grateful for! I am just overwhelmed with how blessed I have been. For the first time in a very long time, things are really falling into place! Here are just a few thing I am grateful for.

• I am grateful for the sweet little non traditional family that me and Roger have created together. Finding a man who loves animals as much as I do is a rare and wonderful blessing! Our life is crazy, chaotic, and sometimes pretty messy with two labradors and three cats, but I wouldn't trade him or my animals for anything!




• I have been blessed with the opportunity to go back to school and get a degree doing something that I will absolutely love! There have been several bumps in that road, but things are falling into place, and in the end it will be well worth it!
  



• My grandmother! She is an absolutely amazing woman who has lived a long life! At 84, she is pretty fiesty! She is an overcomer in so many ways, and is definately my inspiration and my role model. She has experienced some pretty rough things in her life, but maintains a certain innocense that most people don't have. I love her, and am so grateful that she is still in my life! I try to call her several times a week. I just cannot imagine the grief she has felt with the loss of my mom! She is amazing and I just love her! I am so grateful that my aunt and uncle, David and Jamey love her enough to give her the amazing love and care that she needs. She recently broke both of her wrists, and they were just amazing and patient in giving her the extra care that she needed while they juggled jobs and kids as well! I have an amazing family!
  



• My sisters and brother! They are so amazing in different ways! Christen is always the voice of reason, and has a sense of wit and humor that makes your day! I get random text messages that say things like "Walmart color coordinated their candy! Wow!" They make me smile! She always roots for the underdog, and cares about everybody! Tracy is the world's greatest listener and is as down to earth as they come! She is an amazing woman who is a single parent with 3 kids (11,3, and 2 years old) who juggles parenting and NURSING SCHOOL! She also roots for the underdog, and we talk almost every day! If it was up to Tracy she would have ten kids and probably the same number of puppies! Jay is also awesome! He has forever been my best friend! He gets it when nobody else does. He is the least judgemental person that I know, and would save the world if it was possible! He has overcome so much, and I am proud to call him my brother!




• I have amazing nieces and nephews! Tiffany is one of the most Godly women that I know. She is amazingly grounded in her values, and is as sweet and caring as they come! Jeremy is witty and smart! He is one of those freakishly smart people who is actually normal! He is extremely well rounded and a great guy! Erin is a beautiful 11 year old! She is probably the sweetest natured kid I have ever met. There is just not a mean bone in the child's body! She loves everybody and everything! She makes friends easily, and never meets a stranger. She is smart and creative, and I count myself lucky to have her in my life! Eli and Wyatt are the most beautiful blue eyed little boys I have ever met! They are the sweetest pair of toddlers you have ever met! Their personalities are very different, but they are definately fun!
  



• I am grateful for the memories that I have of my parents! No parents are perfect, and mine certainly were not. But, I know that they loved me and I loved them! Me and Jay are constantly rattling off goofy stuff that Ole Gary used to say That man was crazy and nutty, but he loved us and did so much for us! I am so grateful! I am grateful that I had a sweet mama that taught me how to sew, cook, clean, garden, and also taught me how to be a virtuous woman and to stand on what I believed in and to do what is best for me!




• I am grateful for little things that come with living in the country. I love afternoon four wheeler rides with my dogs, walks in the woods with Roger, shooting clay targets and bows, and bon fires on a random week night!





• I am grateful for my health! I have had some health struggles the last five years, and it feels really good to be healthy, happy, and whole!




• I am grateful for Roger's amazing family, and the way that they have made me feel welcome and a part of their family! As far as future in-laws go, I am really lucky!
• I am also blessed with really awesome friends who are there for fun and when I need them!

Holidays, Grey's Anatomy, and Sara Palin!

This week has been pretty busy. Roger has been out of town off and on working, and I have been finishing up the semester. Gun season opens this weekend, so he is pretty excited about that! My family is coming to our little bitty house for Thanksgiving and I am pretty excited and nervous at the same time! This is the first holiday season in a very very very long time that I am excited! I really am excited! I am usually a bit of a scrooge, but not this year! I actually put my christmas tree up and put lights outside the house way too early! Jay has been laughing at me because I have been so giddy! I just can't help it! Life is great! I have not been this happy in like twenty years! God is so good to me!

On a less gooey note, I thought Grey's last night was awful and boring! I hope that when they get back in January something fun happens! I miss Izzie! It was just not the same seeing them all around the decorated christmas table without her!! I would love to hear thoughts on this one!

Also, I am so sick of Sara Palin and her trashy family. I just feel like she had to opportunity to be a strong political women and brought a lot of negative attention to the McCain campaign! I was one of her supporters for a minute, but no more. That woman is an idiot! seriously.

Have a great weekend everybody! Count your blessings and be corny and love your family! They won't be here forever, and you will definately wish you had spent more time with them. (cliche I know!)

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I started on my Christmas decorating way too early this year, but I love the holidays and can't wait. Plus, my family is coming to visit the weekend of Thanksgiving (for the Egg Bowl) and we will do a dual Thanksgiving/Christmas celebration than. This will be Me and Roger's second Christmas together so we are establishing our traditions. Last year when I put a tree he was astonished. Turns out, he had never had a tree in his house during his adult life. I just can't imagine the holiday season without christmas music, the smell of cinnamon, and a tree. Last year was tough with it being the first without my mom. However, it was a year of new traditions and new people, and it was good. I am definately going to miss her, but I am going to make the most of the holiday season!

I put lights up on the house and the deck. In my opinions, they look great! I am especially proud of my door decorations! I also (as a joke) decorated the bow target with lights, a red nose, and a big red bow! He is pretty awesome and redneck!! I haven't put the tree up inside yet, I figure the kittens will destroy it so I better wait until closer to Christmas! Now, if it will just get cold and stay cold I will be in the spirit for sure! I got some new tunes on my ipod (including Alvin and The Chipmunks Christmas Song) and have been jamming while I drive, clean, etc. So, get in the spirit guys! The holiday season is a great time to count your blessings, love your family, and just generally be happy!! God is good, and it is a great time to remember that!

This weekend has been a semi lazy one. Roger has gotten into woodworking....yes like building furniture. I am really not sure where this hobby has come from, but he has gotten fairly serious about it. He spends most of his free time out in the shop....the wood shop that is. He and Jay spent several hard core afternoons building a small shop for Roger to do his woodworking in. This hobby pushed him over the space available in his original shop. I have actually been impressed with his progress. He has learned a lot from books and online, and talked to people who are experienced. His dad also showed him a thing or two a few weeks ago when he came to visit. His latest project is a big entertainment center for our living room. I am excited! The one I picked out from pottery barn was $2500 which is way over our budget!

This semester is coming to a close...just a few more weeks. I am extremely ready for a break. The month of December is going to provide a much needed breather for me. Going back to school at this stage in my life has been difficult. There have been several times that I have really just wanted to throw my hands up and get a PR job. Rog has been encouraging throughout.

Jay has been staying with us this semester. I am really proud of him as he is building a healthy life for himself. He is working for Headley Paint with Jonathan Headley which has been an incredible blessing. The timing for that job was an absolute God send. God has been really good to me and my family this year! I am very grateful!

The wedding planning is coming along slowely and surely. I did finally go dress shopping and ordered my dress. It is so beautiful and I am very excited! I probably tried on five dresses, but knew that it was the one!! We only went to one store!! I have the church, reception place, caterer, cake, lodging, and my dress in place. We are down to the shirts and ties for the guys, bridesmaids dresses, flowers, decorations, and all of other little needed accesssories. My sisters will be my bridesmaids. My nieces will be honorary bridesmaids. Roger's brothers will be his groomsman. Jay will give me away. And, I have asked Mackenzie to be my flower girl. Zeus may be the ring bearer....lol...not sure how to pull that one off!! I am having a small family wedding in Arkansas. I am excited to spend my special day with my closest family and friends. Planning the wedding without my mama is certainly sad, and knowing that Gary won't be there to walk me down the aisle is sad. However, I know that they would be happy and proud of who I have become and how my life is going. I am grateful to have my sisters and brother there to support me! Life is just so good right now!

My birthday is coming up, and I am hoping Jay will babysit Zeus and me and Rog can go to Memphis or Nashville for the weekend. I had hoped something would be playing at the Orpheum, but there isn't that weekend. Harold and The Purple Crayon is going to be at the Orpheum in January! So excited!! I am hoping to talk Rog into a weekend trip. I just love children's books! Children's literature is my absolute passion! We are going to see "Where The Wild Things Are" tonight at the movie. I have an open mind, because I have heard mixed reviews about it!