Christmas

Christmas #1
After several attempts to load pictures onto the computer , I have given up. Our computer is driving us crazy. So here is our Christmas post without any pictures. It makes me sad. I am still hoping that we will be able to load them. So you guys will have to read a lot. Sorry!!!! I really enjoy having my family live so close,but we were pooped afterwards. All in all we had 4 different Christmas's. Christmas Eve was spent at my parents house. I think this was the first Christmas we had an untrational meal. We had pizza burgers "flying style" and french fries with gravy. It is always a family favorite and pretty easy. I am still amazed at how big my family is getting. There is 17 of us now. Wow!!! Always a full house when we get together.

Christmas #2.
This is the first year Drew and I actually opened wrapped gifts that we had gotten each other. We normally just go pick out something together so there are no surprises. As soon as Drew buys a gift for me he gives it to me right away. There is nothing wrong with that, but I like a little anticipation. He was a very good sport this year. We actually waited till Christmas morning. It really made it quite exciting. We had fun opening gifts just the 2 of us on Christmas morning.

Christmas #3
Around noon we went to Drew's parents house. We opened more gifts and ate a ton of Drew's Grandma's southern cooking. His grandparents have been in town from Mississippi for the past couple of weeks so we have spent a lot of time with them. It makes me feel like a kid again. All of my grandparents have already passed. So I really enjoy spending time with Drew's Grandparents. They are good ole' Mississippians.

Christmas #4
That evening we made the trip across the street to Granny's house. For more presents and good food. We had Granny's homemade sausage balls and curry dip. And we listened to the Cat Christmas CD that is played every year. Granny pulled out the Christmas coloring books that Drew and his sister colored on when they were little. It is neat to look at things that Drew did when he was little. He was such a cute kid!!!!! We also went around the room and talked about our most memorable Christmas. We all enjoyed going down memory lane. Christmas is still my favorite time of year. I love being around family, friends, the decorations, picking out gifts for everyone, the lights. I wish I could leave my decorations up all year. Just kidding! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!! Happy New Year!!!

Book Club

Thursday we had our December book club meeting. My friend Cindy and I started it a few months ago and it has been a great success. At first I thought it would kind of be a hassle, just another thing to add to my list. Instead it has really been wonderful. I am an big reader so it is nice to talk with someone who has read the sames books as me. But, it is also a lot more then that. I really have enjoyed meeting new people and forming new friendships. Book club has become something I look forward to each month.One of our book club babes Brittany started a blog for our book club. Make sure you check it out. Just click on the book to the right. Enjoy!

Finally!!!

Yes, I know Twilight again. I have to blog about it because we finally were able to convince my husband to see it with help from my Mom and Granny. And truth be told he actually liked it! He was asking a million questions. I haven't got him hooked on the books yet, but we will continue to work on that. Now he doesn't think I am crazy when I talk about Twilight. Mission accomplished.

The Christmas Cat

Baloo just loves Christmas!

Homemade treats and cards

Last week some friends and I got together and made Christmas goodies. We made peanut butter balls, turtles, pretzels with chocolate and carmel. And these are a few of the handmade cards I have slowing been working on. Maybe if your lucky you will get one !

Birthday Party in Rome

Saturday we went Rome for my niece, Carlie's 2nd birthday. It made me wish I was a kid again. They had everything from puppet shows to wags the dog (from the wiggles). Drew was the official camera man. We had a great time with family and friends. Here are a few highlights.

Jumpy thing

This is my brother stuffing his face with giant marshmallows. It was hilarious! I wish I had a better picture.

Puppet show

Me and the birthday girl.

Old Friends, New Memories

Saturday I went to my best friend Gracie's bridal shower. I still can't believe she is getting married. Then I look at myself am like wow, "I have already been married for 3 years." It is amazing how as you get older time seems to speed up. Gracie and I have know eachother since we were 11 years old. We ate lunch together on our very first day of 6th grade and have been best friends ever since. I have numerous memories of Backstreet Boys concerts and slumber parties. Soon we will be making new memories with weddings and children. Growing up is exciting! Gracie I am so happy for you. I can't wait for the wedding!!! Love you!!!

Christmas Fun!

Well after convincing Drew for almost two weeks we finally got the rest of the Christmas stuff out. Over the years we have acquired many different decorations. This one is Drew's favorite( he picked this out our second year of marriage). Christmas is a very special time for us, Christmas is our favorite holiday and we have made many of our fondest memories during this time.

Still in Love with Twilight

I saw Twilight again with Granny and Lee this afternoon. It is even better the second time. I am starting to read the books over again. It is so good!

It's Christmas Time

Finally our tree is up. I still have yet to put out all the other decorations. Normally we decorate like way before Thanksgiving, but this year Christmas has snuck up on me. I was sitting at work today and thinking about all the stuff I have to do for Christmas alone. A little overwhelming, but it will be a lot fun. Christmas is still my favorite time of year. And it is only 3 weeks away!!!!

Turkey Day

I just love Thanksgiving, visiting with family and eating a ton of food. Two of my favorite things to do. When you have lots of family that lives nearby it is always hard figuring out whose house you are going to. We have a system that has been working for the past few years. Every other year we go to my parents and then the next year Drew's family. So this year we all went to my parents and then next year everyone goes to their in laws. It really works out great.

Drew and Dad carving the turkey
My Thanksgiving masterpiece, maple carrots. They were really good.

The kiddie table

My sister- in-law, Tracy came up with this great idea for Mom. She brought an apron and had all the grand kids put their hand prints on it to look like turkeys. It turned out really cute!

I have been Tagged

I have been tagged by my friend Brittany. So here it goes. . .

8 Favorite TV shows
Dancing with the Stars
Privileged
Real Simple
Ugly Betty
90210
The Office
Samantha Who
What Not to Wear

8 Favorite Restaurants
Gezzos
La Paraillia
Red Robin
P.F. Chang's
Olive Garden
Five Guys
Cheesecake Factory
El Ranchero

8 Things that Happened Yesterday (Nov. 24th)
I went to work
Hung out at my friend Julie's house
Made Christmas cards
Had Chili for dinner
I got an invitation to a bridal shower for my best friend from middle school
Talked to my sister about the Twilight movie
Watched Dancing with the Stars
Read Love Dare

8 Things to look forward to
Decorating for Christmas
Christmas presents!!! (the giving and receiving end, I am just like a kid at Christmas)
Spending time with my family during the holidays
Getting to hold my new niece
Drew being off for Christmas break
Going to the Georgia Aquarium
Making and eating holiday desserts
Next Book club meeting

8 Things I love about Fall
The leaves changing colors
The crisp cool weather
Wrapping up in a blanket and reading a good book
Drinking Hot Chocolate
Watching Firefly with Drew
Wearing sweaters
Football. Go Auburn!!!
Thanksgiving

8 Things on my wish list
Million dollars
A house
The new touch screen Blackberry
A whole bunch of scrapbook stuff
A laser printer so Drew can print off all of his school stuff
A baby, but we are so not ready yet
Kitchen aid mixer in red
Paint for my white walls

8 People I tag
Tracy
Rachel
Tammy
Kayle
Julie ( I know you don't have a blog yet, but here is a start for ya)
Megan
Meredith
Kenda

I have fallen in love again with. . .

Twilight. It was absolutely perfect!!! It was everything I thought it would be. The cast was amazing. Especially Edward. ..I had my doubts at first, but he was fantastic. This is the movie I could watch over and over again. Definitely one I will buy. Love it, love it, love it!!!

RS Conference, Baby, and Hot Chocolate

I am playing catch up from last weekend. So bare with me. Saturday was another busy day for us. Drew had class in the morning and I went to my first Relief Society Stake Conference. I rode with the RS Pres. so we got there kind of early and then we had to stay after for a meeting. But it was great! I really loved all of the speakers and classes. And the lunch was yummy too!!! It was neat to visit with all the sisters I haven't seen since moving to the Whitewater ward. It made me think of all the dear friends I have made over the past few years. And I know anyone of them would come to my aid if I needed them. After the conference I had few minutes to run home and take a nap. And then Drew and I went to the hospital to see Jene and Megan's new baby, Eric. He is so cute. And he has a ton of dark hair. A very beautiful baby. Congratulations, guys!!!! It is so funny because everyone is pestering Drew about having kids. Especially his own family. His Granny is already starting to make a baby blanket!!! Maybe she knows something we don't!!! To end out our Saturday we went to Granny's to have hot chocolate and play some games. Drew and I are hot chocoalate-holics right now. Last night we went to Wal-mart and bought 5 different kinds when we already have a ton at home. Anyways instead of game night it actually turned into a beach meeting. Yes, we are already planing our next trip to the beach in September of 09'. Can't wait! I'll have more updates soon!

Love Dare

Drew and I are reading this book together. It is from the movie Fireproof. I have yet to see the movie, but I hear it is really good. I heard about the book from my sister-in-law. It is a 40 day challenge for husbands and wife's to practice unconditional love. Each day you read a couple of pages and then it gives you a dare for the day. It is simple things, but it really makes you think about how you interact with your spouse. For Drew and I most days we barely see each other. So it is a great way for us to spend a few minutes together at the end of the day. We are actually having fun with it. We are only on day 10 right now, but it is going well.

The Giant Sweet Potato

Denise Purdy gave me this giant sweet potato from her garden. It is huge! Thanks again, Denise! This is what I made with it and I still had half of the potato left! My first attempt at yams. They were pretty good!

Our "Perfect" Pumpkin

Last night Drew's class meeting got cancelled so we decided to carve a pumpkin. But we had to get one first. With only two days before Halloween we didn't have much of a selection to choose from. We went to Wal-mart, K-mart, and Kroger and they were completely out. Then we remembered the fire station had some for sale. Yes, it was the fire station right by our house after we had drove all over town. In the end we found our "perfect" pumpkin. This was Drew's first pumpkin he had ever carved. I took out all the pumkin guts while he carved the pumpkin. I think we did pretty good. Take a look for yourself.

Baby Ellie!

Last weekend I finally got to see Wes and Tracy's new baby, Ellie. I went up with my parents, but Drew was not able to go because he had a lot of studying to do. We only stayed one night, but I was able to spend lots of time with my two adorable nieces. Carlie is almost two and baby Ellie is 3 weeks now. She is so precious. She looks just like Carlie when she was a baby. Here are a few pictures.

Mama Tracy and Baby Ellie

Beautiful baby!

Carlie showing off her smile!

Spot and Baloo

I thought I would post a few picture of the cats. Here are some funny ones.

One day I came into the kitchen and found Spot sitting behind the toaster oven. She is funny.

Baloo and Drew sleeping peacefully. Baloo has his paw on Drew's head. How sweet!

Super Saturday

Last Saturday we had "Super Saturday" at church. It is basically a craft/project day for all the woman. It was a lot of fun just hanging out and working on things together. Here is a picture of a few of the things I made. I can't show everything because some are Christmas gifts! But here is two things. Aren't they so neat?? It was super easy so I can't take all the credit. A lot of prep work was done a head of time by some of the other sisters. I wish I could make some more things like this.

Birthday Party!

A couple weeks ago Cindy threw a birthday party for Drew and I. It was super sweet of her. We have such good friends. It was mostly family and a few friends. We had a great time. Here are a few pictures.

No Time

I really do  have a lot of  things to blog about.  It is just we have been really busy these past few weeks.  Also our computer has been doing weird things too.  I am afraid it is going to crash any day now. And truthfully I just haven't had a lot of time to post any how.  That is the only bad thing about having our anniversary and birthdays so close.  September and October are crazy months.  Speaking of birthdays,  Drew's was yesterday.  He is officially 24!!!  Happy Birthday, Babe!!!  We have been celebrating all week.  It has been fun.  I will have more updates as soon as I can load up some pictures.  

Which Princess am I?

You Are Cinderella!


Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

New Arrival

Our niece, Ellie Faith arrived today at 1:41 p.m. weighing in at 7lbs and 2ozs. Congratulations Wes ,Tracy and proud big sister, Carlie! We can't wait to meet her! I know she is just perfect especially since she came on our anniversary! We love you guys!!

The Best 3 Years!

Happy Anniversary to us! I have the best husband ever! I love you baby!

Homemade Biscuits

Last night I and the rest of the Relief Society Presidency got together to watch Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf talk from the General Relief Society conference. His talk was wonderful. He talked about ways to find happiness and joy through being creative and having compassion. And as woman we sometimes let fear of failure stop us from doing things. That is so me. It was a very inspiring talk. So this morning we got to sleep in because it is conference weekend and we can watch it on the internet. I love conference especially when you can watch it in your pj's. Anyways I felt like making something. I guess I was still feeling inspired from the talk. I looked up recipes online for biscuits and pancakes. And discovered I actually had all the ingredients for biscuits except baking powder. I gave Drew's parents a call and they had baking powder on hand. Score! So I whipped everything together and created biscuits. I made homemade biscuits!!! This is like huge for me. I am not much of a cook. Here is a picture of my beautiful biscuits. They are not really thick, but they were super good. So yea for me!

Another Baby Shower

Thursday night my friends and I threw a baby shower for our good friend, Megan. The shower was hit. Everyone had a blast playing the baby/balloon game. I wish I had some pictures of that. It was hilarious. Thanks for the idea, Jenn. It seems like all of my friends and some of my family are pregnant right now. There will be more shower to come in the next few months I am sure.

Sorry Megan, I just had to put this picture up. You look so cute!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Dixie I just wanted to wish you a Happy 25 Birthday! You are an amazing woman who inspires me everyday. I am so thankful to have you in my life and glad that we can spend many more birthdays togather. I love you so much and I hope you have the best birthday yet. I love you!!!

St. George Island

We took our annual trip to the beach last week with Drew's family. It seemed like we a had all been waiting forever for our trip to the beach. And of course it went by so fast. We loved every minute of doing absolutely nothing. The best part is Drew was able to go. We didn't think we was going to be able to go with school and everything. But at the last minute it all worked out. It was wonderful. This was our second trip to St. George Island. Not many people have heard of it. It is close to Apalachicola. Apalachicola is a small fishing town. It almost feels like you are walking back in time. Really cool. You have to take a bridge a several miles out to get to St. George. The island is very secluded. There are several houses and like only one very small condo and like 3 or 4 restaurants. It is very nice and quiet. And since we went in September there was nobody there. The perfect vacation. They are building a new light house on the island. So we weren't allowed to go inside. The last one was really close to the water and was hit by a storm and collapsed into the ocean. They were able to salvage some of it and most of the bricks are from the original lighthouse.

We went to a couple of shops on the island. And we even picked up some Christmas gifts. Check out the sign.

The sunsets were beautiful. Almost every night we sat on the beach till the sun went down.

This is the house we stayed in "My Blue Heaven". It is so nice and we couldn't have asked for a better location.

Drew fishing with all the string rays. In the evening there were several sting rays in the water. And they bury themselves in the sand. One time Drew and Brandon were coming in from fishing and Brandon almost stepped on a string ray. The rest of us were sitting on the beach and all we could here was Drew and Brandon screaming. It looked pretty funny from were we where. But not for Drew and Brandon. It was pretty scary.

Beach Bums.

Our last night there we ate at a pizzeria on Apalachicola. It was really good.

Our last day on the beach. And back to reality.