Mighty Fine in 2009!

Everyone seems to be recapping 2009 (or the decade....that would take TOO LONG to do!).

I recapped the year early....like in November. haha!

Go check it out and read about our BUSY year.

Mighty Fine in 2009!

We spent a week in Texas getting Caitlin (my sister) married,

but other than that nothing else big happened for us.

I hope you have a Happy New Year and that the Lord blesses you in 2010.

We plan on ringing in our New Year in the new house we've just bought (we're too poor now to GO do anything)! : ) In actuality, we've got to finish moving out of our apartment (the lease expires tomorrow) and I'll probably fight my eyelids to stay open until at least midnight. If by some chance I don't crash early, I've got some books I'm reading and some Netflix to watch (anyone watch Army Wives? I'm going through Season 1 right now. LOVE IT!).

A few New Year's Resolutions

* Cook at least three times a week.

* Exercise at least three times a week.

* Read at least one new book a month (and not spend so much time on the Internet).

* Do a better job at keeping the house clean during the week.

* Fold laundry immediately after it comes out of the dryer, not four days later when it's all wrinkled and I have nothing left in my closet to wear!

* Do a better job at calling/keeping in touch with family and friends.

* Be more consistent in reading my Bible and spending time with the Lord.

Happy New Year!

Who Doesn't Love a Little Make-Up?

That's my sister, Caitlin, a.k.a. The Bride, getting her make-up done just before the wedding. The lady doing it was AMAZING. Her name was Audrey. Audrey did Caitlin's (and mine, Mom's, and Debbie's ) make-up. Audrey did it for FREE, her husband works at the mission where Clark and Caitlin work.

Here's Mom getting her make-up done.

Audrey was very talented and very nice. We enjoyed questioning her about her job. She's done make-up on several celebrities including Laura Bush, Lady Bird Johnson, Paula Deen, Roseanne Barr's daughter, and Anna Nicole Smith....to name a few!

She had such funny stories to tell us about Paula Deen and Anna Nicole Smith (Paula has Diet Coke and a cigarette for breakfast. Anna Nicole was much more down-to-Earth when she had no make-up on. She got "into character" with the more make-up Audrey applied.).

Thanks Audrey! Caitlin was beautiful and I know she enjoyed

the extra pampering too (as did Mom, Debbie, and I)!

More to come on Caitlin and Clark's wedding festivities....

Lily Reese is here!

Lily Reese is here!

Congratulations to Brent and Brittany!

She's beautiful and I can't wait to hold her and kiss her!

Don't you just love this picture? I do. It is soooo sweet!

(I snagged it off of Brent's FB page)

My Sister's Keeper

I love reading. But, it's hard for me to do regularly anymore. When I find a book I love, I don't have the self-restraint to put the book down and do what needs to be done. But because we've made a 14 hour drive to Texas, I had plenty of time to read!

Have you read (or even seen the movie) My Sister's Keeper? I actually borrowed the book from my sister-in-law. Basically, a younger sister is suing her parent's for the rights to her own body because she is constantly donating blood, platelets, organs, etc. to her sister who is suffering from leukemia.

I loved this book! It does bring up some interesting ethical questions, but I've always loved a good fictional, law story (in high school, I read all of John Grisham's novels to date).

I won't go too much into detail, except if you read this book, keep the tissues near by; oh my, it is a TEAR-JERKER! The ending really got me too. I don't want to ruin it for you, but I highly suggest this book. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I do plan to see it (with my sister-in-law who loaned me the book to begin with)!

Because we've got 14 or so hours traveling back to Alabama, I've already started my next read. And it is GOOD! : )

Merry Christmas

Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:29

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Recollections and Memories - 4

Name Your Siblings and Years of Birth

I am the oldest of three.

My sister, Caitlin, was born in 1986. In fact, today is her birthday!

(That's the soon-to-be brother-in-law on the far left.)

My brother, Zachary, was born in 1988. And, his birthday is actually next week!

Recollections and Memories - 3

Share a Childhood Picture.

I had to share this picture.

My family always laughs at this dress, but I picked it out all by myself. I LOVED that dress!

Happy Birthday, Caitlin!

This picture was taken at my wedding reception; I find this picture hilarious. I don't know why she is giving that look! And, Clark looks so serious.

Happy 23rd Birthday, Caitlin!

My sister has her birthday today, and her wedding this weekend. It's going to be a busy week/weekend, but I'm soooo looking forward to it! I love you a ton, Cait!

What a Difference a Year Makes

One year ago today, this happened:

I love you my Wesley!

Busy as a Bee!

We've been busy lately! We've FINALLY closed on our house and are in the process of painting, getting all utitilities transferred, everything turned on, and moved!

I have just a few minutes, but wanted to share some of the "before" pictures of the house. I'll post the "afters" later (probably much later, so don't hold your breath!).

We only ran into one tiny problem getting into the house: we got there and they heat would NOT come on! And let me tell you, it got COLD. We didn't stay there. We were just painting and moving a few things in. Many thanks to Mom and Dad for buying us the space heaters so we were able to stay warm. AND thanks Mom, Dad, and Zach for ALL your help painting, lifting, moving, etc. We really appreciate it all! : )

The kitchen

I love this room. This is only half of it. This is the den off of the carport. It's going to take some creative arranging in here because of the way the cable outlet is and how LONG the room is.
Backyard view.

View of the master bath. The ugly shower curtain is gone. I like this picture because it shows the pretty tile in the shower!

The master bathroom. It's since been painted.

Master bedroom.

Bedroom 1

Bedroom 2

Upstairs bathroom - sorry it's blurry!

Dining room. It's the same color as the master bath WAS. We're keeping this color in the dining room though.

The formal living room.

Another (not so dark) view of the formal living room.

And this is the view when you come in the front door.

You might want to view this tour backwards! haha, blogger always uploads my pictures backwards and I just don't feel like changing it now! : )

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving 2009 was Wesley and I's first holiday together.

(When I told him this, he said Veteran's Day was-ha!)

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. The way our families traditions are, everything went really well and we were able to spend some time with both families! : )

We spent Wednesday night in Elba, AL, with Wesley's grandmother (and parents and sister). We got up Thursday morning and had Thanksgiving lunch with his mother's entire side of the family. They always do Thanksgiving lunch this way and have a REALLY good BBQ dinner with all of the sides (which is actually what we had for our rehearsal dinner)!

We ate in "the barn". It's sooo neat.

Not the first thing I think of when I hear "barn;" I love it!

Below is a picture of me, Aunt Pam, Abby Grace, and Katie.

(Abby Grace is the cutest thing. I love her red hair and her eyes are SO BLUE!)

And, finally, a pic of me and the SIL!

Sadly, I took NO pictures of Wesley and I. I was really disappointed when I'd realized I had forgotten. Oh well, I definitely won't forget Christmas! : )

After lunch, we hopped in the car and drove about 40 minutes to Dothan to my parents house. We hopped in the car with my parents and brother and drove another 25 minutes to my grandparents house where we had the traditional Thanksgiving meal (as much as I love turkey and dressing it was so nice to eat two different meals!). Again, no pictures. I guess I just forgot?

Friday morning, we got up and headed to Auburn for the Iron Bowl. Even though we didn't win, it was a GREAT game. I don't think anyone could deny that. I was so proud of the way Auburn played. We sure gave stinky UA a run for their money. We had that game won except for the last minute and 24 seconds. But, it's the score at the end that counts! Oh well.

Hook 'em Horns!

Recollections and Memories - 2

Where were you born? Be specific.

I was born at Flowers Hospital in Dothan, Alabama.

(I can think of nothing else to say today.)

Recollections and Memories

You can read about this new project here.

It sounds interesting to me, and I do love a writing prompt, so here goes nothing!

What was your day and date of birth?

I was born on a Saturday, June 15.

(So BrainBashers.com says anyway. I had to look it up; I didn't know!)

June 15th is the 166th day of the year (non-leap years): 199 days until the New Year!

Other June 15 Babies

Courtney Cox

Helen Hunt

Leah Remini

Jim Belushi

Dean Martin

Ice Cube

On This Date

1752: Benjamin Franklin proves lightning is electricity.

1775: George Washington was appointed commander in chief of the Continental Army.

1836: Arkansas becomes the 25th United State.

1864: Arlington National Cemetery is established.

Prayers Please!

Last week we had a fire drill. I had a student to fall on the way out the door and he put his hands down to try to catch himself. Well, long (stressful) story made short, his arm was broken and it had to be casted. He went back to the doctor for more x-rays today, and he's having to have surgery tomorrow morning. I hope to be able to leave school at some point to run up to the hospital and check on him.

Please pray!

Update: I spent a good portion of the day with my student's family while he was in surgery. He came out just fine, but they did have to put two screws and a plate in his arm. Please continue to pray for him as he heals and has physical therapy to endure. Thanks!

Christmas Survey

I saw this Christmas survey floating around thought I'd do it too!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Wrapping paper!

2. Real tree or artificial?

Well, we always had real growing up. Wesley had artificial.

Right now we have an artificial one that one of us had in college, I think.

3. When do you put up the tree?

AFTER Thanksgiving!

4. When do you take the tree down?

After Christmas, BEFORE New Year's! : )

5. Do you like eggnog?

Blah, no!

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

Hmmm, I don't know. Not really as a child, but my FAVORITE gift was my bling last year!

7. Hardest person to buy for?

My dad - he always says he wants world peace. Or something blue.

8. Easiest person to buy for?

My mom or sister.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?

Nope, but I really want a Willow tree one! : )

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Definitely mail! But one year we did an email video one, and that was fun! : )

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

A scrap of steel, I guess. My dad works for a steel company and he wrapped up a heavy piece of steel. I was all excited wondering what BIG gift I got. Everyone laughed when I opened up.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

Elf!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

Sometime in November.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Not that I remember.

15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Sausage balls and pigs in a blanket Christmas morning!

16. Lights on the tree?

Duh! I prefer white lights.

17. Favorite Christmas song?

"All I want for Christmas is You!" by Mariah Carey

I know, I know, that tells nothing of the birth of Christ, but I love it so! I wish I could sing like that! : )

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home?

We're usually home on Christmas Day. This year we'll be in TX for my sister's wedding just after Christmas. But, we do some traveling around the holidays.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen!

(Are you impressed? I promise I knew those by heart, I didn't look them up!)

Oh, and Rudolph too.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

Either one. I have no preference.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?

I love this time of the season! I'm not annoyed by anything.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?

Red, green, silver

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?

Anything! I do love turkey and dressing though!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?

I'm happy with most anything. I actually didn't make a list out this year. I just want to be in my house! : )

26. Have you ever been caroling?

New Bible Study

The Crazy Love book study and Bible study I was doing through the Bloom Book club finished up last week or so. Ashamed to say it, but I'm not done with the book. Don't get me wrong, it's VERY good and VERY challenging (there were some uncomfortable chapters in there), but somehow I got off and am 2 chapters away from finishing. My goal is to finish this week.

Tonight, I started a new women's Bible study that I'm really excited about. This one is at our church. I'm going with my new friend, Mallory. We're definitely the youngest ones in there, but it's going to be really good. I'm excited about it.

We're doing this one:

I'm really looking forward to it!

I love a Beth Moore Bible study.

God is doing some cool things right now. At our church, all BFGs (Bible Fellowship Group a.k.a. Sunday School Class. But, we attend the Saturday night service and then go to our small group/BFG/whatever you want to call it!) have adopted a local mission project to serve. Our BFG chose a small church in Columbus, GA, called Highland. What makes this church unique is that most of the members of this church (although, not all) are homeless. Most of them actually live under the bridge in Columbus. This Saturday our BFG will be doing some construction work there and sorting the clothes they have to give away. Because we go to the Saturday night service now our Sunday mornings are free. The past two Sunday mornings we've gone with Mallory and her husband, David, to the church and we love it.

They worship God with so much more of themselves than what you see in most churches. It's incredible. This past Sunday I watched as they passed the offering plate. The homeless woman in front of me reached in her pocket and pulled out a handful of change. It couldn't be more than $2, and it was all that she had, but she gave it all - joyfully! It seemed so much more than the $20 I pulled out of my overstuffed, receipt-filled wallet. All I could think of was the widow and her two mites that she gave at the temple while the Pharisees scoffed. I pray my heart would not be like the Pharisees and that I may give with a heart like the widow; or the homeless woman who sat in front of me in church last Sunday.

****Changing subjects, but still somewhat related****

Have you seen this movie?

I LOVED it! That's such an understatement. It was SUCH a good movie! I want to get it when it comes out on DVD. Wesley thinks it's pointless since we have it Netflix, but I LOVED this movie. I need it.

The movie was so sad at parts to me. Michael Oher reminds me of too many students I've had. The housing projects reminds me of one particular set here. I'm not going to say much, because I honestly don't know what to say, but Michael Oher reminds me of one particular student from last year. I honestly wish I could keep him. I would in a heartbeat. I just see the future for him if he stays where he is and it's not good. I just see so much potential in him.

(Pictures from Thanksgiving still to come. I keep leaving my camera cord in my desk at work.)

Thankful

Well, we made it to Elba around 10 p.m. last night. I slept about the last half hour of the trip and then got a good night's sleep last night. I'm still not feeling 100%, but I am feeling better today than I have the past few days. I'm starting to feel blah again, so I think the bed will be calling my name asap.

Today was our first holiday season as a married couple, and it was fantastic! Things just worked out perfectly. There was no picking between one side of the family or the other. Pictures are to come later (I've left my cord at work). We started the day with a BBQ lunch with Wesley's family in Elba, AL, and ended it with the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with my family in Pansey, AL. I hope things continue just as nicely through the years! : )

Tomorrow we're headed to Auburn to watch (however painful it maybe) our Tigers play.

In the true spirit of Thanksgiving, I figured I'd list the things I'm most thankful for. This is not a complete list, as much as a cliche as it may sound like, I really do have SO much to be thankful for.

* That I have a Savior who loves me and died for me while I was still a sinner and desires to have a relationship with me and give me life abundantly.

* My husband. He's wonderful. 'Nuff said. : )

* Our two families. One thing that I'm coming to truly appreciate and be more grateful for each day, is that we both come from families that are not scarred by divorce. When we went for pre-marital counseling, Kristi (our counselor) asked about our family's marital backgrounds. At the time, my parents had been married 29 years and Wesley's 26 years. She told us how truly uncommon that is now. Even for couples who are proclaiming christians. I am very grateful that we both come from homes, who love the Lord and have taught us through their examples what love and marriage should look like.

And thankful for people like Caitlin, Clark, Zachary, and Katie, who are not just siblings, but friends too. I'm thankful that we get along and truly ENJOY each other's company!

* Our church and BFG (Bible Fellowship Group). We have made some incredible friendships and are glad to be apart of a place that worships and serves a living God.

* Friends. I love my friends and even though a lot of them live in different cities, they have all impacted my life so much. I wouldn't be me without them! : )

* Our jobs. I'm so thankful for our jobs. So many people are without jobs, or get up and day after day go to jobs they do not enjoy and we get to get up and go to work (together) and do something we LOVE doing!

* My education, no matter how tough it was at times. I'm so thankful for my degrees and the opportunities that they allow me to have. I'm thankful to have a family that values the importance of education. (I'm a teacher, of course this one would make my list!)

* Our home - which we close on next week! I pray that we not take advantage of things the Lord has blessed us with, but use them to bless others instead and that our home would be one that evidently proclaims Jesus as King.

(PS-was asked today why house pictures have not appeared on the blog - they will after we close.)

* Christian praise music. I worship so much through it and am so grateful to those people who use their talents to lead me to the throne!

There's so many other things too, (like my car, good books, the Internet, shoes, new Sharpie markers, Auburn, Diet Coke, etc., etc., etc.,) but I'll stop for now. I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and count your many blessings!

Trust in the Lord and do good.

Psalm 37:3

Happy Thanksgiving

We're supposed to be in the grand town of Elba, AL, right now to celebrate Thanksgiving with Wesley's family, but I'm feeling AWFUL. My sinus' have been giving me fits off and on for a few weeks now. Over the weekend my eyes started hurting really badly. They were all goopy and slightly pink and watery. Well, yesterday they got really bad. I ended up wearing my glasses all day and my eyes seemed worse. (No, I do not think it's pink eye.) My eyes are a little better today, they aren't burning nearly as bad as they were yesterday. I was home from work by 3:30 yesterday - that NEVER happens - and took a 4 hour nap. My husband woke me up to eat supper that he had cooked (and it was delicious by the way, my favorite meal I think - sweet vidalia onion chicken, fresh green beans, small red potatoes - mmm) and then I was back in bed by 10:30 last night and slept until 9:30 this morning. I've had a few naps today. My eyes are better (still wearing my glasses though), but my head hurts, my throat really hurts, and I've been running a low grade fever. About an hour ago I did have some chicken noodle soup with a soda on the side (do you know that song? my kids LOVE it). Hopefully, we can be on the road late this afternoon. I hate to miss Thanksgiving. Our plans were to have Thanksgiving lunch with Wesley's family and Thanksgiving dinner with my family. It all works out just fine because his family always has BBQ on Thanksgiving and mine has the traditional turkey dinner, so we won't have any repeats.

Since I've been hanging on the couch here lately, I've been catching up on my blog reading. I was reading this one from Kelly. She mentions a Thanksgiving cook-off show on Food Network. Wesley and I had actually been watching that show a few nights ago. I thought there was no way the Middle Eastern meal would win (Thanksgiving turkey loaf....no thank you), but whatdoyaknow, they won? Each family had to cook 2 meats, 5 sides, and a dessert. Here's what I would make if I were going on the show.

Regular, traditional turkey

Chicken & dumplings as my second meat

Green Bean Bundles

Corn Casserole

Dressing

Sweet Potato Souffle

Strawberry and Pretzel Salad

And for dessert, either pecan pie or fudge pie. (I'm not really a fan of pumpkin pie.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; his love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

Shopping

This weekend we did a lot of cleaning up and cleaning out around the apartment. But, I did manage to get some new shoes, well, boots actually. And I love them. I also went to Wally (that's what we call Wal-Mart here in the South, Wally World, but I like to shorten it even more to 'Wally') and bought some skinny jeans to tuck in. The boots came from Belk's department store. I love that place. I think it's my favorite department store, they have such great sales!

Here are my boots. I went with black because I've been leaning more towards black in everything here lately. I'm not gonna lie to you.....we returned a wedding gift for store credit so I could get these boots. Bad, I know. BUT in our defense, we were not registered at Belk and this gift was a duplicate of something we'd already received.

Here they are in the camel color. I like this color too. I told Wesley I wanted them in this color, and he just gave me a look, haha. These shoes are soooo comfortable though!

I'm also really into the short sleeve sweater with a long sleeve shirt underneath. I love this color too. (Maybe Santa will pick up on my hints.....)

I like this one a lot too. It'd look great with jeans and my new black boots! : )

I also bought some pretty ornaments at Wally and put them in my apothacary jars. They look so good, I was actually quite impressed with myself. I'm thinking about buying some neutral colored ones that match our living room to keep in there year round. Like a creme color. Maybe a second color too, I haven't decided yet. What do you think? Too much?

the General

Meet my kitty, we call her Li. Her real name is Dr. Lishak. She's named after my favorite teacher in college, Dr. Lishak. Sometimes we call her the General....like General Lee....get it?! I know, I know....we're oh so clever. : )

She can be a wild one (as seen in the picture above), but she can be very sweet too. I'm not really a cat person. Ok, let's be honest, I'm not at all a cat person. Dogs are WAY more fun. But Li has personality, and she's growing on me.

AND, she lets me dress her up.....sometimes. : )

(I really wonder what kind of evil thoughts she has towards me when I do this....)

I love to put the hoodie on her, but she's too embarrassed to get her picture taken.

War Eagle!

PS - Did anyone watch Grey's tonight? Holy Moly. What about Yang and Army Doctor?!?! And Sloane - doctor and daughter?!?!? whoaaa - your thoughts?

The Moment Is Here

Are you ready for it? : )

I'm very excited for it!

I LOOOOVE the books. I was a Harry fan back in the day (and still am!), but I've fallen hard for the vampires. The series are soooo different. You can't even really compare them. They're on two different levels. I have read all four of the books and seen the Twilight movie (well, I actually own it). It was alright, but I'm hoping this one will be better (like it's rumored to be).

I can't turn the channel off of the TV Guide channel. It's all things New Moon right now. I know my husband is probably bored to death. Sadly, I'm not going to see the movie until next week. I have a date with a teacher friend!

So, all of this being said, there's one important question left to ask:

Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

I must say. It was very, VERY hard for me to pick a side. I honestly didn't make my decision until the end of book 3, but I am Team Edward!!!

But, I do love Jacob too! : )

P.S. - I'm sure New Moon will be the top money maker at the box office this weekend, but I reallyyyy want to see The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw AND THE SEC Coaches!!! It looks soo good!

War Eagle - God is GOOD!

Things were looking optimistic at the beginning of this season for my Auburn Tigers. We started things off 5-0........but since then.........we haven't managed to do much of anything.

However, there is more to life than just football.

(Yes, you read that correctly.)

Check this out.

I'd call it a winning season.

Fa La La La La La La La La!

Our weekend started out with a pit stop in Dothan to eat dinner with my parents before heading down to Destin, FL, to visit with Wesley's family. We officially kicked off the holiday season by going to see A Christmas Carol in 3D! I liked it and from what I can tell, it stayed pretty true.

(Me and the in-laws(loves) rockin' the 3D glasses)

I got educated this weekend all about eating organic. I even read this book on Saturday. For dinner Saturday night we had roast, green beans, and purple mashed potatoes (and a roll - but that wasn't organic). Who knew potatoes came in purple, not just brown - not me! They tasted just like a potato though!

Today for lunch we ate at Harry T's down on the Harbor. Don't you wish you could have this view every Sunday lunch?! : )

We even saw a pelican!

We did some shopping too. I got TWO pairs of jeans from the Gap Outlet for $12! Love those sales! All in all, we had a great weekend that went by way too fast. The only down side was that my Auburn Tigers lost (for the fourth year in a row) to UGA.

Oh well, life goes on, and War Eagle anyway!

Have a wonderful week!

So You Had a Bad Day

(Do you like that song? I love it!)

I'm not having a bad day. I've actually had a lot of really good days lately. However, I saw this comment from a friend a few days ago and thought I would share. It sure is a slap in the face!

"Paul rejoiced in prison, Jonah prayed in the belly of a fish, Paul and Silas sang in jail, John saw heaven while in exile, Jesus prayed in His garden of pain....Can't I even rejoice in the middle of just a bad day?"

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Philippians 4:4

A Whole Bunch of Links!

I posted here about being on the lookout for the PERFECT Christmas stockings.

I was hoping to find some at Christmas Village, but no such luck.

I have looked EVERYWHERE, but don't want to spend anything ridiculous.

I saw these the other day at Dillards. They are HIS and HERS Christmas stockings. What do you think? Too pricey? Too "country"? I was looking around our apartment the other day and I have a fear of things looking "too country". Maybe it's because I have red down here....I don't know.......Help! I also really like these. What's your opinion on those?

Also, I bought Wesley some Jalepeno Peach Mustard, intending for it to go in his stocking....you know....the one I don't have yet. But, I caved, I gave it to him early. So, last night we were out shopping and he bought me an early Christmas present. LOVE IT! He was quite proud of himself too. He'd only heard me mention it in passing once and had paid attention! : ) He did good, I've been rocking out to it in the car with high volume and singing, "He Loves Me" over and over.

Also, I found "Our First Christmas" ornament. Again, something I'd been searching for in order to find just the right one. Our neighbor/co-worker suggested this one, and I liked it! The scripture on it was one that was on our programs at our wedding.

(ummm, had intended to link this too, but can't find it on the website)

Anyway, heading out, my show is on! : )

Christmas Village

Christmas Village last weekend at the BJCC in Birmingham, AL, was wonderful! I didn't buy as much as I expected to, but I did get some good purchases! And I put them in my cute new shopping bag from Home Goods.

(I learned my lesson the hardway last year when I ended up hauling around my purchases piled high in my arms the entire day!)

Mother-in-law(love)'s gift - CHECK!

I'll come back AFTER Christmas and post a picture of that gift....just incase she's reading! : )

New sterling silver engraved pendanent for me - CHECK!

Early Christmas present for Wesley (originally intended to be a stocking stuffer, but I caved and gave it to him early) - CHECK!

It was some Jalepeno Peach Mustard, sounds gross but it was good, and HOT with just a hint of sweet. A very good combination!

So, while I didn't get nearly the Christmas shopping done that I expected to, I did enjoy the company, and it was totally worth the trip!

2009 was MIGHTY fine!

As the year is ending, I'm reflecting on how BIG of a year it really was.

Here's a rundown of the highlights from the past 365 days (give or take a few):

* I bought a new car.

* Wesley FINALLY proposed!

* Graduated with my Masters degree.

(And Wesley with his Bachelor's degree.)

* Wesley got a job coaching!

* GOT MARRIED (by far my FAVORITE part of 2009)

(Excuse the blurry picture I snagged off of FB. FOUR MONTHS later, have not seen one picture of Wesley and I married. UGH! Frustrated!)

And now........

* WE'RE BUYING A HOUSE!!!!!!!!

More details (including pIcTuReS) of the new house COMING SOON!

I can't help but wonder what 2010 will bring?!