Cookies, Family, & a Single Man Alert!

Since I've been super slack about posting lately, here's what we've been up to:

Baking Christmas candy & cookies with MawMaw...

....and enjoying eating them!

Going to see the Ludy's Christmas Light Spectacular

(A local family who puts on this free show every year!)

Ready to attend her very first Christmas party at school...

She thought the idea of a Pajama Party rocked. :)

She LOVED the gifts from her teachers!

On the 21st, Michael & Sara drove up to just above Atlanta

to meet his parents for the day. (I was with my mom at a doctors appointment.)

Sara LOVES seeing her Nana & Pop Pop, as evidenced here in this picture!

I wish I could have went with them, but I'm looking forward

to a few days in their hometown in a few weeks.

My Aunt Dot sat and rocked June for nearly the whole time

they were here on Christmas Eve.

She loves babies so much, and we love her too. :)

Aunt Dot and her husband, Bobby.

I told her she was all laid up on him like they were dating!

She was quick to remind me they've only been married 10 years,

and have every right to act like they're newly in love. ;)

Don't know what's up with the spot of dirt on Sara's nose!

The man you see pictured above

is one of the most important people in the world to me.

He has been there for me through every hard time I have ever faced

He has been a positive male figure in my life when I had few

He has shown me that nothing worth having comes easily

And I have watched him be ripped of everything he thought he had

I have watched God break him into a million little pieces

Only to build him up stronger and more Godly than before

He is my cousin, but I don't consider him as such.

He, and his brother Michael, and his sister Lee...

they are my brothers & sister. That's just how it goes.

Sara LOVES her Uncle Bubba. She would do anything for him!

Ladies, this is a single, available, God fearing man.

He has two beautiful boys, one of which lives with him full-time.

He's a hard worker, he loves all things Southern, all things family,

and is in church whenever the doors are open.

I told him I was going to put him in my blog & on my Facebook...

I don't think he believed me!

If there are any hard working, stable, God-fearing women out there...

...I can get you his FB info.

I'm just sayin'! LOL!

A short & sweet Christmas recap

Christmas started out like this:

Miss Sara caught a bug from someone at school,

and bless her heart, she got SO sick.

Then she passed it on to June (who has been sick off & on for a month now).

Who passed it on to me.

We've been passing it back & forth for days now.

Thankfully, Michael never got it.

Christmas ended like this:

First time I've ever had a white Christmas, in all my 25 years!

Please excuse the bag of Christmas trash on the front step.

Michael went to take it out to the dump & saw the snow.

Needless to say....the trash was forgotten!

I was SO happy to have snow on CHRISTMAS DAY!

And now I'm off to take care of a sickly Junebug.

Sara went home with my mom,

in hopes of getting both girls well in separate houses

so we don't pass this stuff back & forth any longer!

Hope ya'll had a wonderful Christmas!

(I'll be back tomorrow with a better Christmas update!

For now, I must rock my baby.)

Merry Christmas!

Hope ya'll have a wonderful Christmas Day!

I'm off to enjoy my girls & all their new gifts.

I'm so thankful that they are loved by so many people!

Take a moment today to remember those families who have an empty place

in their home, whether that person is simply somewhere else, has passed on,

or is serving their country in the war.

We never know what tomorrow holds. Cherish each moment you have today.

And before I go, I just have to say that

I JUST READ IT'S SUPPOSED TO SNOW TONIGHT!

If it snows on Christmas, it WILL be a Christmas miracle!

5 years!

December 23, 2005

Today I celebrate five years of marriage to my best friend.

It's not always been easy.

We've been through a LOT in our five short years.

An international move, a lot of time spent apart

(thanks to the Air Force),

the always-lingering-in-the-back-of-your-mind

worry about deployments.

Four pregnancies. Two angels in Heaven,

two difficult births on Earth.

2010 was the hardest yet. A hard pregnancy,

a very early arrival,

three months of spending 24/7 in the NICU,

a tough adjustment to being at home,

watching my sweet cousin Britni

go through Hadlei's homecoming to Heaven.

A marital separation.

LOTS of marriage counseling.

Even more time spent on our knees.

But -- I would not trade it for anything else.

He's the one for me, and I'm the one for Him.

(Mostly because no one else would put up with our faults!)

As I do every year, I've spent today thinking about what I was doing at this moment five years ago. I don't think I slept a wink the night before our wedding. My sisters spent the night with me at my mama's house, and my dad picked us all up, including my mama, and we went to eat at Huddle House at 5 a.m. for breakfast. For those of ya'll who know my daddy, know why we ate at Huddle House at 5 a.m. I haven't ate at HH at that time since. I have to say, I miss it sometimes! Then we headed over to a local salon to get prettied up for the big event.

My youngest sister snuck my veil on -- she was 12 then.

She's changed SO much!

Then we headed over to the church. If I could go back & redo my wedding, I'd pretty much do everything different. I'd DEFINITELY have a different hairstyle, a professional photographer, and more personal touches. But -- I was only 20, we had 6 weeks to put it together, & I was doing all of it with Michael in a different country than I was. AND I hadn't even met my in-laws at the time! And really, what is most important is that my family and friends were all there. My Daddy got to give me away while my mama sat on the front bench and cried. I married someone I loved more than anyone I had ever loved before. That's all that matters!

Michael watching me walk down the aisle.

Seeing Michael for the first time.

(My dad's totally thinking -- "Two down, two to go!"

Bless his heart -- he's still waiting on the last two and will likely be waiting a LOT longer;

they're only 19 & 17!)

Michael, congratulations on putting up with me for five whole years! :)

I love you now more than I did in 2005, even though I swore to you

that was impossible. Even though we've had our hard times,

if five years has brought us this much happiness --

well, I can't hardly wait to see what ten years brings.

Out of Commission

I've been slack for about a week, so I just wanted to let ya'll know it's because the girls have been sick. They had gotten better....but now they're sick again. After ONE DAY out & about. I have company (a LOT of it!) coming on Saturday AND Sunday, and my house is full of germs and needs a good cleaning. I want to show ya'll my Christmas decoraitons, so I'll try to be back with that tomorrow.

Until then...take care and STAY AWAY FROM THE GERMS!

Christmas Decor 2010 (Picture Heavy!)

Bookcase decorated for Christmas...my favorite thing is the wooden advent calendar!

I got it our second Christmas together, in England.

Each drawer holds a tiny ornament.

We put up Christmas decorations the weekend before Thanksgiving, so it's about time I showed them off to ya'll! I am sad to think this may be the last Christmas we celebrate in our home here. But really, when you're a military family, ANY holiday could be your last in your home. You just never know! Hope you enjoy your tour around our home!

The first year we got married, we didn't have a tree. We got married two days before Christmas and spent the holiday in Tennessee with his family before he shipped back overseas. In 2006, we went on a "Christmas decoration" shopping spree and I proclaimed I would NEVER have COLORED lights on my tree! I loved the clean, crisp look of white lights and I think I even went so far as to declare colored lights *gasp* trashy. (Sorry to anyone who likes colored lights!) So in 2006, we had white lights. In 2007, Sara was 3 months old at Christmas. We pulled the decor out and started putting white lights on the tree. I made Michael stop. It didn't seem right. I always had colored lights growing up and something just seemed off about it....so what's a mama to do? I went to Wal-Mart and got colored lights. And we've had them ever since. I've grown to like them, but I STILL love white lights the most. Way deep down inside. ;)

The first year we were married, I picked up a cute reindeer ornament at the mall and put it in Michael's stocking. It had two reindeer, our last name, and the year "2005". I'd share it with ya'll....except I can't. Last name and all. Ya'll understand, right? In 2006 we were in England so I had no way of getting another ornament....but in 2007, I got this one. I love it.

(I also dropped the ball on 2008 & 2009. I don't know what the heck happened!)

2010 ornament -- apparently I have a thing for reindeer.

LOVE this little Christmas tree. I got it in an exchange one year.

And then there's my Christmas village. Mama O LOVES Christmas villages. The details get me. (I have the same fascination with dollhouses.)

My wonderful mama scored the Dickens Christmas Village at K-Mart one year after Christmas for something like $15.00 -- and it was regular $99!

That's what started this whole thing. From then on I have been buying one piece each year.

I'm about to run out of room on my bar -- next year I'm commissioning Michael to make me a pretty buffet-typet able to put beneath the bar. Here are a few of my favorite pieces:

Our fireplace:

And the little Christmas tree in the guest bath:

And that's all, folks! I hope you enjoyed Christmas in our home. We will definitely be enjoying these decorations tonight because I have a Christmas movie to watch, some hot cocoa, and presents waiting to be wrapped!

Doctors, bonus rooms, and Uggs

Poor JC has a chest cold. I feel so bad for her! Bless her heart, she can't seem to completely get rid of one before she gets another. A quick run by the doctors yesterday confirmed that her lungs are clear, so mama is happy. :) And holy chunky baby! She weighed in at a whopping ELEVEN pounds! That's one pound gained in 3 weeks! Way to grow, JC!

M is gone this week, so in my time after the girls go to bed I will be cleaning out the old nursery. We're turning it into a craft room/office for us. I'm really sad to see the nursery go....we had such fun painting the walls pink for Sara's arrival. So many memories...I'm so nostalgic it's not funny. But we just don't USE it anymore! So transform it will. It will definitely be nice to get the computer out of our bedroom! I'm thinking I will paint our current computer desk white, find a desk/table for my sewing machine, grab a couple of chairs in fun prints...maybe a rug...it will be heaven! Do you have an office/bonus room? Any decorating "must-have's?"

Speaking of must-have's. I saw a girl in the doctors office with these suckers on today, and now I'm DYING for a pair! I've never owned a pair of actual Uggs, but I've owned several knock-off brands and loved them. It will be months before I can purchase these, but I'd love to have a pair. They're definitely something to save for!

Meal Plan Monday! 12/6/2010

Monday: grilled cheese & sweet potato fries

Tuesday: sandwiches for Sara, Progresso soup for me

Wednesday: pancakes & turkey bacon

Thursday: stroganoff, corn

Friday: salmon croquettes, corn & green beans

Saturday: black bean & cheddar quesadillas, black bean, rice, & tomato salad

Sunday: red beans & rice (made with turkey sausage)

Michael will be away Monday - Thursday, which is why we're eating a lot of sandwich stuff. This week I'm again planning out of my cabinets -- the only thing I have to purchase is rice & turkey sausage. I'm also trying this new recipe for honey plum muffins for breakfast -- I can't wait to try it! If it turns out well, I will share.

Have a happy week!

I'm Still Alive....Barely

**I don't usually like doing posts with no pictures but blogger is being a pain....sorry!

We had a really great, relaxing weekend. Yesterday we did some things around the house and then my mom came up around noon. She treated us to lunch at CiCi's (one of Sara's favorite places -- Miss Thing ate THREE pieces of pizza and part of my salad!), then we ran by TRU, JCPenney, and Old Navy for my mom to wrap some Christmas shopping up. The crowds are AWFUL! But I love it! :)

We came home to make some yummy Christmas candy. Someone had given my mom a recipe for something called "Crockpot Candy"....this recipe was SO easy to make and it was pretty tasty to boot! It was a little nutty to me, and I think next time I would use a different kind of chocolate bark, but it was still okay. This would be perfect for busy mama's! Then we made sugar cookies to decorate. They didn't turn out so hot. They tasted great, but for some reason the shapes didn't work out. Oh, well -- there's always next time! We watched a couple Christmas movies -- we watched my FAVORITE of ALL TIME.....the claymation Rudolph! I've loved that movie for years and years. We also watched The Polar Express. I only caught the end of that one, but it was pretty cute.

This morning everybody slept WAY in, and when we finally got up and moving -- Michael & I went over to the local high school to run on their track. I asked him to help motivate me to exercise each day, and boy did he EVER! I have NEVER in my life worked out THAT hard -- and I've pushed myself pretty hard! When we first got out he said, "Lay down on the ground." I thought he was kidding. He was most definitely not kidding. Then he used this basic training instructor voice that I have NEVER in five years of marriage heard my husband use. I dropped on the ground pretty quick, haha! We did sit-ups (I did 25!!! There was a point where I couldn't even do two!), scissor kicks, bicycle kicks, and push-ups.

Then he said, "That was a great warm-up! I'm so proud of you!"

I almost burst into tears. That warm-up kicked my butt....I was so ashamed. But in a way, that motivated me more and made me even more determined.

I haven't really tried running since I got pregnant with JC, which was a year ago this past October. We started off jogging....and I didn't even make it to the .25 marker. I could have cried. But he stuck with me and we alternated sprinting (okay, jogging for me) and walking for the next 1.25 miles. I will just tell you this: I got nauseated. I may have even vomited once or four times. I came home and stripped off all my clothes and lay on my bed trying to will myself not to cry and/or die. It was HARD. But -- I STUCK WITH IT. I finished that 1.5 mile track and by January 1, I will be doing it TWICE -- and not only that, but I will be running longer than .25 miles!

Hope ya'll had a great weekend!

Show Us Your Life Friday!

Today over at Kelly's Korner, Kelly is featuring foyers as the weekly Show Us Your Life post. It's been a long time since I've joined in on SUYL, and we don't really have a foyer, but....I'm doing it anyway! So here we go.

When you first walk in through the front door, you're greeted by a huge wall. Right now this is how it looks:

But I'm working on changing it soon to a wall of framed photographs. I've been collecting the frames and now I'm working on getting just the right pictures to go in them.

Then you turn immediately to your left and see this:

See that little sign?

It's probably one of my most favorite things ever in our home. Our favorite NICU nurse, Carrie, gave it to us the day June Claire was discharged. She said to me, "Now your journey begins. The worry is over, go home and enjoy your miracle!" She wrote this message on the back:

See? She was as sweet as they come. I sure hope we get to see her when we go back for JC's first birthday.

That's all, folks! Head on over to Kelly's Korner and join in!

P.S. I buckled back down with the weight loss this week -- I had lost about 10 pounds but gained it back over Thanksgiving. I started back on Monday, and as of today (the day I'm going to be doing my weekly weigh-ins on) I am down 3.4 pounds! I'll take it!

5 years

December 23, 2005

Today I celebrate five years of marriage to my best friend.

It's not always been easy.

We've been through a LOT in our five short years.

An international move, a lot of time spent apart (thanks to the Air Force),

the always-lingering-in-the-back-of-your-mind worry about deployments.

Four pregnancies. Two angels in Heaven, two difficult births on Earth.

2010 was the hardest yet. A hard pregnancy, a very early arrival,

three months of spending 24/7 in the NICU,

a tough adjustment to being at home,

watching my sweet cousin Britni go through Hadlei's homecoming to Heaven.

A marital separation.

LOTS of marriage counseling.

Even more time spent on our knees.

But -- I would not trade it for anything else.

He's the one for me, and I'm the one for Him.

(Mostly because no one else would put up with our faults!)

As I do every year, I've spent today thinking about what I was doing at this moment five years ago. I don't think I slept a wink the night before our wedding. My sisters spent the night with me at my mama's house, and my dad picked us all up, including my mama, and we went to eat at Huddle House at 5 a.m. for breakfast. For those of ya'll who know my daddy, know why we ate at Huddle House at 5 a.m. I haven't ate at HH at that time since. I have to say, I miss it sometimes! Then we headed over to a local salon to get prettied up for the big event.

My youngest sister snuck my veil on -- she was 12 then.

She's changed SO much!

Then we headed over to the church. If I could go back & redo my wedding, I'd pretty much do everything different. I'd DEFINITELY have a different hairstyle, a professional photographer, and more personal touches. But -- I was only 20, we had 6 weeks to put it together, & I was doing all of it with Michael in a different country than I was. AND I hadn't even met my in-laws at the time! And really, what is most important is that my family and friends were all there. My Daddy got to give me away while my mama sat on the front bench and cried. I married someone I loved more than anyone I had ever loved before. That's all that matters!

My oldest sister, Elizabeth, & myself.

Michael watching me walk down the aisle.

Seeing Michael for the first time.

(My dad's totally thinking -- "Two down, two to go!"

Bless his heart -- he's still waiting on the last two and will likely be waiting a LOT longer;

they're only 19 & 17!)

Michael, congratulations on putting up with me for five whole years! :)

I love you now more than I did in 2005, even though I swore to you

that was impossible. Even though we've had our hard times,

if five years has brought us this much happiness --

well, I can't hardly wait to see what ten years brings.

7 Months!

I'm a couple weeks late. Forgive me. ;)

Junebug, you are SEVEN months old now! This is crazy to me. I think I say that every month. You are really starting to look like your own person now. You were nearly identical to Sara in the beginning, but now I'm beginning to see more and more differences. I think you take after my side of the family. You have the most beautiful eyes ever. They are green in the middle with a ring of clear sky blue around the outside. I could stare in those precious eyes all day long!

You are in a size 1 diaper. The last time you were weighed (around November 15th) you were 9 pounds, 10 ounces, and 23.75 inches. Way to grow, Junie!

You're still working with your Occupational Therapist, Victoria. We love Victoria. She's so fun for Mama to chat to, and she shares a love of SEC football! Except she's a Bulldogs fan. But she says the Tide comes in a close second, so I think we'll let her slide. ;) Next week you start PT in addition to OT. Victoria says she has no concerns currently, which is awesome news! I think you really just like her playing with you every week. She always tells you how gorgeous you are and she loves all the cute outfits and big bows I put you in! You're also still getting Synergis (Synagis??) vaccinations each month, and will for the rest of the flu season.

In this past week we have caught you picking up toys! This is a huge happening and I get so tickled every time you do it. There is a little dangly bird that I have clipped to your car seat (I showed a picture of it last week) and you will maneuver it so you can put its little beak in your mouth and suck away. I will randomly hear sucking coming from the backseat when we're going somewhere and we just laugh! You have a little rattle that you like to pick up and chew on. You don't like to be laid down on the floor much unless someone is sitting beside you keeping you occupied. You get bored VERY easily!

You love your big sister SO much and your face just lights up when you see her. Last night I checked on ya'll in the bed (you both sleep with us) and ya'll had reached your little arms across the bed to touch each others hands while you slept. You always have to be snug up against her and if she moves, you cry.

June Claire, your whole entire family is just so thankful for you. I will never forget how close we came to saying goodbye to you. You are a miracle, and we love you SO MUCH!

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!

I'm playing with the settings on my camera....and actually learning a few things!

Yesterday was a MESS.

I didn't hear the alarm go off in the morning, and woke up at 9:00 to both girls still soundly sleeping. Every SAHM's dream, right? Just one little unfortunate detail -- Sara had to be at school at 9.

I shot out of bed and somehow managed to get us all 3 dressed, fed, and walked in Sara's school at 9:30. Thank God it's just MDO, right?! Oh, and I may or may not have been wearing sweats Mike gave me as a Christmas gift the year we got married. In 2005. The SHAME!

At this point, it wasn't raining very much at all so I decided to swing out and run errands with Junebug. (I should say that I ran home to work out, shower, and dress in decent clothes before heading out to run errands!) By the time I finished up and was headed home....somebody let the dam loose. IT. WAS. RIDICULOUS! I like rain, sometimes. Preferably when I can stay inside all day in my "easy clothes" (as Sara calls them) and not have to venture out into the wetness. Oh, and when I can stay home and sleep. However, Mother Nature, it is NOT cool to make it pour buckets when I have things to do! Let's work on not messing up my plans, mmmkay? Mama doesn't like to looked like a drowned Chihuahua. (No offense to anyone who owns a Chihuahua; I personally love them and have owned several in the past.)

This blog entry really contains nothing of value. I pretty much am just procrastinating on cleaning my house. But when you're laundry room looks like Hurricane Katrina hit it, it's time to get down to business. Too-do-loo, friends! If I'm not back tomorrow with pictures of a clean laundry room, you'll know to come look for me because I was swallowed into the deep, dark depths of laundry hell!

Yes, girls. I told you it was bad!