Goodbye 2009!

We are definitely looking forward to an even better 2010!

2 Cor. 5:17 NIV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Corinthians 5:16-18 (The Message)
Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins.

Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

I got to wrap up 2009 with some of my best girl friends yesterday! Can I tell you how much the spirit of my grad girls/four seasons just picks me up, refreshes me?? I am so thankful that the Lord placed these ladies in my classes!!!! My oh my, I am blessed by their friendship. Each one in a different way!

We met up for lunch at Coyoacan for yummy mexican. We ended up staying for a few hours just to talk and reflect about our year. My girls and I have been through a lot in the past year...ups and downs, marriage, a few pregnancies, a birth, death, graduation, new houses, moving, break-ups, miscarriages, infertility, career changes....in a group as big as ours I guess you have to face a lot more of life in a shorter amount of time. I love my girls! And pray for them often.

We didn't get a group picture, but these are the girls!


Ok, so when we got out of lunch, there was a car totally parked on top of mine. I might could've squeezed in, barely, but we decided that I should climb over the passenger seat to get in. Carrie Beth gladly captured it all with my camera!

See what I mean?

Beginning to climb over, can't believe CB is taking a pic!

Laughing hysterically over the funny situation. But in the drivers seat!


Then we girls did what we do best together, besides study and read. We shopped!! We went to TJ Maxx, Belk's, Hobby Lobby, Bath and Body Works, Hall Mark, Old Navy...maybe a few more places too. Then we went out to the woods to see our Jenn's cute new house!

Our cute present from B! We love them!


We ate supper at McCalisters, where we all ordered the exact same thing...half and half, spud and french dip, and a diet coke to drink. We shared a little bit of cheesecake and talked some more.




I had to dip out early to celebrate my father in law's birthday at Cracker Barrel while the girls browsed Target. But then I met back up with my girls at El Toreo for a just a bit with my hubby in tow!

What a day!!! Matty said that it warmed his heart that I could just take an entire weekday and just spend it relaxing with friends. Something that never happens due to my job! Let me tell you, I am very thankful too!

Can you guess what we're having for supper?

???

Well, I got out of bed! Supper is finished and I'm waiting on my hard working hubby to get home to me!

I tried to take a picture of the bed...once I got out of it to show how comfy it was. Notice, I didn't make it up yet...just in case I feel the need to crawl back under the covers. None of our pillows are on the bed either. Just my trusty leopard one from my old bedroom back home (I don't use it with our bedding now).



Oh and the view.



Can you find Blakely in one of them?

I hear the garage door opening..gotta run!

Lazy, Lazy Day!

This day is not turning out at all like I thought it would...I declared a self proclaimed work day. GKIDS/Report cards, portfolios and thankyou notes.

Well, I can't seem to get out of bed. We got home from Missouri yesterday and spent the afternoon unpacking and cleaning up. We put clean sheets on the bed and I think that I could get used to being a SAHBW that is a stay at home blogging wife! :)

I got up this morning and opened our blinds and am enjoying the beautiful woods outside of our bedroom window. Our sheets are so soft and clean. I have been watching the cooking channel all morning and reading Jenn'a Journey blog. What a lazy but much needed morning. Even Blakely has been sleeping all morning.

I would add some pictures but they don't capture the true beauty of my view/comfort that I'm feeling!

I've only been up twice in fact. Once to let Blakely out after Matt left for work. And then again to eat some Christian chicken..haha, Chick-fil-a, that Matt brought home for lunch!

While I have been "resting" I've been thinking about one of my very best friends from college. She was in fact the maid of honor in my wedding. She got married Sat. Dec. 26th and we had to miss it, due to the snowstorm that hit NWA and SW Mo. I've been thinking about all the fun times that we've had together. I don't get to see her as much as I would like, b/c we live pretty far away...opposite sides of GA. I thought I'd list some things about our friendship.

-We lived in the same dorm in college, Hopper, and would pass each other everyday in the lobby or front steps without ever saying anything but, "hey".
-We both attended the Baptist Student Union on campus but never crossed paths.
-When we finally did, we were inseperable right away! Gatlinberg TN will always be special to me because on that trip I really got to know my best friend and husband :)
-We would eat at Zaxby's every Sunday night and go to Walmart on the other side of town. It was sort of a tradition.
-We were pretty obsessed with older people in the BSU...not many our own age.
-We hung out at the BSU all the time and did not really like people commenting on it.
-We took history together..ugh. She is a history teacher now! Ha! She did really, good and I'm pretty sure I didn't. We sat in the very very back and wrote notes all during class.
-We pulled our first and my only (until grad school) all nighter together writing a history paper. Man it was hard!
-The first summer after our freshman year we talked everynight for several hours. We also made several trips back and forth across GA to see each other and the rest of our little group.
-Rebecca and I became best friends with my hubby, Matty, and the 3 of us were always together!
-We kept an ongoing list that Bex still has of funny things that we did together.
-Bex and I loved shopping trips, watching movies on the couch, playing football/riding bikes :), swimming and laying out, Sunday School and Bible Study, Lady Blazer Basketball games and forming the TG's. And a million other things that year I'm sure.
-Two of my fav. memories from that year were getting ready for a SS party at my apartment with all the windows open and Britney Spears blasting! And New Years in Atlanta!
-All of my conference memories are great. We always had fun packing, on the rides to and from the location, and during the actual conference.
-Birthdays were always a big deal to us.
-As we got older, we would walk every other day either at VMS track or the rec center track. We were pretty obsessed with pink, Jessica Simpson, and Loco's around this time I do believe.
-Then during our 5th year senior years, we lived together. I had so much fun living with Bex and our other friend Meg. Bex and I shared a bathroom and our bedroom doors faced one another. Both of our rooms were decorated in Polo. We were into Polo's, Pearls, Pointy-toed pumps, Reality TV (Laguna Beach, Rich Girls, Surf Girls, American Idol, The Hills?, and Newlyweds!)
-We were in a senior girls Bible Study together.
-We were both going to school to become teachers.
-I was planning my wedding by this point, and she was my #1 helper. She did so much for me! I hate that I couldn't be there for her as well! I do intend to make it up to her the next time I'm in ATL though!
-Bex stayed with me in my hometown the week leading up to my wedding and I have a lot of stressful and great memories from that week too!
-Even years after college, we still visit, and pick up right where we left off when we do finally get each other on the phone.
-I am so thankful that we met and for our true friendship!! I don't have a sister, but Bex is def. like a sister that I never had!

We have way too many pictures for me to put on here. Probably thousands. But these are just a few that I found!

What do you do when you're snowed in??

You sled and play in the snow.


You watch your dog eat snow.


You sing worship songs.


You play Rock Band and other Wii games.


We did our fair share of eating too. Lots of sweets. I actually can't look at anything sweet right now!

I'm glad we got our shopping in hours before the snow started falling. We did get to see a movie Saturday night. We saw Have you Heard about the Morgans?? Matt and I both really enjoyed it. I'm not so sure about everyone else :) ha!

We're back home now and slowing getting unpacked and cleaned up! We're pretty tired after the long, long drive!

We wish you a Merry Christmas...

and a Happy New Year!!

Happy birthday Jesus, I'm so glad it's Christmas...
All the tinsel and lights and the presents are nice, but the real gift is You!
Happy birthday JESUS, I'm so glad it's Christmas...
all the carols and bells make the holiday swell,
but it's all about You ---- Happy birthday Jesus, Jesus I love you!!

Merry Christmas from snowy Missouri! We are enjoying our first white Christmas and loving it! Especially Blakely :)


We started to see ice on Christmas Eve!


The snow was falling heavily at this point!


Playing in the snow like giddy kids!





Blakely Whelan discovered her new favorite thing...snow! She likes it even better than sand.


A snowy Christmas!



I'm very thankful that I thought to bring my only real winter shoes. My trusty pink uggs. I always wear them for snow day at school...but I assure you these boots are waterproof after braving the blizzard without fail!


Santa left a new friend for Blakely under the tree in MO. She got a new bear, Lola, to replace her old favorite bear, Noel. ;)

What a random Christmas post! Yay for a white CHRISTmas!

Rockin' around the Christmas tree...

have a happy holiday!! I've always loved Christmas Eve. We used to exchange Christmas gifts with my dad's side of the family on Christmas Eve. Nanny always had the prettiest, biggest tree ever. There were way to many presents under the tree, and the food was always catered by my Uncle John. There was nothing like it!

I never got around to posting our favorite ornaments on our tree. We are sitting in Matts grandmothers living room, listening to the rain and wind...still waiting on snow :) So I have some time on my hands.


Mama gave me the glittery ornament for my birthday this year and I love the way it shows up on the tree. My sweet Molly Grace, one of my students, gave me the two red and white ones. She really wanted me to like the one with the diamonds on it!


Robin gave me the "N" ornament for my birthday this year. The white sparkly ornament was my favorite ornament from my Nanny's tree growing up. She had several that were from Burdines. I got them all after she died :(


Mama got us this ornament the first year we were married!


This ornament was handpainted by my sweet Zach Fletcher's mama in 2006. He was one of my first babies right after student teaching. His mama painted me wearing my pearls and she also painted my entire class holding hands with me. I love it!





I think our kitchen/living room tree will always be our favorite, or the most sentimental. We have lots of present ornaments, which we love. I have more of Nanny's sparkly ornaments on there, a Dublin ornament for my hometown, a beautiful cross, a funky snowflake, a set of pointe shoes symbolizing my years of dance, and several nutcrackers...for my love of the nutcracker ballet. Matt got me my favorite nutcracker ornament a few years ago at the Macon Grand Opera House.


Matty loves his new office tree. This is the tree that we bought on sale this year. He put our Blakely ornaments on it. It is his plantation/Forks WA tree :) He made some pinecone ornaments for it. He loves the coke and diet coke ornaments too. I would love to get him a golden retriever spode ornament...maybe next year!



This is our bedroom tree! It matches and we got all of the ornaments on it for a steal a few years ago. I hate to admit that the first year that we were married we left this little tree up until Feb....and called it a winter tree. It was just so pretty! Ha! Matt's grandmother gave us the angel and we hung our only new ornament for our bedroom tree this year. A cute little fleur de lis! Matt's sis, Bekah, made us the W ornament and it is now hanging on the angel too!

We hope to add a tall 9ft bronze, brown, and gold tree to our dining room/entry way with white lights next year. As well as a red/black tree upstairs. Then maybe a little homemade ornament tree in the kitchen.

Ok...onto my school. I love making ornaments with my babies. They love it too. I changed up my ornament making a little bit this year, we didn't make any messy ornaments...like the gingerbread ones or the ones out of rice and glue.

These are the ones that we made. We also made a canvas. I made the initial ornaments for each child in my class as a little gift...along with their other presents. We also made a magnet for their fridge with a picture that I took of them on Santa's lap at Breakfast with Santa. We wrapped all of the ornaments up for their parents. We aslo made a cute handprint Christmas tree t-shirt to wear on our field trips. I've already got a few new ideas for next year.











I think this is my longest picture post ever! I just have to add a few pictures of us decorating our new house for the first time! I never got a picture of it completely decorated.




Hanging up wreaths and our seasonal screen!


My Nanny's nutcracker looks so pretty in our dining room. It just sparkles like crazy!

Our entryway and Bonus room decorations...and a few kitchen, laundry room, and bathroom ones too.










The manger in our guest bedroom. We got it as a wedding gift at one of our showers.


I love this big platter. It is our Christmas pattern and Matty got it for us last Christmas.


These are our stocking hangers. We don't have stockings. I was hunting for some this year, and I found the ones that I love, but they are just too expensive...that's the reason I didn't get them last year. Oh well, maybe I'll find some that look kind of like them next year!


Mama got me this plate this year for my birthday, to match the napkin rings that she bought me a few years ago. It clearly states the reason for the season...doesn't it? :)



Finally, the plate that I made at a cute pottery place in town.


This was the only gift that was under our tree this year. A housewarming gift from two of my aunts. I know I know, all that decorating and we didn't even celebrate Christmas at home. But we are celebrating with family and we couldn't ask for anything better. We are so blessed and thankful.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!