My first snow

My mom has fun reading our blog, as well as our friends' blogs. After reading a few and seeing snow pictures, she sent me these pictures today. I was 21 months old. She pointed out that I had on an Auburn outfit in the second one; I pointed out that 21 months isn't old enough to dress myself:)

Snow and a fire

Yay for the snow! Ours is already beginning to melt, but hopefully there is more to come. I don't want to be snowed in or anything, but throwing a few snowballs is always fun. Bailey was very intrigued by the snow. She smelt it, dug into it, ate it, then ran around the yard at full speed.

Mike just started a fire. This is our FIRST fire since we moved into our house... over two years ago! We thought we had to use gas logs, and we never bought any because we had a bad experience with gas logs at our house in Birmingham. Well, it turns out we have a wood-burning fireplace after all, and the fire is beautiful!

Our big girl

Bailey's yearly physical was today. Mike took her by himself, because I was being lazy. Our girl got a great report except for one thing... the doctor said she could stand to lose a few pounds. Last year she was 80 pounds, and they told us she was fine but not to let her gain any weight. Well, our sweetie weighed in at 83 today. I hate to think about what she would have weighed before Christmas, because she lost some weight playing with John and Brandon for 10 days in Opp. No more people food for Bailey! Well, I don't know if I can cut her off that easily. But, I guess we need limits. Unfortunately, I love sweets, I love Bailey, and Bailey loves sweets. She's tried everything from cheesecake to strawberry cake, and of course she loves it all! How could anyone resist this face???

Great books

I love to read! I especially like fiction novels, and Harlan Coben is my favorite author. I think Harlan Coben is better than James Patterson, but it's probably a close race.

Last summer, Mike and I were having dinner with our friends, Chris and Jene. We started talking about the differences between men and women. Of course this topic could take years to discuss, but Jene told me about a book that would help me better understand Mike, and men in general. It's called "For Women Only" by Shaunti Feldhahn, and there is also "For Men Only," written by Feldhahn and her husband. These books are great! I only read the one for women, but Mike says he learned a lot from his book, too (and I got Starbucks in bed for two days in a row after he finished his book). Without giving away the book, I will tell you one of the most fascinating things I learned from "For Women Only." It said when you ask a man what he's thinking about and he says, "nothing," he's really not thinking about anything! Can you believe that they can sit and not think about anything? Well, they can, because I've asked Mike and other men since reading the book, and they all agree that sitting and thinking about nothing is common for men. I guess I don't understand because I'm always thinking about something, even when I say, "nothing." If you're looking for a book that helps you understand your significant other, these books are optimal because they are short, easy to read, and are based on Christian beliefs without being "preachy" or unrealistic.

And if you know all there is to know about men or women, read Harlan Coben's novels because they are all awesome!

Welcome 2008!

Welcome 2008! Mike and I didn't stay up to watch the ball drop last night. As soon Auburn won the Chick-fil-a bowl, we turned off the television and went to sleep. This morning we were trying to remember the last time we stayed up until midnight on New Year's eve. A few years ago we made it to 12:00 Eastern time (but we live in Central time). Oh well, we like to stay well-rested.

We went to the mall yesterday, and I'm glad we went, but we won't be going back. It was ridiculously crowded. One thing I'll never understand is groups, or families, that walk around the mall together when it is crowded. We saw tons of groups of 8-10 people walking around together. That would be my worst nightmare! Even when I'm not shopping for anything specific, I don't like to walk slowly or wait around in stores (yes, I have ADHD). When my family goes to the mall, we pick a place and time to meet, then go our separate ways... and it's fabulous!

I did manage to make one purchase at the super crowded mall, and I'm very excited abut it. I bought skivvies at J Crew! I read about them on a friend of a friend's blog, and she said they wouldn't ride up your legs like regular pajama pants. Mike likes our house COLD, so I have to sleep in pants, and mine always ride up my legs while I'm sleeping. I tested my new ones last night, and they were great! I bought these yesterday at the store:



And I just ordered these off the Internet from J Crew. They are on sale for $15.99 once you put them in your shopping cart:)