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:)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I wanted to wait and post after I downloaded my Christmas pictures, but I'm bored, so I will just add them later.

We have been in Houston for 4 days now, and I've decided I'm probably not cut out for a big city. I do pretty well in Atlanta because I stay with Tracy, and everywhere I go is super close to their apartment. Houston isn't that easy. I decided to go to the mall yesterday... alone (mistake number one). I gave Mike a GPS for Christmas, and I noticed that the mall was only 3.8 miles away; I figured it couldn't be that hard to find (mistake number two). It took me 25 minutes to get there, and I didn't even make a wrong turn! Traffic was terrible... on a Sunday! Once I got to the mall (or at least what I thought was the mall), I parked at Dillards. I walked in and was immediately overwhelmed by the size of Dillards. It was at least four stories!! There were two floors of women's clothing. You'd think I would have been in heaven, but I was too overwhelmed to be excited. I decided to just go to the "mall" part. After walking around two different floors for 10-15 minutes, I asked an associate how to get to the mall. She proceeded to tell me to go "downstairs, OUTSIDE, through Neiman Marcus, then into mall... and it closes in 45 minutes!" I threw in the towel at that point. It took me 10-15 minutes to find the floor I parked on, and I've never been so relieved to walk out of a store. SO, the plan is for Mike to take me back this afternoon:) I obviously need some assistance, and he was the one who got me excited about the mall in the first place by telling me it was incredible. Now, he'll get to experience it with me;I'm sure he can hardly wait!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas! Ours was great- just too short, as usual. We had fun spending time with family and friends. Here are a few pictures from Christmas (courtesy of Mom and Aunt Connie). Try not to laugh at Mom's Christmas sweater; she thinks she has to wear something festive each year:)

Here's to a great 2008!! 2007 has ended well... Alabama even pulled out a WIN last night:)

Busy busy busy

Even though it's extremely busy, I love this time of year!! We've had a great December! We spent last weekend babysitting Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. It was super fun. Here is a picture of Bailey, Mike and sweet Reese.

We went to Atlanta to shop and see Tracy and Travis, and we had a great time! Mike would probably have to take away my debit card (notice I said debit, because I don't have any credit cards) if I lived that close to Lenox Mall. We also went to Phipps Plaza to catch a glimpse at the famous Santa, but he was gone by the time we got there that night.

Mike is in Houston, so I spent this weekend going to Christmas parties and organizing our house. Normally I just have time to clean the visable parts of the house, so this was a different kind of challenge. It's kind-of annoying because I've worked hard, but the house still looks dirty because the things I've worked on aren't obvious (closets, drawers, etc.)

I only have one more Christmas gift to buy, and I plan to get it this afternoon and be finished. We are spending Christmas Eve in Atlanta and Christmas day in Auburn-Opelika then Opp. Mike and I are going to Houston Dec. 27; I'm staying for a week, and he's staying 11 days. We are renting a car for the first time, and I'm looking forward to it. If anyone has any suggestions regarding food, shopping, etc. please pass them along. Mike and his dad went to a NBA game last night and were planning to go to Joel Osteen's church today. He comes home Wednesday or Thursday, and Bailey and I can't wait to see him. In case I don't post again before Christmas, have a very Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Cards

I LOVE Christmas cards! I especially love cards with pictures! I was going through old Christmas cards a few days ago, and I loved seeing how families have changed over the years. We didn't get many picture cards in 2004. We got tons of them in 2005, with lots of wedding and puppy pictures. Last year was the first year we got lots of cards with babies on them. I'm expecting a good 50-60% baby pictures this year, and I'm excited! Our card will once again feature Mike, Bailey and me. I wanted to use a solo picture of Bailey this year, but Mike thinks the whole family needs to be in the Christmas card picture (I disagree). As we took pictures Sunday, I was reminded of how hard it is to get a dog to cooperate for pictures. I know children are difficult, but at least they are cute regardless.

Here is the picture of Bailey I wanted to use. Wouldn't it have been perfect with a "Have a Doggone Merry Christmas" title?