Mama, I Love You!

I'm quite possibly the worst blogger ever now. Yikes. I promise there will be a little more explanation coming soon!

In the midst of my wayyyy late Christmas blogging, I didn't get to post a very important one when I wanted to. Last weekend was crazy and hectic, much like the entire month has been thus far, and because of that, I didn't get to go home to celebrate my mommy's birthday!! How the heck did I manage to not blog on Mom's birthday when she started on mine? Again, worst blogger ever. Not worst daughter, because I did have a card picked especially for her well in advance (although Nashville-Selmer mail is incredibly slow...), a present that is sitting in my dining room waiting to be opened, and of course a phone call by 8:30am...on a SATURDAY. :) Jeez Louise, of course I remembered!

Speaking of remembering, here a just a few of my very favorite memories with my sweet mommy. :) 

• I took voice lessons for 13 years, and only 2 of those years I was able to drive the hour-and-a-half-one-way trip. So what does that mean? Awesome bonding time. On those trips, quite often just the 2 of us, we would listen to a wide array of music. She is THE reason I'm so passionate about music now because she exposed me to so much starting at a young age. We would listen to everything under the sun but one of my favorite memories is when she would put the radio on a classical station and we would listen carefully to all the instruments used in the song and "air-play" them all. Of course it was fun when I was 7, but I'm sure it was also a tool that helped me years later to listen carefully and have a better ear for music.
• 2 amazing lessons and very fun memories: 1) sometimes it's ok to have ice cream for dinner...just don't tell Daddy. 2) when you're shopping and you buy something on sale and save $20, that just means you have $20 extra to buy something else! Again, just don't tell Daddy. :)
  
• One summer Reed, Mom and I were going to meet Kay, George, Lori and Sam in Gulf Shores for a few days. We packed the car to the brim with our bags and beach toys (Reed was 6 or 7, so the perfect age to love big toys in the ocean and at the pool) the night before only to find that the car wouldn't start the next morning. So in the wee hours of the morning, we unloaded our stuffed big car and did the only thing we could at that hour - cram it into my tiny Bug. We obviously minimized some of the things we had originally planned, but once we were finally on the road, I don't remember laughing so hard. We even came back with an extra float (Star Wars Naboo Starfighter...no small float)! (*no, I'm not a Star Wars fan, so I have no idea if that's how you spell it. All I know is it was the yellow one. :) *)
• Another summer when Mom, Reed, Lindsey and I were all reading the Harry Potter books, Mom took the liberty of reading them out loud (aloud?)  on the lake...with voices! Took me back to when she would read books to me all the time!
• I remember very distinctly one day Mom saying out of the blue, "I'm so glad that you have your own opinions and have the ability to make your own decisions independently." I had no idea where it came from (she's a guidance counselor so I'm sure it had something to do with a situation she had dealt with that day), but it really stood out to me and I've never forgotten it. Although she may be sorry now that she told me because I rarely hesitate to share my opinion if given the opportunity. :)

Mom, I love you oodles and bunches and gobs! I'm so thankful for all these memories and many, many more. Happy Birthday again!!! Love, PBBG :)

This Christmas...

Ok ok, I swear this is the last Christmas post now that I'm nearing February. I'll explain why I'm taking so long later. :)

Here is a briefing of my Christmas Day. I love Christmas Day the most of all because it's spent with our close family, we rarely get out of pajamas & we just generally enjoy one another's company!

This is pretty much the view of every Christmas morning...our sunroom filled with stacks of gifts with pretty bows (thanks to Mom:)), Mom video taping Reed & I opening our gifts. Reed got his very first camera!

...And both Rock Bands, which he played for hours on end the rest of the day!

I got an adorable laptop bag & a new book...by Kate Gosslin from Jon & Kate Plus 8! My favorite!!

I gave my mom a book with pictures of the four of us (plus pets!). It was a lot of fun to make, and she was very surprised!

Dad's wish list: all things Harley. And that's exactly what he got. :)

Paisley even got a stocking full of treats and new toys and a new collar!

Lucy & Dash both got new toys in their stockings too, but they all just wanted to play with the same one all morning.

Dash in his "Naughty" Christmas shirt! :)

Gran, Kay & George came over as usual for Christmas brunch, hanging out, and testing out the new game. My favorite part of the day!

Christmas Eve in My Hometown...

I'm so behind, I know...everyone else is blogging about New Year's resolutions and how they've already given up (kidding) and I'm still stuck on Christmas...

So here quickly is my Christmas Eve in pictures. Mostly of family and the youngest members (both 3). They're so stinkin' cute!

The evening starts out with our family going to my old church for the Christmas Eve service. It's great to be there and see everyone (including my darling Caley!), but I'm hoping to try to make it for Cross Point's earliest Christmas Eve service next year!

Then we head to my grandmother's house for dinner and presents! Here is my cousin's youngest, Trent, holding his BIG present!

It's been a tradition for some of the kids to 'sort' all the presents as they come in. It was my job for the longest, but now it's been handed down to Reed. :)

My cousin, Jason, and his youngest, Carter. He's the very youngest of the family...

...but not by much! Cole is only 2 months older than him. They were SO fun to watch open their presents and play with their new toys. 3 is a great age to enjoy the magic of Christmas. Cole and Carter were jumping off the steps into the sunroom at the same time. I love this picture!

Carter's older brother, Collin, was excited to get a new Nerf gun!

Reedman...he's the oldest of the "little ones" (not that he's little, by any means!), and the youngest of the "big kids!"

My cute Mommy and Daddy :)

I was SO excited about my awesome new Paul Mitchell straightener from Kay & George!

Trent's older sister, Megan, started reading her new book right away. She's such a good reader!

My cousin, Brian & I.

All of the great-grand children (minus Sam) with my grandmother. Trent, Carter, Collin, Megan & Cole.

All the grandchildren (minus Lori): Brian, Jason, Jennifer, Reed & me.

Last but not least, all the children! Glenn, Paula, Kay & Mom.

Are they not too cute??

After we got Gran's house all picked up, we went back home to wait for Santa! :) My stocking is a Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy that Kay made for me when I was a baby. I love it!

I got to be Santa Paws for Paisley. :)

Such a pretty girl!

My Thanksgiving...

It was so nice to be at my parents' house for a few days for Thanksgiving! I hadn't been back home in several months, so I did a lot of visiting the 3 days I was there. Enjoy the swell of even more pictures as I played with my new toy...and captured a memory or two while I was at it! :)

Paisley got so tired of Dash, so she would jump on Mom's step ladder to get away from him!

For Thanksgiving lunch, we always go to eat with my dad's side of the family. Daddy smokes the turkey every year! Here is Daddy with one of his brothers...my uncle Butch (Jerry).

The whole fam

My Uncle Danny and Uncle Butch are both barbers...just like Daddy was for 25 years. This is Danny's shop...it's so cute!

I think Danny said he opened his shop in March 1958!

When Daddy was a barber, he had the barber pole, but it didn't work like Uncle Danny's does! Authentic!

After lunch, we went to my grandmother's house (Mom's mom) to visit with her a bit. Gran, Kay, Lori & Sam had taken a 4 generations hand picture early that day, so we decided to do ours, too (my hand on the left, Mom's at the bottom, Gran on the right), and then we added Paisley's paw later!

This is a picture of my Papa and his glasses that Gran still has. I love it!

Thursday night & Friday morning we pulled the tree out and decorated. Dash was just about the only one that was "dash"ing to the ornaments!

Finally, the finished product!

Photograph...

I've always had an interest in photography. I love taking pictures (or at least attempting) that are more than just the "put your arms around each other and smile." So when I had a gift certificate to HHGregg from my HOA, I decided to spend it on something I wouldn't go buy for myself when I needed it (like a new tv or something). So I got myself a new Canon Rebel XS! Basically I'm in love. I took it home with me for Thanksgiving so I could play around with it for a few days, but Justin is going to show me how to actually do cool things with it. Here are a few of the pictures I took while I was playing (no editing done...I have to learn how to do all that stuff too!). Most of it was of pets because they were easy test subjects! :)
My very first picture! Mom, Daddy & I were blown away about how clear it was, even in our dark living room!

This is my Nala. She will be 15 next spring!

This is Lucy, Reed's dog. She's such a good little girl!

Reed and I were slightly bored...so we were playing with his reflective aviators! :)