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!

C is for Cookie...

These two things deserved a post all on their own, because they just might top the list of absolute favorite things to do during the Christmas season! The first is a new one (sort of), that is sure to become a roomie tradition from now on. Lindsey and I made cute Christmas cookies the night before I left to go home, and we had so much fun!

It's a thousand wonders we didn't just eat all the cookie dough! :)

They got much bigger than expected!

Rocket wanted to help Linds with the icing...they sure did smell good!

All of Lindsey's cookies...my favorite with the tree decorated to look like a present, complete with the big, pretty bow!

And now mine! The one that's a Santa Claus was actually a snowman cookie, but they blew up so much that it made the perfect Santa instead!

Yummmm!!!

Now my absolute favorite part...getting to hang out with family and friends and play games! This is from my favorite party at the Henrys' and we're all playing Apples to Apples...I won! :)

It's a tradition to get a new game for Christmas, and then when Kay & George come over on Christmas morning, we get to test it out. This year...Partini. It was fun, but pretty difficult!

Daddy hates playing games, but likes cards. I love both! Here we are playing Spades...Lindsey and I lost big time, but Daddy and I won the night before! We also love playing Rummy.

On my last night home, we had our last game night, and this time with Reed's girlfriend, Keisha. One of my favorite board games is Cranium, and Lindsey and I pretty much dominate it. :)

A Few of My Favorite Things...

It's been a while since I've been around, and of course I have 1001 pictures, but I'm going to try to keep it short and simple (which, of course, probably means 2 or 3 posts. ha.). I'm a big fan of Christmas and enjoy all aspects of it! Here are a few pictures of my favorite things that lead up to the big day!

When Lindsey finally got back from Mexico, we went to see Point of Grace in Brentwood for their Christmas concert. I love Christmas music, and their "Christmas Story" album is one of my favorites to listen to this time of year!

I also love getting to decorate everything for winter (more snowmen so it can stay out for a few months instead of a few weeks) and Christmas! I also love shopping the day after Christmas to get good deals on new decorations for the next year! Lindsey puts the lights up outside and we added garland around the door this year. All my pictures have our house number on them, and I feel slightly paranoid about putting that on here...but rest assured she did a fabulous job! :)

Speaking of Christmas lights, I love getting to look at those too! A few sweet friends told me all about Sunnyside and I will not be missing out again! There were more lights in the neighborhood than I've ever seen, and the story behind it is far too sweet.

I love love love getting to relax over the Christmas break too! So here's what I've spent a great deal of time on...getting addicted (slightly later than everyone else) to the Twilight books!

And of course I can't forget about the Christmas parties! This picture is from my very favorite party that we have each year. All the "lake crew" friends get together and have dinner and of course we always wind up playing Apples to Apples!

Get Back Jo Jo...

It's the end Day 3 of the Mexico trip, 3 more to go. Halfway done! And gah, do I ever miss my best friend. Yes, I miss Lindsey...but I also miss this best friend too.

Mine and Jo's friendship almost started out as a joke. When I was working at my last job, she was on the road a bunch at the end of the year (when I started), and she would say "Oh don't you worry...I'll be here at the beginning of the year and we'll become best friends!" So I went on the road to a Jason show one weekend with a girl I worked with and barely knew...and came back with someone who truly is one of my absolute closest friends now.

After Friday's little escapade, I couldn't help but think of mine and Jo's very first adventure together. Neither one of us are fans of driving in inclement weather, but the weekend we drove to Lexington, KY, it came a freaking blizzard. No lie. Well, blizzard in comparison to anything else I've ever seen. As scary as it was to be driving in a vehicle that wasn't ours, in a place we weren't familiar with, & in that weather....it was an absolute blast. I still think back on that weekend and always laugh because it truly was one of the most fun weekends ever. It truly was the beginning of a great friendship.

Since that weekend, almost 2 years ago, JoJamie and I have just gotten closer. When I think of her, the first word that comes to mind is "loyal." Jo knows what it means to be a loyal friend more than anyone I've ever met & she expects that in return. I think that's made me become a more loyal friend because of her and I'm so appreciative of it.

Another thing I'm extremely grateful for is all of her great advice. Whether it's how to handle a work situation, what to do about silly boys or what shoes look best in a new dress...she's always there to help out any way she can. She is an amazing friend and I'm not sure what I did without her all the years before we met!

This picture is from shortly after becoming "BFFs" and our road trip!

Love you so much, Jo! Thanks for being an AWESOME best friend...and I can't wait for you to come home!!