O Christmas Tree!

We put our Christmas tree up last night! I love putting our tree up, we turn on Christmas music and go to work!! Its so fun to talk about all of our ornaments! There are only a few ornaments on my tree that doesn't have a story that goes along with it like why we have that ornament, who got that ornament for us, who made that ornament, etc. We have several ornaments on our tree that were on the white and silver Christmas tree we had at our wedding reception. Those are my favorites! Abby has made several ornaments in school and those are my favorites too! So yes all my ornaments are special and the top of the tree is my favorite part, I love to make it huge!! I love our Christmas tree!!

Tree up, lights on, bows on....



Lights and bows on, ready for the ornaments!



getting ready to hang ornaments! The kids had to look at every ornament!



Abby hanging her handmade ornament she made in 1st grade!!



Brady playing with the Santa car ornament I got when I was a little girl!



Abby playing with my wooden Santa I hang on the wall!! LOL FUNNY!!!!!


Chad's Notre Dame ornament we bought in South Bend, Indiana a couple years ago.



Vera Bradley ornament, this is my favorite one of the three I have.



Santa heads, we have several stuffed in our tree! I love them!!




Cousin Eddie's RV....That there...that's an RV...



The Elf and ladder...he's been climbing our tree for 10 years now!!!



White birdhouse ornament that was on our wedding Christmas tree!!!




St. Nicholas!!



Our Boxer angel ornament..in memory of our first dog Sadie!



Brady's Elmo ornament...one of the gifts on the ornament has the name Abby on it. Im sure its for Abby Cadabby but it was so fitting!!!



Ring-o-gingerbread men



The top of the tree....personally I think the MOST important part of a Christmas tree!!



Abby and Brady had a great time helping hang the ornaments! I hope they always help me decorate my tree!!



Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time. ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Fantasy of Trees 2011

Every year we go to the Fantasy of Trees at the Knoxville Convention Center. Its the most awesome place to get into the holiday spirit!! We went today and had a great time. Brady was so interested in everything that we kind of "flew" through it and I didn't get many pics of trees and I didn't get any of the gingerbread houses or wreaths! Oh well, there's always next year right??!! :)

This tree matched Abby's hat!!!



Brady



OH NO!! Not the Cheese Touch!!!!



Abby and the reindeer!



Abby and Brady, I'm not sure what hes looking at but he was in awe of the entire place!


I really loved these, they were all over the place!


AWESOME wooden Thomas the Tank Engine tree!!!



Daddy and Brady



Beautiful old Chevy!


Abby gets this reindeer painted on her face every year!! LOL


Painting our wooden reindeer's!!!



The following pics are NOT the best we have ever taken there, the kids were worn out and hungry so these are the best we could do on our way out...LOL

Me and the kids



Family pic...hmmm LOL



Downtown at the Sunsphere! Brady thought it was so awesome!

24 Things I Am Thankful For....

I decided to make a list of 24 things I am thankful for since Thanksgiving falls on November 24th this year.

1. My Husband who I have had a crush on since the first time I saw him. He has given me this wonderful life and these beautiful children and the best 14 years I could have ever imagined. He is my best friend and my #1 fan. He takes care of us and makes sure we have everything we need. He makes me smile, laugh out loud, and still gives me butterflies. He knows when I need a hug, a shoulder to cry on, or a hand to hold.

2. My Children who make me laugh and smile everyday. They bring me joy I could have never imagined before I was a mother. They love me unconditionally and their hugs are tight and hearts are so big.

3. My Parents who have always been there for me and I know I can count on them for anything. I am truly blessed to be their daughter. They gave me all they could and sometimes they gave me more than I deserved.

4. My House that keeps me warm and dry in the winter and gives me a place to lay my head at night. My home is my job and I am so proud to have it when so many people don't have homes. I love my house and I always want to make it better than it is and a place my children are comfortable in and feel at home. I think a home is one of the most important things a child can have.

5. My Warm Bed that I get to sleep in every night and a soft place to lay my head.

6. My Friends who are there for me when I need someone to listen to me and I know I can count on them. I don't have very many really close friends but the ones I have are the best friends I could ever imagine and I love them so much.

7. My Husbands Job which affords me to be able to stay home and raise my kids, gives us health insurance, pays our mortgage.

8. Cheeseburgers my favorite food of all time!

9. Hard Times, I know this sounds strange but without them we could not be so thankful for the Good Times!!

10. St. Joseph School which educates my daughter in the best way possible and allows her to learn about religion as well as academics.

11. Sweet Tea--without it I could not make it through an entire day!!

12. Books because without them the world would be a boring place!

13. Television which is a strange thing to be thankful for but I love nothing more than to curl up in bed at night and watch it!

14. My Pets that keep the house alive with mischief and smiles ( and sometimes alot of frustration) but they do keep me company when I need them too and they never ask for anything in return.

15. The Young and The Restless which I started watching when I was 5 years old at my Granny's house. I would get out of Kindergarten at half day and go to her house and watch it while eating Peanut Butter Crackers and drinking a coke! :)Its a memory I will never forget and I still watch the show every day.

16. Snow- I love to go to bed on a cold night and wake up to alot of snow and the silence that comes with it, when you walk outside and you cant hear anything but the still of the world and the sight of winter.

17. Electricity, I cant imagine what it was like years ago when they had no electricity so I am very thankful each day that I have it.

18. Santa Claus who brings the magic of Christmas to the heart of children and adults. Life isn't always easy but the sound of bells and the sight of Santa makes me smile and the magic he brings to children is priceless. Both my kids still believe and I hope when they learn the truth they will still be in love with the idea of the Spirit of Santa!

19. Freedom. I am so thankful to be a citizen of the United States of America and for the freedom that gives me. I am so thankful to live in a country where people can make their own choices in the way they live, the faith they practice, the person they marry, and the way they raise their children.

20. My iPod without it I would be lost when I take a shower, drive in the car, clean my house, or sit at my computer. I love you iPod! :)

21. Dearfoam Slippers that I wear EVERYDAY and cant imagine my life without them.

22. Oreos they give me comfort when I am down and out and I cant help but smile when I see the holiday ones with the red center, the spring ones with the yellow center, and the fall ones with the orange center. Thank you Oreo for your variety and yummy goodness!!!

23. XBOX because you bring such happiness to my husband and make him smile when no one else can..LOL

24. God--because without Him none to the above 23 items would be in my life!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and a safe Black Friday, yes I will be out there among the crazies that day and will be so thankful I am!!

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Paint....Pain....Proud....:)

I have been wanting to repaint the downstairs of our house for some time now but it seemed like such a hard job and would take so long I just kept putting it off and putting it off. Well, Friday we went to Lowe's and bought a ton of paint and supplies and Saturday morning we started in the kitchen and finished Monday night in the dining room.

WOW, what a job! I think its the largest project we have done to this house! We finished it up with only a few battle wounds. I had legs so sore I could hardly walk and the worst headache ever (paint fumes I'm sure!) and my husband is sporting a new hole in is body thanks to a pin nailer!! We laughed alot, wanted to cry alot, and thought about giving up several times along the way. But it was so worth it and what an experience to spend 3 whole days with my husband making our home so beautiful!

Lots of paint and supplies--let the fun begin!






Living Room
Before-We had never painted the living room. When we moved in it was this strange goldish brown color and it seemed like such a job to paint it so our things did match OK so we just left it this odd color.

After- Summer Sparrow (a historic looking brown) replaced the "gold" color. I love it so much, it really brings out the white molding and trim and make the room feel so cozy.


Before- The fireplace was almost lost in the "gold" color that was on the wall. It just didn't seem to stand out and the "gold" looked more dirty than "gold" so it was a much needed change!

After- I think the new color brings the fireplace out and the white looks so good against the brown. I am so happy with this color and the way it turned out!


Kitchen
Before- the kitchen was yellow when we moved in, we repainted it a deeper yellow shortly after moving in, I'm still not sure why we painted a yellow kitchen yellow again?? LOL

After-Evening Eclipse ( a deep blue) replaced the horrible yellow on the walls. We added a back splash. My husband used wainscoting for the back splash then he took a regular piece of pine and used his router table to actually hand make the molding and trim on the back splash. It turned out so pretty!

I replaced a horrible picture of a flower with this nice collage of family photos on the kitchen wall.

I also took Chalkboard paint and made a "Shopping List" chalk board next to the pantry door. Its so easy to just make your grocery list during the week on the wall and copy it onto paper on shopping day!!


Hallway
Swiss Chocolate and Smoked Oyster replaced the icky Yellow and Hunter Green walls in the dining room and hallway. Please ignore the baskets of junk in the dining room, I still don't have it all put away yet! LOL

Dining Room
Before-Dining room walls. They were the same yellow as the kitchen and a hunter green that had faded over time.


After- Dining room walls are now Swiss Chocolate and Smoked Oyster. I'm hoping to get a better pic of the dining room in a few days and I will update the post.


We still need to repaint all the trim and molding white and I really want to paint my kitchen cabinets black using milk paint...but thats on hold until we recover from this round of painting!!! I am still trying to get the house back in order, here's hoping its done in time for Thanksgiving!! LOL

My Cat!

We adopted Shannan last September so we have had her a little over a year. This is the sweetest, coolest cat ever! She will lick you on the cheek, come when you call her name, and lay on your chest and rub your face with her paws. I swear sometimes I think she thinks shes a dog!! She loves to play with the Husky and the Husky loves to play with her....I was worried she would eat Shannan when we first got her but after Shannan smacked her in the face they became quick friends!! LOL Just wanted to share these pics of my kitty!!