The Joy of Christmas

We had such a blessed Christmas!!  I think every year just gets better and better!!!  We arrived in Rogers on Friday afternoon and went straight to Brandi and Landon's to pick up my sweet nieces and take them to see Santa. Words cannot describe how much I love Brynlee Claire and Emma Grace.  They are sweet angels and I absolutely cherish every minute I get to spend with them.

Brynlee telling me what she wants for a snack.

Love her sweet heart

Emma and me covered in eating a cinnamon sugar pretzel

We ran into the Hicks and their kiddos! Aunt Kia spent all her cash on the cars ;)

Showing Uncle Matt how she can drive

At the Promenade, headed to 'The Rail' for dinner

Saturday morning, we had a big breakfast of biscuits and gravy, sausage balls and more.  We went to Mamaw and Papaw's for Christmas Eve lunch and to exchange presents.  I feel so very blessed to have spent another Christmas with two of the best grandparents in the world. 

Helping Uncle Matt hand out presents

Ready, Set, Go....

Pawpaw helping Brynlee with her mermaid costume

Grandkids and Great-Grandkids with Papaw and Mamaw

After lunch @ Mamaw and Papaw's, Brandi, Kyndall, and I met Lindsey and Nora at Bonefish Grill for a Christmas Eve cocktail.  It was great to just sit around and catch up. 

Christmas morning, we all got up to check out all the goodies in our stockings and to see what Santa brought. (In our family, Santa stops bringing a big gift when you get married.  I guess I did good to hold onto that for 28 years ;)  Landon, Brandi, and the girls didn't get to the house until noon, but Dad had a special gift he shared with Kyndall, Matt and me.

Yep!  We got a .380 caliber pistol.  I am extremely excited!!!  In fact, we loaded up and headed down to the ponds to shoot as soon as we opened them.  I don't think it's any secret that Little Rock isn't the safest place.  I actually had a man follow me the other day, all the way to the AT&T store (because of course I wasn't going to drive home).  The three of us are looking into getting our concealed weapons license after the first of the year.  So, this was the perfect gift!!!

Loading up with ammo...

I'd say we're getting the hang of it. (We were about 30 yards away)

Dad and his girls

Landon and his crew got to the farm just in time for Chrismas lunch.  After, we had a blast opening all our presents.  It was a fabulous afternoon full of family!!

Emma Grace so excited for presents (I loved their matching Christmas outfits!!)

Sparkling Toms

Emma liked her pink ones

A new life jacket for the lake this summer

Brandi's new Uggs

Landon and Brandi got a new gun as well ;)

Matt's new drill

Dad and his gift cards to Bass Pro Shop

 Mom and her gift cards

My Wilton Armetale plates and bowls.  I have been wanting the square ones to go with my pattern and they are so hard to find.  Leave it to Mom...she found them!! ;)

A baby bed for their dolls

Kyndall's 'Just Dance' collection for the Wii.

We were all so blessed this year, to receive so many nice gifts from each other. I have to say though, the highlight was definitely a gift that Santa left for the girls at Mimi and Pawpaw's house. 

A John Deere tractor that they can drive on the farm

She thought it was neat until it made a loud noise while pressing the petal

So...Aunt Kia took one for the team and drove it around outside. (That's the only way she would come close to it. She would sit on my lap while we cruised around the driveway)

I love Emma Grace's face in this...HILARIOUS!!  She's not so sure either!!

After about 10 minutes, she got the hang of it and was loving it!!!

We had such an amazing time together!!  We were sad to have to leave to drive back to Little Rock on Christmas night, but Matt and Kyndall both had to work on Monday.  It was no fun, but I am just thankful for the time we had together!!

I have been off this week as well.  Our housekeeper cleaned on Monday while I did a little shopping and got a pedicure.  Tuesday, Brittney came over and we watched "Love Actually."  Today, I have a little more shopping on my to-do list, I am going to take down some of the Christmas decor, and will be hitting the gym too. Tomorrow, we leave for Monroe and I am so excited to spend the weekend with Matt's family!! 

I can't believe 2012 is right around the corner!!!!

Twas the Week Before Christmas...

Well, one would think that since I have two weeks of vacation, that I would be sleeping in and being lazy.  But...I am proud to say that 3 out of the last 4 days I have been hitting the gym around 8:00.  Yep!!  I am getting a head start on that New Years Resolution of working out again!!  My goal is at least 4X a week when we get back into our routine.  We'll see how that goes ;)

I am LOVING my time off!!  Monday, I had 16 gifts to buy and I am happy to say that by 3:00 I had 15 of them bought!! YAY ME!!!  I even had time to wrap all of them before heading to Yaya's to enjoy a little happy hour with a good friend of mine, Mary.  We had a great time catching up!!

Call me crazy, but I love wrapping presents!!

Tuesday, our sweet Jovie had to get her shots, so I spent the morning loving on her.  I also took some time to get ready for the holidays with a pedicure, spray tan, and hair appt.  (I could really get use to this not working and "playing" all day :) 

Tuesday night, Matt and I met Blake and Kyndall at Taziki's for dinner.  There is now a location in WLR and we love it!!

Wednesday, Matt was off of work, so we (of course) slept in.  We rolled out of bed and headed to grab some breakfast @ Chick-Fil-A (you will notice we've been frequenting there quite often...they just put one in on Chenal and it is SUPER close to us!)   It was the perfect day!  We ran around doing some last minute shopping and then had lunch at Alley Oops. 

My sweet friend, Brittney, brought by this plate of goodies Wednesday afternoon and they're ALL delicious!  It's now motivated me to actually get on Pintrest and make some of these recipes. 


Last night, Matt and I decided to go ahead and open our presents to each other. (I know, right??  Four days early...)  I have to say that I was very impressed with my handsome hubby. I gave him a list, but he did a lot of it on his own.

A couple of polos, a new Thomas Dean shirt, a cashmere scarf and a gift card for some more golf clubs.  I think it's safe to say he was a good boy this year!! :)

A gift card to Anthropolgie, an Arvest gift card for whatever my little heart desires, Rascal Flatt tickets, and some new Nike workout pants. (The pants are what I am so impressed with.  We were in the Nike store the other night before going to the movies and I mentioned that I really liked them.  I guess he took notes ;)  After we opened everything, we started laughing about how we're going to have to develop a little patience and work on not getting so anxious to open presents when we have kids.  Otherwise, there won't be A THING to open on Christmas!!

I've already been to the gym this morning and I'm now finding myself with nothing on my to-do list.  This is so different for me because I am constantly going.  I have decided that my day will consist of curling up on the couch and reading my Nook, baking some holiday treats, watching another Christmas movie, and making a BIG TASTY dinner for Matt when he gets home from work.

We are headed to NWA tomorrow and I am SUPER excited to see my family!!! I hope each and everyone of you has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The Holiday Parties Continue...

Well, the fun hasn't slowed down over here!!!  We are continuing to enjoy the holidays with friends and family.  Thursday night, we went to our fourth Christmas party of the season.  Kyndall and Charla had a "Holiday Cheers" party after work and it was a great time!!  Matt had to work until 7:00, but he got there as soon as he could.  I have to brag on him for a minute...this is the second weekend in a row that he, after a long 12-13 hour day, meets me at a party or dinner as soon as he gets off work.  He is such a trooper and I love him so much for wanting to be a part of everything with me!!!  :) 

The Hostesses

Lots of fun recipes from Pintrest

Andrew, Joey, and Joe

Friday, I finished up my year with work and I am super excited to enjoy a whole lot of R&R!!  Friday night, we went to dinner at Bonefish Grill with Clint and Sarah Davis.  It's been so long since we've seen them. We had the best time catching up and laughing while enjoying good food and drinks. 

Saturday was a day full of Matt and Kia.  We slept until 9:00, rolled out of bed and went to breakfast at Chick-Fil-A.  I LOVE mornings like these!!!  Around noon, I decided I would start my vacation off with a little time at the spa.  I enjoyed a long Swedish massage, just what I needed to start "relaxing".  ;)  I also have to share my favorite holiday color of nail polish right now.  It's from the 'Muppet Collection' and it's called "Gettin Miss Piggy With It."  My toes are sparkling!!! 

Saturday afternoon we ran errands and instead of going to another Christmas party that night, we opted to curl up for a movie marathon....  Well, maybe just one movie, "Crazy, Stupid, Love."  I want to buy it on DVD, loved it!!  There's something about it getting dark early, the cold weather, and a house full of groceries that makes me want to just hibernate.  It was a perfect night!!

Church was good this morning!  We had brunch at U.S. Pizza and then did a little Christmas shopping.  I was talking to one of my BFF's this past week and she expressed concern that I hadn't started doing ANY Christmas shopping yet.  I told her not to worry, I'd get it done.  However, now that I am looking at my list...I am sure that I will be shopping FOREVER tomorrow in order to get everyone what they want.   It's going to be one crazy day!!!

I'm going to leave you with these adorable pictures of my nieces.  I am SOOO excited to see them!! 

The cutest cheerleaders I've ever seen!!

I ADORE this picture!!!  Brandi sent it to me last week while I was working and it made my day.  Emma Grace is loving some Little Debbie Cakes ;)

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.  I'll be letting you know how the Christmas shopping goes.  Keep your fingers crossed for this procrastinator!!

'Tis The Season

'Tis the season for lots of great things.  I am super excited that this time in just 2 days I will be done with work for the year!  That's right...this girl will be off for 17 days straight!!  I hope I remember HOW to work when January 3rd rolls around. ;)

Monday night, as I was getting ready for bed, I turned on AMC and my FAVORITE Christmas movie was on...WHITE CHRISTMAS with Bing Crosby!!  We curled up in bed and I watched the entire thing!!

LOVE IT!!

Tuesday night, Matt and I decided to have a little date night out.  We went to Big Orange for dinner and then headed to see the movie New Year's Eve. You know the one with a gazillion actors/actresses in it.  Some people might not like it, but I did.  I love movies that follow different people's stories and then somewhere along the way they all intertwine. (i.e.- Love Actually or Valentine's Day)

Headed out for a little fun

Today has been a SUPER long day, I am absolutely exhausted.  I just got home a bit ago and found these on the breakfast table...talk about BRIGHTENING your day!!

Attached was the sweetest card from my AHHMAZING husband.  Thank you Matt for always being so supportive and loving me all the time!!! 

Now that I have most of my work done, I am going to curl up by the Christmas tree and just enjoy a quiet night at home with the hubs.  I have a roast in the oven and it smells fantabulous!! 

Happy Wednesday!!

Christmas Parties Galore

What a crazy, busy weekend!!!  This was one of those weekends that I didn't stop.  You know, the kind that leaves you tired for the next week!  I keep telling myself just one more week of work and then I can kick my feet up for a little bit!!

We had our first Christmas party of the season on Friday night.  It was my team party with Eli Lilly and we had it at my boss's house and everyone brought their spouse.  Matt had to work, but was a champ and came after his 12 hour shift.  It was an ugly sweater party and I must say...there were some U-G-L-Y sweaters!!  We had a blast!!

The A-Team

Jaime, Ashley, and Nicki

Nick and Nicki

Mark, Rhonda, Ramona and Marcus

All the girls

Saturday, Matt was back at work, so I slept in and then met Kyndall at the mall to do some Christmas shopping.  Wow, these retailers sure know how to distract people around the holidays with all their sales!!  Kyndall and I were there for over two hours and walked out with bags galore.  Unfortunately, we did not buy one Christmas present...we found lots of fun things for ourselves though ;)  I am blaming it on the 40% off everything in The Limited and the fantastic sales at Dillards. Guess I'll be starting my Christmas shopping next week.

Saturday night, I had two Christmas parties to go to.  The first was a friend of ours, Ellis Martin, who just moved into his new house.  It was decorated beautifully and catered with amazing food.  They brought in bartenders to serve drinks and even had a male quartet come and sing.  We had a great time!!

Kyndall, David, and Jules

A full house

The quartet

After Ellis' party, we had our Dirty Santa Party at Tricia's house with a group of our close girlfriends.  It was a blast!!  It's always nice to get everyone together at someone's house for a night in and just goof around.  Thanks for hosting Tricia!!

Good company

Good Food

Starbucks gift card...Yes, please!!

Kyndall making a steal

Jules trying to hide her gift...didn't do any good, it still got stolen ;)

Playing a hilarious game after gift giving

WHEW!!  It was a jam packed day, but so much fun!!  I feel very blessed to have good friends to be able to enjoy the holidays with.  Today, Matt had to work again (this girl will be glad when he gets home tonight).  I went to church this morning, then a group of us had brunch at Copeland's afterwards.  I have spent the afternoon relaxing around the house, and it's been so nice.  I have my year-end review tomorrow and will be super busy this week with work.  I just love this time of year!!!

Hope you had a great weekend!!!