Christmas Eve and Morning 2011

Being home on Christmas Eve and morning is a tradition that Ben and I wanted to start when we had kids. Even though Jack & Max don't comprehend that "Santa is coming" we still both want to have the memories of being in our home. This home on Turrentine is already very special to me because we brought Jack & Max home from the hospital here and we plan on living here as long as God has planned for us!
We started off Christmas morning showing the boys one of their gifts from Ben's parents which was a wonderful big slide that is in our playroom. They were very excited because they love playing on the slides at the church and our gym.


Captain Jack and Max

We then went downstairs to see what Santa brought. Coco and JJ gave the boys leather chairs with their names on them and they have really enjoyed sitting in them in their playroom. Some of their favorite gifts were a talking Woody, (Santa only brought one so a second was purchased the VERY next day!) a Wonder Pets fly boat, Star Wars figurines and legos. The joy of Christmas with children is so very special and I am thankful for the memories in the past and for the ones yet to happen!

Blessed with GREAT friends!

Rose, Me, Kelli and Holly at Holiday Club Ball

Claire, Alli, Holly, Amy and me before Santa Claus

2 sets of BFF's. Holly, Farrah, me and Catherine at Bal D'or
Just a post with recent pictures with special friends!

Fun with Friends!

The month of December was just fun! We attended Christmas parties, birthday parties, friend get-togethers and spent time with family! I am always a little sad when Christmas is over, but in January we are going to Las Vegas and back to Disney World in February so there is plenty to look forward to!

On Tuesday, December 6th Amy Gladden opened up her beautiful new home for our Service Guild Christmas Party. It was such a wonderful evening and many past Presidents were able to join us. Here I am with Amy next year's President and Alie Causey president 2009-2010.



On Thursday, December 8th my Circle group at church went to dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant in Jacksonville called Effina's. Gadsden's only Italian restaurant closed recently (I'm sure it had nothing to do with us eating there a few days before and having 6 adults and 8 children) so it is a rare treat. We exchanged ornaments and my best friend Jenny and I both bought the same one at the Peppermint Pony. So, I was able to steal "My" ornament back without going home with my own. It was such a wonderful evening of girl talk and reflecting on how blessed our group is to have such great, Christian friends.

Christmas Card 2011

I knew that is was going to be really, really hard to get a picture of all four of us this year! I like to have us all in the picture if I can knowing this would be very challenging. My friend Holly took on the daunting task of trying to capture my sweet family. Well...it turned out great and probaby my favorite pic today of all of us. Holly...you are HIRED!!!

Thanksgiving 2011

This was a wonderful Thanksgiving and it was especially nice because I didn't have to cook! :) Since our kitchen is under construction we decided to eat at the Country Club and it was absolutelly delicious. Mimi, Coco and JJ joined us and it was a nice lunch, but I'm looking forward to our traditional Thanksgiving meal returning next year. We had such a fun time visiting with Mimi and my two little men loved spending time with all of our families. Thanksgiving Day while the boys were napping Ben and JJ took me shooting! Yes, with a shotgun. I know that that doesn't sound like me, but I LOVED it! It was really cool shooting skeet and my dad called me Annie Oakley because I did a pretty good job.

Friday morning we got up very early and drove to Lake Oconee to have Thanksgiving with Ben's side of the family. There were over 20 people there and the boys had a great day running around and getting some delicious food. Friday lunch was for Ben's mom side of the family. She is one of five so we got to visit with lots of aunts, uncles and cousins and had a very nice day.

Now...it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Fun December Weekend!

Cheering on Georgia at the SEC championship game!

Rose, me, Kelli and Holly---a few of my dear, sweet friends!

Date night! Love Ben in a tuxedo! :)

This is my favorite time of year. I just love the anticipation of Christmas and the joy that it brings in our lives. This past weekend was such a fun, memorable weekend starting off with a Holiday Party and ending with dinner with some of our best friends.

Friday night Ben and I were presented as new members in Gadsden's Holiday Club. This is one of the many dance clubs in town. Prior to the party, we ate dinner at the Country Club with some of our friends. Gigi babysat all four kids Jack, Max, Lilly and Brody and as soon as Lilly walked in Max immediately began saying "Lilly, Lilly, Lilly!" It was so precious that he was so happy she was there!

On Saturday morning we headed to Atlanta for the SEC championship. Georgia played really well in the first half, but LSU turned it on in the 3rd quarter and Georgia just couldn't keep it together. Either way, this has been such a great season for Georgia and Ben and I got to go to many games this year. Thank you Gigi for literally keeping the boys ALL DAY so Ben and I could go!

Sunday we went to church and took the boys to eat at Gadsden's new Zaxby's...I know most towns have had these for a long time, but we are excited that we have one now. After lunch, Holly and I went to a shower for a friend of ours Claire who is getting married next June 2012. It was a beautiful day and the hostesses served four different kinds of cakes which I thought was such a neat idea. That evening we all had dinner together which is never,ever dull. People look at you a little crazy when you say 4 adults and 4 kids, but that's ok...



Life is just great! Sometimes I stop and pinch myself at how blessed I am to have my two little boys, husband, our families and such special friends in our lives.

Thankful

I am a very sentimental person. I always have been. So, I am very thankful for many, many things but I have to say that this Thanksgiving just reminds me how thankful I am to be a mom. Ben and I tried for two years to get pregnant, had an ectopic pregnancy in the process and then jumped straight to IVF. I am so thankful for my doctor in Birmingham and that Jack & Max are an answer to so many prayers. They have made us an instant family and there is truly never a dull moment with TWO TWO year olds running around. Thank you to all of our friends and family for loving them and I just know that every Thanksgiving is going to be even more special from now on because of them!

Go Dawgs!

Georgia Beats Auburn 45-7


Ben and I after lunch in one of the practice facilities. It was a big recruitment day with hundreds of potentials there.

Me with Thomas Brown! It was such a surreal experience and he is such a great guy!


I was not raised a University of Georgia fan, but have definitely become one since being married to Ben. He has been a season ticket holder his entire life and loves everything about Georgia football. On Saturday we had a very rare treat. Former FB player AJ Bryant now works for my father-in-law and he set up a tour of the new training facility with Thomas Brown. Thomas works there now and when he played at Georgia was my absolute FAVORITE player! I even bought a Georgia jersey with the #20 on it because I just loved watching him play! We met up with AJ and his wife at the front and Thomas was waiting there to let us in. It was so cool because to get admission to the facility Thomas fingerprint had to be scanned. He showed us around the weight room, all the training rooms, locker rooms, etc and it was just so amazing to be behind the scenes. The facility is very new and state of the art. Getting to hang out there and each lunch was so special for us and I appreciate my in-laws keeping Jack & Max so we could enjoy this experience. AJ and his wife Jenn are so nice and fun to be around and we also got to sit with them during the game! I also got to meet Thomas' wife and enjoyed talking to her about their kids. They have a 3 year old and a 2 year old who is just two weeks younger than Jack & Max.
While I am an Alabama girl at heart I do love the Georgia Bulldogs!!! Georgia beat Auburn on Saturday and as long as they can beat Kentucky this coming Saturday they will play for the SEC Championship Game the first Saturday in December.

Miss Georgia Baby Shower

Emily and I and her "Future Miss Georgia!"


Emily & Jack

Yesterday was such a special day! I had the opportunity to attend my friend Emily's baby shower. Emily and I are such special friends and we met in September 2001 at the 2002 Miss America Pageant. We became immediate friends in Philadelphia, PA where we were spending a few days before traveling to Atlantic City, NJ to compete for Miss America. We learned in our very first conversation that not only were we both pianists, ADPis, but my boyfriend Ben (husband now ;) was attending Medical School in Augusta, GA where Emily was in dental school. We have stayed close friends to this day and it was such a joy to be able to celebrate she and Jon's upcoming arrival of their baby girl! Not only are Emily and I such good friends, but our husbands have also gotten to be friends which works out great! My friend Jenny who has recently started a monogramming/applique business did several gifts for her one being this adorable shirt for Emily's daughter to wear. It was a fun day catching up with Emily and seeing her family and friends who were there. "I thank my God when I remember you." Love you, Em! :)

Rummage Sale

This past weekend the Gadsden Service Guild held its annual Rummage Sale. This year I have the honor of serving as President and my best friend Holly was in charge of the sale. To say it was a success is a huge understatement. When we lived in Augusta I chaired the Junior League Attic Sale and we usuallly brought in between 20-30K. Augusta is a much bigger city and the JL there has a lot more members. Our sale brought in 16,000 this year and that is almost a record! I was so proud of Holly and all of our members for their hard work and dedication to this sale. It is a huge undertaking and Convention Hall was full of shoppers all day. I was able to get an estimated count of over 1,000 people coming through the doors to find a bargain. Thank you to Ben and my mom for helping out with the boys so I could be gone all weekend to help with this wonderful cause. I can't wait to give this money back to the community that my family loves!

2nd Birthday

Since my goal was to start blogging in Jack & Max's second year, I decided to start with their party. We did a "Carr" birthday party (not like the Disney movie Cars--my boys will pretty much watch anything but that movie for some reason.) My mom found this precious smocking plate with three racing cars and had the great idea of putting #9, #6, and #11 on them signifying their second birthday. The party was planned to be at our home on Monday, September 6th at 4:30. As I began to look at the weather forecast over the weekend I noticed that some very heavy rain was predicted for Sunday and Monday. I had hired "Connie's Coneys" to come serve hot dogs, chips and drinks and the party was planning on being held outside like the year before. Our house is being remodeled right now and the party was going to have to be outside because we have literally taken our kitchen down to the studs. (I'll blog about that later) So, on Sunday afternoon I made the decision to move the party and we were able to have it in our church gym. It turned out to be a wonderful decision and I don't think the kids minded it one bit. Thank you to all of you who came to the party and brought such sweet, thoughtful gifts for them. There is never a dull moment in our home and I just love it!

Today IS the Day!

Today IS the day! I have been wanting to start a blog for some time now. What a great way to capture life! I love just browsing on the computer during my downtime and reading my friends blogs so it's time to give y'all something to read too....right!? Jack & Max turned 2 on September 6th of this year and my goal was to start blogging then. I had talked to my friend Amy about how neat it is to make a book at the end of the year and I had convinced myself it was time. Well, somehow in the midst of my busiest week of the year I have decided that today IS the day! My mom is the writer in our family so I know every post won't be perfect, but the idea is just to try to write things down so I can enjoy looking back and remember how blessed we are!