January Happenings

January has been an interesting month for us. In some ways it's been very uneventful because we haven't had too much going on, hence the lack of posts, but in other ways it's seemed really productive and almost busy.

First of all, after getting over what we think was the flu, my mom, sister, and I all went to see Beauty and the Beast at the Fox on the Sunday afternoon before the MLK holiday. It was really, really good! The entire cast was extremely talented and we were very impressed. We also enjoyed lunch beforehand at Mary Mack's which was very yummy. It was just an all around good time and fun girls afternoon out. =)

Then on that Monday, Terrell had the day off so we went shopping for the little man's birthday party and ate out for lunch, then came home and got to work on the guest room... soon to be Garrison's big boy room. We made the decision to move Garrison (once he's ready) to the guest room a while back. We just decided since the nursery was so much smaller that it should stay a nursery and Garrison should actually move rooms. Anyway, before we could even think about moving Garrison into the guest room, otherwise known as the Premier room, we had to clean it out. That was a huge chore I kept putting off. Thankfully since Terrell was home we were able to do a lot of it together and we actually got all of my Premier stuff moved to one of those plastic pull-out-drawer things in our hall/foyer closet. Talk about making the best use of the space we have! There is still a lot we have to do in that room before it's ready for Garrison to move in, but we made huge progress on Terrell's day off. The main things we have left to tackle are the closet and furniture. I am so excited to get to work on Garrison's room! I think it's going to be adorable. We already have a few things ready to go so hopefully the little man will be in a big boy bed before the Spring. (We sort of need him to be because any future overnight trips with the little man will have to be in a regular bed. He no longer fits in a pack-n-play comfortably!)

Lately we've been focusing on getting ready for the little man's 2nd birthday party. So hard to believe he's about to be 2. My wonderful, talented friend created the invitation for us and we love them! Everyone has received one in the mail and think they are so cute! The party has a Sesame Street theme and we're having it at my parents house this year. We figured next year will probably be his first party where we have it at a little birthday party place and invite preschool friends. This year we wanted another family party and since about 90% of our family is in Barnesville, we decided to just do it there. I'm getting really excited about it and can definitely see how easy it is for some parents to go overboard on birthday parties. I will not be one of those parents (my husband would kill me), it's just easy to see how it could get out of hand. Now we just have to figure out what we're getting him... This has been a tough decision. I think we've decided we definitely want some type of outside toy like a playground, sand and water table, riding toy, etc. The problem for us is that we don't want to spend a fortune and we just don't have a great yard for outside play. Our backyard is tiny without much privacy, and our front yard is a hill so not exactly safe for riding a toy down the driveway or front yard. Hopefully we'll come up with something before his birthday arrives...

Last Saturday night, Terrell and I had our first date of the new year. I got Terrell UGA basketball tickets for Christmas and the game was Saturday afternoon. We had so much fun. I had a show Saturday morning and once I got home my parents came over to baby-sit and we headed to Athens. We actually hadn't been to a basketball game since we were in college (at least 5 years ago). We feel like old alumni now. The game was really good and we won big. After the game we went to Loco's for supper. Loco's is probably our favorite casual slow food place that's not a steak house. We love their food and just about everything on the menu and they did not disappoint. We had a little bit of a wait but it was so worth it. We ate way too much and enjoyed talking and focusing on each other for a change. The little man had a date himself Saturday night. He went to Long Horn with Granna, Papa, and AnAn. I'm pretty sure it was a fun evening for everyone. =) I think that covers everything for this month so far. Now, it's back to planning the big party and shopping around for the birthday boy.

Our start to 2011

It seems like forever since I've written about anything (and I've had a really good excuse) so now that I'm up for it, it's catch-up time.

We spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Barnesville with our families like we do every year. This year was really nice because the holiday was on a Saturday so nobody had to go to work the next day. We actually spent the night Saturday night too so we could go to church Sunday morning before heading home. My parents had everyone over to their house Saturday evening for a traditional New Year's dinner and we all had so much fun... especially the little man. He had both sets of grandparents and both sets of great-grandparents giving him all the attention he could handle. I loved watching him have so much fun with everybody, even though at one point he ran around in a circle singing because he was so wound up. The dinner was delicious and it was such a blessing to spend New Year's with the people most important to us.

The weekend after New Year's was Premier's Regional Rally in Atlanta. Last year Terrell and I went together and spent the night in a hotel near the Convention Center. This year we decided it would be cheaper and probably easier to just commute. My mom came over Friday and spent the night while we attended the Rally on Friday and Saturday. Premier's Regional Rally isn't as big or dramatic or "wowing" as the National Rally, but it's still very motivational, inspirational, and Christ-centered. We were both reminded again of why we love Premier and just how different the company is. Every single person who came up to train or give a testimony talked about God's hand in Premier and how He had used their business for great things. We're both excited about what God has in store for us and our business this year.

We got home from Rally Saturday around 5:30 and were excited to see Garrison and be back at home and ready to eat our Domino's take-out for supper. (Lunch at the Covention Center wasn't my favorite, so I was starving.) Pretty much as soon as we got home I noticed that I had a little tickle in my throat that was making me cough every once in a while. I thought it was strange since it came out of no where without warning, but went ahead and prepared myself mentally for the possibility of having a cold. Sunday morning I felt a little worse and officially had a sore throat and stuffy nose. But on the bright side we were able to enjoy watching the snow Sunday night. At first it was mixed with freezing rain or sleet because you could hear it hitting the ground, but shortly afterwards it turned to pure, huge, beautiful snowflakes that were immediately sticking and starting to cover the ground. We turned on our gas logs (just in case the power went out) and I went to bed early after taking one last look at the snow. Monday morning I woke up feeling even worse and to snow completely covering the ground, our driveway, the road, everything. The bank actually closed, and that never happens. But it was a good thing because I was starting to feel more and more miserable. Terrell completely took over as Mr. Mom and played with Garrison, did laundry, prepared our meals, gave Garrison his baths, and took care of naptimes and bedtimes. Tuesday the bank was open from 11:00-3:00 but Terrell took a sick day because I literally couldn't get out bed unless it was to potty.

I couldn't remember a cold ever making me feel so bad. Terrell finally got in touch with an answering service (everywhere was closed due to the road conditions) for the Urgent Care place we like to use and the doctor he spoke with determined I probably had the flu. Oh no. Thankfully my sister was able to come over Wednesday so Terrell could go to work, and my mother-in-law came over yesterday. Today I'm feeling a little better and have a lot of my strength back but I'm still not 100%. The timing of the snow storm/ice storm couldn't have been better for us. It gave Terrell some time off and allowed Anna and Ms. Kathy the time away to come help with the little man. Hopefully I'm officially on the mend and will feel like normal very, very soon. The only thing that's made me feel worse for such a long period of time was probably the stomach virus that Terrell and I both had in November. Speaking of Terrell... I can't say enough about how amazing he's been throughout this whole week while I've been out of commission. He hasn't complained or made me feel bad about being sick, and not able to parent my child, and not able to fix my own meals, etc, etc. He has totally stepped up and I can't thank him enough. I don't know what I would have done without him this week. I guess we would have starved, drowned in laundry (and toys), and the little man would've taken over the house. Hopefully Terrell won't have to be a single dad for much longer. I'm so ready to get back to normal! Anyway, that's the start to our new year and now we're looking forward to another long weekend and I'm especially excited about going to see Beauty and the Beast at the Fox with my mom and sister. =)


A few snow pics...

This one is of the golf course behind our house

Looking down our street from the front sidewalk

Our house