Happy Birthday Candice!!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Candice!!

Happy Birthday to you!!

OHH I cannot say enough about this girl!! We have had some of the best times together!  She was one of my first friends on the cheerleading squad at WFR and oh how I missed her when she went off to college at ECU!  Now that we are both home we don't see each other as much as we would like, but when we do get together we pick up right where we left off!!  As most of you know, my dad calls me Lucy.  When Candice and I became such good friends in high school, my dad began calling her Ethel! To this day, she will ALWAYS be Ethel to my daddy!!

Happy Birthday Candice!! I hope your Birthday is Special!

Wordless Wednesday: Trigger in Front of the Christmas Tree

Christmas Goodies

 Every year at Christmas, my mom, Granny, and I get together and make homemade Christmas goodies.  We eat these goodies from a few days before Christmas until they are GONE which is normally after New Years.  We definitely have our family favorites.  We enjoy orange balls, peanut brittle, peanut butter squares, spoon dipped chocolate fudge, peanut butter pinwheels, and many others!  I love this time that I get to spend with my mom and granny!  Family traditions are so much fun and one of my favorite things about the holidays!

 Pouring the chocolate to make the peanut butter squares

 Granny is rolling up the peanut butter pinwheels, and I am smoothing out the chocolate on top of the peanut butter squares

  Licking spatulas! Does this ever get old??

We had such a fun time together!  Already looking forward to next year!

Happy Birthday Thomas!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Thomas!

Happy Birthday to you!!

Aunt Lucy and Uncle Jake love you very much!!  We cannot believe you are already ONE!! We had such a fun time at your birthday party on Saturday! We hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Mama!!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Mama!

Happy Birthday to you!!

Today is my mama's birthday!  I love my mama!  She is one of the most wonderful ladies in this whole world! I think she is pretty much super woman.  Since I have been married, I have realized how much my mama really does!  She cooks, cleans, grocery shops, is involved in many groups at church, kept up with our family schedules, all while working full time!! I still have so much to learn from her!  

Happy Birthday Mama!! 

We love you!  

Christmas Dishes

Growing up, starting the day after Thanksgiving we put our regular dishes away and started using our Christmas dishes for a month!  I could not WAIT to bring OUR Christmas dishes out and use them for the first time!  My dishes are special to be because my Granny has given me something for my kitchen every year since I was born.  I have had my Christmas dishes since I was in 6th grade and have never used them!   

 First dishwasher load of Christmas Dishes

Our first meal on our Christmas dishes!  Naturally it would be left over Ham from Thanksgiving!! 

I really look forward to using these all year round and for many years to come!

Our First Tree!!!

Oh the anticipation of decorating our first tree together!  Celebrating Christmas together is one of the things I looked forward to the most after getting married.  I have been buying Christmas decorations for about four years after Christmas so we would be ready to decorate our first place together.  We decided to keep some of both of our families traditions while decorating.  We had Chili for dinner, goodies while we decorated, played Christmas music, hung ornaments that were special to jake and me, and enjoyed time together!  

First we had to pick out our tree!  We chose to go to a small Christmas tree lot near our apartment and we had so much fun trying to decided which tree would fit best in the space we had picked out!

 Chili is our Christmas Bowls

 Christmas Goodies:  Christmas M&Ms (Peanut and Plain), Marshmallows, peanuts, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cinnamon Rolls, Mellow Yellow, and Cherry Pepsi.  

 My handsome husband putting on the lights

 Finally time to decorate!! I really had fun decorating our first tree together in our PJs!  Oh how I love Christmas traditions we are creating together! 

The finished product!!!  I love the way our first tree turned out!!! 

Christmas Decorations

It is FINALLY after Thanksgiving and it is time to pull out the Christmas decorations!!!  I have been buying Christmas decorations after Christmas for the past 4 years and we are loaded!! I have not paid full price for any of my decorations and I am proud to say everything I bought was at least 50% off!  I did not realize how much space boxes full of Christmas decorations would take up until they were sitting in the middle of our floor in our apartment.  Here is the beginning of our Christmas decorating.... 

Once everything is up I'll post pictures of the finished product!

Thanksgiving 2012

This Thanksgiving was very different for me.  This was the first holiday that I did not spend with my family, so it was a little bittersweet.  We had so much fun hanging out at the Farm with the Goetze family at their farm in Virginia.  The food was delicious and spending time with so many family members was wonderful!     

The Farm

 Our first Thanksgiving EVER spent together!! 

In August, we got Cows at the farm.  All of them are pregnant and around Thanksgiving a couple of them were due.  Jake and I stayed at the farm until Sunday and the first calf was born on Monday!!  This was the first time that Jake and I had seen the cows and were hoping one of the babies would be born while we were there.  

Overall it was a great break as we both had 3 days off of work and it was a great Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Pie

Jake and I were asked to bring a pumpkin pie to Thanksgiving at the farm this year.  I have never baked a homemade pie before (Mrs. Smith is my best friend!  Love her apple pies.).  I immediately called my Granny and asked for her help.  She said she had never baked a pumpkin pie either, but she would figure something out.  I called her again and asked her for the ingredient list and she said not to worry about anything!! She would buy everything that needed for the pie!  

So we started making our pie and we had so much fun spending time together in the kitchen.  We make a pretty good team!     

 Almost Ready!!!

The finished product!! YUM!

Happy Birthday Grandma B!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday Grandma B!

Happy Birthday to you!!

Grandma B we love you and we hope you have a wonderful day!! We are so thankful to have you in our lives!! We really enjoy spending time with you!!!

Happy Birthday! We love you!

Happy Birthday Vanessa!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Vanessa!

Happy Birthday to you!

Vanessa was one of the first girls I met when I went to college (Other than my roommate Katrine).  We were in almost every class together and had MANY study dates!! Not only did we study together we did many bible studies, and we lived on the same hall our Senior year so we spent much time in each others dorm rooms!  Since our wedding, I have not seen Vanessa, but we have had many chats on the phone! I am so thankful for this girl and her encouraging spirit!

Happy Birthday Vanessa!!! I hope your day is super special!