Branson, and getting iced in!

We made it back from Branson in one piece! We had a good time, we went to several shows and did some shopping and of course LOTS of eating! We left Wednesday afternoon and got home Sunday afternoon just in time to make it to church. So, it was a long weekend!

Then we get back and they are calling for bad weather, sleet and freezing rain and sure enough Monday afternoon about 2pm it really starts sleeting and freezing raining. So, we all left work about 3pm. Then I didn't get out of the house on Tuesday, and today I didn't come to work until noon. I found that I am the only one that came in today! Oh well!

Yesterday morning. . . .

I suspect that this next week is going to be craziness. Sunday at lunch we are having a birthday party for my grandma Joy Kay, whose birthday was on the 8th and Dillon whose birthday is on the 23rd. Then the holiday festivities begin! I am pretty excited about this year. We are having Christmas dinner with the Wilson's on Christmas Eve and then doing Christmas with my mom and dad and Dillon and Brandy Christmas Morning before heading to lunch with the Gibson's. We aren't doing Christmas with the Staggs until Friday so that will be nice to be able to take our time and not be rushed to go anywhere! I will be off work from the 24th-Jan. 5th! I am sooo excited about getting some time to sleep in! Haha!

I will try to update after this weekend, but if I don't get to. . . . .

Merry Christmas!!!

It's been awhile!

I know, I know! Quit harassing me! I just haven't had any time to update lately!!

It seems like since we got back from our "mini vacation" we've been running non-stop! We've either been gone or busy every weekend and during the week I am trying to catch up on all the stuff that I didn't do that weekend!

Jarrod was gone the weekend before Thanksgiving to a friend's (Josh, who was in the same Fraternity as Jarrod when he was at U of A) bachelor party in Fayetteville then it was Thanksgiving and that was a crazy week and weekend. We stayed at Jarrod's parents house Thanksgiving night since Jarrod and his dad has tickets to the Razorback game. So we got home late Friday night and about 2:00am Jarrod gets called out, and didn't end up getting home until 6pm the next day! So, that was supposed to be our Christmas decorating day, which didn't happen since I can't get all that heavy stuff out of the attic by myself! We just got that stuff put up last night (December 8th. . . that's late for me!) and I am glad because I was worried that we wouldn't even have time to put it up this year! 

We had a benefit auction to go to in Hickory Ridge on that following Tuesday night for a guy that was on the volunteer Fire Dept. with Jarrod at Hickory Ridge, who has cancer. I made a holiday themed gift pail, with 40 cards and 36 tie on gift tags and 90 "to & from" labels. It turned out super cute and ended up going for over $100 (thanks Laura!) I love being able to use my talents for a good cause!!

Then this past weekend we headed to Fayetteville for Josh & Kimber's wedding. We had a good time. We stayed at the new Staybridge Suites across from the baseball complex and it was really nice. The wedding was at an old church downtown and it was really pretty. The reception was in a really neat building downtown beside the Ozark Smokehouse,  It was a little tight for the amount of people there, but the food was good and we had a good time. It had a great patio area, but it was a little chilly to stay out there too long. This is a picture of the Farmhouse guys serenading the bride! That was too funny. . . that's Jarrod at the top right.

 

Josh & Kimber and the Farmhouse men

   

The Farmhouse guys and the Farmhouse wives (all five of us!)

This week is another busy one! We are leaving Wednesday afternoon for Branson! It's actually a "work thing" for the Armor/Delta King annual "MAP" Conference, but we get to do a lot of fun stuff while we are there, and of course stay in the always wonderful Chateau on the Lake!! I look forward to this trip all year! After we get back from Branson, it's going to get nuts! Wrappping up all my projects, and speaking of wrapping I haven't wrapped a single present! I am almost done shopping, with just four to go, but there is still a lot of work left to do!

Finally. . . our Fun weekend in Florida!

So, back several months ago we were asked by some friends, that we go to church with,  if we wanted to go with them to Pensacola, Fl. to see the Blue Angels air show. One of the guys' Brother-In-Law flies with the Blue Angels and so they go every year to see him. This year is the last year he will be flying with them, though. They invited three other couples besides us and there were a few single folks that went to so there ended up being 15 of us going!

I took off Wednesday so that I could wash clothes and pack and clean the house. . . .basically just get things together since we were leaving so early on Thursday. I started packing and then had to run some errands and this is what I found when I got home. . . .

We left for Florida on Thursday morning around 6:30 and got to Pensacola around 6pm.  Our condo was AWESOME to say the least. . . .see the pictures on their web site here! It was 3,300 square feet of marble, granite and glass. . . soooo cool!! All the bedrooms were just absolutely beautiful and impeccably decorated and of course the view was out of this world!  I could seriously move in and not change a thing!!! These pictures below are after we had been there a day. . . can you tell?!?!

 

Friday I stayed at the condo and waited for Kristen and Kate to get there while the rest of the gang headed for the Blue Angels air show.  I spent the morning on the balcony of our condo (see above) with a good book! Kristen, Kate and I had lunch at the Crab Trap. It was such a nice day! Sunny and warm and breezy. . .ahh, so nice!!!! However the weather channel had been forecasting rain and cold temperatures so none of us had the right clothes! I had to go to the beach in capris and a t-shirt!! Oh well!  We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach. Kate took a LONG nap while Kristen and I chatted. And I got to see some dolphins playing in the water! I couldn't believe I actually caught one on my camera!

   

Kate is such a doll, I had so much fun getting to know her better! What big personality for such a little girl!! 

See the dolphin jumping?!?!!  zoomed in. . . .

 

Sun setting on the beach. . .

Friday night we ate at Hemingway's Island Grill and it was delish!! Then we went back to he condo after a quick stop to the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop. . . Hey, the hot doughnut light was on, we had to stop! Kristen and I stayed up late sitting out on the balcony catching up. Then Saturday we spent the day at the outlet mall. I got lots of good deals! Yay! We ate at little place called Triggers Saturday night and it was really good. I had a panco crusted grouper. . . Yum-O! We all got back to the condo and crashed! We all went to bed early that night! Sunday we were up bright and early and had a short church service at the condo before getting on the road. We made it home around 6:30. It was a good trip. I am always happy when I am at the beach and it was made even better since I got to see Kristen and Kate!  Jarrod had a good time because he got to do some more "manly" activities with the guys. I just wish it had been a little longer! I did take Monday and Tuesday off, too. I have two weeks vacation and I am probably going to end up losing a week since we've been to busy to take a real vacation this year! The time off was nice. I needed a break! Now it's back to the real world and of course things are busier than ever! I am looking forward to the holidays and all the fun events we have coming up. . . family dinners, a wedding, a weekend conference in Branson, birthdays, and lots more!!

Back in the "Real World"

Hey guys, we are back from vacation! We had a great time in Florida and I got some R&R time to myself, too! I haven't had time to upload my pics but I will try to get to that soon, hopefully tomorrow! You know how busy things are when you get back to work and you're trying to play catch up!! More tomorrow. . .

Men hard at work. . . maybe?

This is a picture of Jarrod and Brandon Decker running some tests on Tuesday. He sent me this picture to prove he is actually working! It does make me realize how complicated his job must be sometimes! Just look at all those switches, cables and cords. . . .

History in the making . . .

Barack Obama elected 44th president.

 

 "Barack Obama, a 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, shattered more than 200 years of history Tuesday night by winning election as the first African-American president of the United States." ~msnbc.com

While I am not a supporter of Barack Obama, I can recognize, personal convictions aside, today is a big day in the history of our country. I really am proud for our country that we can get passed the prejudices that plagued our past and move forward. 

However, I am deeply worried about future of our country and I can only hope and pray for the leaders that we have just elected to office.  I have faith that this (good or bad) is the Lord's will and trust that no matter what happens, we can rely on the Lord when the world around us makes no sense, he is our only hope for change. Not some smooth talking, over enthusiastic politician.  The "change" this country needs will not be fixed by an elected official. The "change" that needs to occur is in the hearts and minds of the people.  More than ever people need the Lord!

. . . . .That's just my 2 cents!!

Another baby shower. . .

Some friends of ours, Tara and Cameron are having a baby boy that they are going to name Sutton, I just love that name!  I made a set of notecards and this gift tin for Tara's shower on Sunday and Jarrod found some brown baby Carhart bibs at Carter's Corner that we just had to get for them, too. Cameron said it was the coolest thing they had got so far, he was really excited. In fact, he said he didn't have those exact bibs so he was going to have to go buy some for himself so he and his little man will match! ha! Men?!?

 

Papa's 80th b-day party

Surprise!!! . . . . I don't think he was really all that surprised. But he told me later that night after everyone had left, that he did actually have a good time and was glad he got to see so many friends and family. 

 

Halloween eats and treats!

I have to admit I worked pretty hard on my Halloween treats this year. But it was a labor of love and after the response I got from the neighborhood kids, it was all worth it! I made and packaged  "nutter butter ghosts", "scary cookie suckers" and  "krispy chocolate bats". . . .

   

We also had some friends over for dinner and games! We played this board game "Quelf" it was so funny. It's a great party game, but not intended for the timid or shy!!

 

The cupcakes I made for dessert were super yummy & the icing was sooo good. . . just make a package of pudding (any flavor) according to the directions on the box and fold in a tub of cool whip, that's it!! It's so light and fluffy! I sprinkled them with some mini chocolate chips, too. . . .Yum-O! I also took a batch of these to my Papa's birthday party on Saturday.

 

More cupcakes

I am learning that I really like taking pictures of food, and  I think this picture [above] could be on the cover of Gourmet or Bon Appetit! (okay, I'm definitely dreaming, maybe more like the back page Kraft Food magazine! ) Ha!

 

the M's are just white chocolate I melted and put in a plastic bag and piped out on wax paper. I liked how they looked standing upright, but for the ones I gave Misty I had to lay them down flat to fit in the gift box.

Baby Shower gift

Our associate minister's wife, Misti Meredith,  is pregnant with their 2nd child, a little girl they are going to name Madilyn Dawn. I made this gift tin and matching note cards for her shower and the cupcakes were an inside joke, but they turned out pretty fabulous. I may be going into the cupcake business after all the compliments I got. Ladies at the shower wanted to know where I bought them! ha! As if!!! Me? BUY cupcakes??!! They obviously don't know who my mother is, do they!! haha!  They were shocked to learn that I made them myself! { thank you very much!} I may not have inherited my mom's natural knack for cake decorating, but I think my attempt looks pretty good! I can't say I haven't had any experience, I have had a bag of icing in my hands a few times in the past. . .

 

Men?!?

Jarrod started feeling pretty bad around Wednesday (our anniversary) and by Friday morning he looked really sickly,  so I told him to go to the Dr., what could it hurt? {All this time I had been pretty much ignoring his moans and groans because I have had a cold and bad cough for three weeks.  I thought he just needed to toughen up and go on, like me. . . . } Well,  he goes to the Dr. and guess what? Yeah, he is actually sick!  He has bronchitis and a sinus infection. Yuk!  So, needless to say, I felt pretty bad for not taking him seriously. But most women will agree with me that when their men get sick, they think they are dying! While we learn to live with it until we are so sick we literally can't go on. Am I right?

So. . . by Friday night he was feeling just HORRIBLE and looked even worse! He laid in bed most of the night, and went to sleep early. When he got up Saturday morning he said he was feeling a little better, but not great. We didn't do anything Saturday except lay around and watch tv. Then around 4:00 his work phone rings and he gets called out! And he went!!! I couldn't believe that he was actually going to go to work being so sick! He said he wouldn't if it wasn't such a major deal. Uh huh, right???. . . . argh! Men!!! I told him if he got pneumonia he was on his own! Well, that was 4pm on Saturday, guess when he got home? 6am Sunday!!!! That's real good for a person who was supposed to be at home RESTING!  I get so frustrated when he complains that he has a headache or something and then refuses to take a Tylenol, this is the same deal he complains that he is sick and then goes to work for 15 hrs! I just don't know what to do with him!!  [the hard-headed man!] He did sleep until after 1pm Sunday and is feeling much better now and I  of course still have a cold. ugh. Hopefully we all get well and stay well very soon!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today is our 3 year anniversary! It just doesn't seem like it's been that long! A lot has happened in these 3 short years though! I love looking back on our wedding day. It was such a wonderful day!! Probably the best day of my life so far! These are some of my favorite wedding pics. . .

weren't we cute at our hayride & cookout rehearsal dinner

 

we laughed a lot that day. . . and still do!

this is one of my favorite pics, it's funny and silly . . . just like us!

~~Happy anniversary to us. . .3 down, 97 to go!~~