The Big 2-8! :)

(I love being called "Aunt Johnnie!" It's the best when Ab says it... such a sweet accent... "Hey, AntJawnie!" All one word... I need to get it on tape...)

First of all, no comments from the peanut gallery about the title of this blog. :) I don't think I'm "old" nor do I feel "old." Honestly, I'm looking forward to the next year of my life. The past year of my life was by far the most amazing, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for this year!

Ok, my birthday (January 13) was so much fun! School was great... lots of goodies and cards... and, of course, letting my class do things we wouldn't normally do, simply because "it's my birthday!" My students are a blast to be around, so they helped make my day great! That evening, Eric and I went to eat at my favorite restaurant, Pancho's. Here are some pics from our dinner:


Lots of things to notice about this one.
#1: The enormous amount of food on the plate. Having just started Weight Watchers the week before, I obviously felt the need to "celebrate" this night since, you guessed it, "it's my birthday!" Rest assured I didn't come close to finishing this plate.
#2: Margaritas on the rocks with extra salt make the world a better place for me and those around me.
#3: I wore the sombrero even though I'm not a fan of people singing to me in public places. Thanks, honey. :)


Oh... and the sombrero, despite it's massive circumference, did not even come close to fitting my head. Shocker, I know. The men who serenaded me tried two or three times to get it to fit. Poor things... they didn't know what they were dealing with here.


Apparently I got over the whole sombrero thing. Mr. Margarita saves the day! :)

When we got home, we had a birthday celebration, complete with cake, candles, and presents!


Mama and Abbie had picked this cake and these groovy candles out for me the weekend before my birthday! It was DEE-licious! :) ...and might I add that I am quite the fan of tall skinny birthday candles! Who knew?


Here's a picture of me with my loot from my parents--complete with the cheerleader head tilt for some bizarre reason! I would point out a favorite, but I don't have just one... I really loved everything they gave me! :) Thanks so much, Mama and Daddy!


These beautiful flowers were a gift from my hubby! I love that since he couldn't decide on roses or daisies, he just got both of them! :) What a sweet man...


My new diamond studs were also a gift from my hubby.
He spoils me! :)


...AND he got me a new watch (don't know why it's black and white... I guess it helps my freckles look not quite as "frecklish")!


This was a sticker that was in the card from my sweet niece... I love being an aunt! :)

Needless to say, it was such a wonderful day! I am one lucky girl!

This one is for Mama and Daddy :)

Ok, I can't believe I forgot to put this in the post about our mini-honeymoon to Gatlinburg! Anyway, it's a little delayed, but this is the story I wanted to include in that post...

My Mama and Daddy were married on July 12, 1975. They honeymooned in Gatlinburg and stayed at a place called the Zoder's Inn. On their 30th Anniversary, our family was in Gatlinburg on vacation, and we drove by and saw where it was and how things had changed since their honeymoon. Well, 34 years later, Eric and I (technically) honeymooned in the same city, so we made sure to drive by the Zoder's Inn and get a picture for my parents:


**Look, Mama and Daddy! Now there are fireplaces AND suites available! Did they have those in 1975? :)**

Eric and I can only hope and pray to have a chance to "honeymoon" again in Gatlinburg 34 years from now! We are thankful to have such wonderful role models in our lives. :)

Mini-Honeymoon

Since we got married this past summer, we decided to wait to take our honeymoon later... once we could save up a little more money to take a big trip we really wanted to take! Well, as we checked into prices, we discovered that waiting until the summer is the best bet, so we are going to go to Mexico this summer! Yay! We can't wait! :)


Sooo.... since that is still 5 months away, we took a "mini-honeymoon" over our Christmas Break! We rented a cabin right outside of Gatlinburg for three nights, and we had a great time! We drove there on New Year's Day and stayed through the weekend. We relaxed, did some shopping, and even became addicted to crossword puzzles! :) It was such an awesome getaway! The picture above shows the lights as you enter Gatlinburg. :)


Here is a picture of our cabin. It was called "Merry Weather." Seriously, if anyone needs info about cabins in this area, let us know! We booked with this company last year, too, and we are always impressed! :)


The view from our cabin... it was beautiful even though it was very wintry the whole time! :)


I love my husband! :)


This is for Mary. :)


...and this is for Julie. :)

Dirty Santa Party

Eric's dad and stepmom, Robbie, host a Dirty Santa party each year, and this year it was on Christmas Eve. We had a great time! I won a gift card to Kroger (score! :) and Eric ended up with a set of photo coasters. Needless to say, he was thrilled. ha :)


Mr. Terry opening his large print remote control. :)


So who is glad they are not Mr. Terry on the other side of this look??!


Did you know these three presents come together??


The giver of the "three presents that come together." :)


My sweet husband with his first gift, the popcorn popper. Thankfully, John needed it more than we did.

Weekend Before Christmas

So, I have realized my posts are out of order, but I'll try to do better next time. :) This one is from the weekend before Christmas. Ab came to stay with us, so she got to come to Mrs. Pam and Warren's house on Saturday night for Christmas dinner. Other than me being sick, we had a great weekend! :)



Abbie loved dancing to Christmas music in our living room! This picture says it all! :)



She can also catch some air! Eric jumped over her, so she decided to jump over Smoky! :)

Now, I didn't get a ton of pictures that night at Pam and Warren's because I just wasn't feeling well... but I did hit the jackpot with these! Mrs. Pam is rocking out on Guitar Hero, and Warren is her groupie! I promise I'm not flipping Warren the bird. :)

Mary and Kyle :)


Last but not least, Toya jammin' on Guitar Hero! Eric thinks she looks a lot like Jimi Hendrix...

Christmas in Mississippi

Every year at my parents' house is so much fun! ...and I'm not just saying that! No matter how far apart everyone is during the year, it is always so wonderful to be together during the holidays. Mama cooked an amazing dinner! We opened presents, watched football, and played Catch Phrase (our family's favorite!). Sweet Abbie was certainly entertaining! You talk about personality... that girl has such a cute one! :) Eric and I reeeeally hope we don't have boring, dumb children. :) Here are just a few snapshots from our time in MS:

Love this! Every time Eric or my dad put on this Santa hat, Ab sat and said, "What's your name?" and she'd always tell "Santa" she wanted a bicycle and a tricycle and M&M prizes for Christmas. :)

My beautiful parents :)


We are a house divided! It must be love, right? :)


My brother, Trae, and his wife, Amber, with their new portrait of Ab on the beach.
We were all sporting our new hats! :)


Eric got this from Trae and Amber... it's an official game day warm-up jersey signed by the one and only Bruce Pearl! :) It's a one of a kind! It will soon be framed and decorating the wall of our bonus room! :)


Do I wear boots often? Um, yes. I'm wearing a pair and holding my newest pair! :)


This is a shout out to my Daddy, Mr. Way-Too-Much Cologne Wearer. :)

Sweet Christmas Memory

Of all the pictures that were taken at my parents' house this past Christmas, this one is my favorite. :) That is my grandpa, Daddy Bob (who will turn 80 on March 2), and his great-granddaughter, Abbie (who is almost 2 1/2 in this picture), sharing a moment that I'm sure Daddy Bob will remember. I know I will!

Abbie came into the world at the perfect time... God's plans always turn out that way, right? :) My Mimi (my grandma) passed away in May of 2005, I moved to Tennessee that June, my great-grandfather (Gran-Gran) passed away in July, Hurricane Katrina ravaged our hometown in August, Trae and Amber moved to Tennessee in September (or Oct...?)... and then we found out Abbie was on her way into the world that December!! :) Her place in this world made life a lot easier for all of us at a time when we were going through more changes than we could imagine.

...and although we wish Mimi could be here to see and to love Abbie, I really think Daddy Bob makes a point to love her for the both of them! :)

Our First Married Christmas :)

We had an amazing (and busy!) holiday season! I can't believe how much God has blessed this life of ours... family time, friends, and especially time with my husband really made me appreciate everything that I have! ...and although we had practically every minute of the month of December planned, we loved every minute! :)

Here's our first married Christmas tree! I didn't want to take it down! To be honest, it didn't come down until the weekend before my birthday. :)

This is my attempt to decorate... it took us a while to decide how we wanted to decorate. We have a lot of new ideas for Christmas 2009! :)

That's all for now! I am way behind on my blogging and pictures, but I'll have some time this weekend! :) Happy 2009!

Where's Waldo?

Can you find the newest first grader? :)