Happy New Year

I have been so bad about updating!! We don't have internet at home right now so I can only update at my parents. Hopfully we will have internet by next week and I can get caught up on Christmas. :-)

I do have this cute picture of Tyson and Ben! Our good friends Matt and Kristi had a Christmas party to go to so Ty and I had the privaledge of babysitting for Ben. He is the best kid. When Kristi was pregnant with Ben Tyson gave her his favorite childhood book to give to Ben. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. Ben loved all the bright colors in the book. I don't think Ben likes it quite as much as Tyson does but I'm sure he'll grow into it. ha ha

Party Time!

Last Friday night we had a women's progressive dinner at church. It was a BLAST! The idea of driving house to house is brilliant! ha ha Some of the most hilarious things happen in the car on the way to the next location I would tell you about it....but what happens in the car stays in the car. Dana- Your (up until 1 in the morning made from scratch) cheesecake was to DIE for!!! Highlight of the night- We had an ornament exchange at the last house...Kristi brought the ornament that Matt won at our staff ornament exchange 2 years ago and it was the one I brought HAHAHA Dana and I laughed so hard we almost fell out of our chairs. Christmas time.....party's and friends....it doesn't get much better then this! Thank you ladies for a fabulous night!

Dana's FAMOUS cheesecake!!

RED HAIR

Friday night I had my dear old friend Adrienne cut and color my hair. Tyson sent me a picture via email a few weeks ago and said why don't you go RED. I really thought he was kidding...but he wasn't. So I thought why not. I wanted to do something different with my hair. It was getting to long and I wanted a change. So I had Dree cut about 4 inches put in some layers and dye it RED. I love it! I have gotten mostly positive feedback about it. A few people looked at me like what were you thinking...ha ha But Tyson loves it and since he has to look at me every day that is a good thing. :-)

My Random but REAL Christmas Tree :-)

Well we went with the real tree this year. Our apartment isn't that big so we got a short little tree. We will probably look at the end of the year for a fake one on sale...but we don't really have anywhere to store it so we shall see.

Saturday we went and picked it out...why is it that when your at the "tree place" they all look so perfect and round and then as soon as you get home there is always something wrong. Well, to start out we got home and were trying to put it in the stand but there were 2 bog knots that were keeping it from fitting in the stand. We do not have a saw so Tyson had to take a flat head screw driver and a hammer and chisel the knots off. It wasn't going well so finally he just started chopping it with the back of the hammer. At one point he says to me oh no it's bleeding on the carpet...it was like we were doing tree surgery. I was laughing so hard. (anyone have any ideas for getting sap out of the carpet?!?!) Finally success! The tree fit in the stand. :-) Once it was up we could see how odd this tree looked...I don't even know how to describe it...On the top left all these branches shoot out...and then the bottom right all the branches shoot out...in other words it is the weirdest shaped tree I have ever seen. HA HA I have to laugh because these things bother me. It doesn't look right. But I decided to go ahead and decorate...the tree decorations are pretty but the tree itself is not that great.

I decided rather than show a picture of the random shaped tree I would post some of my favorite ornaments.

This ornament was given to me my Tom and Gail I think I was like 10. It has was always been my favorite.

This one Tyson's grandfather made for him in 1982

Gotta love the picture of little Ty hee hee

"Oh Christmas Tree"

I love Christmas trees!!! I can't wait to get mine this year.

The question is fake or real??? Tyson and I have talked about this many times. He grew up with a fake tree and I grew up with a real one....hmmmm Where do you find a compromise in that. I don't mind a fake tree as long as it looks real. But the ones that look real are always the most expensive! Plus I LOVE the smell of a real tree!!! And then you have the fun of picking out a new one every year and you don't have to pack it up when you are done...you just throw it away. Ty is all about the investment..."$30.00 a year on a tree for how many years...?" ha ha ha He would rather buy a fake one and it will pay for it self if we keep it for 10 years. What to do what to do. Any thoughts....?

Christmas Pictures

I LOVE Christmas cards. I love sending them and receiving them. I took some friends Christmas pictures the other day and It got me in the Christmas mood. Tyson and I have taken a "Christmas picture" every year since we have been married well 2... this year will be 3 hee hee. But I found a picture from our first year dating it made me wish I had taken one every year we would have 8. But my mom gave me an idea for a tradition. She bought me several very cute Christmas frames for decoration in my apartment. I have decided to buy a new Christmas frame every year and display our pictures from over the years as part my my Christmas decoration. I even have the date on one. If I can find them with the year on it that would be even better (but sometimes the ones with the date are ugly). The best time to buy is right after Christmas. I bought my frame for this years Christmas picture last year at Kohls after Christmas sale...4 bucks!!! Anyway thought I would pass the idea along. :-)

First Christmas Dating

Christmas 2005 (First Christmas married)

Christmas Picture 2006 (Last Year)
Who knows what our picture will turn out like this year. Tyson is determinded to do something "different" we'll see what that means.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

Wedding Picture Conclusion...

Ok I have the most incredible husband ever. He always knows the right thing to say at the right time. Friday when I was freaking out about our wedding pictures and the extra cost yada yada yada...He in his usual manner listens to me graciously until I take a breath and he can get a word in. After many tears Tyson gently says, there is no need to overreact. This is all going to work out just fine. As I freak out about the money and the fact it's taken so long Tyson is reminding me that God has seen every part of the situation and it will all work out. As I angrily print off all my email correspondence and call my mom for the receipts Tyson again reminds me of Proverbs 15:1. "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." We prayed before we went in to see the photographer and I asked God to help me to "keep my cool". God is so good!!! He gave me the grace to calmly go through what was paid and also be able to share my frustrations in a calm "gentle" manner. She listened and received everything I had to say with grace. She felt really bad that I was disappointed with my pictures and that her associate had been so rude on my wedding day. Every detail worked out and everything had been paid. In the end my photographer even offered to take a free family portrait when Ty and I have kids to make up for her associate that did take great photos at our wedding. WOW God goes above and beyond all that we ask!

Funny enough our pastor has been doing a series on The Power in our Words. Yesterday in church he was talking about Proverbs 15:1 Tyson gave me a little nudge and we laughed at the practical application in our life from the day before. Isn't God good?!?! He takes a frustrating situation and teaches us a lesson. Next time I am in a frustrating situation I pray that I will be more quick to see what God is teaching me.

Thank you for your prayers.

P.S. When my album was all put together I was much happier with the result then what I thought. Again Thank you Lord for meeting my hearts desire.

Putting God in charge of the small and even silly things

So I'm asking you all to pray for me today. I know this is going to sound very silly but from what I have read on everyones blogs...we're trying to be "real". Well here is my reality today silly as it may be. I am meeting with my wedding photographer today to get my pictures from 2 YEARS AGO. It has been a long frustrating process and I have shed many a tear over it. For all of you that know me I am a total "picture" person. I'm all about "documenting the memory" as my mom calls it. The pictures that were taken of my wedding were really not great. Even though I am not thrilled with the pictures that were taken of our wedding I still would like whatever I can get at this point. I thought this was all going to be resolved and I could pick them up this afternoon. Well I checked my email this morning and now she is trying to say I owe her money!!! I am beyond frustrated and this has just set my day off wrong. It's bad enough to be unhappy with your wedding pictures in the first place....and then for someone to tell you that you owe them MORE MONEY for something that isn't what it should be. I'm struggling. I can't figure out if I'm mad or just really sad. This is all just very disappointing. I know that God is sees my heart and I feel like the little kid asking God to bring them a barbie for Christmas. hee hee But I know that we serve a loving God who sees our EVERY need even the small silly things. I just ask you all to pray for me today, I'm feeling on edge and I just ask that this situation will be resolved quickly and easily. I ask God to be in control of my life even the small and silly things and to help me have a good attitude no matter what. I know this is totally random but I needed to get this off my chest. Thanks for listening :-)

My Tiger Woods

Trips to Alabama are something I look forward to every year. Tyson and I try to visit his grandmother at least once a year. We just got back from another wonderful week in Oxford. The years have added up and I have so many wonderful memories of our drives. One thing Tyson loves about Alabama is this golf course about 30 minutes from his grandmother's house. Tyson started playing golf when we first started dating (almost 8 years ago!). At the time we were both in school and had more flexible hours. I used to ride in the golf cart and study/do homework/cheer him on. He had to explain to me that you're not suppose to yell and cheer when you hit a good shot, apparently is distracts the other golfers. he he We use to go about once a week. Now that he has gotten better(thanks to my cheering) he usually plays with his friends. When we are in Alabama I get to return to my place in the golf cart. We have had many crazy events on this course...almost tipping the cart...running over snakes...trying to avoid the ARMADILLO in the middle of the cart path...It's a flood of good memories and fun times. This year Tyson was hit by a sprinkler when he was trying to make a put. I enjoyed being outside in the beautiful weather reading my book, taking pictures, and quietly cheering. We had a great time visiting family and just hanging out. Life has been so non stop the last few months that is was nice to just relax. I love spending time with family. I have the most wonderful in-laws I feel truly blessed. It's worth every minute of the 20 hours of driving for the week.

I haven't mastered the camera timer :-)

It Worked! :-)

Well I've had this blog now for a few months but haven't ever posted anything. Tyson and I were going to do it together but I think it's too hard to both be responsible for one profile. Since he is the "writer" in the family he may post a surprise every once in a while.

Well...more to come....the hard part is getting started...I made it though the first one!