Friday, December 31, 2010

Merry Memories

This Christmas was absolutely magical!  (And not just because Santa Mom and Dad got me the gorgeous floor mirror I've been wanting for almost a year now!)  Justin and I had SO much fun with Perry this holiday season.  Whenever we woke up on Christmas morning, Justin helped Perry walk down the stairs while I documented the event.  Perry's expression was priceless!! He saw all the presents under the tree and exclaimed, "oh," like something was different, almost immediately followed by an, "OH!" of pure awe.  It was so sweet.




This is a teddy bear one of my Mommy's friends gave Perry whenever he was born.  He loves Teddy and plays with him all the time! 

Going to town on his new trampoline.  I absolutely love his hair!!

Playing peek-a-boo in his new tent.  
(The tent actually goes to the ground, 
but Santa left it rigged up to the front door for easy relocation to the playroom.)

My favorite gift from Justin was a Maria Cinderella doll signed by Steven Curtis Chapman.
(I had seen them when Justin and I went to 'A Night With the Chapman's' back in November.  They had these custom, handmade dolls for sale (all proceeds go to an adoption grant) in honor of their little China doll, Maria.  I wanted one so badly to give to our little princess one day, but we really didn't have the money to spend on one at the time.  Knowing how much it meant to me, Justin found them online and ordered one for me/our future little Cinderella.)  

Justin's favorite gift was a little less sentimental...A GPS for his truck! 

Checking out the letter Santa wrote him.

Justin helping Perry taking a look at what Santa left in his stocking.

Big smiles from a terribly happy little bitty!!

After Christmas morning at our house, we headed up to Grammie and Grampie's house to play in the snow for a little bit.  Then, we went to Grandmomma and Grandaddy's house for the extended family get together.  Our extended family is really big.  So instead of getting everyone presents, we all buy a creative $10 gift to play dirty Santa with.  (Just a side note- I got confused and thought it had to be a homemade gift, as well.  So while I was painstakingly, slaving over my gift, most other family members just threw a ten at the cashier.  As you can tell, I have absolutely no grudges over this minute, little misunderstanding.... ;)

This was the gift I worked so hard on.  It spells HOME. 
The H is a fishing reel, since my family loves to fish.
The O is a guitar, since my dad plays... and Perry most likely will too.
The M is some saw horses around our house, as our whole family is very DIY.
The E is some bars on the gate to the barn.
I was pretty proud of it, even though when my Aunt Becky opened it, 
she couldn't figure out what it spelled.


And as if dirty Santa isn't fun enough, we decided we would be SUPER festive and play tacky Christmas, as well.  Everyone was supposed to show up at Grandmommy and Gradaddy's house wearing their tackiest, most creative duds.  Though some of our family (uh-hum.... you know who you are) wimped out and came looking normal, others really got in to the spirit of the occasion.  Throw in the winter wonderland outside, and it was a Christmas to remember!!

Aunt "Sissy" working her "mistletoe" magic!!

We COULD NOT BELIEVE my Grandaddy joined in on the fun!!
He won the tacky Christmas title and the $25 gift card that went with it. 
We thought his 'tacky Christmas attire' was the most unexpected, natural, and tackiest of all! :)

A close tie for second.

A valiant effort....

Melissa and Me

I thought Becky did a superb job on her costume- especially her "Whoville" worthy shoes!!

This was the first day EVER that Perry had not had a nap at all!
Though he was BEYOND exhausted, he was extremely well behaved.  
We were all so proud of him!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Mr. Perry Had a Farm

Mr. Perry goes to the best daycare around- Grandmomma and Grandaddy's house!! I absolutely love that he gets to experience so much while I'm slaving away with eighty million kiddos at work.  Not a day goes by that on the way to G&G's house we don't see a deer, fox, bunny, squirrel, etc.  Not to mention, our horses Splash and Oreo live at G&G's house.  Plus, Perry constantly rides the tractor, bobcat, gator, or kabota.  Whew!  Perry has A LOT to do and play with while Mommy's away.  So today, since I'm on Christmas break, I was able to capture a few of the special memories Perry makes everyday with his best buddy, Grandaddy.  (PS- notice Perry's 'big boots' that he got for Christmas.  He LOVES them and can even put them on all by himself!! What a Big Boy!!)















Wednesday, December 29, 2010

What I'm {Loving} Wednesday



I'm trying something new this week.  Through inspiration from a new blog friend, Savannah, I am trying to do my first "linky" post.  So this is "What I'm Loving Wednesday."...if it works right.

{One}
I am loving my new camera strap.  I got my camera about a year ago and have absolutely loved it.  What I didn't love was the boring old black strap plastered with the word 'nikon' on it.  So, I immediately made a pink, flowery strap that I loved.  But the thing of it is, I get tired of the same thing after a while.  Plus, I was seeing so many cute new camera straps due to Christmas gifts, I just had to make another one.  So, I decided to make one out of some fabric that I am also making a cute little skirt out of.  I was very excited about how it turned out.


{Two} 
My herb garden-round two.  Last Spring, I had so much fun planting an herb garden.  Being how I LOVE to cook, I used my herbs ALL the time.  That is... until I killed them...accidentally.  So, I decided to give it a go again, inside this time.  I got the pots from one of my favorite store ever- At Home Furnishings in Homewood.  (Three Sheets is a VERY close second.)  I just got them planted yesterday, so I'm very excited to use some Rosemary, Parsley, and Chives in my Steak Tips Monterrey tonight.  I hope Justin loves them! 


{Three}
My wooden bread bowl.  I've loved these for a long time, but have yet to get one for myself.  However, I think my Aunt Becky got tired of listening to me talk about how much I liked them, so she surprised me with my very own for Christmas.  I was very excited and surprised!! (You see, it's not at all often that I don't know what I'm getting from Becky!)  I can't wait to fill it with fruit, vegetables, flowers, mini pumpkins/gourds, pinecones, Christmas ornaments, etc.  Really just anything to compliment the season.


{Four}
My Ugg boots.  I truly don't care who says these things are not "in" anymore.  I LOVE them! And wear mine ALL the time.  Especially during this cold, snowy, weather.


{Five}
Christmas cards!  It is so much fun finding not bills Christmas cheer in the mailbox after a long, rushed, and stressful day.  It is just a simple reminder that this holiday season is about family and the greatest gift of all, baby Jesus!  

Sunday, December 26, 2010

I'm Dreaming of a {White} Christmas!

Christmas could not have been more magical this year!  For the first time in my life, we woke up to snow!  It was absolutely beautiful.  We had so much fun making snow cream, snow balls, snowmen, and even sledding in the snow thanks to Grandaddy and the Kabota.... make all the fun you want... it was FUN going fast up and down the hills in the fields!!!! (And just in case you are noticing all the nice winter fashions, yes, we all have adorably cute winter clothes, but no, not a one of us had them with us at Grandmommy and Grandaddy's house.  Who knew the snow was going to stick and we were going to get to play outside all afternoon?!  So, we plundered through the closets and grabbed anything that looked remotely warm!)













Our Adoption Timeline

  • June 19, 2011- We are officially "Paper Pregnant!" We have submitted our Waiting Child Application to Holt!
  • July 5, 2011- Submitted our formal Home Study Application to Villa Hope
  • September 6, 2011- Submitted all of our paperwork for our Home Study
  • October 8, 2011- Completed our First Home Visit
  • October 17, 2011- Completed our Second Home Visit
  • November 14, 2011- Home Study Approved
  • December 1, 2011- Filed our I600a
  • February 1, 2012- I600a Approval Letter
 
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