A New Year is Here

A fresh start is upon us - welcome 2013!

How was your holiday season?

Ours was pretty typical - rest and relaxation, family, and lots of holiday food.  We spent a couple of days before Christmas through a couple of days after Christmas with Casey's family in the Jackson, MS area.  It was nice to have a break from any major travels.  We enjoy traveling, but sometimes it's fun to stay close to home. 

Mmm hmmm.

Our sweet nephew had a blast tearing into his presents.

It is a good thing we came home when we did.  You see, our house/yard has drainage issues and it rained quite a good bit while we were gone, and when we got back.  Casey spent a very rainy Friday last week outside figuring out how our the gutter installation will work, what type of landscaping will help create waterflow moving away from our house, etc.  Also, I discovered our roof was leaking. Oh AND we burned a fuse while replacing a light fixture and half of our kitchen has been without power until today.

Casey's dad sent an electrician our way and he fixed every last problem we had electrically (more than just the kitchen!)  His dad is kindly taking care of the bill - big early happy birthday to us!

We found ourselves laughing over the weekend when problem after problem kept springing up.  We bought an old house and have only lived here for 6 months, hence it was only a matter of time to before some sort of house breakdowns occurred.  It's just part of it and we were told just that. Life goes on.

Case and I both returned to work today and are looking forward to settling into routine  again.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time off, but time off wouldn't be as enjoyable if we had it all the time.  I am glad however, that I still have two more weeks off from school.  I think I'll be mentally prepared to go back by then.

I packed up all things Christmas over the weekend. To me, it is kind of sad to take down the Christmas decorations because I like having them out, but at the same time I'm always so glad to have them packed up and put away. I realize that doesn't make much sense.

 Wishing all a very Happy New Year!

Christmas Happenings

Tis the season for:

 running the Jingle Bell Jog (5k)for Batson's Children's hospital - it's the second year in a row for us, so that makes it a tradition right? Next year, we're planning on participating in it again.

Decorating our tree - originally, it was a foot too tall.  That's what happens when you are experiencing your first Christmas in your new house - and when you don't measure your floor-to-ceiling span. 

We just knew we had 9 ft ceilings, until we tried to stand the tree up.  Good thing we have friendly neighbors with saws.

This year, we bought a Carolina Sapphire - its wonderful smell fills our house.  I love it.

Cinnamon roll making - Pioneer Woman's recipe. 

And homemade goodies from sweet, elderly neighbors.

But really, tis the season to remember Christ's birth into the world. Sometimes, there are so many Christmas distractions, events, and to-do lists, it is difficult to prepare our hearts for the real reason we celebrate. I know I struggle with it. Thankfully, we have been given a powerful reminder.

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel - which means, God is with us." 

Matthew 1:22-23



Christmas phone picture dump

Everything is pretty during the Christmas season.    

These pictures are from a Christmas baby girl shower I attended a couple weeks ago.

Oh so sweet.

Eating peppermint chocolate bark makes you feel like you are doing two good things at once. 1. eating chocolate. 2. brushing your teeth.

I made these for the RUF Christmas party.  We enjoy giving back to that college ministry anytime we can.

 favorite.

A client makes my boss carrot cake every year.  I took a little break from my numbers and tried out some of this "Christmas cheer."

This past weekend, Casey helped me make Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls. 

It actually wasn't a very pretty process - big baking undertakings never are I suppose. 

But it's all worth it in the end...

because...

...pretty big messes, make some pretty good cinnamon rolls. 

***Today, we leave to start our travels up north - just going to Cleveland, MS for the the night.  We are headed to North Carolina in the morning and Pennsylvania a couple of days later, and I know we will see lots of great scenery and family along the way.  We are looking forward to it, and I'll hopefully be posting along the way.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

At last, I am doing my Christmas Tree post.  We have had our tree since the Saturday before Thanksgiving, due to the fact that we are traveling over the holidays and will have to get rid of it early.   
This is also our very first tree because we did not have any ornaments, lights, etc. last year UNTIL the day after Christmas.  While in North Carolina visiting my grandparents  we shopped for ornaments on December 26,2010 when everything was 50%-75% off.  Score! 

Our story began at the tree farm...this dog was staring at us when we pulled up.

Thomley's Tree Farm.  Casey and I dream about having a Christmas tree farm.  We think we have a pretty good last name for it - Taggart's Trees or something like that. 

Yes, we wore shorts on the day we were doing a "winter activity."  That's because we live in the deep south.

The light colored tree were so wonderfully fragrant.  Not sure what they are - Dad?

After much diliberation, we found the one we liked best.

My grandmother gave me this cupcake ornament the Christmas we were engaged, since we were having a cupcake wedding cake. 

I blogged about making these in my very first post here. 

I found this star on Black Friday this year at Pier One. 

And today I just finished my Pinterest inspired tree skirt.  It is not perfect, but I am happy with it. 

Now, if only the presents would arrive from Amazon.com...

Jingle Bell Jog

The above title is the name of the 5k Casey, Mom, Dad, and I all ran on Saturday.  It's purpose: fundraiser for Blair Batson Children's Hospital in the Jackson area. 

It's other purpose: to make us stay in shape during the Holiday season and beyond.  We have been working too hard to let it all slip away simply because we are "holidaying."  

It was a fun race, because many of the runners dressed up in Christmas themed attire, and the people who cheered for us rang jingle bells. 

It was a challenging race, because you either ran uphill OR downhill the entire 3.1 miles.  There really was no in-between.

There is just no way to prepare for that if you live in the Delta like my parents, and as for me and Casey...we have some hills but sometimes we prefer the flat track in town. 

Here we are after the race.  We were feeling so good about ourselves, we decided we needed to go to Cracker Barrel for a re-energizing breakfast.  ha!

Every time I step outside to walk or run, I take a moment to reflect and praise God that I can do both!  What a blessing.  Exercising is something I can easily take for granted, and it is easy to grumble about.

Mom and Dad, we had a blast hangin' out over the weekend. 

 Next year, we'll all have a time to beat!

Felt Garland

December has arrived, but I couldn't wait for it to get here this year.  I've already been Christmas crafting, Christmas shopping, Christmas Tree decorating, and mailed out my Christmas cards.  This has never happened before, and will probably never happen again, but hey, why not make it occur at least once in life? 

I completed my very first sewing project - it was very simple. 

I cut out felt circles, and sewed them together. 

I just fed the glittered felt circles through one at a time.

At first I tried hanging the completed garland on our tree, but it already has enough going on this year.

So, I opted for the back of our kitchen cabinets. 

Casey said, "I'm so proud of you, one day you'll be teaching people how to sew."

Ha! It doesn't take much to impress him, and that's one of the reasons I love him sew much.