6 A.M.

So, Mylie decided to get up at 6 this morning instead of her usual 7 or 7:30. I was not happy about this, until I came down stairs and saw this wonderful sunrise out our back door. Hope you all enjoy it as well. Happy Monday, have a great week!

M-I-C-K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E

Mylie has found an obsession. She loves everything Mickey Mouse. We went to the mall at Cool Springs to the Disney Store a few weeks ago when this obsession started and she had a cow! She could hardly stand it. "Me Mo" was everywhere. It was almost to much excitement for her. Mimi bought her three small dolls, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck. She has carried them around everywhere she goes. She has to line them up when she is watching Mickey Mouse Club House in the morning. It is too funny. She calls Goofy, "Dig Dog." I think this is because he is really funny when they sing the hot dog song.

Earlier this week, Aunt Lulu came up to the house and brought a bag full of goodies. She had gone to the Disney Store at Opry Mills. She brought a Mylie sized Mickey dressed like Santa, and a Mickey and Minnie doll that are about a foot and a half tall. Mylie even like the bag that the Mickeys came in!

Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree

I love putting up the Christmas tree, I don't like how long it takes me to put it up. It seems like each year it takes longer and longer, but the end result is so worth it. Mylie likes to have the lights on all day if we are home. Its one of the first things she ask for in the morning. I enjoy siting in the living room at night with all the other lights off, drinking a cup of hot chocolate, or spiced tea, at just looking at it. It makes me very happy.

We have a Boyd's Bear Christmas tree. However, I am not sure this is what I want for next year. I am thinking of doing two trees. (where will I find the room?) This is my question. What colors do you have on your tree? Is your tree themed? I have seen so many pretty ones at the stores this year, I may have to hit up the after Christmas sales to get some new decorations.

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

Boy, were we busy or what? In the past week, we have put up our Christmas tree, cleaned out the closet under the stairs and made it into a playroom for Mylie, helped cook Thanksgiving dinner, served Thanksgiving dinner at Nanny's, then attended two more Thanksgivings, one at Granny Ma's and the other at Neno's. (Gail, Justin's mother) Whew, it makes me tired again thinking about all of it. We had so much fun seeing all of our family. I wish we all got to see each other more often. I have lots to do between now and Christmas, so I will try and keep an update as often as I can. Most of the shopping is complete, but there is a lot of sewing involved with some presents, so as not to give the surprise away, I will have to post pics of it all after the 25th! But, here are some pics from Thanksgiving.

It's almost time for...

Christmas! This is a picture of my new front door arrangement. I found the "B" at Christmas Village and picked the ribbon up at Hobby Lobby. All of their Christmas stuff was 50% off the other day. I wish I could have loaded up, but I didn't have the time. Justin and I are currently in discussion about when to put the tree up. I think now, he would like to wait. I am very excited to see how Mylie will react this year to all the decorating. Last year, after Christmas, my MIL and I went to Old Time Pottery and stocked up on Christmas lights and decor for outside. I can't wait! There is such a short time between Thanksgiving and Christmas that I want to get the most out of my decorations. This is the first year in quite a while that I have been this excited about decorating for Christmas. I will post more pics and they are taken! Hope everyone is having a great week.

On a totally different note, Tam is having a Matilda Jane Trunk Show this Friday. Check the stuff out online and if you want to order, call or email me. Mylie has the Fern in Pink dress. I ordered a size 4T and it will fit as a dress for 2 to 3 years, then it will be a top for many more. This is an investment piece that is just way cutter than anything I have seen in the stores in a long time.

What's been going on with you?

Well, It's been a few weeks since I have had a real post, so I will try and catch everyone up.

Halloween was a blast. We spent most of the day at West with Mom and her class. Mylie really enjoyed the character parade and assembly. Mylie dressed up as a pirate girl. She did not like the hat that came with the outfit, but that was o.k. she still looked great. I managed to not get a good picture of her in her costume. I think I might dress her back up and make some pictures so that I will have them later. Halloween night, we went out to Missy's house for a party. She did a wonderful job decorating and cooking and we all had a blast.

Mylie's favorite thing right now is to sing her ABCs. She can make it all the way to G. From there she know more but not in order until the end when you say "Now I know my" She really likes that part too! She is talking more and more each day. There isn't anything she won't try to say!

We had Mylie's 18 month check up. All was well with her. I had my OB apt. and everything was great with us.

Justin had his Sgt. interview today. He is still in the "testing" phase. I don't know if you remember, but a while back I posted that he was taking the test. Well, the test and the interview go together to make up the score. So, he said he felt well about the interview. This process is very slow, and that annoys me.

We went back up to Missy's the other day to visit. Her mom cooked the best fried chicken in the world! What made it even better was it was boneless! Also, fried pies for dessert! I was stuffed. Her brother was there with his kids. All the children played very well together. I have so many memories of playing with my cousins and a child. I hope Mylie will too. One funny thing was Mylie playing the wii. The boys were playing tennis and gave her a remote with out batteries. She would swing it and say "wii" and "Ball" and a whole bunch of other things. We all just laughed and laughed.

Christmas Village is this weekend. I can't wait. This will be the second year I have gone. I have a friend who gets me tickets to the sneak peak. I hear that's the only way to go!

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week.

Don't Forget!

GO VOTE!

If you are in my area and need someone to watch your children so you can go vote, I will be more than happy to help out. Just give me a ring!

Walden Farms

Today we went to Walden Farms. During the fall they have a wonderful pumpkin patch. We went last year and hope to make this an annual family trip. Most of the things there to do and see are free. If there is a cost, it is very minimal. Of course, the pumpkins cost a few dollars as well. We saw pumpkins from 1 dollar up to 20 dollars.

Can you find Mylie? The pumpkin was way bigger than she was. I think she was trying to get a bite of the pumpkin!

They had a petting zoo and Mylie really enjoyed seeing all the animals. She stuck her finger in the chicken pen and one of them pecked her hand. She was so mad at the chickens. It was too funny!

Here is Justin pointing out the offending chicken.


Here she is in the pumpkin patch. It looked a little dry, but she had a blast running through and picking up the pumpkins. She tried to throw them like a ball.



I love this picture of her face, but it really looks like she has lost her hands! I think she was cold, it was windy while we were there.

Mylie posed herself in this picture. I had her in front of all the pumpkins and she wanted to climb up in the middle of them.

Were Home!

We got home on Tuesday. All is well and we are still unpacking and have jumped right back into our routine. More to come shortly!

Our Final Days in Houston

Saturday we went to the outlet mall, Houston Premium, that was really close to Nana's house. They had tons of cool stores. I did a little Christmas Shopping and also got Mylie and I new pair of tennis shoes from New Balance. I got a cool pair for 31 dollars total and Mylie's were pink and grey for $10. I couldn't believe how cheap they were. That is usually what I pay for my shoes at Marty and Liz in Murfreesboro. Later that day we went back to the house to swim and have dinner. Oh, for lunch, we went back to Chewy's and I ate my weight in chips and creamy jalapeno dip. I have got to figure that recipe out. It is sooooo good! When I get it down, I will post it so all of you can try it. Don't think Tamara and I didn't debate how we could get some of that stuff home. Were were thinking about dry ice. Ha!

Sunday we celebrated Tamara's Birthday. It isn't until the 15th, but since she wouldn't be there, they celebrated early. She got to pick the meal so we ate, flank steak marinated in Uncle Ron's Flank Steak Marinade, fresh steamed asparagus, cream corn, garlic bread, and Tamara had a special side all to her self, a artichoke. She is the only one who got one because they are really expensive. We spent the whole day by the pool in an attempt to keep the kids out of the car.

Today, we got up and got the last of our things together and left Texas. We got to our hotel about 5, and headed straight for the pool. Ha! We thought that would give the kids some good exercise since we have been traveling in the car for more than 6 hours. Now, the kids are asleep and Tamara and I are in our beds, both on our computers and watching t.v. life is good.

Please pray we have a save trip home tomorrow!