Happy New Year

As we get ready to ring in the New Year of 2011, here is a recap of our Christmas of 2010.  More to come.  We are using family camera's.  Therefore, these are the pictures from Gran's camera.  Hopefully, this week, I can upload the pictures taken with Ma'Lyn's camera!

Christmas morning was soooo much fun with Hughes this year!  He saw NOTHING but the Trac Tor and boots that Santa dropped off at our house EARLY Christmas Eve....early like 1:30...early like...Gran Claus was wrapping the final gifts....Santa Claus was putting the trailer together...and Mrs. Claus was sewing the last batch of stockings for the 2010 year!  Santa's workshop was up and running into the weeee hours!

...but Santa called us Christmas day and said it was ALL worth it, just to see Hughes "working" on his tractor!

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas gatherings!

 

Hughes and Daddy Christmas morning!  ... Notice the boots...this was 1 minute after he went into the den!

Ridin' the tractor. 

P.S.  He DID NOT want the bow on the front.  I had to cut that off first thing!

Hughes unloading his blocks into his trailer!

Papa Sam and Hughes opening a gift from Papa and Gran, as Ben watches in the background!

Family Picture on Christmas Day 2010

Mama Jean with grandchildren and great-grandchildren that were there.

Everyone was not able to make it :(

Christmas Day we went to Mama Jean's house and met up with the McCreary family. 

Alise and Autumn hanging out.  These two little ladies are getting to be so big.  We were sooo glad to see them...and Hughes ALWAYS loves playing with them!

Family Picture the day after Christmas on Papa Sam and Gran's backporch. 

We loaded the car RIGHT after this picture since the snow was starting to stick to the roads.  We were headed to Christmas at Granddaddy Brown's house!

Hughes went right to sleep on our way home...

but not until...

he got one shoe on....and one shoe off!

Are these shoes not ADORABLE?  Aunt Laura got them for him at Mistletoe this year!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and you have a New Year surrounded by friends and family!



Merry Christmas Eve!

Francie and Harlan exchange a Christmas hug!

The Mortimer grandchildren pose for a picture with Big Daddy!

Hughes and Big Daddy hanging out!

I LOVE this picture of France!

Love this picture of Harlan just as much!

Ethlyn made all of the children's outfits for Christmas this year!

We loved her choice of blue.  It looked so great on all three of them.

Next year, she will have four little bundles to wrap in

smocked adorable clothes!  We always love the coordinating outfits she makes for them.

Not to mention, the outfits are that much special since they were made with lots of love!

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Tonight we are having family over to our new home for Christmas Eve dinner. 

Hope to have pictures from the night to upload soon! 

This will be the first "official" meal we have had at our house!

I'm super excited and can't wait to see everyone!

I should be counting out silver right now...

...and washing dishes

...and washing clothes

...and vacuuming

...and going to the grocery store

...and preparing the food

...and cleaning up the packaging popcorn Hughes JUST dumped out of the box ALL over the floor

...and taking a shower

...and making the bed

you get the point!

I'm a procrastinator.  What can I say?

I did do the flower arrangements last night and pull out the china.

That counts for something right? :)

And even though we are pulling out the fine china, glassware and silver, we are planning for a  very

low key evening filled with family and laughter.  There is no place setting.  Just find a spot...whether it be on the floor...sofa...chair...a lap and enjoying each other's company.  We just like to use our China AS MUCH as possible and ANY chance we get!

You should do the same!

Find a reason to pull out the china that you toiled over and finally decided on for your wedding gift!

We are using pieces from our Christmas China and everyday fine china, since we haven't collected a large enough set just yet. 

...and it helps that family will be here to help hand wash it :)

Happy Christmas Eve! 

Don't forget to bake those cookies for Santa tonight!  He has a busy day/night ahead of him!

Oh!  And don't forget the reindeer food.  Show the  hoofed friends some love too!

p.s. They love a mixture of oats, nuts, dried fruit and magic dust.

What is magic dust?  Glitter.  Of course!

  Consider it a little extra boost for Dasher and Rudy!

Kind of like a little energy drink for their get up and go! :)

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours this Christmas season!

Lump of Coal...?

Judging by the encounter with Santa this past Sunday at Old Waverly, Hughes may be getting only a lump of coal in his stocking this year!

Oh...Nah!  Maybe we will up it to 2 pieces of fruit and a candy cane.

I snuck Santa Hughes wish list while Kent was prying Hughes from Santa's chilly fingertips...it's cold at the North Pole you know!

I was SO disappointed that Hughes didn't hang out with Santa, kiss his cheek, give him five...

you know...all the things Hughes does whenever he sits in someones lap.

Hughes is not afraid of new people...normally.

But, Santa, was a whole new ballgame.

I mean, Hughes is a boy.  Boys are scared of Santa.

Once again.  I have been proven wrong. 

Hughes enjoys doing this to me lately.

Well, there is always next year.

Random Thought:  Don't you know that Santa dressed in his red attire, hopped on his sleigh and his belly jiggled like a bowl full of jelly as he chuckled thinking of all the Christmas cheer he was about to bring to all the good girls and boys at Old Waverly.  he even brought cookies and candy canes for everyone.

Much to his dismay, more children cried with fear than smiled with glee when their parents and grandparents threw the sweet babies in Santa's lap.

Poor Santa.  I hope we didn't hurt his feelings.

Maybe we should make him an extra cookie Christmas Eve and make that glass of whole milk steaming hot chocolate to make up for the sadness we brought him.

He has feelings too, after all.

Cozy and Warm

Hughes was cozy and warm tonight running around in his Christmas pajamas!

He played around a bit before he "hit the hay"...aka went to bed.

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Side Note:  Why do people say "hit the hay"?  What exactly does it mean?  Where does that statement parallel with bedtime?  Nonetheless, I use it very often.  Why?  Because my Daddy did when I was growing up.  That's why.

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He be bopped around the house slipping around on his little socks for about 30 minutes after his bath time. 

Bath time is Hughes FAVORITE part of the day.  It is a fight to get him out EVERY TIME.

And, better yet, if he hears the water, he wants in the bathtub.

Can't remember the last time I took a bath/shower with complete privacy.

Oh...well.  Life goes on.

But, most possibly Hughes FAVORITE FAVORITE part of the day is when we get out

the loud

machine

it roars

it rumbles

it vibrates the floor his little bitty feet stand on

it's the

Vac Vac.

Hughes calls it the "Vac Vac". 

Very appropriate, I think.

He loves it.  If someone ask me what Hughes favorite toys are right now, if I speak honestly, which I usually do, it would be the mixer...

the hair dryer...

and the Vac Vac.

You heard me.

The mixer.  Yes, the one that mixes brownies.  The real one.  From the kitchen.

The hair dryer.  The one that makes a loud noise and sounds as if it's really doing something important.

And, the Vac Vac.  He attempts to pull it around the house.  The poor Dyson is in an horizontal position with about a 10 degree angle off the floor, pulled behind this little tot.

The child loves things that are loud and dangerous and have electricity if plugged into a wall.

You don't have to tell me.

I know.

I have my hands full.  We have to keep CLOSE eyes on Hughes to make sure he doesn't actually plug up the electronics.

And, believe me......he knows how!

So, tonight before you go to bed, say a prayer for Hughes safety

...and my sanity while your at it.

We had a great time with Kim, Kate, Jack and Joseph decorating our home for the holidays today!

Can't wait to share this Christmas season with you all!

B

Header Photo

The header photo used above was from our Christmas card last year! 

Allison Muirhead has done our Christmas cards the past two years! 

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Side Note:  Hughes has grown sooo much in a year!  Isn't it amazing how much children change in the course of a year?

Wish adults could evolve...for the better...in one years time! :)

Back to the photo...

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She ALWAYS does an amazing job!  Next year, if you are looking for a photographer, book her fast!  Allison is wonderful with children.  She just hired Sherry and she was also great to work with during the photo shoot!

Be looking for your 2010 Christmas card in the mail! 

Hughes and I just picked them up from Santa's Elves...aka Allison's doorstep...last night!

OOoooohh!  We just LOVE Christmas cards! 

Does anyone have a fun and creative way to show off all of your Christmas cards?

It All Started with a Blind Date....

It all started with a blind date in January of 2005!!  Kent was working for MNBB, a banker's bank, in Madison.  He called on Farmer's & Merchants in Baldwyn and ALL the ladies, especially Teresa, just thought we should meet! Kent was dating someone for a while, but believe me, I heard about him EVERY time he was in town OR even COMING to town. 

One day in December, I had come home from Mississippi State for the holiday vacation.  I won't ever forget the day, because Michelle brought a bank envelope to my mom, at home.  I'm sure you have seen one of these envelopes before.  They are probably 9 inches by 11 inches in size, the color of the worst orange you can think of, and consist of an excel looking sheet filled with signatures of ones that pass IMPORTANT information from one to another!  What was this very important document that Mama needed at home and on the weekend?  Well, Michelle didn't hand it to Mama.  She handed it to me.  Why me?  I have no business holding such an official envelope!  I don't want to get into trouble.  What if this envelope holds deeds to the capital?  What if this is, more likely, loan papers for someone?  I don't have the clearance to look through papers of this importance.  I looked in the envelope though!

You know what it was?

An 8x10...you heard me...8x10 of Kent Mortimer.

I could tell by the photo that he was standing with someone in the original photo shoot.  I also knew that the picture was taken in front of the FMB Christmas tree.  (It's the same tree they have had since I was little, probably with the same decorations.)  First reaction, pity.  I pitied this poor boy.  SURELY, he had NO idea that he was being cropped out of photos and being blown up to 8x10 photographs!

Second reaction, Kent, that I had heard about for probably a year, was stinkin' cute!

Merry Christmas to me!

I figured it would go NO further than this 8x10.

I mean this was silly.  Things like this don't come to fruition in real life.

Well, the holiday went on.  Our family moved into our new house that Christmas Eve..with the addition of 2 new dogs!

I mention the dogs because, unknown to me, KENT got pictures emailed to him of me with Tip, our new pomeranian.

How embarressing!

Pictures sent to him via email! AAaaaahhh!!!

Kent called my house after Christmas. 

I made fun of him for the picture.

He later told me he wasn't expecting me to make fun of him when I didn't even know him.

We had our first BLIND DATE January 4th, 2005.

It went well.

I thought.

But, the little stinker didn't call me for 2 weeks.

I think it was Guy Code...you know...let 'em sweat a bit.

Actually, he says, "I was just busy."

uh..huh

But, here we are 3 years later.  Kent has blessed my life in many ways.

I am now a part of his family and he is a part of mine.

Seamless.

We now have our own Growing family.

And can't wait to see what the years ahead hold!

Here is a few pictures of us together.

 This was taken the day before our wedding day!

 Honeymoon picture. 

 Our first Christmas card picture with Gus!

We were expecting Hughes at Bronwyn and Erik's wedding!

We had no idea though! 

The next week we found out!

I USUALLY take very goofy pictures.  Photogenic is not an adjective that is associated with my name!

This was the weekend I moved to Jackson!

Apartment living.  Kent helped hang curtains.  We were JUST deciding we liked each other...

6 months AFTER the first date.

We took it slow.

Kent showing public affection...

...not here Kent...

 We are awaiting the arrival of our firstborn!

 Hughes finally arrived!  And is the PERFECT addition to our family!

...now we just await the arrival of our 2nd addition.  We are so excited.

We have had the best 3 years of our life thus far!

Can't wait to see what the next 3 hold for us!

Friends

 Hughes and I had lunch with Jaime and Smith last week!

 Hughes looks super excited to see a friend at lunch.

Smith, on the other hand, doesn't seem quite sure about this curious little boy for the moment.

But the boys warmed up and enjoyed each other's company. 

Jaime and I, however, started MANY conversations.  But, we're not sure we finished any of them.

These two boys seemed to take LOTS of attention. 

Okay, let's be honest, Smith was SUPER easy.

Hughes was standing up in his high chair MOST of the lunch date!

...Or, turned around telling the older couple behind us..

"Hey! Hey!", with a big, fat, toothy, grin on his face! 

He said this over and over, to the top of his lungs,  until they stopped, their ONCE enjoyable meal together,

and waved and said, "Hey!" back to Hughes!

 Sweet Jack, Kate and Joesph came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us this weekend!

Kevin and Kent worked fearlessly on frying the Gobblers!

Poor birds.  If I think about ANY kind of meat for more than 30 seconds, I turn into a vegetarian.  Therefore, we will move on.  I'm pretty grossed out right now. 

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Moving on.....

The children played outside in the cool night air!

Daddy and Hughes getting ready to walk out the door to go to church!

Hughes is enjoying a little breakfast and learning to say

"CHEESE!"

Until next time...

B



A Little Bit of This...

A Little Bit of This....

Today we had our chimney sweeped!  Yes, that's right!  There are real live Chimney Sweepers out there!

The picture below is the chimney sweepers we had! 

I turned the flash off and snuck a picture!  I don't know why but I have been very intrigued to know that this profession exist!

....This profession doesn't only exist in Mary Poppins! 

I think, shallowly (is that a word...no), that this would be the experience we would have this morning!  At least twenty men dancing on our rooftop, swinging Hughes and I around sturdy broom sticks, clapping to the beat of "Step in Time." 

Needless to say, there was no music, just the sound of the LARGEST Vac Vac that you've ever seen and me bringing them the last of our garbage bags!

But, we can now enjoy the rolling fire during our frigid, frightful, freezing, ferocious Fall and Winter months!

(Sarcasm:  It's a pitfall of mine!)

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A Little Bit of That...

Ma'Lyn just made these pants for Hughes to wear during the Christmas season! 

Are they not adorable?

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Hughes walked around all morning in wonder and amazement!

The boy LOVES a vac vac and since we had the pleasure opportunity to have

the LARGEST Vac Vac known to man in our den today, he was pretty stoked!

Hughes WOULD NOT go down for a nap.

And I couldn't deny him the enjoyment of the Vac Vac monstrosity.

So, no morning nap for Hughes.

Or, lunch for that matter. 

Because we ran to the store.

He fell asleep on the way home.

And refused to wake up for food.

Too much entertainment for one morning, I guess!

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 I love shoes.

(I warned you this was "A little bit of this and A little bit of that :)

I love shoes.

Shoes was my first word.

Don't believe me?

Ask my Mama!

When I was little, I would lay under the pew during the sermon, and stare with wonder and amazement at the women's shoes.  The colorful ones were my favorite.

It must be said that Mrs. Daisy ALWAYS had the most appealing and entertaining shoes!

I used to dream of playing in her shoe closet.  Then walk on the kitchen floor to hear the most beautiful sound in the world.

The sound of confidence.

The sound of independence.

The sound of beauty.

The sound of a woman.

Click click.. click click ..click click

p.s. The skinner the heel the better the click.

Told you I loved shoes.

Maybe I need therapy.

This may not be normal.

 I love shoes.

I either love them.

Or hate them.

And I know it when I see it.

And the following shoes...

Well, I love them.

Actually, it is a love/hate relationship.

Why hate?

Because, I will never own a pair.

But, we can always dream!

Now, the below boots are more my speed.  I'm pretty sure, even if I had a closet full of the Christian Louboutin shoes above, there would not be ONE place to wear them.

But these brown boots...they would fit right in my wardrobe.

Oh, luscious black booties, I'm sure we could squeeze you into the wardrobe, too!

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And lastly, I am in the process of making Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls.

We are at the part in the process where we are waiting for the dough to rise.

It takes an hour.

PW's recommendation was to go fold a load of towels or something.

Never have been one to like people to tell me what to do.

I rebel.

I blogged instead!

Liberating!