Perfectly Pink

A BLANK Nursery!

2010-12-28T14:30:00.000-06:00

Type A... We all know that I am TYPE A.. I have always said that I want EVERYTHING perfect when I bring my baby home from the hospital.. Well we all know that it just did not happen that way for us..

So when Coop came home his nursery had his crib and a few other little boy things (that mom brought from home that was Mac's).. and that was it..
You may or may not remember but the day after we got Coop I ordered his bedding and was lucky enough to get fabric swatches.. So the paint was picked out.
Michael did a great job painting Cooper's room, but there was SO MUCH more to do...

Thank goodness the next weekend was Memorial Day and my mother was coming back. Over that weekend we got so much done...
Yes she did a lot of loving on Cooper, but massive amounts of projects were also done!

When she got there, it was a blue room with some furniture...
When she left it looked like this:

Let me share just a few of the projects we did.....
I bought these letters white at Hobby Lobby for not even $2 each!
Michael measured them and taped them off.. Then I used the furniture paint to paint stripes on them!
We got the "Heaven Sent" sign from Storkland.. How perfect!
At Storkland, I also saw the most awesome lamps, but of course they were well over $100 each.. So I bought this lamp for around $15. Then I used a hole punch around the top and bottom of the shade. I weaved the ribbon throw the holes. I got my very talented sister in law to paint Cooper's Monogram on it.. And I love it!
I also had this night stand.. So I got some paint one shade darker than the walls and painted it. Changed out the knob with a polka dotted one from Hobby Lobby ($3).. And Done! I also painted this book shelf the same shade of blue.
For this lamp I bought the base at Target for around $25 and the pre-sticky shade at Hobby lobby for just a few bucks. I bought the material and ribbon at Hobby Lobby too..
I cut the material to fit the shade, stuck it on, and Mom made this awesome bow for us to hot glue on!

Yes.. we made just a few trips to Hobby Lobby and Target.. With some trips to Pottery Barn Kids and Storkland mixed in too!
But it was well worth it.. I love how Cooper's Nursery turned out.. It is full of things that were given to him by people that love him so much.
Of course it has changed since then.. I have added all sorts of new projects.. I will have to share those some time..
hahhahahahaaa... Once I catch up!

Daddy and Cooper Too!

2010-12-19T10:20:00.000-06:00

Well of course we took some Daddy and Cooper pictures too!

Some Mommy and Cooper Pictures

2010-12-19T10:17:00.000-06:00

After the Dupree's took Cooper's first pictures we came home and took our own!

Mommy and Cooper!
I love the way he looks at me!

Cooper's NewBorn Pictures

2010-12-19T10:15:00.000-06:00

We are blessed enough to have some of the best photographers in Birmingham as our dear family friends. Phillip and Nancy Dupree have grown up with my parents and I have grown up with their two daughters. Some of my favorite football Saturday memories include them!
I knew they had to do Cooper' pictures and they got us in right away. We got these taken a week after we got Cooper.
Mr. Phillip and Mrs. Nancy with Cooper!

Here is a little peck into some of my favorites from the photo shoot!

He was so little and has grown so much! I will cherish these pictures FOREVER.. And it meant so much to have the same people that have taken my pictures growing up and did our wedding pictures, also take these!

50 FREE Holiday Cards from Shutterfly

2010-11-29T09:00:00.007-06:00

CHRISTMAS CARD TIME

I know..I know..It has been awhile.. Let's just be honest,

I got a little overwhelmed with the amount of pictures I took and needed to post..
But I am BACK.. And I would like to start with a bang..
A FREE BANG!
50 Free Shutterfly Christmas Cards!
And check out my Christmas ANGEL! How can I not do Christmas cards with a child that cute...

I have always used Vista Print in the past for all my Christmas Cards and everyone knows I am a Snapfish Junkie, but hey I don't HATE.. Shutterfly and Free sound good to me!
And they have some SUPER Cute Choices....
Here are a few that I love!
Check out the other cute options:
www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photos-cards
or
www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards
Let me recommend the folded cards.. They are my favorite!
Now of course I am not using either of these, because.. well we all know I have WAY more than 1 or 2 pictures of my precious boy I need to show off. AND I can't tell you which I am gonna use..That needs to be a surprise!
If you are like me 50 will just not do, but it is a great start.. So I will get my free 50 and pay for the rest.. Who knows I may even see what else I can put my sweet Cooper's face on!
I am all about the calenders... check them out:
www.shutterfly.com/calendars
What a GREAT DEAL!
So if this is something you are interested in and WHY would you not be..
Follow this link...
http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/
It is nice and easy.. and FREE!
SO... Happy Christmas Card Shopping!
***I am having trouble with some of my links . If you are to, then just copy and paste.. That will get you there too!

Tuesday, May 25th: A Day of Doctor Visits

2010-09-27T12:45:00.001-05:00

Tuesday was a full day.
We started the day at Children's Hospital to see the hematologist. This was a check up visit from when he was a newborn and had gotten sick. He was having to get his blood levels checked!
Thank goodness everything went great and his levels were normal. They said we would have to have one more visit to get checked out though.
After Children's we had lunch then headed over to our Pediatrician. We never have to wait long, but we did have a wait to bit. I used this as the perfect time for a mini photo shoot with Daddy and Coop. I took so many and had a ton that turned out really good. Here are some of my favorites!

LOVE IT!!

Coop just looking at Daddy!

I love this picture of Cooper! Look at those eyes!

After I took way too many pictures, it was time to go back!
Dr. Favrot wanted to see us back after we had Coop for a few days to see how he was doing, but also to give him those shots.
I had to give him love, because I knew what was coming!

He had no clue what was about to happen..
He was just looking as cute as can be!The sweet nurse!

Oh my poor baby! This just broke my heart!

He just looked so cute sleeping I took a few more pictures in the car on the way home!
I love the tongue sticking out!

Once we got home I decided to take just a few more before I took him out of his seat!
He looked so peaceful!

Then I saw this face, which I can not help but LOVE!But then it lead to this! Which I do not love..
Do you think it had something to do with the fact that the camera had been in his face ALL DAY long?

No need to worry kid.. You will be use to me taking pictures of you all the time before you know it!

Saturday, May 22, 2010: Meeting More Family!

2010-09-03T09:30:00.003-05:00

We had a big day planned for Saturday. We had family coming over to grill out and meet Cooper!
We started our day with Cooper getting his first bath (from us)... Before this he had been getting washcloth baths... we had really needed that bathtub my hostesses gave us!
Michael and I giving Coop his bath!I have fallen in love with hooded animal towels! Cooper looks so cute in them...

After his bath, Cooper got all dressed up for family.. Kenzie and Shug were still trying to figure him out!

Me, Cooper, Shug, and Granddaddy JB

Uncle Mac Granddaddy Mullen (Michael's Dad) holding Cooper for the first time

Daddy sneaking in some kisses

My Maternal Grandparents (Cooper's Great Grandparents) meeting Cooper for the first time. This was a very special moment. I have wanted for so long to give them a Great Grandchild...

Great Grandmother PatPat holding Cooper for the first time. You can see her face how happy she is to be holding him!

Cooper just looked and looked at everybody.... But he was really turning that head to see his Great Granddaddy!

Grandmother PatPat and Granddaddy got us some very special gifts, but my most favorite was the frame....

It says
"We loved you before we knew you-Even when there was just the hope of you-We Loved You!
Yep, I cried when I read that one!
How TRUE that is!

We got a Great-Grand Frame for my Grandparents!

My Momma with her Daddy and her Grandchild!

I love this picture..... 4 Generations
My Momma, My Granddaddy, My Son, and ME!

Granddaddy Mullen with Michael and Cooper

My Family

In between all the visitors and craziness..Michael and Coop snuck in a nap

My Aunt Donna Kay, Cousin Johnny, and Cousin Rhea meeting Cooper

Cooper and I with Rhea

Donna Kay, Grandmother PatPat holding Coop, and Momma

Me with Donna Kay holding Coop

Me, Donna Kay, and Momma

Later in the afternoon the guys decided it was time to break out the "It's a Boy" Cigars!
My Daddy, Michael, Mac, and Mr. Mullen

Mac with his first Cigar!

Light It Up!

Mac and Daddy

The Guys!

As you can tell Saturday was a day filled with family and fun! It was a very special day... but lately they all have been!

Friday, May 21st: The Most Awesome Girlfriends Baby Shower EVER!

2010-08-30T12:45:00.004-05:00

So right when we found out about Cooper my AWESOME girlfriends went into over drive starting to plan a shower. They waited till the birth mother handed Cooper over to the agency and signed the paperwork... then they were off planning away! They planned the shower for Friday night.. at the time it all sounded so perfect! The shower would be the night before we got Coop and we would be ready... HAHAHAHAHA... as you know we got Coop a little early... But I was still VERY excited!
Since all the guys had also planned to take Michael to Buffalo Wild Wings, it was a matter of who was gonna keep Cooper. My wonderful mother in law offered to stay and keep him so my mother could go with me.
Mr.Daffin (Michael's Step-Dad) also came and got to meet Cooper for the first time.

Here is Mr and Mrs Daffin with Michael and Cooper!

Mrs. Daffin with Michael and Cooper

I love this picture!
PaPa, Dar-Dar, Dee-Dee, and Granddaddy JB!

I knew I was in for a wonderful time, but it was hard leaving Cooper. This was the first time I left him at night. I showered him with many kisses and gave him much love before I left.

Mom and I finally said our many goodbyes and headed the few miles over to Whitney's house. I was very excited when I got there and my Olexa's Dar went crazy when I walked in the door.. In my head I heard....ninininininininin... and then it got faster and faster until I walked in the dining room and saw a beautiful site..... An Olexa's Cake with Coop's monogram... This is my favorite cake and my girlfriends knew that... Way to Go Girls!

The wonderful girls who threw together this awesome shower in a matter of days..
My Hostesses:
L to R: Whitney Hardy, Sarah Hearn, Maghan Craig (with Addison), Cortney McKinney, Me, and Mandy Iffland. Ashley Cosby was also a hostess, but was not able to be there (tell me that is not love!)
I can NEVER thank these girls enough! They are all so dear to me!

Group Shot (with the cake of course).. We had some friends who did not make the shot and my mother was taking the photo!

The food was wonderful.. There was homemade casseroles, salad, bread.. all the good southern food we all love!

Like I said the food was wonderful, but the best part was yet to come! I stood over Whitney as she was cutting the cake.. I blamed it on taking the picture, but really I just wanted a piece...quickly!Katie, Mandy (with Baby Tate in Tummy), Kristin, Kinnery, and Maghan.. All enjoying the yum, yum, yum, yum... did I say YUM Cake!

Sitting around finishing our food and talking! Everyone is looking at me.....I am sure I was talking about Cooper!

Brooke and Mary Jane playing with Addison

Momma and I

Valerie and I
Valerie is a very dear friend of mine from Montgomery. She has been there for me through everything and has been a wonderful friend. I was so very thrilled she drove all the way from Montgomery for my shower!Playing Games!
Our first game was passing the baby food jars around and seeing if you can guess what it is.. From the look on Brooke's face I would say this one stunk! Our next game was to "finish the nursery rhythm". We were given a sheet with a bunch of partial nursery rhythms and asked to finish them.. How did me.. the new mommy.. do? Welllllllll.. lets just say I need to brush up on my rhythms a little!
I love this picture of Amy and I!

Next it was time to open gifts! I was OVERWHELMED with the amount of gifts.. they just kept coming and coming... Cooper got some beautiful and wonderful things! I am so blessed to have wonderful friends who were so happy for us and showered us with so many wonderful things.. but most of all.. with so much LOVE!
Cooper's first bathing suit! From My Momma

Wendy knows me well and knew I needed monogrammed stuff for Coop

In Valerie's bag of stuff there was a tiger... An Auburn Tiger of Course!

Mary Jane and Brooke knew Cooper needed Auburn stuff. Among all the orange and blue baby stuff was also an Auburn Shirt!

I was super excited to see the diaper bag my mother in law had given me.....

Then I saw it was monogrammed.. EVEN BETTER!

Love it!

Only I would get monogrammed diapers! (Amy's face in this picture CRACKS me up)

The hostesses got us a baby bath FULL of stuff... Much Needed!

Momma got Cooper the most beautiful baby blue outfit. It is one of my favorites and he wears for all special occasions! (I had looked at this at Sew Precious, but was not sure if it was a good size. I had gone in Friday morning and mother went in Friday afternoon right before the shower. The lady in Sew Precious remembered me and showed Mother this outfit.)

These pictures make me smile! I had waited so long to have a baby shower.. I felt like it was a dream. I was so very happy that night and you can tell in these pictures! I can not say enough how much that night meant to me! It was wonderful! I call it my "crazy, last minute, girlfriend shower"... but you would have never known it was last minute by the amount of people that came and how great the shower was! My friends love me very much and I felt that at this shower!
ohhhh and did I mention the loot that I went home with...WOW! Coop got some great stuff.....
Everyone made me feel so special that night!
The wait was well worth it....

Friday, May 21, 2010

2010-08-18T08:00:00.004-05:00

Because everything happened so quickly I had a little work that I needed to get in order before taking some time off.. Soooo against what I wanted, I went to work for a few hours on Friday morning. I left Cooper with Momma! I was wanting to put it off, but I went ahead and went early in the morning so I could get back as soon as possible. It ended up starting to pour down and was a very yucky morning. Once I got home I put my PJ pants back on...hey momma and Coop were still in theirs!

We were expecting very special visitors late in the morning. Grandaddy JB (my daddy) and Uncle Mac were on their way!
Please look right over me in ALL these pictures....I was looking a little rough!
Here is Granddaddy and Uncle Mac seeing Coop for the first time!

Granddaddy holding Coop for the first time!

Mac had a special surprise for Michael! And of course there is a story behind this gift!
So the story goes:
At my wedding my Daddy made a toast and pulled out a box of cigars. There were 4 cigars in the box. They were "It's a Girl" Cigars left from when I was born. Daddy had my Granddaddy McCabe (My Momma's Daddy) and Michael there with him. He gave one cigar to each. He lit Granddaddy's cigar and then lit his from Granddaddy's and then Michael's from his. They left one in the box!
Mac remembered this and has always thought it was a great thing to do! So as a surprise, he got Michael "It's a Boy" cigars! Here is Mac showing them to me.

Granddaddy holding Cooper!My Daddy's face cracks me up in this picture!
The proud, first time Grandparents!

Uncle Mac waiting his turn!Uncle Mac holding Coop for the first time. I do not think Mac thought Cooper was gonna be this small. He was a little nervous holding him! I think he even referred to him as a blob! Now that is not nice!

Maybe this is when he was calling my beautiful baby a "blob"!
In reality I have no clue why Mac was making this face... But I KNOW he was not making it at MY baby!

Mother said she has had this for some time... It is a Christmas Santa holding a baby! Perfect Christmas decoration for Coop's room! Oh and y'all know how I love to decorate for Christmas.. My Momma knows me so well!

Before coming to Birmingham, Mom went to this precious children's store in Destin called Hugs and Hissyfits. When she walked in Mac was already in there with a gift for Cooper on the counter! He had picked it out himself!

It was a blonde Cocker Spaniel Puppy (a Kenzie).....

He had also given Cooper a sweet Auburn Shirt with navy gingham bubble shorts!

Mac giving Michael his surprise.. Of course he was telling him why he bought them!

And Of course, Michael LOVED them!

It had been a fun day and more fun was to come! My baby shower that my girlfriends had planned was that night and the guys were taking Michael to Buffalo Wild Wings!

Thursday, May 20, 2010: To Over the Mountain Peds We Go!

2010-08-14T09:50:00.004-05:00

On Thursday I woke up and had survived our first night with Coop. We had tried to put him down in the bassinet, but he wanted no part of it... plus Shug kept on trying to jump in with him. We both finally ended up downstairs....Cooper in his swing and me curled up in the chair next to him. And that is how we slept.... when we slept..Sometime in the middle of the night I went upstairs to ask mother something and she ended up coming downstairs with us. She spent the rest of the night on the couch! Oh a mothers love!
On the chair, on the floor, on a bed of nails.. I would have slept anywhere to be next to him!
Thursday we all got ready. We had a doctors appointment to get to! Everything happened so quickly we had not officially picked our pediatrician yet. Although we had one that had come highly recommended by Whitney. But they did not except MediCaid and since Coop was not on our insurance yet we could not go there. We knew we wanted Coop checked out as soon as possible so we made an appointment with Over The Mountain Pediatrics. Which is where our agency highly recommended. To say the least I fell in love with them there!
Everyone was so nice! Here is the nurse about to weight Cooper!
On 5/20/2010 he weighed: 8 pounds 13 ounces

We saw Dr. Jeanne Favrot and she was wonderful. Before this appointment I had had thought I would just let Over the Mtn Peds do the first check up and then switch after we got Coop on our insurance.....But...that all changed once I met Dr. Favrot! She stayed and answered ALL Mother's and my questions! Trust me.. We had a list! She took her time with us! We are blessed enough to have all of Cooper's medical records, so she read over those and checked him good! She also realized that Cooper was behind on his shots and we needed to get him caught up.. I think I teared up when I realized she meant THEN! Thankful she saw the fear in my eyes... I just knew he had been through so much in the last few days, all he needed was to get a bunch of shots too! So she said that when we came back next week, we could do them then..
Sigh of Relief!
Throughout the visit she had heard our story and knew we had only had our little guy around 24 hours! She gave me a hug and when I pulled away I saw tears in her eyes! At that moment I knew I had just met our pediatrician. I knew she would take good care of us!

One of the things we had asked Dr. Favrot was about taking Cooper on a few errands. She said that as long as it was just a few a day and they were quick, it was OK! Which was good news since I had a nursery to get ready! Our first stop was to pick up O'Carrs chicken salad plate to go! Then we stopped by Storkland to look! I had a lady who was suppose to make our bedding, but she had not gotten back to me..... So I was a little worried that would not work out. While at Storkland I found bedding that was very similar to what I had in mind.. We went with it! We walked out with our bedding ordered, a few sweet things to hang on the wall, and of course our first lovey (a baby blue bear)!
Here is a picture of our bedding! I think it looks great with our dark crib! More pictures of the nursery to come!

On the way home I just snapped away! I can't get enough pictures!

He looked so sweet I hated to bother him!

Mother and I had so much fun with Cooper and the camera. We had multiple photo shoots a day!

That night Cortney brought us dinner and let me tell you it was yum yum good!

It was so much fun having her there! Knowing she will be giving Cooper a little friend soon... It will be so much fun having our babies so close in age!

Day 2 with Cooper was wonderful.
We got so much done! And I loved every minute of it...
Living My Dream!

May, 19, 2010: Bringing Home Coop!

2010-08-09T13:15:00.002-05:00

When we pulled in Grandmother DeeDee (My Mother) and Grandmother DarDar (Michael's Mother) were already outside waiting on us.
Mother took this picture as we had just pulled up and were getting Cooper out of the car.

Before we knew it both Grandmothers were right there leaning in wanting to see him. Mother was trying to take pictures and see him at the same time.

This is one of my favorite pictures. We were both so excited to be bringing Cooper home. And of course I had a Target bag. Doesn't everyone make a trip to Target before they pick up their son?

We came right in and got him out of the car seat to show him off. Shug was trying to check him out. This was the first of MANY kisses to come from Shug!

Could my smile be any bigger?
I was just a little happy.. Just a little!

Michael could not stay long, because he had to go back to work. That was so hard! Because we got Cooper so quickly, Michael had already planned a very important meeting that people had flown in to be apart of. But we had a nice little photo session before he left!
Daddy with Coop!

Grandmother DeeDee (My Mother) Grandmother DarDar (Michael's Mother)

Us changing Cooper's diaper for the first time!
Do you see him crying.. He was not happy about being put down!

But I think that was the ONLY time he was put down ALL day. I also think this was the last time I held him for hours! The Grandmothers hogged him quite a bit! But that was fine! I just loved knowing that he was home with us!

We did try to put him in the swing to see if he would like it. Can you say.. Life Saver! The Hardy's let us borrow this since Hayes is to big for it now.. Cooper has and is LOVING it!

Grandmother DeeDee with her first Grandchild!

Grandmother DarDar loving on Cooper

He looked so beautiful in his coming home outfit!

Whitney was our first none family visitor and she brought us a nice surprise!
She let us borrow their BIG BLUE BOW!
It's a BOY!
Whit hanging the bow!

Shaun and Ashley brought us dinner that night. They did good.. They brought Zoe's!

Me with Ashley and Whitney holding Cooper!Shaun, Ashley, Michael with Cooper, Me, and Whit

Once Daddy got home and settled in, he spent some good time with Coop.

As Mother was holding Cooper he feel asleep with his feet resting on Kenzie..

I have had some pretty great days in my life! My wedding day was pretty awesome! But I can honestly say that this was the BEST day of my life! This was the day I had been wanting and praying so long for... It was perfect! I hated that Michael had to work, but the Grandmothers made it so special. Just the three of us sat around the den all day just loving on Cooper. We did not turn on the tv or anything like that. We just sat with the lights dimmed, in a hushed voice, and loved the fact that this little boy was ours! This is a day that I never want to forget! I never want to forget hardly being able to sleep the night before, getting ready to leave, waiting on the birth mother to bring Cooper out, Seeing her come in with him in her arms, watching her hand him into Michael's arms, and having to watch her say Goodbye. I never want to forget seeing the look on the Grandmother's faces as they saw him for the first time or bringing him into the house. I want to remember it all..
Every Wonderful Detail!
This was the day I had dreamed about! And I had just lived it! I had just lived the most wonderful day of my life!

Wednesday, May 19: Cooper's Gotcha Day!

2010-07-21T13:40:00.001-05:00

Let me begin this post by saying.. Let the pictures begin..

If you know me.. You know that I love to take pictures and take lots of them.. Well if think I took lots of pictures before.. That was nothing....

MASSIVE amounts of pictures are about to be posted.
I would love to say I slept like a baby on Tuesday night and woke up well rested... Laugh with me! Yep, we all know better than that! I was SO excited I could hardly stand it.
I woke up bright and early and started to get ready....
Of course, Michael was on the Auburn Message Board... Cooper this is your daddy's favorite place in the house.. In front of the computer in his office!

My mother got into town Tuesday night and helped me finish getting everything ready. She brought loads of stuff. She brought the outfit that Mac came home from the hospital in for us to bring Cooper home in. I thought this was so special!

Shug and Kenzie were still not sure what was happening. We thought we better get one more picture of them.. Who knew when they were gonna be in a picture again!

Michael and I as we were on our way to the agency!

On our way we stopped by and got some flowers to bring the birth mother.
We were suppose to be there at 10:00 am... We were a little early.
Rick and Susan were there waiting on us. We waited in Rick's office for the birth mother to bring Cooper into to us.
We gave someone our camera and I told them to shoot, shoot, shoot.. They did...
Due to the fact that this on the web I have decided to leave out all pictures that include the birth mother. But trust me when I say she is a wonderful young women who will always be our hero!

I wish I could explain how I felt as I saw her walking towards us with Cooper.
5 years worth of emotions, desires, wants, and God's promises all rolled into one!
This was a moment I wanted to remember for the rest of my life!
I wanted to remember everything about it...
Here she is handing Cooper over to us!
Michael's smile, My tears......they say it all!

We just looked at him and looked at him..
He was all ours!

After awhile I asked to take him back to change him. When the birth mother saw the outfit I had she said, "Oh No.. You are putting him in THAT". All I could say was "Yes" with a huge smile!

Once I changed him we took more FAMILY pictures. The birth mother had brought her camera too.. She asked to take our picture. I guess my hair was pushed back, because she said, "Wait". And came up to me and pulled my hair in front and said, "I have told everyone about your hair".
That really made me smile!
His little bitty, lovely feet!

The way he looked at us that day was priceless.... It really was like he was thinking, "Where have y'all been? I have been waiting on you!"Us signing the paperwork!

Putting Coop in his car seat for the first time!

Our family walking out of the agency and on our way home!
Cooper had 2 grandmothers that were there waiting!

On our way home I sat in the back with Cooper. I took a picture with my phone and texted it to everyone I knew..
He was the most beautiful thing I had every seen and he was ours...
We were on our way home..
All 3 of us!

Tuesday Night: A Meeting to NEVER Forget

2010-06-30T09:40:00.001-05:00

As I have the music pumping and I am cleaning my house like a crazy women I hear a knock on the door and see a red cap flying! Ok so maybe it was not a Super Hero, but she might as well have been at that moment. Cortney shows up with a basket FULL of baby necessities. My best friends from college, Rachael and Cortney went in together and got us sheets, lotion, baby bath, and the list goes on and on.... This was MUCH needed, we had none of that stuff and were bringing home our baby the next day! WOW, what awesome friends we have!

Now, if you ask Cortney she will tell you.. I was trying hard to fake it.. But I was FREAKING out.. I was so worried about what Rick and Susan were going to say when we went over there.

I was shaking on the way over to their house. Rick let us in and lead us into their sitting room. When we walked in we saw Susan sitting on the couch holding a baby. I remember looking at her with tears in my eyes and asking, "Is that him, Is that my baby?" She said yes and asked if I wanted to hold him... UHHHH, well of course!

Let's freeze for a moment...

This is not the way I expected to look when meeting my son for the first time.. Dirty from cleaning, hair in a pony, sunglasses on head, and hot pink work shirt still on! I did have a super cute dress picked out for the next day! But... I would not have changed a thing! And let's be honest.. Me in Pink and Michael in an Auburn Shirt, how perfectly us!

After washing my hands, I walked over to Susan.

This is her handing me my son!

We have taken well over 1,000 pictures since this moment.. But this will always be one of my very favorite ones!

I think this picture truly is priceless!

Mommy and Daddy staring at the answer to so many prayers!
Look at him looking at us!

After we sat down, Rick did go over Cooper's medical records. We already knew that Cooper was 2 months early and spent those months in the hospital to gain weight and grow (When he was born he weighted not even 3 1/2 pounds). We also knew that shortly after getting out of the hospital a family member took him out and he got sick. He ended up at Children's with a viral infection. Rick explained that while at Children's Cooper was very sick. He was on a ventilator and had to have a blood transfusion. He went on to say that Cooper has been cleared and is very healthy now, but has been through a lot.

While holding my son and waiting for the bomb to drop... the conversation moves on to other things. I realize.. there is no bomb... Rick just wanted to re-explain everything to us!

Sigh of Relief!

To be Honest... We really think that Rick and Susan knew that the next day was going to very emotional, especially with the birth mother there. So they wanted us to go ahead and meet Cooper!

Hum... maybe..maybe not..

Handing them back Cooper was very hard.. But I knew that I was still not ready and needed a little more time. I wanted everything to be perfect!

No matter what the true reason for our visit was, I left feeling SO much better..

I knew that the next day we were bringing home a

BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY!

side note: thank goodness Rick had his camera ready as he knew what was about to happen. This is one moment that I did not have my camera. I would have been so upset if we did not have these pictures.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010: If you don't think God has a Sense of Humor!

2010-06-22T20:45:00.000-05:00

Tuesday I was excited.. We were one day closer to picking up our baby boy!

One day closer than I ever thought!

Around 1:00pm I pulled up to the bank and got a call from the agency. Susan was explaining how the baby was tired and needed to go home. Of course I said, "I know, we are so ready for him to come home too". She continued to explain that the agency was loud, they had another baby there, and home was the best place for him. And I continued to say, "We think home is the best place too". Here I am thinking she is just being nice and then she says....

"We think he needs to go home.. now"

Me: "NOW.. As in when"

Susan: "We can try to have the paperwork ready so y'all can pick him up today"

Me: "No"

FREEZE...

I know you are thinking I am crazy right about now. Yep, you read that correct.. I said No.. But let me explain why.. I wanted to bring my baby home to a CLEAN and CALM home. I was not ready. My house was not clean, my dogs needed a bath, and we needed STUFF. I needed a little time to be calm for my baby! When my house is not clean I am not calm (this is an understatement)..

I then said, "Can we pick him up tomorrow morning?"

We decided on 10:00am!

Now, let's go back a little... You are right! There is a 5 day waiting period in Alabama and the agency does usually keep the baby for those 5 days, but this situation was different. Everyone at the agency felt good about this and so did we, plus we are trusting God!

They also explained that the birth mother asked to be there the day we got the baby. We said that would be fine.

After getting off the phone I went to work and said, "Sheryl, I need to go, NOW". She was wonderful and understood.

The PURE craziness began..THEN!

I called my mom and she left right away!

I went to the grocery and went home to clean...

I must admit...I COULD NOT WAIT!

Later that evening I got another call..

Rick asked that Michael and I come over to their house so he could go over the medical records with me. Of course I freaked out! What is such a big deal that we need to go over to their home. I asked if this was a deal breaker and he said that he did not think so, but I was still VERY worried!

I could have never guessed how that visit would have gone!
Now, if you do not think our God has a sense of humor...

Just think about how we started that Tuesday and how we were about to end it!

Monday, May 17, 2010: A Day of Waiting!

2010-06-19T09:00:00.001-05:00

I woke up Monday morning very anxious! Thank goodness, Rick had told us that he was not expecting the birth mother until later that day. I was still on pins and needles! I was working and teaching the little angels that I also love so much, but I wanted and needed to hear about my angel.

It was around 3 or so when I got the call. Rebecca called to let me know that the birth mother was there and had brought the baby. She was signing the paperwork then. My eyes filled with tears and I thanked God over and over!

In Alabama, birth mother's have 5 days to change their minds. After having a birth mother change her mind and the agency having to go to the adoptive parents home to get the baby (I shutter to think) our agency made a new rule. Rick and Susan keep the babies themselves for the 5 days.

Our 5 days had begun... As long as nothing happened we would be picking up our baby boy on Saturday morning..

Mine and Michael's families made plans to come!

Friends planned a shower for Friday Night..

We were ready for Saturday!

I had it all planned out!

Oh God....You sure do have a sense of humor!

Sunday, May 16th, 2010.. Meeting the Birth Mother!

2010-06-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

So I admit.. I tried on just a few outfits and decided on my signature color! PINK!

We sat through church.. I also admit.. Not really concentrating too much on what Craig was preaching about... I was thinking about what was going to happen at 2pm!

What I will always remember about that morning was telling everyone.. Seeing every one's eyes get big and then fill with tears... Everyone we told teared up! This was something they had prayed long and hard for too!

We went to lunch at Moe's with a bunch of friends and then it was almost time!

We got to the agency early and talked a little with Rick (our lawyer and owner of the agency). Finally she was there...

I gave her a hug and the first thing she said to me while touching my hair was, "I love your hair". The pink will get you every time!

She told us about her baby boy! We asked questions and so did she. I lost it when I explained how much we would love and adore this child. I looked at Michael, he had teared up too. I will never forget her saying how much she loved us. She said she knew she had just met us, but she loved us! Then she said...It was us! It was us she wanted to be this child' mother and father. I wish.. I wish there words to explain the felling I had, but no word is great enough. Michael and I both just got up and gave her the biggest hug.

We all had a good cry!

We talked for sometime more.... I wanted to meet him.. I wanted hold him.. But I knew we had many steps before that.

We got in the car and Michael grabbed my hand and said, "This has been a big day, let's pray!"

I wonder.. Will this child EVER know how much he was prayed for?

Will he ever understand?

Sunday went wonderful and PERFECT (could have not asked for anything more)...

As great as Sunday was... Monday was huge....

The birth mother had to sign the paperwork and had to hand her child over to the agency.

Monday is gonna be a big day!

*** I am writing all of this to remember. I know as time goes so will my memory. I want to remember every detail about this time in our lives. As I am writing and rememebering everything I am balling my eyes out. I just can't believe all of this has happened and happened a whole month ago!

I am reading and hoping that I have written the correct words. The words to explain how wonderful all of this was. But I realize no words can ever fully explain...

5 years of hoping and praying.....

This was the moment in my life that no words are great enough for!

"The Call"

2010-06-17T20:50:00.001-05:00

I have always said that I will never blog without a picture! A picture is worth a million words! And yes this is true.. But no picture does any justice for the call I received on Friday, May 14, 2010!

This Friday started out like most of my Spring Fridays do.. Since I do not work on most Fridays.. I woke up cleaned a little, caught up on a little DVRed shows, and went outside to get a little sun. While outside reading, Whitney called and we decided I would meet her at the Ross Bridge pool! I went over and we talked and got some sun! I had Parents Night Out at the gym that night, but did not have to be there until 5pm. So we decided O'Carrs chicken salad and fruit plate was calling our name...

While at O'Carrs my phone rang... Once I saw it was the Adoption Agency I asked Whit to excuse me for a minute so I could step outside and return the call. When I called and started hearing Rebecca (our social worker)... well I... I stopped hearing anything after I heard, "There is a baby boy".. She continued to talk and talk.. Finally I said, "Rebecca, I need you to be quiet for a minute.. I am about to throw up".. Not really what I thought I would say, but hey! Finally I started breathing again and I asked her to continue. She told me about the 3 month old baby boy that they had just learned about the day before. The Birth Mother wanted to meet us on Sunday.

I called Michael and then went back in to Whitney.. I remembering asking her, "The baby is 3 mths, do I care he is not a newborn? Do I care?" Of course her response was, "No you do not care". And she was right.. I did not care at all!

Oh course I could not concentrate on anything and my mind was racing.. I stopped by the agency to talk with them some more. Just the week before I had gotten my hair done and had gotten my summer PINK in it. Rebecca and Susan (Susan is the lawyer and owner's wife) told me NOT to change the pink. They said the birth mother was young and would love it . I trusted them! And then I had to go to work.. WORK????

Saturday morning we went to breakfast and thought about what might be about to happen.

I was so excited I could hardly contain myself, but I knew.. I knew that a lot had to happen before that baby boy was ours.

Our journey to become parents has been a long one. It has been filled with many tribulations. We know all to well the felling of disappointment. I have learned to be very guarded. Getting your hopes up too much is not good. As Michael use to tell me.. The higher I go, the further down I have to fall. I fell many times!

I was excited, but very scared!

Neither Michael nor I slept hardly any on Friday or Saturday night!

Sunday was a big day! One of the biggest in our lives thus far!

The Crib

2010-05-13T12:30:00.000-05:00

Well thank goodness I have such a strong and muscular husband, because this past Saturday we put the crib together. We have had it a awhile now and I been so anxious about getting it up. I have only seen it at Babies R Us in light wood, so I was hoping that I would like the wood color.
I looked and looked for THE crib. I knew I wanted a dark wood crib, but that was it. So after searching and searching, I kept coming back to this one. I saved my coupons and finally bit the bullet and made the purchase.
We have been putting all the baby stuff in the nursery, so it is a little crazy in there. But I made room where the crib was to go and vacuumed good!
We started off with so many pieces, but it was very easy to put together and did not take us long at all.

Shug stayed in the nursery the entire time just staring at the crib. Michael thinks he just realizes that this is gonna take away from Shuggy cuddle time! Look at the face!

Voila! I must say..
I LOVE IT!
Although I did stand in front of it and think "How in the world is short me gonna be able to reach down in this crib?"

Then I put the mattress in (which is a perfect snug fit) and realized it was perfect!

Now if I can just get the lady to email me back about our bedding that would be great!

Oh yea.. And we need our baby!
Now that would be perfect!

Moving on UP!

2010-05-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

We got word on Friday that we are second on the list.. It is a little crazy how everything works, but all you need to know is.. Second.. Which is better than third.. In the words of our social worker.....

"So be getting ready :) You could get a call out of the blue soon :)"
WOW....my heart skipped a beat when I read her email! OH MY WORD... this is real! Just writing this is bringing tears to my eyes! Words can not explain my excitement...
Second!
Still not as good as first, but so much better than third!

Cinco De Mayo 2010

2010-05-11T12:35:00.000-05:00

Cinco de Mayo...in my friends minds this is a great excuse for us to get together! So we met at a Mexican Restaurant on 280 and well... did what you are suppose to do on Cinco de Mayo..
Watching Hayes eat the lemon and limes was all too funny!
Sarah H., Rachel, and MaryAnn

Whitney, Me, Ashley with Hayes....I love the fact that MaryAnn jumped in on our picture too. Hey, the more the merrier!

Jared, Shaun with Hayes, Paul, and Adam

I think somebody different was holding Hayes in every picture I took.. And he is making the silliest face in them.. I think he is so cute and HElarious...
It was a fun night..
Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Atlanta: Ballard's, The Braves, and A Battery?

2010-05-08T17:45:00.006-05:00

This past Saturday we headed to Atlanta to catch a Braves Game! Michael bought us these tickets months ago and we have really been exciting about it. At GNO last month MaryAnn, who used to live in Atl, told us about the Ballard Designs Outlet that is there. Well of course a bell went off in my little head that said, "Great Idea" (can't you just see the light bulb)!
So after asking oh so nicely, Michael agreed that we could go before the game! I LOVE the Ballard Design catalog and would love one of almost everything! Although I must admit that we just do not need alot, but there were a few specific things I was looking for (never a good thing)..
When I walked in the door I saw this.....
I was so excited and my mind was racing with all the wonderful stuff I see month to month...
Insert sad music here...
They had some lovely things, but none of which I needed.. In fact the things I was looking for...well they had none of it..
Complete letdown! I was walking out, feeling defeated and took this picture (for the blog of course)

And then the lady behind the desk says " I am sorry we do not allow photography"..
WhhhaaWhhaaaaat??? I almost laughed!
Hummm..., did she realize we were standing in a outlet store and not a museum.? Now I know that you people call this a "Showroom".. But just because you have some regular price stuff and some discounted stuff.. Where I come from that is still an outlet.. And trust me, I know my outlets.. I grew up going to the ones back home.. Me and GAP, we were close.. Some thing about that khaki shorts and white top thing.. I loved it.. And don't get me started on the blue jean overalls.. Short and Long.. I rocked them! (don't knock it, it was the 90's.. that were cool)
So after all of this, we walked to the car
(hey who cares.. Not me.. I got my picture)..
And my battery is dead... in my car..... Well now if that is not Karma!
KARMA...Dang you!
So I have to walk back in and asked if they have jumper cables (hey, remember me?)... Did I mention that we are 10 minutes from the Stadium and the game starts in 15 minutes.. And we are in a "not so hot part of town"..
We get jumped off and head to the closest AutoZone.. Which leads us from the "not so hot" part of town into the "AWFUL, please don't shoot me" part of town..
waiting..waiting.. and waiting...

I waited in car and looked through my latest Ballard's and wished half of that stuff would have been in there...
sigh....
waiting..waiting...wishing I at least would have walked out with something other than an illegally taken picture!
As I was waiting for our new battery I half expected to see a drive by, which would have surprised me NONE considering how many drug sales Michael saw go down..
"Bulldog".. (what the the man changing our battery called himself) kept telling people just to head to the alley.. not so sure Michael was suppose to hear that!

We made it out alive and to Turner Field by the end of the 4th inning! Not so bad.. Could have been much worse!

Tim Hudson played for AUBURN.. War Eagle Dude..

Just a few pictures of us in the stadium..

Check out the sky.... Thank goodness the rain held off!

Surprisingly....all in all it ended up being a fun day... The Braves won big time.. I got a new battery.. I now know I can not take pictures in Ballards... And I got some Yankee candles and Woodwick diffusers from Cracker Barrel for 80% off (they were around $4 each)...
Yes Yes... The day did not go like I had planned, but seriously..
When does it ever?

My Special Time with Grace!

2010-05-05T12:20:00.001-05:00

This past Thursday, My Grace turned 8!
If you have been following my blog then you have heard me talk about Grace. She has been taking gymnastics from me for 3 1/2 years! She has been at my gym almost as long as I have! She is very special to me and we have a very special relationship!
As one of her birthday presents, her mother gave her a one on one hour in the gym with me! I felt so honored!
So this past Friday I met Grace and her mother at the gym.
She told me all about getting her "manicore"!
Look, doesn't her "manicore" look beautiful!

This picture is worth a million words... and millions of hours of work.... Walking on the high balance beam is Grace's biggest fear in gymnastics. Just awhile back when she did this for the first time I watched with tears running down my face!

Now look at her! I am so proud!

I have been looking so forward to this time with Grace! It went by way too quick.. Thank goodness I get to see her every week in gymnastics!
I love My Grace very much!

A Happy For Baby Mullen!

2010-05-03T12:10:00.001-05:00

Mr and Mrs Daffin flew out of Birmingham to go keep our nieces and Michael took them to the airport. What a sweet surprise.. They brought Baby Mullen a happy!
This is what the card said:
Oh we LOVED it!
Michael called and said it was "so sweet"... Those are the words I always use (he is learning well)
We can't wait for Baby Mullen to wear these sweet little Auburn sleeping outfit!

WAR EAGLE BABY MULLEN!

Baby Showers..Baby Showers..

2010-04-29T12:30:00.001-05:00

Two Sundays ago both Martha and Mandy had their Church Baby Showers! One started at 1pm and the other at 1:30pm! I spent a little of time at both.
Martha and I
(Martha is expecting twin girls)
Lori, Whitney, Sarah H. and I all went in together and got Martha and Michael 2 bases for their car seats!

Mandy and I
I also went in with the girls and we got Mandy a precious pink and white polka dotted canvas bin filled with bath stuff!

Then this past Tuesday night in honor of Mandy, our monthly Girls Night Out was held at Ashley's house for her a shower!

Sarah H. and I

Lori, Mandy, and Rachel

The Girls!
Back Row (L to R) MaryAnn, Whitney, Mandy, Ashley, and Lori holding Lillian
Bottom Row (L to R) Me, Sarah H. and Rachel

Mandy about to open presents!

I got Mandy this cute little footed sleeper and a box of wipes

Baby Tate is gonna be looking good with all the cute stuff Mandy has gotten

It was fun to celebrate the coming of all the girls!

Baby Showers.. Baby Showers....

The Birkshire Collection

2010-04-27T12:55:00.002-05:00

I looked and looked for the perfect car seat/stroller! I read all about over a zillion of them! I read about the safety ratings, reviews, and anything and everything else I could find! And then of course comes the concept that it much be gender neutral and look good! Once Whitney showed me this collection I loved it! I had my mind set, it meet all my qualifications... No more looking!
I showed my family and mentioned what great Christmas presents this would make!
YAH, they took the hint!
You may remember that for Christmas, Mrs. Daffin got us our pack n play!
Here is a picture from the Internet... Because.. Well... Mine did not come with directions so I just put it together the best I could... Yes, Yes.. I called them and they sent me the directions..
Let's just say.. Thank goodness!

My parents got us the stroller and car seat!
They are put together and sitting in the nursery just waiting to be used!

I have also registered for the swing that matches!

What can I say! When I find something I like... I go with it!
I just have to say that I love, love, love our pack n play, stroller, and car seat! Because it was an online item only, all I had to go off of was the picture on the Internet! But it turned out perfect!
Boy or girl... Either will look wonderful in our stuff!
Now we just need a baby to go in it.... and I need to re-put together the pack n play!

We Are Registered for Baby Mullen

2010-04-26T12:10:00.002-05:00

That is correct! Thanks to help of Mrs. Daffin at Target and Whitney Hardy at Babies R Us, we are registered! As I have mentioned on here before, back in November Mrs Daffin went with me to Target and that went good! Mrs. Daffin was a huge help, but I knew I needed someone with a little more experience in the last few years to help at Babies R Us! That place can be overwhelming! Such a huge thanks to Whitney, NO WAY could I have done that with out her!
Laugh with me, My Registry is quite big.... But But But, let me explain why! If it came in pink and blue....well I just registered for both! So my registry is doubled! I figure my people will be smart enough to know what I want when we get our boy or girl!

I am always looking up information and reading about everything I registered for! I have changed my monitor a few times! It is amazing how much stuff is necessary to have for a baby!
We have been so blessed that we have a few different friends that are wanting to do a shower for us, but I want to wait so I can get monogrammed and gender specific stuff. But after registering I realized how much of that stuff I will need....
So, I have decided to have my church shower when we get a little closer to the top of the list! It will be a shower of necessaries!
To tell you the truth... I can't wait!

A-Day

2010-04-22T12:40:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday Michael and I headed down to God's Country for A-Day!
We knew we wanted to get there early to walk through our new Basketball Arena! Beard Eaves Coliseum has seen better days, although it does hold many, many memories for me! That is where most of my major classes were and where both Michael and I graduated! I will be sad to see it go, but WOW check out our new arena..
IT IS PIMP!

It is not finished yet, but so far so so so very good! Auburn Arena's grad opening will be October 15, 2010! We can't wait!
Michael and his Dad!

Michael and I

Aubie getting ready to lead out our Tigers!

Coach Chiz leading the way!

CAM NEWTON!
6 ft 6in and something like 250!
He is a stud and I am PUMPED to have him at Auburn!
I have been very excited to see him play and then he hardly played at all! Michael thinks this is because Chiz already knows he is our #1 and on A-Day he was looking for our #2!
Hopefully so..
Hello Cam! Welcome to Auburn!

During half time they announced Auburn's All-Decade Team! It was so neat to have some of our favorites back on the plains for this.

AUBURN ALL-DECADE TEAM (2000's)
Offense
QB--Jason Campbell
RB--Ronnie Brown
RB--Carnell Willliams
WR--Ben Obomanu
WR--Courtney Taylor
OT--Marcus McNeill
OG--Ben Grubbs
C--Danny Lindsey
OG--Monreko Crittenden
OT--Kendall Simmons
TE--Cooper Wallace
Defense
DE--Quentin Groves
DT--DeMarco McNeil
DT--Sen'Derrick Marks
DE--Antonio Coleman
LB--Karlos Dansby
LB--Dontarrious Thomas
LB--Travis Williams
CB--Carlos Rogers
CB--Jerraud Powers
S--Junior Rosegreen
S--Will Herring
Special Teams
PK--John Vaughn
P--Kody Bliss
RS--Tristan Davis
It was a fun day in Auburn (isn't every day in Auburn fun?)
I am READY READY READY for Football Season!

Baby Mullen if you could go ahead and come that would really be great! Football season is coming up soon! Understand you are much more important that football, but my boys need me in stands coaching them!
WAR EAGLE!

Third!

2010-04-21T12:30:00.001-05:00

I know I know.... I have done an awful job at posting all the updates with our adoption! This may be for a few reasons:
1) Not much has happened (Hello waiting game)
2) I was so behind on my blog I am just now catching up
or
3) Because I am scared! I know this sounds crazy, but I have to remind myself that this is a sure thing. For so long it was hopeful or maybe, but this is definitely! I am SO SO SO very excited, but I am trying very hard not to get too excited. Adoption is such a crazy thing and there is no real time line. It could be next month or it could be next year! Getting too excited too quickly would not be good for me.
But I do have some good news (although it is a little old news to most)......
Around the end of March we found out that we are.......

THIRD!!!!

That is correct! We have moved up and are currently third on the list! Just hearing that we have moved up continues to give us so much hope! Moving up is good!
Time Line? What does Third mean? haahahhaaaa.. Well if that is not the million dollar question! I wish I knew, but we are truly, in every way on God's time!
We still feel good about getting our baby in 2010, but have no clue which month! I think about our birth mother all the time! Is she already pregnant (oh, I really hope so), is she hurting, what is she going through?
I know.. I know.. I need to keep y'all updated more! Maybe soon I will post some pictures of all the fun things we have already gotten to prepare for Baby Mullen!
Third.... Third is really great and really exciting!
(but first is SO much better!)

Girls Night Out for April

2010-04-20T12:20:00.002-05:00

We meet at the Zoe's in the Summit for our Girls Night Out this month. Since it is starting to get warmer at night, this was perfect because we could sit outside even after they closed (which we did). Like always we talked, talked, and talked with alot of laughing mixed in! Getting together with these girls is something I cherish very much!
Me, MaryAnn, Whitney, Sarah H. and Ashley
This picture was taken right before we left. Lillian was ready to go, so Lori had already left and so had Mandy! But those fun girls were also there with us!
We missed those who could not make it, we will catch y'all next time!

2010 Indy Grand Prix

2010-04-19T12:55:00.005-05:00

Before my days of blogging (oh I shudder to remember), Michael got free tickets to Talladega. I knew nothing about this, so I agreed it would be something different to do. So we got ready...
Me in my cute little summer dress and Michael in his polo and khaki shorts.. We were off!
I think my month dropped as we were getting out of the car and did not close until we got home... WOW it was different I will say!
Maybe it was the guy with the mullet drinking Budweiser that took off his hat and screamed....
"Get up der..Get up der.. Now stay up der.. Stay up der" every time the cars pasted...
But I realized QUICKLY I was not in "Kansas" anymore!
That was a first and LAST for me!
Saturday night after the 5K, Michael went to Buffalo Wild Wings with some guys and our friend offered him 2 free tickets to the Indy Grand Prix. You can imagine after my "Talladega experience" that when Michael told me about these tickets, I said NO and said it quickly!
He explained that this would be different (yea something different.. that is what he said time). But I could tell he wanted to go, so I agreed.
Remembering how we stuck out like a sore thumb in Talladega, I decided to not wear a dress. But I still needed to look cute! So I settled on a top and pair of linen shorts! Casual, but cute!
As we got there and started to look around I saw....
summer dresses, men in khaki shorts with polos and EVEN kids in monogrammed outfits..
I realized.... This really was like a classier version of Talladega! Oh man.. I could have worn a dress after all!
We pulled out our tailgating chairs and this was our view!

After a while boredom settled in and I decided I needed a picture of a race car for my blog.. I took like a hundred pictures and about 95 of them looked like this:

Those cars were flying... But eventually I got a few...

I was so excited once I got this one.. I was jumping up and done like I was at a football game and Auburn just scored!

Hahahaaaa.. Don't you just love my flag!

It may surprise you that I do not follow racing! So I cheered for the girl driver and the Target Car.. Worked for me! My Target car came in second..

The entire trip came and went, I saw NO:
rebel flag bikini
9 month pregnant guy with his shirt off
guy yelling "Get Up Der"
This is something that I could maybe do again.. if the tickets were free of course!

** I can only imagine how many Talladega lovin' people I have offended with this post! No offense, it is just not my cup of tea! It was a little to RED for this beach lovin girl!

Giving Hope 5K Adoption Fundraiser

2010-04-15T12:30:00.001-05:00

If you have not heard me talk about nor were invited to run by me a thousand times:

WHERE WERE YOU?
My friends Tesney and Greg who live in Tuscaloosa (do not hold it against them, I don't) are in the process of adopting a precious little boy named Kirill. Kirill is from Russia and has down syndrome. Allow me to introduce you:Told you he was precious!
This past weekend there was a 5K in Tuscaloosa to raise money for Tesney and Greg and the other families from University Church of Christ who are adopting. I have been trying hard to recruit friends to come! Cortney road with us and I was super pumped when I saw John, Lori and Lillian Macomber with Tarayn and Paul Comer pull up!

You are lying if you say getting a tshirt from stuff like this does not rock!

Cortney, Tesney, and I after we finished the 5K

Cortney, Tesney, Me, and Michael

It was so great to see Tesney and Greg and we wish them the best of luck!
We can't wait to meet Kirill!
** Tesney has a blog where she documents everything going on with their adoption. Her Faith and Trust in God through all this blows me away! Check it out:
www.oureyesopened.blogspot.com

Race Day!

2010-04-12T12:55:00.001-05:00

We woke up early Saturday morning with high hopes the rain would hold off, but no sooner than us getting in the car did it start.
We went straight to check in and Michael got his time chip!
I stayed under the pavilion and watched as he and all the others went to the starting point.
Once he was out of sight I headed back to the car! That is correct.. As my husband was being all Rocky and running 13.1 miles, I sat in the car and read "What to Expect The First Year".
Hey I wanted to be productive too!
I also wanted to stay dry!!

At about 2 hours in I packed up and headed to the finish line..
It was still sprinkling a little, so on one shoulder I had my purse and the bag with Michael's change of clothes.. In one hand I had the umbrella and in the other hand I had the camera.. With all of that I only got one picture of him finishing..
Can't you just hear the theme song to "Rocky"...

2 hours and 16 minutes....
And that was his first marathon!
So what I was a little proud, ok ALOT proud.. I had tears running down my face as he finished!

After he got the feeling back in his legs, he freshened up and changed out of those soaking wet clothes.
By then the rain had stopped, so we decided to walk back into the town square. We got a few Jack Daniels Stuff (because that is all there is EVERYWHERE..
Then we went into the candy store..
We got Jack Daniels Mousse served with half a cookie,
and served in a shot glass!

It was a fun trip and quick trip!
I have been going on and on bragging about Michael's Half Marathon!
He did AWESOME!
and I was one heck of a cheerleader....

Off To Lynchburg, TN.

2010-04-08T13:00:00.001-05:00

Michael sent me an email with some information on a Half Marathon in Tennessee and asked if I wanted to do it.. After I started breathing again... I wanted to say yes, I really did...Michael and I went back and forth.. To Run or Not To Run, that was the question!
I thought I could just run the best I could and walk what I could not run! Then I pictured everyone else being finished and them cleaning up and hours..h..o..u..r..s later me finishing! This thought was all it took.
Next time I will run....
this time I will be a cheerleader (I KNOW I can do that)
Since Michael had this past Friday off for Good Friday we headed down early!
This half was called the Oak Barrel Half Marathon. It was in Lynchburg, Tennessee.. Home of the Jack Daniels Distillery..
Also located in a dry county????(things that make you go HUM)
Once we got there, Michael got all registered for the run!
Then we got on the list for a tour of distillery (it was free). While we were waiting we walked around looking at all the neat stuff. While waiting I thought I would grab me a free beverage. I saw the lemonade and just knew it was Jack Daniel's Lemonade, but oh no! Not in that Dry County... HUM!
It was a beautiful day and the tour was AWESOME! Here are some fun facts and photos from the tour!
This is one of the 78 warehouses where the barrels are kept while they...
do what they do! The barrels are hand made and only used once.
This is a fresh water stream and this water has and is still used in making the JD! It was very cold once you got in the cave.

Jack Daniels was a wee little man, a wee little man was he!
And they said that this statue was made taller than he actually was!
He was 5'2.... I am 5'1....

Sign leading into the original office and only original building still standing

COOL FACT:
All around the distillery the trees are black and look very unhealthy, but actually they are covered with a black mold caused by the evaporating alcohol in the air. Back in the day of illegal distilleries and bootleggers, this is how they would be found by the police!

It was beautiful outside and there were many great photo opportunities, BUT we were with the tour group and I did not want everyone to stop just so Michael and I could take a picture on the old cool bench! Ok I admit, I wanted to.. But Michael said NO!

After the tour we went over this bridge and headed into town square!

Finally got our picture!

After our fun time at the distillery we headed to our hotel. We checked in and went for dinner! We drove around until we found a place with the most cars! And that is where we ate, because that is what you do in a small town!
We headed to bed early, because we..OK, Michael had a big day coming up!

I highly recommend this tour! It was great and so neat learning how Jack Daniel's is made and the story behind it!

Mrs. Daffin's Birthday

2010-04-07T12:10:00.003-05:00

Saturday, March 27th was Mrs. Daffin's birthday. So after Michael went fishing that morning we headed down to Prattville.
While Stacey was here to celebrate Christmas, she left Mrs. Daffin's presents. I love this look on her face! She had picked out this pitcher herself, but was trying to have a surprise face!
For Christmas Mrs. Daffin and I found these one letter monogram glasses case! She got me one, but I could not find a "D" for her. I searched and searched and finally found one.

I thought this would look great in her backyard..
yes yes, another "D" thing!

Michael and his mother

It was a nice night and Mrs. Daffin got some great stuff!
Happy Birthday Mrs. Daffin

Just Because!

2010-04-06T12:45:00.000-05:00

The other day I got home from work and this is what I saw on our foyer table! A dozen, beautiful, yellow roses. The first thing I thought was...why is today special? What was I forgetting? "Nothing", Michael says! These roses were just because he loved me! These go down as one of my most favorite flowers I have ever gotten. Just because roses are so much better than Valentine's Day roses!
This little jester meant very much to me!
"Just Because He loves Him" roses ROCK!

Best Friends Forever..BFF!

2010-04-05T12:35:00.003-05:00

On the Friday of my Spring Break Rachael came in town. They were coming from Oklahoma for a Family thing and drove through the night to get her early am Friday morning. It was so great that us 3 got to spend the day all together. In June they will be moving to Alaska for the next 3 years. So we enjoyed every minute of being together knowing there would not be anymore while they are in Alaska.
Jackson and IWe had decided to wait and exchange Christmas Presents when we could see each other in person (all 3 of us together).

Cort and Rach with their presents from me

Monogrammed Robes!
Oh man, I wish I would have bought one for me too.. They looked so cute!

When I saw my present wrapped I knew exactly what it was and I was beside myself..
Here is the story:
Back last spring (yep, last spring) I was at a random store and found these piece of metal. I thought it looked kind of cool and figured there has to be something I could do with it. Michael just went with the flow, God Bless Him, I think he is just use to me and my quirky ways.
After a little thought I knew exactly what I wanted done with my "piece of metal". I wanted Cort to paint a quote on it. I wanted part of the quote that I love and Michael read to me right before he proposed.
So around May I gave my piece of metal to Cort with instructions. I told her no big hurry, it could be my birthday present. BTW.. my birthday is in June! To be honest, it was no big deal! I knew I would get it some day! Oh my word..It was worth the wait! I LOVE IT.... I can not say enough about what a wonderful job she did! So as they say, One man's junk is another man's treasure... So very true...

Rachael gave me our bouncer seat that I had registered from at Target and I can't wait to use it!
After we exchanged presents and went by our new house for Rach to see, it was off for lunch..
Does this make your month water or what..
O'Carrs

Rach and I

Cort and I

After we ate we shopped around for awhile and then headed off for a very relaxing pedicure

Cort called it "reverting back to Jr High".. That made me laugh! Whatever you call it, we all got the same color! Pink of course..
Cheesy...Check

After a fun girl's day we meet our hubby's at Stix for dinner!
Michael, Scott, and Trey

I love these girls very much and the memories we have together are priceless! After all these years and with Rach leaving so far away... We are very blessed to continue to be so close!
Since we are "reverting back to Jr. High"...
BFF

St Patrick's Fun at Momma G's

2010-04-01T12:44:00.005-05:00

After we got back to Birmingham from Hunstville, Maghan and I headed over to the Momma G's on 280 for some St.Paddy's fun!
Yes they had plenty of green beer, but orange and blue? I guess that is one perk of knowing the owner and his brother that work there.... Special Orange and Blue Auburn Beer!

Hayes was not happy, but everyone else kept on smiling!
Ashley, Lori, Sarah H., Me, Whitney, and Hayes

We figured that Hayes just felt left out... So we got him a cool St. Patrick's Day hat too!

The girls.. Minus a few that had already left..
Lori, Sarah H., Ashley, Me, Rachel, and Whitney with Hayes

Ashley and I sported our hats!

The guys!
Michael, Paul, John, Hal, Justin, Jared, and Shaun

It was fun to spend St. Patrick's Day with friends!
Green Beer or Orange and Blue Beer, but don't forget your Momma's Love..
Although Michael and I got a Momma's Love Lite and I must admit.. still very yummy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bring It! A Trip to Huntsville

2010-03-31T12:29:00.001-05:00

BRING IT!
I use to say this all the time in college... In fact this is what my t-shirt said every year we played intramural football! Handwritten with a sharpie of course!
This is one of my FAVORITE pictures and definitely my fav. of Maghan, Cort, Tara, and I!
PS.. check out that black under our eyes and try to tell me we are not cool!
Hard core I tell ya!
BRING IT!
Maghan, Cort, and I all had Spring Break the same week, so we decided to take the trip to Huntsville to see Tara and her sweet baby girl Katherine!
We meet at Rosie's for lunch.. They all said it was awesome. This was my first "Rosie's experience" and I must admit it was very good!
Cort and I

Tara, Maghan, and Addison

After eating we headed back to Tara's beautiful home and talked and talked..
Addison slept and slept.. She finally woke up and played with Katherine awhile.

Maghan, Tara, and Cort in Katherine's nursery

If that baby does not look EXACTLY like Tara...

Me with Katherine

Maghan holding Addison and Tara holding Katherine.
Addison and Katherine kept holding hands it was so sweet. Cort and I were busy taking a million pictures and calling the girls names!

Tara and I

It was a quick trip and it flew by...
We had so much fun together in college and are so blessed to still keep in touch and be such good friends!

Mac's Birthday Dinner

2010-03-26T07:40:00.000-05:00

After Mac's game we all headed out for his birthday dinner. Where did we go? Well Old Bay Steamer of course... Now not to diss Old Bay Steamer.. It is very good, but this is where he has picked to go for years... No No..I am not complaining! When he was little he would always pick Golden Corral. So as you can understand, I welcome Old Bay Steamer!

After we got back to the house I was showing Mac the pictures that I took and he said "Yea I know in about a month I will check your blog and read.. Mac's Birthday and Baseball.."
WOW.. You know you are ALWAYS behind in your blog when your own brother is giving you a month before you post something!
So HA! This ones for you Mac... Not even 2 weeks later.... HA.. you said a month...
I am trying to keep up better with this, but its hard when you take as many pictures as I do!
(inset violin music now)
anyway... back to the subject.. Hello ADD remember me!
Happy 18th Birthday Mac!
18 years has FLOWN by and I have loved having Mac in my life more than I can explain. What a great little accident, I mean surprise.. I mean Blessing..
Yep that's it..Blessing!
Here's to the best OOPS that I know!
I love you!

A Little Baseball On Your Birthday!

2010-03-25T12:45:00.002-05:00

Monday, March 15th Mac officially turned the big 18!

I spent the day laying out by the pool and reading my book. Then I picked my Momma up and we headed to the baseball field (Daddy met us there). After Mac's game was canceled on Friday night, I was glad to hear the game for Monday night was still on. And how funny that they were playing Lee Scott (a school from Auburn).
Even though the day itself was beautiful, it was a little windy and by the time the game started.. it was cold!
My camera hates taking pictures through the net. It has no clue what to focus on.
Mac during warm-up

Once the game started I went over to the corner, where there was an opening in the net.
Mac about to hit!

Mac on first base and getting ready to run to second

Here is Mac running into home base!

FWB won and Mac had a great game. Not only did he score, but he caught 2 balls to get the guys out.
His last catch was huge....FWB was winning, but Lee Scott had bases loaded with 2 outs. Mac caught the ball, which ended the game!
Oh yea.. that's my boy!
Mac is a lefty (like me) so I had to go over to the other side (opposing team's side) to take my pictures. There was a not very nice mother that had her tailgating chair pulled right up to the net. One time when Mac was hitting she asked, "Does he belong to you". I smiled and said, "Yes, he is brother. He does belong to me". If you know me well enough then you know the special relationship we have...
I love him very much and Yes, he does belong to me!

Happy 18th Birthday Mac

2010-03-24T07:45:00.001-05:00

It always works out great that our Spring Break falls around Mac's Birthday. So I always go home and spend a few qualities days with the family. On Friday, I had some errands to run before leaving which included swinging by Olexa's to pick up Mac's cake. I busted my behind to make it to Destin in time to watch Mac's baseball game on Friday night only for it to be canceled. Oh well... I was just proud of myself that the entire cake made it all the way to Destin.. I wanted to eat the entire thing, WOW just think how many P90X's it would take to burn that off.. that was the ONLY thing that kept me from chowing down.. that and the fact it was Mac's cake not mine...
Mac and I (me begging to go ahead and cut the cake already)

Mac with his presents
Mac went ahead and opened his gifts on Sunday, March 14th...

Mac with the outfit we got him for his birthday... Yep, he thinks he is cool!

I made him smile to a real picture...

Momma and Daddy got Mac a few things which include this white oxford shirt

And this gift was to go with the oxford...

Cuff Links...
But not just any cuff links..
These were made from the seats at the original New York Yankees Stadium. To the left is the card of authenticity which tells which seat was used to make these cuff links. Now that is pretty cool if you ask me!

After opening presents and Mac tormenting us for days and days.. We FINALLY got to cut the cake... and YUM YUM YUM was it worth it..
If you have never had a cake from Olexa's you are missing out. Olexa's is a cafe in Mountain Brook that also caters. It is a wonderful place to go have lunch.. but save room for dessert (the BEST part).. They serve REAL buttercream wedding cake... YUM! You can order a cake and they decorate it anyway you like (Mac's cake looked great)... Well worth it people..
These days I ask myself...
Is eating this really worth it......
the answer to that question when it comes to Olexa's cake is...
YES most DEFINITELY!

Laura's Baby Shower

2010-03-23T10:00:00.001-05:00

A few Saturdays ago, I attended a baby shower at Bethany's house. The food was wonderful and everything was decorated so cute. Bethany made this cute banner with Blair's (Laura's little girls name) on it! It was so cute and such a good idea!

Laura and I

Laura opening the gift from me... It was a soft, pink piggybank! I had never seen a piggybank like that before and I loved it.. Hopefully Blair will too!

I also got her this pink polka dotted photo album..

Cortney was one of the hosted...

Congratulations to Laura! We are excited to meet Blair!

Honoring My Granddaddy!

2010-03-22T12:35:00.001-05:00

February 27, 2010....
My Granddaddy Barton would have been 100....
He died February of 2003! Just a little more than a month before my wedding! He was one of the most wonderful men I have ever met and he loved me very very much!
My daddy's oldest sister, Aunt Nancy, is wonderful when it comes to family. Family Memories, Family Heirlooms, she has it all under control! She organized everyone to met in the middle (our house) and have lunch on Saturday, February 27th.. In honor of My Granddaddy!
Aunt Nancy (oldest sister), My Daddy (the baby), Aunt Marion (the middle sister)
Michael and I... (this is Michael's "I love taking pictures" face)Daddy, Mac, and MichaelMac, Momma, Daddy, and Me (looking into the sun)It was great to get our family together and remember a man that meant so much to all of us!
I have said for many years now and will say it till the day I die...
Those stories...you know the ones... the ones that your grandparents have told you a zillion times...like the story of how my Granddaddy and Grandmother wrote letters to each other during their courtship.. I would give anything to hear him tell that story one more time..
or any other of his wonderful stories...
I miss him (and his stories) very much!

The Park with our Doggies

2010-03-11T07:45:00.001-06:00

A few Sundays ago it was starting to feel nice outside. Not warm, not sunny, but nice enough to take the doggies to the park and not freeze. So that is what we did, we headed over to the Helena Intermediate School and let the dogs have fun..and yes we even had some fun ourselves.
Kenzie and I
I LOVE this picture of Michael and Shug. It is my favorite of the day!
Michael getting some love from Shug!

As the dogs were roaming and having fun, Michael and I were on the swings. Of course I needed a good picture for the blog....
Take 1: SO Hard Core swinging on the swing!

Take 2: Can you please just give me a smile?

Take 3: Well.... I just have no comment!

Take...... I think he was tired of me taking pictures of him swinging....

Michael decided to take Shug down the twirly slide... Please look at my poor puppies face.. I do not think this was his favorite thing of the day.

First and Last time going down the twirly slide...

He just wanted to get down..

While at the park, Kenzie spends most of her time digging... Meaning we spend most of our time telling her, "NO"!

We had fun spending time together and letting the doggies run some energy off. They were in much need of a bath when we got home and they slept well that night...

I am ready for REAL Spring Days, with some sunshine this time please!

Girl Night Out.. February 2010

2010-03-10T08:35:00.000-06:00

We had our GNO at Superior Grill and celebrated Meghan and Sarah H.'s birthdays..Of course we had a blast and stayed forever and laughed.. ALOT.....We missed the girls that could not make it, we will catch y'all next time..

I must tell you...I really love these girls bunches... They are the true meaning of great girlfriends..

Rachel, Maghan, and Whitney

Me, Ashely, and Sarah H.

Hey girls... I am thinking it is about time for another Girl's Night.. Where to this time?

Valentine's Day

2010-03-08T19:15:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day was on Sunday this year and I was still getting over the crud. I slept late and took it easy. Michael and I went for a late lunch/early dinner at Cheesecake Factory!Pink.. How did you know?

My favorite..

Valentine's Day... another one down...

You might remember from last year how I feel about this holiday, is it even a holiday?

If you do not remember and even care.. check it out...

http://jessaatpefectlypink.blogspot.com/2009/02/renewing-my-faith.html

if not.. who cares...

but I do love anything PINK...and the flowers were beautiful...

Good choice Michael.... Happy Day!

Now this is SNOW!!

2010-03-07T14:28:00.000-06:00

Friday, February 12th... now that was some SNOW!

Alright all you Yankees out there that think this was nothing at all, I do not want to hear it... In fact, this was the most snow I have seen.. EVER!

So let me have my snow day!

And I wish I could say that we played and played and built the biggest snowman ever, but that did not happen. In fact the only time I went outside was to take these pictures. I stayed on the couch, SICK, and watch it all from there!

But oh how beautiful it was!

The ground was covered... completely!This was my favorite picture out of all of them! This is looking into our backyard. It kind of makes me want to move up north and see this more often...
Then thought that is done... I am a southern girl to the core and love the beach way too much to be a Yankee!

Looking down the street one way...then look the other way...Shug checking this stuff out!
Since this is my blog, let me be honest... When I think of snow I think of white fluffy stuff. BUT what we got, though beautiful, was wet... very wet!

Maybe I will have to take that trip up to yankeeville to see that white fluffy stuff.

Then I will come home to the white stuff on the ground I love the most..

The beautiful white beaches of my home town!

It was fun to look at though!

SNOW.. CHECK..

NOW BRING ON THE WARM WEATHER......

P90X

2010-03-05T15:00:00.000-06:00

P90X... P90X.....P90X...

hahahahaha.. of course there is a story of how this all got started....(there is always a story!)
True, Michael and I have been working out in the mornings and it has been going great!
True, I have heard alot about P90X from Ashley, Heather, and other friends and they have loved it.
Also True, I never really thought about me doing it...
In steps, Sheryl....
One random day in the gym, Sheryl says, "I was up late last night and saw the commercial for P90X. If I order it will anyone do it with me"... Of course I say yes, there is just something about me that can't say no or just keep my mouth shut....
Just like that... It was done..
I tell Michael and he responds with, "Just as long as it does not interfere with our workouts, those come first"...
Well of course not.. I was planning on working out twice...
And I really was!
I was needing a jump start to my weight loose... I had hit a little plateau..
I am excited and really not understanding what I had just said yes too..
Sheryl gets ALL the stuff in the mail and gives my the food book to makes copies of...
WHAT... Food.. P90X tells me what to eat to...
no no no.. I was thinking this is just a workout..
If you are going to do something, might as well do it 100%.. RIGHT!
February 1.. We started P90X (and yes I worked out that morning with Michael too)
We even had to take "before" pictures...
This is something I will be blogging about and updating on alot..
But I will promise you one thing............
that is one picture that I will NEVER EVER EVER post...
did I say NEVER!
NEVER!

Final Christmas

2010-03-05T11:00:00.000-06:00

After eating with Mr. Mullen we headed back to Mr. and Mrs. Daffin's house in Prattville (Michael's mom and Step-dad). That night we opened gifts with Stacey, Sophia, and Alexis. I was very excited to see the girls open their gifts.

Sophia opening/sitting on one of her gifts.

Alexis opening one of her gifts.
Stacey with one of my favorite gifts that we got her. Props to Wendy West for the beautiful monogramming.
Michael after he opened up one of our gifts.. How much fun... Can you say..
MOVIE NIGHT!

We also got some of our bottles and bottle cleaner that we registered for at Target!

I have LOVED getting baby gifts this past Christmas..
We got Alexis some Animal Bracelets. As BIG as they are in Alabama, they had not even hit St. Louis..
We got her the zoo ones... Alexis kept on holding up the pig for the camera..

Seriously, these two could pass for twins..... They look SO SO SO much alike! Alexis' daddy, Sam, is a HUGE Florida fan, which means so is Alexis. And she will tell you she is a "Gator". We got her flying the Auburn flag and Michael loved this. We just had to take a picture to share with Sam!Sophia and Mrs. Daffin
Alexis and Uncle Mikey had fun making funny faces at the camera
I made a tutu for Alexis and she had fun playing with it and her princess crown that Mrs. Daffin gave her.
Sunday morning we played and then all got ready for some good ole

Cracker Barrel.

We got Alexis this outfit last year for Christmas and she is still getting wear out of it. I loved it and it looks so cute on her!

How cute is Sophia!Sophia and Alexis loved playing with their Uncle Mikey!

Mr. and Mrs. Daffin with Michael and the girls!

We had a fun weekend spending time with everyone! We both LOVE spending time with the girls and hate to see them go! We are already looking forward to seeing them again and adding another kiddo of our own to the mix!

And that officially ends the Christmas season for The Mullen's! Hope yours was as wonderful as ours......

More Christmas.. And in January?

2010-02-17T10:59:00.002-06:00

You have heard of the Never Ending Story, well this was the year of Never Ending Christmas'... the Christmas that keeps on giving if you will!
Stacey (Michael's sister) lives in St. Louis and was not able to come down until the first of January, so we held off and did Christmas with their dad and Grandparents until her and the girls got here (Sam, Stacey's Husband, had to work)
We meet Stacey and the girls at Daddy Bob and Grandmother Mullen's House (Michael's Dad's Parents)
Michael with Alexis
Michael with Sophia

Michael with Grandmother Mullen

3 Generations of Men:
Mr. Mullen, Michael, and Daddy Bob

Michael and Daddy Bob

On the wall leading into the kitchen is numbers all up it.. This was the wall where Daddy Bob marked the kids height as they grew up. Somehow I had not seen this until now and I am glad I did. Here is Daddy Bob and Michael comparing the heights...

After exchanging presents, we ate with Mr. Mullen and then headed to Prattville to see Michael's mom. We still needed to exchange gifts with Stacey and the girls...

Repeat Outfits: A major DON'T

2010-02-10T12:19:00.006-06:00

Every year it is tradition that my mother-n-law gets me a years subscription to Glamour as one of my Christmas presents... I love the last page.... The Does and Don'ts of the month....
As I look through my fun filled December, I realize..
I was a Major Don't!
But wait... Before you write me off as a fashion disaster, Let me Explain!
We traveled.. A LOT... so instead of unpacking all my shoes and hang up clothes EVERYtime, well I just left it packed! All I would do is add a little here and take away a little there (washing all of this in between of course).
So this lead to....dun dun dun... Repeat Outfits!
I did not think much of this until I blogged it all... But it is ok, because I was with all different people.. No one (but me) would have ever known if it would not have been for my obsessive compulsion to take pictures and blog about everything!
So there it is.. I laid it all out...
My name is Jessa and I wore repeat outfits to most of my Holiday events!
Hey, at least they were cute outfits!

An Almost Missed Moment and A Birthday!

2010-02-09T12:30:00.001-06:00

Almost anytime we are going anywhere it almost always goes the same way.. Me freaking out because I HATE to be late. Michael does not have the same hatred for being late that I do. So as I am sitting at the front door holding my purse and practically tapping my toe... Michael sits at his office (right beside the front door) listening to music and seeing what is new with Auburn!
AKA... me freaking out....
me: Michael lets go! I do not want to be late
Michael (in his most nonchalant voice): Chill, we will not be late
me: (tap tap tap goes my toe!)
Around this time Michael changes the loud annoying music to a song we both enjoy. You would think this would make me smile, bbuuttt.. it doesn't...
me: Michael, Let's Go
Michael: Dance with me
me: No, I do not want to be late!
By this time, he has gotten up from his desk and walked over to me and grabbed my hand. As he is singing I really want to continue my freak out moment, but I can't. I drop my purse and sing with him. We sing and dance through the entire song!
As we get in the car I can't wipe the smile off my face! It was at that moment that I realize I really need to chill! True fact that I will always hate to be late! But that moment would have been worth it!
I realized that was almost a missed moment! And that was one of those moments that I love, the kind of moment that is so special... And I almost missed it!
So with me on cloud nine we arrived.. ON TIME... to Leonardo's to help celebrate Hal's birthday!
This is the picture Michael took!

Whitney and IMaghan made Hal's cupcake cake and all the little cupcakes around it. It was yum yum good.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAL!

You know that I love the saying....
"Life is not measured by the amount of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away"
Those moments, those true moments do not come around everyday!
Glad I took the time to enjoy mine!

Plans for 2010!

2010-02-05T11:05:00.012-06:00

Saying the words "New Years Resolution" just makes me think of failure.. You know, things you have full intentions of doing starting on January 1st and forget about by January 2nd!
So I am not going to call these New Years Resolutions, I am going to call them...
My Plans for 2010!
The only good thing about being a month behind on your blogging is that I have had one whole month to think about these and get started!
So I present to you My Plans for 2010!
1) Yep, this picture made me laugh! "Adoption is the new Pregnant".. Whether it is or not, my baby is on the way! We are looking forward to and remain hopefully that we WILL become parents in 2010!

2) 10 pounds in 2010! Well that was what I was thinking before I got on the scale and realized I gained 5 pounds during Christmas (WHAT). So my new mantra is 15 pounds in 2010. It does not have the same ring.. Guess that is what I get for LOVIN food so much during the Holidays!
Since early Fall Michael and I have been getting up at 5am and working out.. Going good so far and keeping it up! I must admit that Michael is the one that wakes up first and then wakes me up. Thank goodness for him. He is a great motivator! Come on 15 pounds, GET LOST! (ps.. this is a picture I found on the web, those are NOT.. I repeat NOT my long toed, ugly toenail polish, BIG feet)
3) I know what you are thinking... Jessa is a clean freak.. Her house is always clean... And yes I LOVE my house clean, but I have a husband who could care less. Mix this with my busy life and you get stuff.. Stuff everywhere! By Sunday (my deep cleaning day) I feel overwhelmed with cleaning my house. Not to mention that if someone stops by during the week my heart stops and I FREAK out, because I am so embarrassed. Now, I must admit that I do straighten up throughout the week quite a bit, but just not enough. So I plan to not chill at night until the little things are straightened up! The weeks that I do this makes my Sunday cleaning so much easier. So in 2010 I plan to have a CLEAN HOUSE, everyday not just Sunday!
4) Where to begin with this one.... Words I hate to hear, "Jessa, where is the (fill in the blank)" or "Jessa, can you get me the (fill in the blank). We do have a filing cabinet, but even it is unorganized.. or was! I have already organized our filing cabinet and realized when we get it, it gets filled then..Not in a stake labeled "needs to be filled"! This goes hand and hand with keeping a clean house.. Everything has a home! If is moved it needs to be put back in its home, if it is new it needs to have a home. Now if I could just get Michael on board with the "everything has a home" thing!
5) My friend from college, Kristy Dean Crawford, blogged about this book last week and we ordered it from Half.com. It got here just the other day. I have already read the first chapter and it got me pumped about saving more money at the grocery in 2010. For years now Michael and I have cut coupons out of the Sunday paper and saved them for our grocery trips. We usually save around $30 or more. But with the tips in this book I know realize we can save even more. This fact makes Michael VERY happy, which makes me happy!

6) Now do not look to closely at this picture, those are not my initials. But I do have stationary just like this with mine on it. In fact, I have alot of stationary with my monogram ranging from classic to funky and fun! Lately it has been sitting in our desk and that is about it. So in 2010 I plan to brush off the dust and getting back to sending more notes. If someone dies, someone is sick, or someone just needs to know I am thinking about them.. We are in the south you know.. And my momma raised me better!

7) Oh the love hate relationship between flossing! How many times have I had made promises to my dentist that I had no intention of keeping. You have probably made it yourself...."I have not been flossing like I should, but I am going to start". Well this time I am! In 2010, I WILL floss everyday. I have been doing great (some days even twice). Oh yea...

8) If there really only was a true "Chill Pill", I would take it numerous times a day. In fact, I would probably OD on it! Within the years I have lost control of the one thing I wanted so very badly. Because of this I have tried to take control over EVERYthing else. Now do not get me wrong, because to the core, I am a control freak! But I have taken it to a whole nother level. So in 2010, I will take my pretend "chill pill" and RELAX!

Do you recognize a theme here?

I did not at first. It took me thinking about what I really wanted to do in 2010 to realize it is not about what I want to do, but about who I want to become!

In March of 2003 I got married to my best friend and had NO doubt that is what God wanted. I knew I had my whole life ahead of me and together we would LOVE LIFE.

I have not been loving life. I have been consumed with getting pregnant and have let everything else go including the real me!

So in 2010 I plan to get back to the real me....

The me who loved to work out, eat right, and be in shape.

The me that cared more about others than myself.

The me that was on top of my life..

The me that trusted God and his plans for me...

So I say....
"For I know the plans you have for me Lord. Plans to prosper me, and not harm me, plans to give me a hope and a furtue"!

With all my heart I believe this and I also believe in living my life to the fullest.

With all that said, in 2010 I plan to.......

WELCOME BACK ME! ** PS.. I kindof feel like Jerry Maguire right after he wrote his "Mission Statement".....

The Day We Won A Single Game 3 Times!

2010-02-03T13:10:00.002-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEARS DAY!
I promise at the beginning of the day I looked cute... Hair was done, nice and smooth, thanks to my new Chi.... Cute outfit with my boots with the fur!!
Then it came... The rain that was.. It started out sprinkling.. So I grabbed my camera and took a quick picture of Michael and I before the rain touched my hair and frizz happened...

Thanks goodness Cort and Trey found these little ponchos. Yes they were little.. and thin.. and $5, but they were better than nothing!
Cort and I before the game as the rain was starting (notice the hair starting to curl up)!

Michael and I during the game in between ALL the rain we got!Trey and Cort as the rain stopped and the cold set in!

Yes we won and the players ran out on the field.... No No come back.. there was a penalty...
Yes we won and the players ran out... No No... there was something else or another..
FINALLY we WON in overtime!

After we finally WON the players went and JUMPED into the stands to celebrate with the fans! I love these pictures and would have loved to be over there with the guys!

Saturday Morning we went over to the Under Amour High School All-American Football Game. Auburn had a lot of big time recruits that were playing so it was good to go see them play and show them some AU LOVE!

It was finally time to head back to Alabama... We had a great trip and it was SO MUCH fun! Auburn had a good win...
Is it time for the 2010 Season yet?
WAR EAGLE!!!!

Welcome 2010!

2010-01-31T17:25:00.000-06:00

To start out our night we headed over to the main hotel for the team for Tiger Talk!
We made a little stop before going in to take some pictures!Ok so it was LOUD and CROWDED! But we ordered our meal, ate, and listened to what we could. He we support our team however we can!
The guys had heard that the Tampa Auburn Touchdown Club had rented out the bowling alley, so we headed that way. Ends up there was so much going on that way including a band. We found some pool tables and the guys played something like one thousand games.. and won most of them..
Cort and I pretended to play, but mostly we were good cheerleaders!

Michael and I

Cort and Michael

Michael dominating the pool table!

What's Up New Years!

There was carpet all over the walls in the bathrooms..
The sign cracked me up.. It said that by law it needed to be vacuumed at least twice a week...
hahahahahahahaha!

This picture makes me laugh.. HARD!

Michael and I

Trey and Cort

The four of us as we were waiting on the FireWorks!

5.4.3.2.1....
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

It was a long night and Michael found someone to cuddle with..

We went back to the hotel soon after the fireworks, because kickoff was coming soon the next day....
It was a fun New Years Night and fun way to bring in 2010..

Tampa or Bust

2010-01-28T00:50:00.002-06:00

Along with Cortney and Trey, the Wednesday after Christmas we set out to make the trip all the way down to Tampa... We had to go see our Tigers play.. It was the mean and great Outback Bowl that we were playing in!
We got to Tampa in time to check in and catch dinner at where else, but Chili's! I mean who drives all the way to Tampa and craves Chili's, my husband of course!!
On Thursday we headed down to Ybor City, because we had heard so much about it. WELL... It reminded us a lot of Bourbon Street minus all the fun stuff. So it smelled and was dirty! But there was a lot of Cigar Shops with people hand rolling cigars, which Michael loved..

This picture represents Ybor City very well...

Save the Tatas!!!
Love it!

I handed Michael the camera and waited for Cortney.. The director in Michael came alive...
LOVE THE CAMERA....

BE A TIGER.....

Smile Babe!

Purple..Purple..Purple.. There was purple (Northwestern's Color) everywhere...
We needed some orange and blue love!

Hey Michael can he give us directions...

Cherokee People.. Cherokee Tribe... So proud to Live, So Proud to Die.....

Where.. Where...

This is what Trey and Michael were doing as we took our Cherokee Tribe Pictures...

After walking around for awhile we found this great spot to take some pictures..Cortney took this picture and I think it is so cute.. I just wish it was a little lighter!

Mikey and I

Cort and Trey

We had a fun day walking around, doing a little shopping and a lot of eating.. Now it was time to go back to our hotel and get ready for New Years....

Where Da Party At?

2010-01-27T12:05:00.002-06:00

Saturday night after Christmas one of my long time friends had a get together. Blakele's parents live about a block from my parents and we have known each other since we were little. Her, Whitney, and I used to have SO much fun together. We did everything from playing Barbies, to spending the night at each others houses, to cheering... Great Memories!
This get together was so much fun because it was a very diverse group. It was everything from 2 years younger than me to one year older. Some of these people I have not seen in years. It was a great night and fun to have Michael met even more of my High School Friends. Although I wish Blake would have told me that half the guys I dated were going to be there.. Oh well, Michael got to met them all in one night too.. Fun Times!
Whitney (pregnant with her 2nd child, Blake, and I
Keely, Melody, Jason, and I Of course the guys were talking ALL about football. All the craziness with Urben Myer had just come out, so that was all the talk!
Michael, Larry (Whitney's Husband), Jim (Kiki's Husband), and Jason

Keely and I

Me with Candice and Blake

Keely, Melody, Candice and I

Kiki and I..
Kiki and I grew up together. Our parents have known each other for zillions of years.. Our dads were in each others wedding!

Jason, Candice, Michael, and I tried numerous times to get a good shot together.. Of course Candice and I had to ok them all.. After this one Candice said they looked liked they were taking a prom picture....

Which lead us to this one....Everyone got the prom picture memo but Michael.. Not sure what he is doing...
There are about 5 more pictures of us four in my camera, but these made me laugh the most, especially this one!!!
Candice and I

Michael and Dylan smoking their cigars.. Dylan is not so sure about it..
Dylan is one year older than us and played football with all our guys!

Jason, Michael, and Dylan outside in the cold...

I think it was about 3am or so when we looked around and realized it was just us... Jason, Candice, Dylan, Blake, Michael, and I talked and laughed for hours.. Sometime between the wine running out and the guys going to the zippy mart to get more (note to self: zippy mart wine/sangaria is NOT good, even at 2 in the morning) and all the laughs, well everyone else dipped.. And to think they missed the zippy mart wine!
Thanks Blake for hosting a WONDERFUL and WAY fun get together!
You were a wonderful Hostess! Love Ya Girl!

What did the doggies do for Christmas

2010-01-26T13:15:00.002-06:00

So now that you know how we spent our Christmas... are you wondering about our puppies?
Well of course they came with us, they always do when we go to Destin. My parents have an almost 7 year old (born the day we got married) Male Cocker named Khaki.. So it is Cocker Spaniel craziness when we go home!
Both Kenzie and Shug did a lot of snuggling, exploring, and a little playing...
After all the hype of Christmas morning Shug was wiped out the rest of the day...
Look at those sleepy eyes!!

And he is OUT!!

Kenzie LOVES to look out the windows.. She does this ALL day at our house, my parents house was no different!

As we opened gifts she sat on top of this chair and watched.. goodness gracious knows what!

When she was not looking out the windows, she was cuddling with whoever she could..
Daddy and Kenzie

Michael and Kenzie

I have never seen a dog that loves to play ball more than Khaki....I got him and Shug some balls for Christmas.. Here is Khaki among all the wrapping paper begging to play!

I think over all the doggies had a wonderful Christmas as well.. They should, we all spoil them to death...

Santa Came to Destin!

2010-01-21T12:50:00.000-06:00

We woke up Christmas morning and low and behold.. Santa Came!
Hanging by her front door Mother had this super cute painted Santa window and I loved it... Hip Hip Hooray.. Santa brought me one too!

Santa brought both Michael and Mac grilling gear!
This is them doing their Chinese Cook Impersonation (very funny with accent)

Yee Haw.....After we looked through all the fun stuff Santa brought, we had breakfast..
Momma and Michael are lovin it!

After breakfast we began opening gifts....
This is one of the cutest things I got....
They are called "Spirit Fingers"...
LOVE IT!!!!

Daddy with his new pair of slacks...

Momma with her new earrings..

Mac with his new boots...

And then there is Michael.. Not so sure he is loving these little nutcrackers to add to our collection...

Michael got me this jersey..
I had an Auburn Jersey, but it is a #32 Rudy Johnson Jersey...
For all you not AU fans, that means it is OLD... Rudy was a great running back for us back in 2000..
Michael LOVES girls in jerseys and has been saying I needed a new one.. Now I have a classic #1 Under Armour one....

We got daddy this cuzzie..

And we got Momma this monogrammed vest.. I LOVE it... Wendy West monogrammed it and it looked beautiful!

Mac got another AU print!

I have been holding onto this nutcracker since LAST Christmas... It made it through a move and no telling what else without breaking...

That is correct ladies... My husband bought me a CHI... And a good one... A perfect one for me...
Now that is good....

This cracked me up.. Momma pulled out the Christmas wine for us, but what about Mac..
Not to fear young one... She got you French Berry Sparkling Something or another for you..
Well he can pretend!

We prolonged Christmas by doing a little here and a little there.. There were so many gifts they just kept coming. But Momma saved our big present for last.. They gave us the money for our Car Seat and Stroller... YEA.. I have already ordered it and it should be here soon.
We stayed in our PJs all day and it was a wonderful Christmas Day!!

Home for Christmas

2010-01-20T12:40:00.003-06:00

So we headed to Destin for Christmas and I LOVED IT!!! Pulling up at my house, well there is no other feeling. Especially with it decorated for Christmas. I come by my love of holiday (especially Christmas) decorations naturally. My mother had the house looking and smelling wonderful, just like Christmas.
Here is a peek into the house that we moved into when I was 7 andI love like no other!
Our tree in Destin is so colorful and sparkly it almost makes you forget that my mother sold out a few years ago and got an artificial one!

The mantle looked great and so did every one's new stockings.. polka dots with animal on the top...perfect!
hahahaha.. are you noticing the picture above the mantle! That was taken the summer before I went to Auburn. I was 17 and Mac was 5! I am thinking it may be time for a new picture!

The Dining Room

So in my post about my house decorations I was telling you that I was going to try something different with my Christmas Cards next year.. Well here it is.. I am going to steal this idea from my mother and do this on one of my post. She made a bow and took a think ribbon and let it dangle. From there she clipped all the cards on!
Very Cute.. Thanks for the idea Momma!

Best decoration of all goes to this manager! It may not look like a lot to you, but this one has history! This was my Grandparents (McCabe's) and every year they would wait for me to put it together when I got to Fayette. So I was not the only one that loved this manager! Momma loves it too, they even let her take it home. One day it will be mine and then my kids! Decorations are great, but the kind with meaning are the best!

Somehow I managed to not even get a picture of the outside. That is a shame, because momma had it looking classic and lovely!
Home for Christmas is the best!

Christmas with the Daffin's

2010-01-19T15:50:00.002-06:00

The Saturday before Christmas we headed to Prattville to have Christmas with Mr. and Mrs. Daffin (Michael's mom and Step-dad).
Before we even started to open gifts Mrs. Daffin brought out our big gift and when I opened it I about cried. It was our PlayYard Pack N Play that matched the Graco car seat and stroller I had picked out. I was SO excited and could not wait to put it together. This was an online collection only, so I had not seen any of it in person. I did open the box just to take a peek..
I LOVE IT!!!!!
Mrs. Daffin had just said earlier that day that she needed more Koozies.. Little did she know she was getting a "D" one for Christmas.. Needing more Koozies is a foreign concept to me.. We have PLENTY to share!!!

Michael opening one of his gifts!

I put together a super cute (if I do say so myself) wine gift basket for The Daffin's. Here is Mr. Daffin after he opened it up.

Michael with his Lowe's Gift Card

Mrs. Daffin opening her "D" glasses we got her (are you noticing a theme here?).

The jacket we got Mr. Daffin. He has wore this so much since then. So happy he likes it!

My monogrammed pink umbrella.. No lie, I LOVE this!

I loved watching The Daffin's open their gifts, that is the best part of buying gifts and wrapping them all pretty... I really think they enjoyed what we got them and we LOVED what they got us.. There were many other wonderful things, but I would be blogging about Christmas forever if I blogged a picture of every present!
Pictures of the PlayYard Pack N Play to come!
Baby Mullen we are getting ready for YOU!

Combined LifeGroup Girls Ornament Swap

2010-01-18T12:27:00.002-06:00

Cortney hosted our combined Lifegroup Girls Ornament Swap this year and her house looked so festive and great.. It is always so much fun for us ALL to get together for a fun night like this. Everyone brought a dish and an ornament. We had WAY too much fun and played a fun game of Dirty Santa with our ornaments. I ended up with 3 nutcracker ornaments, I just had to have them...
(Group Picture Coming Soon)
Me with Sarah and WhitneyCRACK ME UP....
Sarah getting her gift...

Heather, Katie, Martina, Rachel, and LindsayAshley, Maghan, and Sarah

Molly, Cortney, and Martha

Lora, Kimzey (Lanie's friend), Lanie, and Whitney

Beth, Bethany, and Laura

Cortney did a wonderful job and was a GREAT hostess..