Deckin' the halls....

We are finished with all of our Christmas decorating....finally! We got a late start this year, since I was in the hospital all last week, and I was beginning to think we would never get everything finished. I LOVE our real tree, but it almost caused David and I to get divorced last night :). He couldn't get it straight in the stand and my big pregnant self couldn't hold the darn thing up straight for two hours while he worked underneath it, then Hayes had his hammer trying to help, and I had to have it perfectly straight and blah, blah, blah. Two trips to Wal-Mart, some help from the neighbors and a roll of duct tape later, we finally got it straight in the stand. AND I would like to give a big shout out to the person who invented the tree skirt.

After all that, this girl was hitting the sack, so the decorating of the tree had to wait until tonight. We had a great time decorating, and of course, Hayes had some decorating ideas of his own....

After untangling the kid and the dog, we finally got to work on the tree.

And the finished result.....

And with the lights off....:)

Of course, we had to get Ella Bailey an ornament. Can't believe she will actually be here to enjoy Christmas with us next year!

And here is Hayes' favorite ornament....

Finally, we have a  house that is decorated inside and out, which means we also have one tired mama. Night!!

Oh Christmas tree...

David, Hayes and I went to get our Christmas tree on Saturday and absolutely had a blast! We wanted the entire "experience" and decided to check out a place in Wetumpka called Wadsworth Farms. It definately exceeded our expectations!

First of all, let me start by saying that Hayes is obsessed with Santa Claus this year. He literally talks about him ALL the time! We haven't had a chance to visit Santa yet this year, but I have been pretty pumped about it, because Hayes was absolutely terrified of him last year. I have been so excited about getting that perfect picture with Hayes on Santa's lap, because he is just so in love with him. I mean he is the subject of every single conversation Hayes has with us these days, so he wouldn't be scared of him, right? WRONG!

We pulled up to get our Christmas tree and there was jolly 'ole Saint Nick himself hanging out at the Christmas tree farm. So I scream "Hayes there is Santa Claus!!!" and he says "Yaaayyy Santa Claus!!" and I say "Let's go see him!!" and he says "NO!". Ummm....what?? So we gave it a shot and Hayes wanted no part of being anywhere near 'ole Santa! As soon as Santa was out of sight all the excitement came back, but Hayes had MUCH rather admire him from afar! We did get a family picture with Santa though, and please notice the look of sheer joy on Hayes' face, and please look over the fact that I decided to not wear make-up to the Christmas tree farm.

So after our adventures with Santa Claus, we headed off to find the perfect Christmas tree.

And here it is in all its glory....the fattest one on the farm

After we found our perfect match, Hayes and Daddy had the job of cutting it down and hauling it home.

Earlier, Hayes had spotted a tractor that was hooked up to a trailer with hay in the back. So, when we were checking out he yelled "TRACTOR" about 124 times and either the poor lady felt sorry for him or got really tired of listening to him (more likely), and asked one of her workers to ride us around the farm in the trailer. Needless to say, that made for one happy little boy!

And, of course, whatever Daddy does, Hayes does!

At the end of this trip we had one perfect Christmas tree and one happy little boy...mission accomplished!

Christmas Parades!

I have always loved Christmas time, but experiencing it with your child is simply amazing beyond words! Hayes is just enjoying all the Christmas festivities so much this year and I am trying to squeeze in every little thing possible. Seriously, I even have a calendar that I have written every event that sounds somewhat Christmas-y within a 30-mile radius of us. One of the fun things we did this past weekends was attend the Capital City Christmas Parade in Montgomery Friday night and the Prattville Christmas Parade Saturday evening. The sad part was that the Prattville parade was at 4:00 and the Auburn game started at 3:00, and you know it must a pretty special event if I am missing part of an Auburn game! But after seeing how much Hayes loved the parade on Friday, I knew I had to take him again on Saturday, even if it meant missing seeing my beloved Tigers for a few quarters. Of course, Daddy stayed home to pull them through for us!

Anyway, I cannot put into words the look of wonder on Hayes' face during the parade on Friday night. He was simply in awe. I am blaming it on the pregnancy hormones, but I actually teared up watching his little face light up! He was just so amazed by all the floats, the lights, and of course the firetrucks!! He also loved all of the bands and he was shaking his little booty the entire time. Not to mention, that I know his little hand probably was sore the next morning, because he NEVER stopped waving the entire two hours we were there!

They had lots of characters dressed up and Hayes got so excited, until he saw the firetruck behind them, and the characters didn't have a chance. Cinderella came over to Hayes and he looked at her and told her, "There's a firetruck!!"  He is definately all boy! Here are some pics from the Montgomery parade.

Then on Saturday night, Hayes and I went to the Prattville parade with my great friends, Shawna and Brittany, and their boys. Hayes always has a great time with his buddies, Reece and Sage, and loved catching candy with them at the parade! I think the little guy screamed "Merryyy Cwittmas" atleast 150 times. So sweet! Since Daddy didn't attend this parade with us, I spent most of my time trying to keep Hayes from getting run over by a float, so I didn't get many pictures, but here are a couple before the parade.

We did, however, make it home from the parade in time to watch our Tigers become SEC CHAMPS!! I couldn't think of a better ending to an awesome day! WAR EAGLE!!!

Monday Morning Fun!

Well, we were up and at 'em bright and early this morning, so we decided to make the most of it. When I asked Hayes what he would like for breakfast his reply was "cooookies." So, I figured that it's the holidays, so why not have cookies for breakfast?! This answer made for one happy little boy!

Before we started baking, we had to find Bubba, our elf. Hayes finally spotted that crazy elf getting a piggyback ride from one of the Nutcrackers.

Now the baking can begin. Ok, we call it baking around our house, but I guess most would call it "opening the package and placing the already pre-measured cookie dough onto the pan." Before we got started, Hayes said that Bubba  had to help. "The Elf on the Shelf" book says that if you touch the elf he will lose his magic. If that is the case, then we have one very un-magical elf named Bubba. Let me add that hearing a two-year-old say "Bubba" is simply the cutest thing ever. Makes me smile everytime! Anyway, Hayes insists that Bubba is involved in every activity around the house. Maybe next Christmas Bubba will get his magic back, but for now there is some cookie baking to be done!

Then, Hayes heard the garbage truck, so we had to take a quick break to watch the garbage action.

Then back to putting the cookies in the oven and waiting on our delicious breakfast :)

And it was YUMMY!

After "breakfast", we decided to do a little water painting.

But, of course, that got a little too boring, so Hayes had to try to spice it up a little...by trying to drink the water and paint the dog.

Finally our masterpiece was complete. What a fun Monday morning!!

Oh how I LOVE Shutterfly!!

Ok, so we all know how obsessed I am with photography. David is concerned that Hayes will be blind by the time he turns three, due to the constant flash in his eyes. :) With all the picture taking that goes on around here, there is one thing that I cannot live without....SHUTTERFLY!!

I use Shutterfly for everything! First of all, their free and unlimited photo storage, gives me the peace of mind that all of my photos and memories of my family, will be kept safe. No more worrying about keeping up with lots of flash drives or the feared computer crash. Your photos are kept safe on Shutterfly and will never be deleted. All you have to do is upload your pics to http://www.shutterfly.com/upload-pictures. Perfection.

With the holidays approaching, you can depend on Shutterfly to be a one-stop shop for all of your gifts! What grandparent does not love pictures of their sweet grandbaby? Last year MiMi was beyond excited to get one of Shutterfly's photo calendars. They are the perfect inexpensive gift and there are so many designs to chose from! Check them out at http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars.

While MiMi received the calendar, Maw Maw received the canvas wall art. This is truly an extra special gift that will last a lifetime! Check out the wall art at http://www.shutterfly.com/home-decor/canvas-wall-art. And for all of the grandparents....photo mugs! These were a huge hit and what grandparent wouldn't love to see the smiling faces of those grandbabies every morning as they drink their coffee?! I guarantee you that all your friends and family will love all the perfect photo gifts from Shutterfly...and guess what..so does Shutterfly. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed, and if you are not happy, they will replace your order or give you a full refund! Did I mention that you can't beat their prices anywhere? Well, you can't!

In addition to all the perfect gifts, who doesn't love to receive holiday photo cards from their friends and family?! With so many gorgeous designs to chose from, we will certainly be ordering our Christmas cards from Shutterfly. I absolutely love their holiday story cards such as this one: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/merry-duo-story-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&storeNode=93478. You can check out their great selection of Christmas cards at http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards, their holiday photo cards at http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery, or their Hanukkah cards at http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/hanukkah-cards. As for the card we chose this year....check your mailbox :)

So check out all of the awesome services and products that Shutterfly has to offer. I know your family will love it as much as ours!! Happy picture taking, photo storing, card ordering and gift buying!

So very thankful...

Wow, what amazing time Thanksgiving is to really sit down and reflect on all of the blessings God has given us this year! Of course, I try to pray more prayers of "thanks" than prayers of "need", but I know I do not give God the glory nearly as much as I should. Psalms 118:1 says "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." This Thanksgiving, I was overcome with joy thinking about what an awesome God we serve!

Our family has had a year filled with emotional ups and downs, and even though I wasn't so thankful for the "downs" at the moment, it amazes me now to look back upon the great lessons and blessing that were hidden inside those times of grief. I won't even begin to discuss the ups or the downs, or even all the blessing my family has been given this year, because there is simply not enough words or blogspace to adequately discuss all of them. However, I would like to mention one thing that I am incredibly thankful for this year.

Our baby girl...Ella Bailey. In the days leading up to the moment we found out I was pregnant, I had went back to work and loved every second of working for the Johnson for Governor campaign. Hayes was doing great at the sitter's and I realized that I was happiest when I was working out of the home and of course our financial situation was healthier, which helped a great deal. So, when on primary night I was out of a job again, I was so determined and excited about finding a job and getting back in the groove of my career. I was finally getting over the severe post-partum depression and David and I had decided that I was going to get my career back on track and we would wait several years before having another child. Then came the news of a very unplanned pregnancy. I admit all of my feelings in this moment involved selfishness and sadness. The timing was awful. I wasnt ready. I couldn't deal of the possibilty of post-partum depression so soon. Nobody is going to hire me pregnant.  I am just not ready for a newborn again, etc.

It took me several weeks of feeling sorry for myself and being upset to realize the beauty of God's plan for us and really embrace it. It took me waking up one morning absolutely certain that I had lost this baby and rushing to the doctor hysterical only to hear the ultrasound tech say "Wow, there is a heartbeat. This baby is holding on for you, mama. What a little miracle." And it certainly was that...a miracle. In a few short hours I had gone from being devestated by being pregnant to wanting nothing more in this world than to be able to hold this little being inside me in 9 months. Then, of course God began placing people in my life that were having difficulties getting pregnant and I really began to understand the true miracle every little baby is.

Then, a couple of months later we got the most amazing news....IT'S A GIRL!! I have always dreamed of having a little girl. For some reason, maybe it was the fact that David's family is all boys, but I just never thought I would get my wish of having that girl. Anybody that knows me understand this, because I am definately a pink-loving, frilly, girlie girl! Dont get me wrong, little boys are the sweetest things in the whole world, but knowing I would have one of each just made me feel....complete. When the lady told us we were having a girl, it literally took my breath away, because I just kept thinking about God's plan for us...and how perfect it was.

I will admit that I do feel a little ashamed that I have the thoughts and feelings I had when I found out I was pregnant, but I am only human and we all question God's plan from time to time. I just got out of the hospital yesterday after three days, and my fourth time being hospitalized this pregnancy. I struggle with understanding why I have to deal with these kidney stones during two pregnancies. But, come March, every moment of sickness and every ounce of pain, will be only a memory when I look into the eyes of this little miracle that God has blessed me with. Thank you, God.

And some pictures of our other little blessing this Thanksgiving...

Waaarrrr Eagle, Hayes!!

With all the controversy, hoopla and criticism that Auburn has faced this year, I can honestly say that I have never been more excited to be part of the Auburn family! I will never forget all of the awesome memories I have of my college days at Auburn and I literally tear up every time I see the AU players run onto the field. By the way, just in case you didn't hear Cam is officially eligible :)

So with that being said, we had so much fun watching the Iron Bowl this year!!We were at my mom's house in Fort Payne just eating some yummy food, enjoying each other's company and cheering for the Tigers. What a great game it was! Although, I will admit that I threated to turn off the game at halftime and I know my blood pressure was through the roof! Thankfully, the second half went a little more in my favor. Both Alabama and Auburn played a great game and it was one of those that makes you really LOVE college football!

As you can imagine, there was a lot of screaming and yelling at the t.v. going on, and Hayes jumped right in! He LOVED it! I love that he walks around the house saying "Warrr Eagle, Hayes!" The little guy really thinks they are saying his name in the chant. Too cute!

Also, whenever Auburn scores I have to say "Touchdown Auburn" so he can do the touchdown signal!

But, my absolute favorite is that whenever we start yelling or getting excited, Hayes runs to the t.v. holding up two fingers. What can I say...the boy loves him some Cam! The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree :)

We are counting down the hours until the big game this weekend!! Waaaarrrr Eagle, Hayes!!! :)