Year's End

I cannot believe that today is the last day of 2008. This time last year Willis and I were completely different people. We were quite honestly not very happy. Willis was in a job that did not suit him or his personality which made it quite difficult all around. There was lots of tension about money, bills and careers. We put our faith in the Lord and decided that we had to be on the same page as a family. So January 1st 2008 Willis and I began to read the Bible every day. Our goal was to read it through in an entire year. We did this most importantly to learn more about God and his purpose for us as a family, we wanted direction. Every day we read, and slowly things started to change. We noticed our prayers started to change and we weren't so self motivated. We also noticed we were closer than ever. I will admit some days we would be running late and have to play catch up the next day but I am very pleased to say that this morning we finished. After this journey there are quite a few ways that the Lord has blessed us. One is that Willis has a career that he absolutely loves (and we didn't have to move to find it) and I also got back into nursing. This took lots of prayer and God showing me many times that this was what He wanted. I'm so glad I listened. Willis and I haven't been this happy and giddy since we first started to date. And the bills that we worried about this time last year do not cause any stress now. God has truely blessed us in so many ways this year and we are very thankful. We are looking forward to this upcoming year. Hope God blesses your 2009 :-)

Cute pic from today

Margarita Night

Chris and Cassie came over last night for Margarita night and this time they brought something they got for Christmas.Yes that fine piece of machinery (as the boys referred to it) is the Jimmy Buffet Concoction Maker a.k.a the most awesome blender ever!

Christmas

Christmas Eve was spent at my parents house. We had a great time eating great food, relaxing and exchanging gifts. Here are some pics from the day.

Daddy very excited about getting to drive on Lowe's Motor Speedway:)

German Engineering

Beautiful isn't it? That's my new VW touareg! I absolutely love it!! It has leather interior, heated seats, sunroof and some other pretty cool features like a rearview mirror that automatically dims the lights from the car behind you. Well it's official....J-Dub is now driving a V-Dub ;-)

Bye Bye Avenger...

It is time to part ways with the Avenger. I have had this car since I turned 16. After it stalled on me one night this summer coming home from work in the dark I switched cars with Willis and have been driving his Jeep. Well the Avenger finally broke down on Willis the other day. We did manage to get a few things replaced on it so it is drivable, but we are not sure for how long. This is finally enough to get me off my lazy butt and get a new car. We did manage to find a pretty sweet SUV and I can't wait to sign the papers on it this afternoon...and yes, I will post pics tonight. I will miss my Avenger, after all I had it for many many years and it has been my only car. It will stay in the family though. Daddy is going to finish the repairs and keep it in Columbia as his get around car when he is there for work :)

Biltmore Pics

The Biltmore is absolutely beautiful at Christmas. Obviously they do not allow you to take pictures inside so please enjoy some of my favorite pics that I took outside the Biltmore.

Mom and Daddy

The Grand Staircase

Amazing Architecture

Gargoyle's at the top of the house

Me and Willis

Conservatory (greenhouse)

Waiting to go inside

The entrance to the house

All lit up at night

The berries are missing...

After having the house to herself for a while our curious Schnauzer Abby found herself a treat...the berries on my Santa Clause! My Santa is holding some garland covered in red berries but now over half of the berries are gone thanks to Abby. She also has a nice hot pink beard to show for it. This picture was taken after we had bathed her trying to get it out. At least it matches her hot pink collar :)

New Camera

I am soo very excited that we got a new camera this weekend just in time for our trip to the Biltmore. Mom and Dad gave us a Canon Powershot as an early Christmas present and we absolutely love it. Here are a few of the pictures we took in the conservatory at the Biltmore just to show you the great pitcture quality...stay tuned for more Biltmore pics.

Decorations

I know I am slack and just not putting up pics of my decorations that have been up since Thanksgiving. But better late than never I guess. This year we changed it up a bit and went with a 9' slim tree instead of our huge fat tree. It took some getting use to, but I like it! Please notice how our tree looks like it belongs in a museum with the lovely gate around the bottom...it was either the gate or chance our curious puppy chewing up the tree and all the decor and I don't like taking chances like that.

Our front door

The guest bath
Kitchen table

Christmas tree...with gate

Without a flash

Christmas cards are coming in now and I do not know how to display them. Any ideas please let me know!!!

Lights at Riverbanks

Willis and I haven't lived in Columbia for quite some time now but we still find ourselves missing the things that we once did when we both lived there. This time when we found ourselves reminiscing we decided to do something about it. With that said, after the soccer games on saturday we headed down to Columbia to see the lights at Riverbanks Zoo. From the time you set foot at the gates with the fake snow and the Christmas music it definately puts you in the Christmas spirit. We were so happy to get to experience that again.

All-Star State Champs!!!!

As you know, Willis coordinates the youth soccer program for our town. It was his goal to get Clover involved in the championship. He worked very hard to pitch the idea, get sponsors and manage the teams. And I must say, it was all worth it. On Saturday we watched 2 Clover teams play for the State Championship. The under13 group were runners up and our under10 team brought home the title. The kids played so hard and had a blast. And even though it was 30degree weather we both enjoyed watching them on saturday. Great job C-rec!

U13 State runner up

U10 State Champs

That time of year...

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, that's right. It's time for Christmas. I am already in the Christmas spirit. Willis and I went with his parents to the Southern Christmas Show in Charlotte this week. I must say if you can look past the complete insanity of everyone there it is quite fun. Of course I had to get a few new ornaments, some fudge and I couldn't leave without getting one of Southern Supreme's fruit cakes. It was exhausting fighting through the crowds to look at everything and at times felt claustrophobic, but all in all it was worth it.

I also started on my Christmas shopping this week with mom. Willis and I debated on whether or not we should finally get a real live Christmas tree this year. With our ever so curious puppy we decided we better stick to artificial. So a got a new artificial tree the other day, a pre-lit 9foot tree. It is a lot slimmer than the one we've had the past 3 years but I'm looking forward to the change. With Thanksgiving right around the corner I will be decorating soon so stay tuned for pics.

Cole

On one of my days off this week I was able to go see Lindsay and her adorable baby boy Cole. Lindsay looks great and you can't tell that she just had a baby only 3 weeks ago, great job girl! Cole is cute as can be. I was able to spend a couple of hours and in that time Cole slept and made some cute facial expressions. I can't wait to get back down there and see them again.

Lindsay and Cole

Welcome Baby Cole!

Lindsay, one of my BFF's from USC had her baby boy this weekend. I am so happy for her and her hubby Marshall. They welcomed baby Cole to the world on Saturday the 25th and he couldn't be any cuter. Linds and Marshall you guys are going to be great parents. Congrats!!!

Here are two pics I stole from Lindsay's blog.

Outdoor living

For months now I have been wanting to stain the deck. Now with fall in the air I finally had the opportunity. I absolutely loved the cedar color of the deck so much that I had to get new furniture to show it off!!! Willis and I never used the table and chairs to eat outside so I opted for a cozy little retreat for just us with two reclining chairs and a fire pit. Yay for fall! And yay for Target who still had patio furniture. All that is missing now is some greenery. That will get taken care of the next time we visit Stacey's...

Costume...

October is here and so are the many Halloween decorations. Willis and I are still unsure if we will dress up this year and if so what costumes we would like. I did however find the most adorable costume for miss Abbs. She is going to be the cutest witch ever this Halloween!

She did very well with the dress, but she could not stand the hat. So we will have to wait and see how she does Halloween night. :-)

Working hard...and playing hard

Wow, it's been a while since my last blog. I've been very busy the past few weeks. First of all I am now off of orientation and on my own at the hospital. Everything is going great. I still don't feel on my own because everyone still asks to help me in any way, which is totally awesome. I have been going there a lot recently both working on the unit and taking classes so I've been worn out!

Other news is that Chris is now back from Iraq!!! We had an awesome bonfire to welcome him home. Here are some of the pics...