Merry Christmas to ALL!!

What a holiday it has been. We've really enjoyed our time with cousins and family! We left home last Friday and it's been wild since then! Christmas with the Buckleys (ryan's mom's family) Saturday night, me back to Grenada for church and partying with the youth, Christmas with the Berrys Tuesday afternoon (SO FUN!!!), Christmas with the Burnhams on Wednesday, and Christmas Eve service with Mimi and Pop. It's been a lot of fun!
BUT ... Christmas morning, after Truett discovered what Santa brought and we all ate breakfast, Ryan started feeling bad and is now back home in Grenada resting after a LONG Christmas Day in the bed with some stomach bug we assume. So, Tru and I continued with our Christmas Day plans with Mimi and Pop. I felt terrible leaving dad behind but that was his wish. So, we got to enjoy Pop's side of the family at my Papaw's in Brandon ... got to see cousins I haven't seen in years and meet their kids. Truett also got to meet a lot of family he'd never met!
Now it's on to YEC Monday with the youth while Mimi and Pop keep little man!
What a blessing it has been to be with both of our families this season!

The Berry grandkids

the Burnham grandkids plus Melanie
(only way Jake would stay in the pic)

us after the Christmas Eve service at FBC Kosy

Christmas morning in his rocking chair from Santa

Tru and his great grandfather Burnham

And then there was JUST Blue ...

All the puppies are gone and she's enjoying her reward!!

Being a Youth Director

ok...so there has been a lot more going on around here hence the fact that I haven't updated in forever ... HELLO ... I have a child that is officially into everything and teenagers to tend to amongst everything else. Not sure I'll be able to handle more kids one day!!! How do you moms do it?! Sanity out the door, RIGHT?!??

Ryan and I took the youth to the Matt Redman/Casting Crowns concert last night! It was great and such a blessing! Here's a little taste of what 3.5 hours with them was like.

We have done a lot to the house lately! I'll have to take pics when I get a chance this week! The best of them all ... THE NEW FRONT DOOR!!! love it!

oh and Truett is of course crawling and DYING to walk! Santa, here he comes!!

WE'RE GRANDPARENTS!!!

Ha! I can't imagine what it will be like one day when Truett has a family! We are proud enough of Blue and she's 'just a dog'. YEP, she had puppies Friday afternoon! Ryan kept telling me that I was going to need to be there for her when she was giving birth and all. I didn't realize he would 'plan it' where he wasn't here and I REALLY DID have to be there for her!

It was quite an eventful day. I put Truett down for a nap thinking I would get all this stuff done and realized Blue was acting strange outside as she kept walking all over the yard which she never really does... and oh no! She got under the barn/shed in our backyard and I realized she was making a spot! So, the mean mother that I am, closed up the gap so she couldn't get back under there, called Ryan and he brought some hay where we could make her a few comfy spots (her dog house, another shed and the back porch). Needless, to say I messed up her plan and in turn had to work harder for it.

Blue ended up having only 3 puppies but each one in a different place! Thank the good Lord, Mrs. Teresa and her son, Riley came over by chance. She wanted to get Truett to surprise Kayla when she got home. (Kayla was Truett's first babysitter - post below somewhere)

I had to take the first two pups to Blue for her to do what dogs do when they give birth (no details) and kept them in a box until she quit wandering around and worrying me to death. Finally she had the last one on the back porch or we would have never found it in the dark! We found the first one that was born after the second was born in her dog house. (Thanks, Riley for getting it out!)

So, lesson learned...never mess up a momma's nest!

But we're loving having little pups around. They are so small but have fat bellies. So, Blue is taking good care of them! They are AKC registered goldies and will be ready about the week before Christmas! Can't wait to watch them grow and see Truett play with them when their little eyes open. He's not so sure about them right now!

Congrats, Blue Berry! You're a mommy!!!!

Blue's a sweet mommy

her little munchkins

little man is not too sure about this little thing

HALLOWEEN

Halloween was crazy in our neighborhood because people come out of the woodworks to bring their kids trick or treating! We thought about taking a picture of each little monster that came by but that would have been absolutely impossible! I seriously saw one house that had a line of about 10 kids at the door when Truett and I were coming back from his trick or treating!

While Ryan stayed at the house for the candy hungry kiddos, I took Truett to a few places so they could see how stinkin' cute his giraffe/cow self was!

Blue even got a little dressed up despite her preggo belly! (note her necklace)

our kiddos

somebody liked the candy bowl

cute little giraffe with a really short neck

HALLOWEEN ... 3 YEARS AGO

WOW!! So, while most of you are posting about THIS halloween and I probably will later, I was reminded this morning that 3 years ago around this time, Ryan and I had our first "date" not real date. We basically were dressing as similar things for a friend's halloween party and at the last minute, I boldly just told him to come pick me up! HA! We all knew it ... he liked me, I liked him ... you know how that goes! For some reason, I can't find the picture of us together on the motorcycle put you get the point! It was a hit ... we rode on our friend Chauncey's Harley ... so fun!

That was such a fun night! Oh how we miss those friends and oh how times have changed!! Love you guys!!!

Me with my roommate, Melissa and Penni

Ryan and Penni ... he was the coolest guy there!

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

After his daddy left for a night with the men, he ate his dinner and then did this until bedtime! Why is he so stinkin' cute!? I was trying to be discreet with the camera hence the funky angle.