Wreath Making

One of the girls in our small group invited us over to making wreaths for Christmas. She got everything for us and her mom taught us how to do everything. I didn't do things the typical way, we were suppose to use 2 of the same color ribbon, well oops!!! I had two ribbons that matched good but were not the same patterns. But I loved it!!! It took forever to get everything in the right place and secure it down. But, I think mom was doing a wreath class the same time I was working on my wreath so that was cool. Plus, it was nice just to hang out with the girls and talk!! All the wreaths turned out amazing!! And what's nice is they'll last for a few years (hopefully more), because they are the fake ones. I think next year I want to make a real one for the front door, but one year at a time right? Ross and I still aren't sure where the one I made it going, Possibly above the fireplace, maybe not. We'll figure it out tonight. For now here's pictures of it hanging on the door stopper in our room.



Thanks so much Jessica for helping us do this and opening your home!!!

Christmas Decorating

We have decorated our tree for Christmas. Ross and I agree that this is the first time in many years we are both excited about Christmas coming. Last year was fun but it just didn't feel like Christmas. Maybe it's because we were in the apartment and we had to travel. but, this year everyone is coming to see us and we're really excited. Our house is almost all decorated. And I'm baking tons of goodies!! The day we did our tree Ross got most of the lights on, and again we had just enough. And I put the ornaments on. I had to run to the store a few days later and get some candy canes because out tree was missing some. Sadly there was no tinsel on our tree but we don't want our kitty's to get sick. We can't wait to get some presents under the tree but for now it looks really pretty all lite up and decorated!!!

Gettin the lights on

First ornaments on

All light up and halfway done

Side all done, minus candy canes

All done, except the candy canes

Complete with candy canes and all!!!

The beginning of decorating our mantel.

Finished product!

What the cats did while we decorated!

Mom, Renee and I have already made up what we are having for Christmas dinner!! Rotisserie turkey, mashed spuds, sweet potato casserole, and so much more!!! I can't wait. Plus I'm making homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. It's a tradition you have to have cinnamon rolls Christmas morning. I'm so excited!! Christmas Eve service we're going to be going to North Wake....I've wanted to go since we moved (I know it's only been one year in NC) so I can't wait to see the kids play and everything. It'll be really nice to see all our friends at service on Christmas Eve and for my parents to meet them again.

Here's what I've baked so far, and what I have to go....

Choclate fudge

Beginning of peanut butter balls

Pumpkin bread (Lorren and I made for our neighbors)

Chocolate chip meringue cookies

What I have left to bake is...
*A second batch of chocolate chip meringue cookies
*7-layer brownies
*Haystacks
*Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
*Chocolate Chip cookies
*Whoopie Pies
*Gingerbread Cookie

Possibly list..
*No Bake Cookies
*Easy fudge Brownies
*Chocolate Pretzel rods
*Caramel Apple Cookies

I also have to bake and huge gingerbread house before Christmas Eve because my sisiter and I are putting one together!!! I'm so excited, and I will take lots and lots of pictures. Small group is not having a contest but they got me hooked on huge elaborate gingerbread houses...this year being no different. So keep checking for pictures of that after Christmas!!!

Last I am happy to say the cats have yet to climb the tree! They hate the smell of orange so we put something that smells like orange at the bottom of the tree, worked so far. I hope it works till we take it down. And they are showing no intrest in the hanging stockings, which I am greatful for!

School's OUT!!!

Well like the title says I'm done with my fall semester. The final two weeks were killer and I know it's only God that got me through exams!!! I am happy that one half of my Old Testament is done!!! I learned a lot though that I wouldn't have known before about how the Ole and New Testaments connect so well. I'm taking a small break and then I have to start writing 2 papers that are due the first past of January. This January I'll be taking 1 2 week class. I'm excited about it because it's Counseling Theory, it's about everything I learn at Tech except from the perspective of the Bible. Other then that I'm just really excited God got me through another semester and I only have until May of 2011 until I graduate!! God has truly blessed Ross and I so far though many people who are helping us pay for school. Thank you so much! We pray He continues to bless us in this way!!!

Family Thanksgiving, Part 1

For Thanksgiving this year Ross and I got to go up to Pennsylvania to see my dad's side of the family. It's a blast, tons of people in my Meme and Pepe's house and tons of really good food to eat. We left on Tuesday night after Ross got off work to drive to my parents house and stay the night. It was nice to break up the trip. so we pulled in to their house around 1am. Ross had his pizza dinner and to bed we went. We got up at 6am and got out of Richmond by 8am. On our way we picked up Renee and Christian and got them in the Jeep (still not sure how Christian fit but he did). We pulled into Meme and Pepe's around 4ish I think. About the time mom and dad pulled in. That night was lazagana. And I made a cheesecake for Thanksgiving day.

Cheesecake into the fridge.

Thanksgiving day we were up at 8ish, because the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade comes on and you have to watch the whole thing...it's a Thanksgiving tradition!!! So all the cousins and grandma and others piled into the tv room for 3 hours to watch the parade. It's just not Thanksgiving if you don't watch the parade and plus Christmas music can't play until Santa crosses Macy's square! We also did some house warming and apartment warming gifts. Meghan got her first apartment while she is in grand school and the Ross and I's house.

Watching the parade.

Opening house warming gifts. (Thank you Aunt Darlene and Gerard and Thank you Uncle Ron, Aunt Anita, Meghan, & Ryan!!)

Apartment warming gifts.

After the parade we worked on a Gingerbread house, well Meghan, Mel, Renee, and Christian. It turned out great!!! Renee finished it that night I think...

Starting...

Finished!

Go to the nest post for the rest, blogger didn't like all my pictures.

Family Thanksgiving Part 2

The next day Ross, Dad, Renee, and Christian went out to shoot skeet. They each got to shoot about 4 time Ross said, sadly I had to work on a paper...that's what I did over break. I heard Dad hit one, Ross was really close to one, and never got a report about Christian and Renee. Here's some picture of them shooting....

Renee Shooting

Dad shooting.

Ross Shooting

Ross Shooting

Christian Shooting

I think the best part was meeting Mel (Meghan's boyfriend) and Gerard (Aunt Darlene's boyfriend). Ross and I've heard so much about them but never meet them. It was great!! Aunt Darlene brought her homemade chocolates, which were fantastic!!! Meghan and Mel even brought a fruit basket...(I have to say the pineapple flowers were the best).

Aunt Darlene and Gerard

Meghan and Mel

Us (Ross would like to say he got dressed first and I copied him)

And the family pictures....

Sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner

The whole family minus 14 who couldn't make it (We Missed Yall). We kept teasing Pepe he was gonna have to add on the house soon to fit everyone.

Ross and I stayed until Monday, on Saturday he went out in his Jeep around Meme and Pepe's property and took some pictures but again I had to write a paper. Sunday we just watched HGTV all day with Meme and Pepe, it was nice to do nothing for a change, o and I worked on my paper!!!





On Monday we got in the car and took the trip home, 11 hours later we got out and arrived at our house. On the way we saw two accidents that completely closed 2 major highways (81 & 95). Ross managed to get pictures out the window of the Jeep.

What we came upon on 81 in West Virginia.

Two 18 wheelers down an over pass onto another road.

It looked like one pushed the other down and they both went in, but we don't know

95 completely empty on the north bound side south of Petersburg in Virginia

Sorry it's fuzzy it was gettin dark, but a 18 wheeler ran into the back of a few cars that were stopping because of a previous accident. Not sure if anyone lived. The cab of the truck was completely burned.

So that was our Thanksgiving, we can't wait to do it again!!!

Small Group Thanksgiving

Our small group put on a Thanksgiving meal the Sunday before Thanksgiving. It was awesome to get together with everyone and just hang out and eat good foo everyone cooked. We had 2 turkeys, one that was smoked and Ross and I did one in the rotisserie. There was gravy, gravy, and more gray, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, mac and cheese, stuffing and so much more. In the dessert area we had cupcakes, carrot cake, hot fudge pudding cake(what I made), and so much more. It was so good!!! There was so much to be thankful for, but, Ross and I agree this group we got into is something we really have to be thankful for!! We love being with them and having them challenge us in our walk with God. It was nice just to hang out with them and laugh . Everyone went home full and there were plenty of left overs to freeze!!! Thank yall so much for pushing us in our walk with God and thanks Allie & Ethan for opening your home to us!

During that time we even got to pray for the small group we just birthed, it's a blessing to birth new groups because that means our chruch is growing so much. But at the same time I'm gonna miss those friends when we meet on Sunday's!! Brandon, Jessica, Josh and Cora I pray God blesses your group and mulitiply it!

Ollie and Ozzy

So our cats are growing. We were in PA for Thanksgiving and showing my Meme and Pepe pictures of the cats from when they first entered the house until now and we realized just how much they have grown!!! Ollie has become the really skinny cat but still eats a ton!!! He's exactly like his mom who was really skinny. And Ozzy has become the bigger (but not fat) cat, guess we need to get him to run more. This month we decided to let them in our room when we're home because we're going to be moving the couch we were protecting to the living room soon. We'll they have done great!!! Neither are scratching the cough and neither are interested in it really. No instead Ozzy's favorite spot is on our window still. He'll come in and if the blinds aren't open he'll stand there meowing at them until they are. It's so funny. Then he's content there for a number of hours!!! Ollie on the other hand, he's in the room and on our bed laying down watching whatever we are doing. Or if the tub is still wet he's in there playing with the water and drinking it.

Both on our window still

Ozzy's favortie spot at night, on the rug in our bathroom.

Ollie's spot on our bed.

Ollie has become the social playful cat and Ozzy is always sleeping (as I type he's asleep on the bed) or starring out windows , I guess he's entered cat mode faster. They are both a hoot and completely tore our house up over Thanksgiving, taught us not to leave them alone for so long!!! So far they have yet to climb the Christmas tree or take down the stockings.....and we know they won't climb the tree. Ross found out that cats naturally hate the sent of orange so on the bottom branches is a cloth with Pledge Orange glow sprayed all over it. They won't go under the tree, they'll just walk the outside where we put a bell ornament for them to play with. Plus, they have plenty of bags and things to play with on the ground!!! Ross and I are so excited for Christmas to see what they do with all the paper and bows for them to play with!

His new perch on our extra computer screen.

We gave them a well needed bath before Thanksgiving, they were not happy with us. Ozzy hated all of it and cried through it all. Ollie on the other hand didn't mind the wather but hanted the soaping up part. Our attempt to make them hate the kitchen sink didn't work...but they were clean!!!

Ozzy gettin clean

The evil eye after his bath.

Them heating each other the dry.

Apparently Ross' hoodie was nice and warm.

One of their favorite place to be is in the garage, but one can't be out there without the other (we think if they are separated they wouldn't know what to do). Well if the Jeep is warm Ollie loves to get on the hood of it and lay there. Ozzy never knows where he goes and is trying to go in and out the house to find him. One night this lasted 2 hours!!! So we thought it would be funny to honk the horn and see what happened....

Ollie on the Jeep