Christmas Decorations!

Finally! I have been meaning to post this for a while. Here are the pictures of our house decorated for Christmas. First picture is of our new dining room table. I must say I am so proud of the light fixture. Several years ago, I bought these beautiful red balls from SAMS CLUB. There are about 500,000 in the box and so they usually go all around the house. I tied them to our light fixtures in the dining room and kitchen with pretty gold ribbon.



See? This is the light fixture from the kitchen. The table cloth was purchased thanks to Matt allowing Midas to create a super long, deep scratch in the table. I don't mind so much. Now, I get to purchase all kinda of pretty table cloths.

I copied this wreath card holder from the one and only Ms. Kayla Seaman. I saw it on her blog and loved it and immediately purchased one to hang and it is now covered in cards! I LOVE Christmas cards! I love to see what people do with them.

Oh Christmas tree! Oh Christmas tree! The bow at the top is a new addition this year. And I am so excited about it! I think it looks super pretty. My favorite combination is red and gold. So, it's all over our house! I hope Matt likes it too!

This is the fireplace. It was so fun decorating our new house for the first time. I loved finding homes for everything. And it is so cozy in the hearth room when the fire is going and the lights are twinkling!

Anyhoo, that's the Summitt house all done up for Christmas. You should come over and see it in person! I will make you a cup of decaf Freshmarket Christmas Blend Coffee. It's simply divine.

My Top 5 Favorite Christmas Songs

I absolutely love love love love love this time of year! It makes me incredibly happy. What really puts me in the mood you ask? CHRISTMAS SONGS, BABY! I wait all year long to listen to these songs and it is only for such a brief period of time! So, I start listening in November. Matt (who I like to refer to as Scrooge) does not like Christmas songs as much as I do. But, bless his heart, he tolerates it pretty well! Amazingly, I NEVER get sick of Christmas music. So, I thought it would be fun to post my top 5 Christmas songs. Side note: it was really hard to pick just 5.

5. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee
Love it!! It makes me literally want to pull my Christmas tree out away from the wall, grab my best man, and dance around it in circles. I love her version of it and I blast it every time it comes on in the car and sing my heart out along with ole Brenda.

4. Blue Christmas by Elvis
This is my mom's favorite Christmas song. She loves to sing with the ladies in the background (do do do do do) really high pitched and I sing Elvis. We get so tickled every time. I love to call her when it comes on the radio. She has always made Christmas so special. Dad took me to Graceland 5 years ago at Christmas time and we got to see the whole house decorated for Christmas. That made this song a little more special to me.

3. Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys
My very first concert we went to see The Beach Boys at Mud Island. I remember it pretty well and I love this song because it makes me think of it. It's also really fun to sing!

2.Joseph's Lullaby by Mercy Me
It is such a cool perspective of the story of baby Jesus. It is Joseph singing to Jesus and I love it so much. Definitely one of my favorites.

1. All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey
I know every word. I love to sing it at the top of my lungs. I love that Matt HATES IT! Haha. It has caused a number of fights in our 4 Christmas seasons being married. He tolerated it better when we were dating. :) So, I have started mouthing it instead. And mouthing it in his general direction, pointing at him and making sure that he knows that he truly is all I want for Christmas. (Him and perfume, a new jacket, rug, dining room table, pictures framed, comfortable PJ's, socks, time with family, lots of good food, face mask from Origins, new jeans, bag from L.L. Bean, the list goes on...)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had such a great thanksgiving! It was so fun to be with our families. We started out our thankful holiday (I was definitely thankful for the long weekend) in Paragould. We left Wednesday after work and had Joe and our two precious dogs with us. Thursday morning, I woke up and Joe and Karan had already begun cooking and had been running. I didn't really have to do anything (except show up and stuff my face) so I went running at the track on the high school campus down the street. Have I told you all that I am training for a half marathon? Well, I am. So there. Now you know. Anyhoo, we had a delicious supper. Turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, rolls, peanut butter fudge, peanut butter pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie... I can't think of anything else. Matt and the boys went outside and shot skeet (which is their new tradition). Then, we took pictures as a family. I thought the one I posted below this was really funny because Nathan is out to the side by himself he-he! Friday, we debated waking up early and hitting the sales, but we decided not to and slept in a little bit! We tooled around town with David and Karan and hit up Sears and Radio Shack- Matt bought 3 new Playstation 3 controllers woo hoo!

We left Paragould around 10 and went to Collierville to see my family. Mom, Lauren, Matt and I immediately went shopping. We found a fabulous rug at the Pottery Barn Outlet that we purchased as my Christmas present and it now lays on our living room floor. Also, Ashley Furniture was having a 10% off sale and we really need a dining room table. We looked around and low and behold Sunday, we purchased a dining room table! I am soooooooo excited! It will arrive next Saturday and we have to drive back to Memphis and bring it home ourselves and set it up. I can't wait. We got home Sunday night and I immediately forced Matt to help me bring down the Christmas decorations! I am so thrilled with how they have turned out and will post them this weekend.

I thought it would be a good time to list the things I am thankful for this year. This Thanksgiving, I was so thankful to be with family and not worry about being called out for work. I am thankful to have a good job and to be able to give back and hopefully share the blessings that we have. I am thankful for a husband who makes me laugh and helps me realize how silly I can be sometimes. I am thankful for my two sweet dogs. I am thankful for our health and that in general, we really don't have much to worry about. I am thankful for a warm house, especially on a cold day like today. I am thankful for the blessings of this Earth. Even though they are not eternal and our real home is still to come, I am thankful for the little things and I am excited for what the future holds! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

s.

Reunited and It Feels So Good!

Midas is home! I met dad in Augusta Saturday at noon to pick him up. I went back into the bedroom and let him out of the kennel and he was so excited to see me! I have to admit I was very worried he would not remember me because six weeks is an awfully long time to be away at his age. He jumped on me and licked me and it was so fun to see him. Dad took me out in a field and showed me what Midas had learned in his 6 weeks there. I must say, I was quite impressed. Midas didn't do everything exactly like he should have, and I could tell that frustrated my dad. However, I was so impressed with what he had learned that it didn't matter to me. He is a lot more obedient.

However... we went out to take pictures for our Christmas Card Sunday after church. We have been waiting for Midas to come home because we obviously wanted him in the pictures. We went out to Lake Willestein here in Maumelle because we thought there would be some very picturesque scenes to choose from at the park. Having both dogs in a park can be a challenge because they want to run around everywhere- and I had heels on for the picture! So, we get to a spot that we think will work. Matt decided he didn't want the leashes in the picture so he removes Midas' leash. Well, there were ducks in the pond. Matt let go for a tiny second and Midas took off, ran down the hill and BELLY FLOPPED into the lake! He swam around- clear across the lake- chasing the ducks. He did this for at least 5 minutes and finally decided he wouldn't be catching one that day. It was hilarious. People stopped jogging and fishing to watch us screaming at our dog to come back! Matt had to wade in and try to catch him. Luckily, Juli, Matt's sister, was there and thought to snap a photo for the Kodak moment. It was hilarious. However, we are going to have to attempt another picture because we didn't quite get what we wanted in the shoot. We may be enlisting Juli's help again!

Harding Homecoming

OH MY WORD!! Long overdue on this post. But it has been a crazy few weeks!

Harding Homecoming was October 31st! Several friends got together to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Ko Jo Kai Social Club at Harding. It was great to see a lot of girlfriends from my college years. It was so fun to see what all has happened in every one's lives and the different roads we have all taken since graduation. Jobs, marriages, kiddos, etc! I find it very hard to believe that I started out there 7 years ago. And little did I know that would be the most formative years of my life! I met my best friends there. I feel like I grew up emotionally there. I met Matt there. I began to truly appreciate my relationship with God there. I remember when I graduated thinking if I could do it all over again I wouldn't. Man was I wrong! I would love to go back and have my only responsibility be school and stay up late with girlfriends. (Oh to even be physically able to stay up late! ha-ha!) And hang out all afternoon with Matt doing nothing and maybe go fishing or maybe to Bulldog to get a Strawberry Shortcake or Thanks-a-latte for coffee- which isn't even open anymore. Or maybe to Cookie Basket for a delicious chicken salad and lemon-iced cookie. Shoot, I would even sit in chapel if I had to.

Anyhoo. Here is a picture of several friends! We also all contributed to a cookbook. I am so excited to try out the recipes in it soon!

My Boys Have Been Sick

Both the boys at our house have been sick. Well, evidently Midas ate something and threw up all night Saturday night. Poor buddy! We got to meet dad in Augusta- where his new hunting club is and it's called The Quack Shack. He brought Midas with him Friday night. He is much bigger and has grown this thick scruff under his neck. I loved being able to cuddle him! Dad said it will be another three weeks. I was so sad to hear that, but they said he is doing really well in training. Anyhoo, they called Sunday morning to tell me he was sick. Then, last night, Matt got sick! We think he must have eaten something too. Bear was soooo worried about him. He stayed home from work today and is starting to feel better now. We had a good weekend- minus the Razorback game! We have some deer that come up on the hills behind our house. They have been mysteriously absent recently so we bought some deer corn at Walmart. Here is a picture of them.

We have counted ten before. This was the buck. Hopefully, the corn will draw them back so we can look at them. They like to watch Bear and Midas run around from one end of the yard to the other. It's pretty funny. Matt also let me buy this 10 minute Pilates video! I used it today and loved it! There are 5 sessions and you can do all 5 or however many you want. I did the lower body and it went by so quickly that I did flexibility too. Can't wait to use it regularly! Beth Moore Bible study is at 6 am tomorrow, so I am off to bed!

Really Cool Happys

So, I got this coupon in the mail the other day from a printing company and they will allow you to design stationary, note pads, thank you notes, address labels, etc. with characters on it and you design them to look just like you and your family members. I was so excited! I am ordering a note pad and address labels- which will sure make my life easier come Christmas card mailing time! Enjoy! And Happy Friday!

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