A Partial Mega Post.....

It's December. I'm married to a pastor. Need I say more as to why the blog has not been updated? *grin*
This is only going to be a partial mega post because I'm pretty sure there are some pictures on my other computer and not on this memory card I have with me. When I get back to my computer, I'll update with the rest of the pictures.
Here's the rundown:
AC goes to a Methodist church pre-school. The church was having their annual Hanging of the Greens service, and invited the pre-school kids to sing a few songs at the beginning. Miss "I love to sing at the top of my lungs and I'm not shy" Anna Claire stood with her friend sporting a dear-in-the-headlights look for the performance. Lovely. Her regular Christmas school program is in the morning. We're hoping for more participation. :)
Before the program:
This past Sunday, Anna Claire wore a dress that our friends Jeff and Anita gave her. The dress even came with a matching outfit for her doll. Ignore the random sock by AC's foot and the crooked tree skirt. It was a c-r-a-z-y Sunday morning as most are around our house!
These next two pictures make my heart happy! In January of this year, some friends introduced us to a local hole-in-the-wall Mexican food restaurant, El Rancho. We were hooked after the first dinner, and we go there multiple times a week. You see, the food is very tasty, but the main reason we go there so often is for Jayne, our waitress. We have built a very special relationship with her. She sends me her schedule every week via text message so that we make sure to only go when she is there. She has four precious children, and she's searching. Jayne's "big day" in regards to tips is Sunday, so that has always been her reason why she couldn't come to church. I told her that while she was on maternity leave (she just had Grayson at the beginning of November), I better see her at church at least once. Do you know, she hasn't missed a Sunday in 5 weeks. She brings the whole family - mom, current boyfriend, and all the kids. They come right in and sit on the second row. Usually the kids sit with me on the front row. I love it! This past Sunday, the choir performed several Christmas specials. One song needed a nativity scene, a king, and some other people. They asked Jayne, Nelson, and Grayson to be Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. And they said, "yes!" They were so excited to be a part! Jayne had her kids dressed in their Christmas best, and we were able to take a few pictures by the Christmas tree in the Sanctuary. This is the best Christmas gift!
This past Monday night, Brad and I had the opportunity to attend a Christmas reception at the Governor's mansion! Fun times! We had a professional picture with the Jindal's that we will be ordering, but here is one that Mrs. Jindal's assistant took with my camera. They were so warm and hospitable.
And here we are with our DS and his wife, Bro. Greg and Mrs. Elaine, in front of the mansion:
And here we are with our friends, Dale and Carmen, in front of the beautiful Christmas tree in the mansion's foyer:
Last night, our church went to a few different nursing homes/assisted living centers to sing some carols and hand out treat bags.
Anna Claire and her friend, Hannah, thought this was fun!
Here's Anna Claire and myself with our friend, Mrs. Pat, a sweet lady who is a member of our church and a resident at the center we visited:

Oh, Christmas Tree

This past weekend we went with some friends to a local tree farm to cut down our Christmas tree. This is something my family did growing up, so I was excited to share this with Brad and Anna Claire.


Pictures coming soon of our decorated tree. We gave it a few days to "fall out" and now the decorating will begin! The tree looked much smaller out on the lot! HA!

Sheryl - This Post is For You! :)

When we got back from Branson, our dear friends, Sheryl and Louann, sent Anna Claire a new play grill for her birthday. As soon as we got it assembled, I quickly took a picture of Anna Claire next to her grill and sent it to Sheryl via text message.
On Thanksgiving, one of the houses we stopped at was Sheryl's. Anna Claire told her (in person) thank you for the grill. Sheryl was quick to point out that she checks the blog daily and was bummed that there wasn't even a mention of said grill anywhere on the blog.
So, here you go, Sheryl...your very own blog post! :) Enjoy!
And here's AC channeling her inner Vanna White while modeling her new grill.

PS - History was made today, Sheryl...I sent AC to school with no bow in her hair. Be proud. :)

Gobble 'Til You Wobble

Yes, I realize Thanksgiving was a week ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting pictures. We were able to go to Dallas for the holiday, and that's always exciting!
On Wednesday night, we met up with Chris and Amanda at Buca di Beppo for a tasty dinner. Good friends + good food = a great evening!
Thanksgiving lunch was at my aunt and uncle's house. My mom busted out a $5 cash register that she bought for Anna Claire at Walgreens, and this made AC's day! The scanner on the register is beyond annoying and of course, Anna Claire's favorite accessory on the toy. Lovely.


Family pictures...




To say that my cousins, Ashley and Sarah, love deviled eggs is an understatement. My sister and I gag just watching them eat the eggs. Sarah helped Anna Claire eat one this Thanksgiving, and it was all I could do to take the picture without throwing up. I snapped it fast and went in the other room. Grody.

We made several stops on Thanksgiving Day to visit friends and family. At one point, we stopped in at 7-11 for a drink. My mom said she was really thirsty....be careful what you wish for:
And, Anna Claire had her first Slurpee.
My dad was kind enough to buy newspapers for my sister and me so that we didn't have to share the Black Friday ads.
Brad, Elizabeth, and I went to Toys 'R Us at Midnight. One word...ridiculous. Oh my goodness. People, carts, and toys everywhere. We left and headed to Target at 1am. My sister and I sat outside (we were 20th in line) until the store opened at 5am. Meanwhile, Brad went to Sears at 2:45am (they opened at 4am) and then to JC Penney. We got some good deals on Christmas gifts, and Elizabeth got her TV (the main objective of the night/morning).
We came home, took a quick nap (read: 1 hour), and Brad's dad and sister, Jim and Robyn, drove in from OKC to spend the day in Dallas. We had fun shopping, eating, and just getting to hang out.

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!

Yesterday was picture day for Anna Claire. We usually try to combine birthday and Christmas pictures into one trip to the studio. I'm thinking next year, we'll be doing pictures in JUNE. That place was C-R-A-Z-Y busy yesterday. We didn't chose one picture in front of the Christmas tree, so I'm thinkin' we'll be good to go earlier next year and avoid the insanity that is holiday pictures.
Click HERE if you want to see last year's pictures.
Brad is most proud of the picture below. We were just about to do an outfit change, and Brad said, "AC, do you want to take a picture with the football since you have on your LSU outfit?" Of course, she agreed, and the photographer handed AC the football. Immediately, Brad said, "Do the Heisman!"...and here's what we got:

Insert Creative Title Here...

Here's Anna Claire modeling some of her birthday gifts. Silly girl.

We took Anna Claire to a high school football game the other night, and she was in heaven! We sat near the band and drill team/pep squad. She mimicked their every move! One of the boys at our church plays on this particular team and his jersey number is 33. Anna Claire can spot this number easily, so she was always quick to find him on the field. She just didn't understand why he wouldn't wave at her when he was on the field. Ha.




The other night, I has some friends over for dinner and fellowship. We made these cute little Turkey baskets.

Yesterday, some people from our church partnered with our good friends over at Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market to help serve a Thanksgiving feast to families that have a special needs family member. This was an incredible outreach and a neat organization to help. In one picture, you will see me serving up a large spoonful of green beans to one our helpers. This sweet young man wanted to help serve at one point, and I told him that he would have to eat all the green beans that were left over! He thought that was pretty funny.