Thursday, December 30, 2010

Still Loyal...

So...the Vols just lost their bowl game...bummer.

I toured UT as a high school senior in the Spring of 1996.  I remember seeing people in Greek t-shirts, a lot of smiles, and a humongeous football stadium.  I often tell people I don't watch the show "Friday Night Lights" because I LIVED IT.  I grew up in an itty-bitty town in Texas, high-kicked during half-time and ate more than my fair-share of concession stand nachos.  I wore a lot of sequins to footballs games, can still do the "touchdown routine" and tend to look pale now because I have terrible nightmares about applying blush so people 50-yards away could tell I was smiling...seriously. 

Our town was between Austin (Hook 'em...UT) and College Station (Gig 'em...A&M), so the whole "big football school" felt familiar to me.  My parents sent in my admission check, I had no idea what a VOL was until Orientation, and, well...the rest is history!  

Despite these athletic ups-and-downs, we're proud alumni of UT!  In early October, we hosted a party for high school students in our area...the UT Alumni office handled inviting the students, we just provided a place for them to gather.  The program included folks from Admissions and current UT students who talked about their experiences at UT.  I about fell out of my chair when our local weatherman (UT Alum and local celebrity!) walked into our house...he was happy to pose for a picture with Lu!  (Emily H., are you reading this?  I know how you feel about the weather...ha, ha, ha!)

It's (still) great to be a Tennessee Vol! 



Monday, December 27, 2010

Merry, Merry!

Over the past month, I've joked that my title is CEO of Comfort & Joy for our little family.  In addition to all the holiday festivities, we had some work done on our house.  With the dust and craziness as my excuse, we put up about half of our normal decorations.  Even though I'm 4-years into this parenting job, I'm still surprised with how much they teach me...Lucy and Eli had a wonderful Christmas even though the decorations were simple...they do love a little "fancy", but more than that, their faces light up when we spend time with our dear family and friends.  We had a wonderful time celebrating Jesus, God's greatest gift to us, and the many ways He continues to bless our little family.  

Christmas Eve
Church and out to dinner with Mom, Dad, Fred, Kay, Kelly, Eric, Jenny, Ava and Parker.  Then, once we were home, Lucy and Dad sprinkled reindeer food in our front lawn!   













Christmas morning at home









Christmas evening 
Dinner and fun at Fred and Kay's home with Mom, Dad, Kelly, Nancy, Justin and Jason!











Monday, December 20, 2010

Fa-La-La-La-La!

Every Wednesday evening since mid-August, Lucy has been going to choir practice.  Her first performance was in November and she's performed twice this month! She just loves it!  Her choir teacher, Miss Lynn, does a wonderful job teaching the kids songs and entertaining them during practice.

 Emsley and Lucy

Kay and Fred has us over for brunch to celebrate Lucy's first performance!

Our Lu was on the front row during their Christmas performance...her bow was bobbing and her shoulders were almost shaking...she was really into it!






Lucy and Ava

Lucy and Miss Lynn

Our Sunday School class organized a Christmas pageant for all of the children...Lucy was an Angel...she loved wearing the costume!





And, all that singing seems to be rubbing off on Eli...he has a Christmas carol for you! 

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Snow Day = Pajama Day!

We're having our coldest December around here since the 1940's....brrrrrrrrr!  We got snow on Sunday afternoon, more overnight, and schools were closed on Monday.  The outside fun didn't last long, but we enjoyed being cozy inside!