December Happenings

I love December because we always feel the need to catch up with old friends that I miss the rest of the year. I have decided to make that a priority over 2009, so that December isn't so rushed, and I enjoy people all year long.

We had a KD dinner at Stix, and it was SO good to see everyone! I can't wait to hang out again!

I was also able to catch up with two of my very favorite people from nursing school, Erin and Audra. Audra brought along precious Drew, and Erin is due in July! Our December lunch next year will be a little more chaotic :) Blake, we missed you, but because we all work nights, we understand the need for SLEEP!!The Collierville Christmas parade was as entertaining as ever with the Gardners. Collierville does such a great job of making a city feel like a small town. BRRR! It's begining to look a lot like Christmas!

December 9, Luke and I celebrated 2 years of Wedded Bliss! He came home that night with these beautiful red roses and a very sweet handwritten note...He's such a romantic :) I had to work that night, so I made a yummy meal of champagne shrimp, and we celebrated over the weekend.

On Friday night, we went to Paula Deen's restaurant in Tunica. It is an AYCE buffet, and as you know, I was in heaven. Everything I put on my plate was delicious, and several items had the recipe available! I just adore her! We then went to a concert that featured the Eli Young Band, Julianne Hough, and Josh Grayson. We had a blast!Saturday, we hung out and went to Graceland. Neither one of us had ever been inside, and it was awesome! I just love Elvis! We had a wonderful time being tourists in our own town, and just being together. I love that boy!

My Dad turned the big 5-0 on December 7...and decided his mid-life crisis would be permanent. My mom surprised him with a trip to Vegas and he came home with an everyday reminder! No, not a show girl...

We also picked out Kate's bedding. Her crib is cherry colored wood, but you can see how stinkin cute it is! I love it! (the bedding seems so anti-climatic after Dad's new ink :)

One of the greatest titles we can have is "old friend". We never appreciate how important old friends are until we are older. The problem is we need to start our old friendships when we are young. We then have to nurture and grow those friendships over our middle age when a busy life and changing geographies can cause us to neglect those friends. Today is the day to invest in those people we hope will call us 'old friend" in the years to come. Grant Fairley

Happy Turkey Day!!

I know, I know...I am WAY behind!! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and this year we did it up right! We celebrated Thanksgiving with several feasts. The week started out with a meal at Ms. Amy's, and it was delicious!

I had to work Thanksgiving day, but I met my family and we headed over to PawPaw & Nannie's for more food! We also had the pleasure of having Ms. Amy in town for all of the festivities! Can you tell my dad ate enough?

Thursday night, Luke began preparing for his turkey which we ate on Friday at Nana & Ned's. Again, way more food than I needed, but oh so delicious!

Saturday, we ended our Thanksgiving week with a catfish fry at Daddy Doc and Granny Ts. You can really tell I am pregnant after this week full of FOOD!!!

Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day. ~Robert Caspar Lintner

I'm addicted...

To feeling Kate kick!!!

She is most active during the day (when I am usually asleep), so after I wake up for a midmorning restroom break, I lay in bed and just enjoy feeling her move live CRAZY!! She is going to be a dancing fool. At work last night, she let everyone else feel her moves. If I don't feel her for a while, I am not opposed to shaking my belly a little...I get reprimanded from the husband who tells me to "Leave her alone!!" Whatev.

Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music. ~William Stafford

It's A...

GIRL!!!! We found out on Halloween that we will have a Katherine Tally Cantrell in March! As you can imagine, we are beyond thrilled and are looking forward to meeting our new addition! I can't believe 63% of yall were correct :)

We went from the Dr's office to my mom's school to tell her and my dad and Jake. Luke carved a punkin like so:

Isn't he talented??

We then went to Meg's school and told her! Luke has not quit smiling since we found out. He is going to be such a good dad, and can't wait to have a Daddy's Girl. I love it!

Luke also carved us two other pumpkins for our front porch. We had 16 Trick-or-treaters!!

Halloween at Work:

Not so Small Group Halloween Party:

They started playing Christmas music at midnight tonight on the River.

Oh Delilah!!

"A baby girl...one of the most beautiful miracles in life,one of the greatest joys we can ever know,and one of the reasons why there is a little extra sunshine, laughter and happiness in your world today."

UT vs State

Two weekends ago, we went and visited Blake in Big Orange Country. They won the game of course, but we enjoyed the weekend hanging out with the fam and seeing Blake's school. I LOVE this time of year, and the mountains made it even prettier. Orange is not as pretty as maroon, but Knoxville is a wonderful place to be!

Lindsey's Wedding

We spent last weekend in Alabama celebrating Lindey and Adam's beautiful wedding!! We were able to stay with Tricia and Caleb, eat good food, and be a part of a wonderful ceremony. Here are some pics from the wedding:

We hurried home for me to go to the Carrie Underwood concert with my mom, my grandmother and my sister. We had an absolutely Wonderful time, and Carrie was amazing! Love that girl!

Our Home!!

Happenings

Like I said previously, we just got internet a few weeks ago. Here are some pictures of What Has Been Going On! We start with telling the family our baby news. We were 2 for 2 in making our Dads cry! When we told my parents, we drove over and gave my dad his Father's Day gift, which was late. He opened the tie, and then there was a bib in the bottom of the bag that said "I Love Grandpa!" To say him and my mom were surprised is an understatement! Meg happened to be at home, thank goodness, or she would have missed the big announcement! Katie and Michael came in town that night, and Luke nonchalantly threw it into conversation about our garden. We talked Ms. Amy into coming Saturday, and Bandit had a bib on that said, "I Love Grandma!" She thought it was silly until she realized what it meant, and then she couldn't quit smiling and screaming!! We drove and met Luke's Dad and Nina Sunday night for dinner, and we told them the news! We told Nannie and PawPaw and Granny that night also. Monday, we drove to Nana & Ned's, Daddy Doc and Granny T's, and Aunt Kelly's with Bandit in a tshirt that said, "I'm a Big Brother!" The picture in the middle is one that I mailed to some of my close friends and family. On the back it said, "Price of picture $.15, Price of postage $.27, Finding out there are two of us in this picture PRICELESS!" We were so excited to tell everyone, as you can see!! We told Supper Club a week later, and had the waiter bring out baby petit fours for dessert. Thanks, Valerie, for filling everyone in on what was going on! July: The Twilight Premier, Hanging out, Lindsey's Oxford shower, & a Nursing Conference in Nashville! September:Top three pics are from Lindsey's Shower Luncheon in Starkville, Jake's Bday, Maggie's new trick, Church Fish Fry, Lindsey's Bachelorette Party in Nashville, & our end of the table at Molly's 30th bday dinner! Luke's Bday Party was a hit! We had about 60 people come over the celebrate the birth of my hot husband! We had a bonfire and roasted hotdogs and made smores! Thank you to everyone who came to see our new home and to celebrate Luke! Happy 27th! Some more of October: "Just Hatched" onesie from Aunt Katie, hanging out, The Piranha, Will finding out the Big News, The boys comparing scores at Jake's bday Lasertag, Larry and Nina's wedding, My sweet friend Becky and her family stayed with us one night last week on their trek from Tyler, TX to KY! Arent her boys precious?, Bandit in Ella's Halloween Necklace! I somehow missed these two cute pics from Luke's bday! His mom came into town on Sunday and we went and ate at The Majestic and then rode the trolley around downtown. Again, Happy 27th!

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers

Belly Pics

We have internet!!! I no longer feel like Laura Ingalls Wilder, and my camera has been emptied of the pics I have been saving since JULY!!! It might take me a while to post everything I want to, so bear with me faithful readers!First, I have belly pics for Tracy. So cute, huh?

“I have a little bit of a belly, a tiny bit of pooch. It's the one thing I don't want to lose. I just like having some softness. If I lose that, then Tom might leave me.” Nicole Kidman

Seriously?

Get in my belly!

Your baby continues to grow and is now approximately the size of a large lime! The crown-to-rump length of your developing child is 1.75 to 2.4 inches. The weight of the fetus is approximately 8 grams at this point. The growth of your baby is phenomenal now and your baby's length will double in the next three weeks. The head is grossly out of proportion and is almost half of the baby's length. You are almost at the end of your first trimester and while changes continue to occur quickly in your baby, they are happening at a slower rate in you. This is the last week of the embryonic period. From now on, your baby will be called a fetus. Your baby's fingernails appear this week! External genitalia are beginning to show distinguishing features and the development of male or female will be complete in three weeks. The placenta's blood vessels increase to provide your baby with the nutrients and oxygen he needs for continued growth. Your baby's ears are gradually moving from the neck towards the sides of his head. Inside of your baby's abdomen, the intestines are developing. Because the intestines are so large, some of them project into the umbilical cord and they will return to the abdomen within the next week or two. At the size of a plum, your baby is now able to swallow. The urinary system functions. The baby swallows and urinates the amniotic fluid and the fluid is continually replaced. The baby is kicking but the mother cannot feel it yet. All vital organs are formed and, for the most part, function normally. From now on, they will grow in size and efficiency. Today at work I got to hear the heartbeat again. Sounded like butterfly wings. And he kicked! So crazy to hear all of that going on inside of me!

Babies are such a nice way to start people.-- Don Herrold

Whew!

We are finally moved in and getting settled in our new house! We closed a week later than we thought because our well had not been tested yet. And we don't have a phone or internet because the line hasn't been run to our house. I have always wanted to live during the Little House on the Prairie time period, but I dont see how people live without a fridge! I will post some pictures once we have internet!

"No man but feels more of a man in the world if he have but a bit of ground that he can call his own. However small it is on the surface, it is four thousand miles deep; and that is a very handsome property."

~Charles Dudley Warner

I went to the Breaking Dawn release party, and me and my friends won 1st place in the costume contest! Yes, we were the oldest ones there, and yes Rosalie had 17 year olds hitting on her, but we had a wonderful time, and the book is wonderful! I finished the book tonight at work, and it is fabulous! We are even on the website! I am famous! If you have read the books, please appreciate the detail in our costumes. We were "Prom Bella, Alice, and Rosalie."

"How strongly are you opposed to Grand Theft Auto?"

Notice anything new at the top? We had our first appointment last Friday! He has a good, strong heartbeat and was dancing like crazy! Thanks for everyone keeping it a secret (kinda), and for calling and checking on us on Friday. We are so excited and I still can't believe there is a baby in there. (I know I said "he," but we won't know for sure for a while. I think it is a "he," but we will see!)

A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.-- Eda J. Le Shan

New House!

We bought a NEW house and will be closing on Thursday!! WooHoo! It is in Byhalia, MS, on two acres of land, and absolutely perfect! We cannot wait to move in this weekend. Here are some pics: Front of house, Back of House, Dining Room/Entry hall, Master bedroom, Master bath, kitchen

Tour of Mississippi

Our weekend started Thursday night with Lindsey and Adam coming in town for dinner. Lindsey celebrated her 25th bday on Wednesday, so we went to one of her favorite restaurants, Bonefish Grille. Two words- Bangbang Shrimp! Yum, yum yum! I am already craving them again, and I think Luke might have to get take-out one night this week. I had the crabcakes and the soup, and Luke had fish, and it was all delicious! This was our first time to eat there, but hopefully not our last! (Boys are so awkward when you ask them to take a pic together.) I successfully got Lindsey addicted to Twilight...probably not the best idea before the bar exam! One of my friends, Eden, just graduated from cosmetology school. She had an interview Friday, and I volunteered to let her put highlights into my hair for the interview. While my head was in the sink, the lady that managed the salon came over and asked how she was going to style my hair. Eden went on to tell her how she was going to fix it CURLY like it always is. The manager said, "Why don't you blow it out STRAIGHT!?!" My eyes got as huge as saucers, and I am sure Eden's did too. Eden has never seen my hair straight, and it has not been straightened in 4.5 YEARS! She recovered gracefully, and went to work with a round brush and blow dryer. Poor thing didn't even have a straightener! When looking at the final result, if they don't offer her the job they are Crazy because it looked fabulous! I spent Friday night in Oxford for our yearly Mother-Daughter Supper Club Getaway. As always, we ate, shopped, and stayed up way to late talking! We did get the experience of a rainbow cake, and I can't wait to try and make this myself. It was divine! Saturday, we ate lunch with Luke's dad, Larry, and Nina. We had not seen his Dad for Father's Day, and his birthday was last week, so we had a lot of catching up to do! It was a nice visit and we will hopefully see them again soon in our neck of the woods. Saturday night, we mosied (sp?) on down to Jackson for a wedding. One of Luke's friends from high school, Nikki, got married at the Capitol Club. The ceremony definitely had parts that made it personal, and the reception was fabulous! The bride and groom walked out to "I Feel Good!" We stayed with some of Luke's hs friends parents, and I think he really enjoyed going "home."

Did I mention we made a much-needed pit stop at Bop's?

This is my last week of nights for a while. Starting Monday, I have 4 full weeks of the day shift! WOOHOO!!!

Happiness consists in activity. It is a running steam, not a stagnant pool. John Mason