It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I LOVE the holidays. A lot of people get stressed with the hustle and bustle that comes along with Christmas.. not me. I love to give gifts, so it is fun for me to shop for others. I love Christmas lights. I love all of the yummy food that usually comes with this time of year. And I love the time with family and friends. This year is especially exciting because it is Chrisily's 1st Christmas. Boy have I had fun shopping for her! (and yes, I know she is only 5 months old and really doesn't need much.) I can't believe how quickly time is flying by.. Christmas is in a week and a half!
One of the reasons it might seem like time is flying is because we have been super busy! We just got home from a trip to Mississippi. Luke and Meagan got married on Dec. 10th and we wouldn't have missed it for the world. We drove down on Weds/Thurs. then we headed to the MS Gulf Coast on Friday and then back to Jackson on Sunday then home on Mon/Tues. See what I mean about being busy?! Chrisily did really well considering the complete disruption of her schedule and all of the time in the car. The wedding was beautiful and we enjoyed the time with the Townsends.

Our Family

KK and Chrisily

Gramps and Chrisily

Mr. and Mrs. Luke Townsend

This time last year we were sharing our wonderful news with family and friends- that we were expecting! We also had to say goodbye to a very dear man, my grandpa. I am so thankful we were able to share our good news with him before he passed away. I am also thankful for the 26 years I had with him. I miss him greatly and think about him daily. I wish that Chrisily had been able to meet him. I know she would have loved him and I know she would have brought great joy to his life too. There are times when I look at her and I see grandpa. That's when I know he is still with us, watching over us.

At this time of year especially, we need to remember to slow down, count our blessings, and thank God for our family and friends. Sometimes the real reason we celebrate Christmas gets lost in the presents, the lights, the shopping, etc. We need to celebrate Jesus' birth and remember everything he did for us. We have been doing an Advent calendar with Chrisily since the beginning of the month. Each night we open another flap and read a piece of scripture about Christmas. Some might think she is too young for this but I believe that you are never to young to learn about Jesus and the love he has for us.
Peace, Love, and Joy,






Here are some of the pictures from our family photo shoot with Melissa Lynn Hunt Photography in Nov.

We give thanks!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My family did. We enjoyed a day with family and eating good food. We have so much to be thankful for this year. I did a new thing this year. Since Nov. 1st through today I have written one thing I was thankful for that matched the corresponding letter of the alphabet. It's called the ABCs of Thankfulness. Below is everything I wrote about this year. Of course there are millions of other things I could name. This has been a very special year for Jacob and I and I reflect on all of our blessings daily. Here are a couple of snapshots from our Thanksgiving and then my ABCs of Thankfulness.

{Before Lunch}

{After Lunch}

My little turkey!

Me and my sweet girl

ABCs of Thankfulness



A-Aunts.. I am thankful for my aunts and my sister and sister-in-laws that have become Aunts to Chrisily.

B-Baking/Baked goods.. I love to bake and I am a huge fan of yummy baked goods. I love the warmth and delicious aroma baking fills your house with.

C-Chrisily. I am so very thankful for this perfect little girl and for the opportunity to be her mommy. I always knew a parent's love was special but I never knew just how special until we had Chrisily. My life has been changed forever. I love you to the moon and back Chrisily!

D-Dogs.. I am thankful for my two dogs, Chester and Sophie. They have brought much joy to our lives.

E-education... I am thankful for my education. I am also very thankful for all of the teachers that work so hard every day for the children of our future.

F-Family & Friends.. I am so very thankful for my family and friends. They are what makes this journey through life so special.

G-God. I am thankful for God and the relationship I have with him.

H-Husband.. I am thankful for my husband. I wouldn't change a thing about him. I thank God every night for bringing him into my life.

I-In-laws. I am blessed with not only one family but two. A lot of time In-laws get a bad rep... I cannot relate to this. My in-laws have treated me as one of them from the start. I am so thankful to have them in my life.

J-Job. I am thankful for my current job.. Stay at home mom. This is the most rewarding job and I am so grateful for the opportunity. I am also thankful for my teaching job. It is incredibly rewarding to touch the lives of little ones and know that you made a difference. All of the crazy politics aside, I really love teaching those sweet kinder-babies. (And they let me take... a year off for maternity leave!) I must say that the staff at PSRES are fabulous and they are what makes that school so wonderful. I am blessed to be a part of it. And last but not least, my newest job, an Independent Scentsy Consultant! I am so excited for this journey and can't wait to get started!

K-Kids. Kids bring so much happiness to the world. They are full of innocence and have the most love to give. I couldn't imagine a world without them.

L-Love and Laughter. These are two more things that I cannot imagine living without. Love for my family and friends and the love from others.. a very special feeling. Laughter... I love laughter that is 'contagious'. Life is so much better when you laugh!

M-Mothers. I am blessed with an incredible mom. I feel so blessed to have her. People that know her tell me all of the time how wonderful she is. I hope I can be as good a mom to Chrisily and she has been to me. I love you Mom!

N-Naps. I am thanful for the naps my sweet girl takes (when she takes them).. no matter how long because when she wakes up she is so smiley, refreshed, and happy! I also love a Sunday afternoon nap (well, any day really but I usually don't have time for a nap)

O-Ocean.. I am thankful for the beauitful ocean. I am blessed because my grandmother has a place at Holden Beach. There are few things better than sitting on the beach enjoying the sounds and beauty of the ocean waves. I grew up vacationing at the beach with family and I have such fond memories of that time we spent together. It is still one of my favorite vacations.

P-Providence Baptist Church. I am thankful for finding Providence. Jacob and I have really enjoyed going there. The people have been so friendly since the first day we visited. We have always been comfortable there. The thing I love most though, is the worship. During the songs/praise time, there is an incredible feeling in the sanctuary...it's indescribable. Pastor John also has a way of capturing your attention. I enjoy listening to him. It's a wonderful church, filled with wonderful people, and I miss it when we don't go.

Q-{peace and} Quiet- I love quiet time. It can be first thing in the morning or at the end of a long, busy day.. Sometimes I like to curl up with a good book, other times I just like the enjoy the silence and reflect on the blessings in my life.

R-relaxation. I am a sucker for being pampered (who isn't??). I am thankful for pedicures, hot stone massages, facials... and overall relaxing! They rejuvenate me and make me a happier, nicer person- everyone wins!! :-)

S-Scentsy. I am thankful for this new opportunity with a great business.

T-Technology. I am thankful for the cell phones, internet, etc. that enables me to keep in touch with friends and family- near and far instantly.

U-Uncles.. I am thankful for my uncles and my brother/brother-in-laws that are Chrisily's uncles!

V-Videos.. I am thankful for the ability to record any moment in time so that it can be enjoyed many years from now. Jacob and I watch the video from our wedding every year on our anniversary. It is one of my favorite parts of the day.. I get butterflies in my tummy and all of those feelings and emotions from that day come back to me as if it were happening all over again. Now that we have Chrisily, I am even more thankful for the ability to record special moments. I can't believe she is almost 5 months old. She has grown so much already and I am thankful that I can 'freeze' some of these special times.

W-winter.. I love winter and the holidays that come with it. I also love the way the world looks covered in snow. :-)

X- (e)Xtraordinary food and (e)xtra time with family

Y- You!

Z-zzZzz.. Sleep! I am thankful for sleep.. and that my little girl has slept through the night since 9 weeks! She must know her mommy is really grumpy if she doesn't get enough sleep. :-)

Thankful

This is the time of year when we thinnk about all of the blessings in our lives. I am doing the ABCs of Thankfulness and each day I tell something that I am thankful for that corresponds with the letter of the alphabet for that day. I will post all of them on Thanksgiving once the list is complete.
Everything is going well with us. Chrisily turned 4 months old on Friday. We had her well check on Monday. She is weighing in at 14.15lbs and 26 inches long! She has grown so much in these four months. Her doctor said she was perfect, but we already knew that. :-) Here are some pictures of Chrisily at 4 months.

Noah (15 months) and Chrisily

This week I took on a new business venture. I became an Independent Scentsy Consultant. I was introduced to their products by one of my parents. They gave me some as a teacher gift. I ended up having a party last year and ordering a ton of stuff. I love the products. I am excited about this opportunity. It will allow me to still be home with Chrisily but also bring in a little cash for our family with a flexible schedule. If you are like me and love the products or are curious about them, you can contact me or visit my official Scentsy website: http://LTownsend.scentsy.us/ .

I can't believe Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks away! This time last year we were secretly rejoicing about being pregnant. This year we have our beautiful little girl to share all of our holiday traditions with. Although this has always been my favorite time of year, this year is going to be the best yet. <3

Fall is the time when the leaves fall down...

Fall is my absolute favorite season (spring is a close 2nd). We were lucky enough to spend a few days in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, NC at the Grove Park Inn this past week. Jacob's firm paid for him to attend some CPE at the Inn, so we turned it into a mini-vacation. The Inn was incredible and the views are even more stunning. It just doesn't get any better than fall in the NC mountains.

See what I mean?

We had never been to the Grove Park Inn but we heard it was wonderful. It didn't disappoint. The stonework is amazing. I don't know that I have ever seen that much stone in one place before. The room was spacious and we had a nice view.

Chrisily relaxing on the king bed.. I couldn't resist the little nightcap that came with the sleeper. Fancy hotel calls for fancy pjs, right?

The back side of the Inn

The view from our room (to the right)

The view from our room (to the left)

We checked in our Wednesday and we left on Friday.. so it was a short trip, but very enjoyable. This was Chrisily's first stay in a hotel and I think she did okay. The first night we didn't get much sleep. I think this was a combination of a lack of routine, a new place, and excess noise (from the hallways). The second night was much better. She even enjoyed one of her bottles on the porch overlooking the beautiful mountains.

Jacob was told by some ladies at work that he really needed to get me a spa treatment at the hotel spa. We had heard wonderful things about it but didn't really think about signing up for a treatment (they are a little pricey). However, being the fabulous husband that he is, he scheduled me a gingerbread facial for Friday before we left. This spa was incredible. Amazing. There really aren't words to describe it. You aren't allowed to take pictures in there.. but here are a couple I found on google images.

 This was my first facial, but I can promise, it won't be my last. I enjoyed every minute of the 80 minutes and hated for it to end. I wish we were staying another night becasure once you have a treatment, you have access to all of the areas of the spa for the day. Unfortunately we had to head home afterwards so I didn't get to spend a whole day in this luxurious place. Major brownie points to Jacob for this gift.

I was sad for our stay to come to an end but I was also happy that we still had the weekend to spend together! I love family time.

Until next time...

A month full of firsts

Chrisily is now 3 months old! This last month has been filled with 'firsts'. Jacob's cousin, Tim, was getting married in Mississippi so we flew in the the weekend. This was Chrisily's first plane ride, first trip out of state, and her first wedding. She did great with all three. She was a real trooper for the rehearsal and wedding. She didn't cry (much) and looked adorable in her little dresses (see below). This was also her first time staying at KK and Gramps. She got to meet Uncle Luke, Uncle Tim, Aunt Meagan, Aunt Lindsey, Aunt Vicki, mom's friend Jennifer, and dad's friend Darrow, and lots of other people! We had a great trip.

When we returned home we got back into our little routine. Chrisily didn't miss a beat. She continued to sleep through the night throughout all of the traveling (thank goodness!). She is sleeping for about 10-11 hours each night. She is definitely my child- loves to eat and sleep! She has grown so much in the past month. She is now rolling over. About a week and a half ago she rolled from front to back and back to front several times. She took a little break but now she is rolling from back to belly a lot. I finally caught it on video today (you can see it on our shutterfly share site). She also went to church for the first time this past Sunday. This was the first service in the new sanctuary and we thought it was a good time to start attending regularly again.

Ready for Church

Jacob and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary last Friday. It sure doesn't seem like it has been five years. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun! We took a picture of us holding a picture of us on our wedding day. In five years, we will take a picture of us holding this picture. We will do this for every five year anniversary. I thought it was a neat idea.

My good friend Melissa took 3 month pictures of Chrisily last Wednesday. I am still waiting to see all of them but she has posted a few sneak peaks. Here they are:

We took Chrisily to the pumpkin patch on Sunday. She is so small next to those pumpkins!

We have had a great month and we can't wait to see what the next one has in store!