Double, double, toil & trouble!

Wow, I have so much to catch up on, I don't know where to start! Since I last blogged (which I don't remember when that was exactly...) Kacie had her second baby, Little Miss Mollie. I was a little sad that she used a name that I loved so much, but I love that little girl to pieces I am so glad it's hers! :) She looked so much like Macie when she was born, but now looks so different. It will be interesting to see how much they favor as they get older. Macie is just smitten over her and loves to give her kisses, accessorize her with silly bands, and wants to tell you all about "Mah-yee" as soon as you walk through the door! :)

I started teaching Pre-K at Learning Safari and absolutely LOVE it! I work at the best place, with the best assistant, and of course the best students! They really do make going to work so easy. My "kids" as I call them, say the darndest things and are always making me laugh (or pull out my hair... it's usually one extreme or another - ha!). Our days are busy and full of learning through play. Really, my job could not be any more fun! So far this year, we have gone on 3 field trips (and it's only October!) We first went to the local pet store to pick out class pets -- fish! We brought back 5 fish with us. Their names are Tiki, Minnie Mouse, Fish, Rainbow, and Rockstar. Yes, these were voted on. We next went to the pumpkin patch and took a trip to the Fire Department. So much fun! My mom came to visit my classroom while she was on Fall Break a few weeks ago, and she brought them several new books to add to our classroom library. They loved "Miss Julie" and especially loved hearing her read each story, as she brought each character to life with different voices. I've never had them sit so still for me when I read! This past week was our Fall Break and I missed them so much... I can't wait to go in on Monday and hear all about what they did over their break!

Speaking of Fall Break, Chris & I just got back from a trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with his parents. We stayed at the very tip-top of Bluff Mountain at a cabin called "Heaven on Earth." Oh boy, it surely lived up to it's name! The view was beautiful! You could see mountains forever! We spent the majority of our first day at a hands on museum called WonderWorks where you could experience all of these weird things like laying on a bed of nails, a gravity defying bike ride, rock climbing, etc. It was so much fun! We ate dinner that night at Cracker Barrel -- a first for Chris! The next day we spent the morning at the cabin and went right after lunch to go horseback riding. My horse was the one that did not want to stay on the path. Of course! Smiley's horse was called "Okie" which was short for "Oklahoma." His horse liked to stay behind at least 1/4 of a mile the entire time so we called him "Hokie Okie." It was so funny! We left there and the guys went to play in the arcade while the girls went shopping! We later met up and ate at Johnny Carinos -- an old favorite of mine! :)

We left the Tennessee mountains for a 5 1/2 hour drive back to Milledgeville. We stayed at home just long enough to shower and then headed back out for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Newnan so that we could make it to the Perkins Family Barn Dance! It was a shindig that Connie put together and was so much fun! I hope this becomes a tradition!

Oh! And one last piece of great news... Nathan's going to be a big brother! We could not be more excited for Sara & Jason and the little bundle of joy they are adding to their family! :)

A Southern Gentleman in Georgia!!

Ladies, If you like tall, dark, handsome men & love baseball, have I got a catch for YOU!!! :)

Meet Jonathan...

What are some of his perks??

• 
  
  
  He is 24 years old (will be 25 in September)



• 
  
  
  He is 6'1" -- how's that for tall, dark, and handsome?



• 
  
  
  He lives in Athens, Georgia



• 
  
  
  He is an avid baseball fan, and currently works for UGA as the Athletic Departments Equipment Manager.
  


• 
  
  He hopes to persue a career in the same line of work, as he just graduated last year.
  


• 
  
  He does NOT drink or smoke -- never has, never will!

Jonathan is my husband's best friend & is such a genuinely sweet guy who just hasn't happened to find his soulmate. He would love the opportunity to win your heart with his warm smile and his "southern gentleman" mannerisms.

Ladies, if you're looking for someone who will treat you right, shoot me an email at thegilesfamily@bellsouth.net telling me a little bit about yourself, as well as a picture & I will put it in the right hands!

I promise, you will not be disappointed with this guy! He's a keeper!!

A little bit of this...

Yesterday, Mom came and helped me clean, organize and rearrange my classroom! She had brought me the curtains that my Aunt Connie had sewn for me! They are such a pretty color and really "pop" in that room. Everything looks GREAT! All it needs now is 20 little people to fill it up! :) I am absolutely ecstatic about starting in just 3 weeks from TODAY!

Also, yesterday, Chris & I got approved for a loan so that we can buy the house that we've been living in from his dad. We close on it August 12!! :) Yay!

It has been extremely hot and humid lately here in Milledgeville. Apparently the temperatures hit record highs a few days ago... yikes!

Tomorrow, I have a hair appointment to get my hair trimmed up in the back, and then I will be off to meet Mom to pick up my little sister & Robyn. They are coming to stay Thursday night with us so that they can help decorate in my classroom & visit some of the colleges here. I plan to show them Georgia College & State University, Georgia Military College, and Macon State College. Let's hope one or both of them decide to come be over here on my side of Georgia for a while! :)

Today is just a relaxing day... After cleaning all day yesterday with Mom, my allergies really started acting up last night, so I took a Benadryl. I don't think I've completely come out of the drowsy state from it yet. :( I'll just spend the day cleaning my own house and get started getting things ready for Pre-K Orientation! :)

Wonderful Wednesday

Chris & I got back from Lake Junaluska Monday afternoon. We had gone up to celebrate the 4th of July with my family. Our air conditioning is finally working again after having been out for about 2 weeks!! Now that we're home, Chris is back to work & I'm wrapping up my first semester of Master's school in Library Media while also prepping for my first year of teaching Pre-K @ Learning Safari! :) I love being creative and being a Pre-K teacher lets me do just that while also instilling a love of learning in my students. How perfect is that? I've drawn & colored our daily class schedule, created our "days of school" calendar, and started creating and organizing the standards we're going to be covering next year. I'm so excited! Chris starts Heating & Air school tomorrow at CGTC here in Milledgeville. Maybe next time our air goes out he can fix it! Ha!

Busy Bees!

Chris & I decided last weekend that our house needed a little facelift...a little TLC, if you will. So, we headed out to Lowe's -- ahh! I love Lowe's! :) We found a color we want to paint our house and one for the trim as well. We came home right away to notice that before we painted... we had to get rid of the mildew -- yuck! We spent a good portion of last Sunday scrubbing our porch with tons of elbow grease. It was no fun! I was supposed to finish the scrubbing this week while I was off from school, but wouldn't you know that I actually had school work! Imagine that! Meanwhile, Smiley thinks of this more genious idea to buy some deck cleaner spray to kill the mold and mildew and then it just washes away! We decided we would try it on Saturday morning. Man, did it work! All of that yuckiness came right off! We figured it would take a while to dry and didn't figure we would begin painting until Sunday. About an hour later, we went out to realize that it had already dried! So, we went ahead and started painting the rails and trim of our porch. Good thing, too, because it definitely needed two coats and took us the rest of the day Saturday and practically all day on Sunday! But, we are completely happy with the results and can't wait to see the rest of the house smile brighter as we continue to improve everything else! :) Here are a few pictures from our hard work:

Our house before...

My hard workin' man!

I even got in on the paintin' action!

Delilah figured she would help some, too!

All finished! :)

Next weekend we hope to get the floor of the porch stained chestnut... wish us luck!

Little Miss Macie is getting a...

SISTER!

I am so thrilled for her, because I know from experience how great it is to have a sister! There is no bond like it in the world! My sisters are hands-down my best friends, and the girls I know I can tell anything to! I feel sad for the girls who don't have sisters, and am just elated that Macie (& the new baby, too!) will get to enjoy the life-long excitement of having a sister!

Congratulations Wesley, Kacie, & Macie! :)

Team Pink or Team Blue -- Which one are YOU???

My sister-in-law and her husband are due to have another baby August 05, 2010!

(They already have a precious little girl, Macie who will be 2 in September!)

Today is the big day to find out whether or not they are having a BOY or a GIRL!

They are both so funny, because they started out (after Macie but before they were expecting again) that Kacie wanted another girl & Wesley wanted a boy.

Now, Kacie wants a little boy (to have the experience of both!) and Wesley wants a little girl (because he just loves Macie so much, and wants one just.like.her!)

Of course they would be happy with either!

But, if I were a betting woman, my official guess is that Macie is going to be getting a little

brother!

We'll see tonight! :)

Boys vs. Girls

Tonight my husband and I sit separated in two different rooms in the house. Because Monday night t.v. consumes us. However, we are both interested in VERY different genres of television entertainment.

Here is what I'm watching on t.v.:

I haven't watched this show a lot in the past, but I do love to watch the beautiful dances & am in love with the sassy-frass outfits! I try to imagine how difficult it must be for the "stars" to learn to dance like that -- I know how much dancing talent I have (which is none!) and as I'm watching them, I'm envisioning myself trippin' & flippin' all over the dance floor! I particularly am interested in this season though because of who's on it! Here's my recap so far..

• Chad Ochocinco: Pretty graceful for a football player! And very charming... :)
  
• Shannen Doherty: Never have really cared for her characters or in real life...


• Jake Pavelka: Apparently he wooed a lot of girls hearts on the Bachelor, we'll see how many American hearts he can woo on this show!
  
• Buzz Aldrin: So precious! Can't dance at all, but he is so cute! How brave of an American hero!


• Evan Lysacek: His figure skating skills definitely help him, but he's got some work to do.


• Nicole Scherzinger: Absolutely the best by far! Of course, being a singer/performer does help a little bit!


• Kate Gosselin: Loved her on 'Jon & Kate plus 8'... how could you not love her on Dancing with the Stars?! Oh, and I love her hair extensions!


• Niecy Nash: This girl is funny! And a pretty funny lookin' dancer, I'm afraid...


• Aiden Turner: Who??
  
• Pamela Anderson: This girl can work anything she sets her mind to!


• Erin Andrews: LOVE her and her sassy little self! She can really dance for a sports news person!

... Meanwhile, my husband is in "his" room watching this:

There's an obvious difference in preferance of t.v. shows tonight at the Giles house. Atleast I won the "battle" of the big t.v.!

... We'll call a truce tonight when we get to snuggle together!

A little "ketchup" please! :)

Let me start off my saying that if you are a follower from Kelly's Korner -- thanks for reading! I don't blog as often as I would like, but I don't feel like I have a whole lot to blog about day-to-day. I have tried to start blogging more about once a week so that atleast my posts will have some "meat" to them when I do sit down to write! :) I look forward to reading your blogs, too! So, welcome!

Today, I do not have a whole lot to post about. But I do have a little "ketchup" to do! (*Since I am going to be a teacher, I am always looking for new ideas, strategies, and suggestions for keeping kids on task, keeping organized, etc. One day I found the idea to give each student a "ketchup" folder with a picture of a bottle of ketchup on the front and this is where they will put work that they aren't finished with yet so that they can "catch up" on it later when they have time. Cute huh?*)

I finished up my student teaching at Creekside (tear!) almost 2 weeks ago. It was a bittersweet moment, because as sad as I was about leaving a place I'd spent a vast majority of my senior year at, and students & faculty I had grown attached to, it was a fun feeling to know that the next time I would be teaching, it would be in my own classroom! Yay!

After that, Macon State gave us the next week off. I thoroughly enjoyed my "no thinking" week. I caught up on all of my DVR'd shows, cleaned house, and pampered myself -- no doubt! It was a great week off! This week was almost just as good as I only had class one day and then started Spring Break! Yeah! My spring break will be spent doing some volunteer work at Creekside & putting in more applications (I mean, if we want to have a baby next year -- I gotta have a job!) I will also be going to Newnan to spend some much needed time with my family. :)

This week was my dad's birthday, and Chris & I were able to go to Newnan to celebrate with him during the week. Unfortunately, it was because we also had to attend a funeral. But it was a nice and unexpected treat!

I also got our wedding scrapbook I had created through Creative Memories Storybook Creator in the mail. I LOVE IT! I am just thrilled with it because as bummed as I was about our wedding pictures & our stupid photographer, I was able to make the pictures beautiful and give them the glory they deserved! Here are a few pictures of the pages...

I also created a book for my sister which should be in sometime next week! It is of Nathan's first year from pregnancy to 1st birthday. It is so cute & I will post pictures of it when it comes in!

This Saturday is a job fair that I will be attending. I have heard they will be doing on-site interviews, so I'm hoping this goes well for me! Cross your fingers -- I'm pretty excited. Also, that afternoon, my parents are coming to visit!

Chris & I have started the 40 day Love Dare challenge. Have any of you tried this yet with your spouses? It is so much fun and so revealing of your relationship, yet brings you in even more closer than you thought you could be. Chris & I have a great relationship, don't get me wrong, but it is just something to make what we currently have stronger. I love it & we both look forward to reading it each night to see what our dare for the next day is! :) We are only on Day 6, but I find myself carrying on dares from the first couple of days into situations that happen now. Such as trying to be more patient, not get so irritable, and show little random acts of kindness!

I can not speak enough about how much I love my husband! He is the absolute best thing that ever happened to my life and I am forever thankful for him! As you've read in our "love story" our fate was no accident. It had a purpose. It was supposed to happen. I accidentally fell in love with him, though. I didn't go by the books. I didn't play hard-to-get & make him fall for me first. I fell for him -- hard, face (er, heart) first, smack-dab in love with him from the first time I saw him! I just couldn't help it! And that feeling has never -- EVER -- left my heart! In fact, I think it has grown! I find things every day that I love more about him. The way he watches 2 hour shows with me that he doesn't care to watch, the way he cherishes my sweetnesses I give him, the way he stands going to a busy restaurant with a long wait after a hard day of work just so I can support my cooperating school! He loves me, unconditionally. And I love him for that! :)

Weekend Recap! :)

Chris & I had a spontaneously planned weekend! I love weekends like this, because you never know what to expect next!

Fridays are dress-down days at Creekside where I am student teaching, & I look forward to them all week! I always wear my Creekside t-shirt & my favorite pair of blue jeans from one of my favorite stores to shop at, Maurice's. I was so "in the mood" of dress-down friday, and having such a relaxed day, that I called Chris on my way home & told him I did not want to cook. So, on his way home he picked me up some Cheesesticks from Papa Johns (one of my favorites ever!), and he was going to have some spaghetti that his mom had made earlier. By the time he got home, I was starving so I devoured the cheesesticks. No sooner had I just taken my last bite, did his parents call & ask if we wanted to go out to eat @ the Brick! Ahh!! I was a little miffed that I didn't get to eat the Brick, but I just love the atmosphere, & had a great time seeing familiar faces & being with his parents! It's always so much fun, because Cindy & I talk school, & the boys talk work & sports. Chris & I spent the rest of the evening at home, just playing games & such.

The next morning, Chris had to get up early and go to work for a few hours. When he came home, we cleaned the house & sat inside because it was raining out :(. We had planned on washing our cars & putting his Camero up for sale, but there's always next weekend! That evening, Chris & I went to the movies to see Avatar! It was soooo good! The colors in the movie were unbelievable & the 3-D was awesome! I truly felt like I could have just walked right into the screen! The parts where they were hanging over the edge or falling down cliffs even got Chris's stomach a bit! Avatar is such a long movie (2 1/2 hours), that I was spent by the time it was over! I came home & pretty much fell straight to sleep. Chris stayed up and played video games with his friends. However, this night, he lost track of time and played until 4:30 in the morning!!!

Tough for him, because we got up & went to church Sunday morning! At least our church service doesn't start until 10:45. He got 5 1/2 hours of sleep! After church it started raining again, and seeing as how he was running on empty, we both laid down for a quiet afternoon nap! I love to take naps, & VERY rarely get to take one with my husband (he thinks naps are for children), seriously, I've probaby only napped with him two or three times -- ever! It was so nice & relaxing, and truly made my day!! :) :) :) Later that afternoon we went over to his grandparent's house to show them some things on their computer. Cindy & Smiley got them a computer for Christmas. They have absolutely no idea how to use it, and so we were showing them step-by-step & letting them take notes, renaming icons to say exactly what they do (Internet Explorer -- Click here twice to get on the internet). It's so cute! We left there, and had Chris's friend Scott & his wife, Candace over so that Scott could show Chris a few things on his computer! Candace & I always laugh at the boys & their obsessions with wrestling! Immediately after they left, we went to Chris's parents house for dinner. Now, I had planned & cooked Steak & Gravy for dinner, & it was still cooking & almost ready when they called & invited us over, but like I said earlier, we have so much fun with them! Besides, Macie & Wesley were both there while Kacie was at work, & I very rarely get to see Macie, so we decided we would refrigerate the Steak & Gravy for the next night, and go eat over there instead! Macie is such a mess! She is so smart in knowing who everybody is, and knowing how to get you to do what she wants. If she hurts herself, she's made a sad face and boo-hoo a little bit, and hold her boo-boo out to you for you to kiss. As soon as you kiss it, it's immeidately better! :) She loves to play on the computer, & LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba!

Today, is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and so I have the day off from school. I tried to sleep in, but since I am used to waking up at 6:30, 8:30 was "sleeping in" for me. Delilah & I have just been lounging around. I'm planning on going to eat lunch at Chris's grandmother's house since she's keeping Macie & having everyone over for lunch, and then, Summer is coming over for us to work on lesson plans. After she leaves, I plan to go to Wal-Mart, get my nails done, & then come home & get ready because Chris & I have a double-date tonight with Christy & Korey Sutton. We're going to eat at PJ's Steakhouse. That's right, we have one more night of not getting to eat our Steak & Gravy... hope it's still good for tomorrow night! :)

Rest in Peace? Doubt it!

Unfortunately on Friday, January 8, 2010, we lost my dear Papa Perkins. He was such a good man and lived a long life that proved so. He was an 82 year old dialysis patient, and truly could not fight any longer for his life. He remained in a medically-induced coma for about a week and a half before they decided to take him completely off of any life support on Friday. We all wondered "What is Papa thinking about? Is he dreaming? Is he just numb?" Kacie, my sister-in-law who is an ICU nurse for critical heart patients in Macon, told me that the sedation medicine makes the patients have good dreams of being at the beach in paradise and so on and so forth. This was a happy thought. However, there were many times during that week and a half that didn't compell you to have happy thoughts. Instead, our bodies went ahead and let our hearts and minds cope with "letting him go." At least mine did, anyways. So, when Friday came, of course I was sad. And I definitely cried when I heard. Yet, at his visitation, I could not be anything more than happy. I struggled with this as I thought "Gosh, there must be something wrong with me!" People kept coming up to me and asking me "How are you doing?" expecting me to say "Not so good..." but instead, I answered "I'm wonderful!" Hmmm..... I found myself telling people that if I knew anyone on this Earth that wanted to meet Jesus so bad, it was him! He wanted to meet Jesus so incredibly much, that the ONE time that his family is begging him to go back and sit in his chair & watch a Braves game & play his guitar, he said to himself "Ain't no way... I have a chance to meet Jesus. You think I'm gonna give that up?" We couldn't bring him home to Mt. Carmel Rd., because he was already headed home to Heaven.

So, Rest in Peace? Nah... He's not resting. You can bet your bottom dollar that he's up there dancing with my Memaw, a reunion they've both been waiting for, he's singing gospel songs with angels, and he's holding hands with God. He's too busy to rest. I hope he doesn't get worn out by the time I get there. I'm gonna want a dance or two with my Papa when that day comes.

Christmas & New Year's... long post! :)

Well, it has been quite some time since I have blogged last.... Since my last post, it has become 2010!!!

Christopher & I had a WONDERFUL Christmas that we would not have traded for anything! We wanted so badly to be able to spend time with both of our families and not feel rushed. We were worried we would be since there is a 2 1/2 hour drive to Newnan from Milledgeville. But we weren't & everything went smoothly!

Every year on Christmas Eve Eve, my Papa Perkins has everyone over to his house for chili dinner & gift exchange. This year, Chris & I decided that since we were going to try to come to Newnan Christmas day, that making that trip just 36 hours beforehand would not be feasible. So, instead, we decided to start our own Christmas Eve Eve Chili tradition with his family. It was really the first time we had hosted his whole immediate family. I had made the chili a day in advance so that all of the spices would be thoroughly soaked in. Unfortunately, we had a tough time getting it warmed back up the next day. Chris had the bright idea of sticking the chili pot in our microwave. He stepped away for just a minute and when he came back the pot was on fire!!! He blew the fire out, but there was an awful smell of burnt plastic in our house for several days... Lesson learned: Do not put metal in a microwave! His family all arrived and loved the chili, afterall! Macie felt so comfortable in our home just playing & "talking" up a storm! Cindy & Smiley surprised everyone by letting them open one gift from them. Chris & I got to open up the camera we had asked for -- a Canon Rebel T1I. It is a professional camera that has the really big adjustable lens on the front & a pop-up flash! We love it!

On Christmas Eve, we went to our church for their Christmas Eve service. It was so great to listen to their band play Christmas songs & particpate in the same candlelight tradition that I am so used to growing up in my home church in Newnan. We left the church, definitely feeling the Christmas spirit! Although it was raining, Chris was determined to have steaks. So out he went in the rain, to grill our steaks! They were so yummy & we decided that steaks on Christmas Eve was going to become a new tradition! :)

We woke up Christmas morning around 7:30 a.m. & had Christmas with each other. I had filled Christopher's stocking (& mine a little bit, too) which is something neither of us had done before! He loved everything! I had only given him little odds & ends (candy, tooth brush, beef jerky, Men's Health magazine, etc.) but I made sure to wrap everything so that it would be fun to open each little surprise! We then opened our gifts to each other. Chris had been asking for an iPod hook-up for his truck through the radio, since he does so much driving during the day. So, I went to Best Buy & got him the cords & everything he would need to hook it up, a mount to hold his iPod, & a gift card to cover the installation. He loved it! Chris got me a PSP to play for when he's occupied playing his PS3 (including a case, the Ratchet & Clank game, & all the cords & chargers), Mr. Pewterschmidt, a stuffed animal dog with a hat & scarf (proceeds went to St. Jude's hospital, which he knew I would love!!), and the most beautiful diamond-heart necklace from Kay Jewlers! :) We then, fixed "Christmas breakfast" which was going to consist of eggs & bacon, however, we burnt the bacon, so we just had eggs! :)

From there, we went to his parent's house. We opened our stocking & found lots of goodies in there! We don't receive candy in our stockings at their house, we receive tylenol, cold medicine, & vitamins! This is what we ask for, as those can get expensive!! Shortly after that, Kacie, Wesley, & Macie came over. We all opened our gifts to each other. One of the best gifts we received from Cindy & Smiley (besides our camera) was our new white Down Comforter! It is absolutely angelic feeling! However, the best gift of all came from Kacie & Wesley, as they handed Cindy & Smiley a gift bag....with a sonogram inside! They're expecting a new baby August 05, 2010! :) They don't plan to find out what it is!

We left there about 11:00 & went to Chris's grandparent's house just down the road. They always do such a big Christmas for everyone! At our stockings over here, we do receive candy -- and lots of it! Which is fine by me & my empty candy drawer @ home! Chris & I always do a shopping trip with MaMa every year between Thanksgiving & Christmas where we pick out about $150 worth of gifts that his grandmother buys for us for Christmas. However, each year, she always surprises us with a bit more! :) This year, I got the prettiest white sheets with a floral design (to match our new Down Comforter from Cindy & Smiley), the most beautfiul & warm cream-colored coat, & lots & lots of clothes! :) Chris got a sweeper vaccuum, an electric knife, some air-tight food storage bins, and some clothes! It was such a surprise when Kacie & Wesley gave MaMa & Pop the sonogram surprise, too! Their faces were priceless!! We then ate the most delicious Christmas lunch & packed up & headed on our way to Newnan about 1:30 p.m. -- Perfect!

We made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Newnan to be greeted by lots of smiling faces from my family! Shortly after we arrived, so did Meme & Preacher Pa! Everyone sat down to a home-cooked meal contributed by most members of the family. Mama had everything so beautifully decorated, it was like walking into Martha Stewart's home! :) Everyone then moved into the living room for presents! This year, my family decided to draw names & only buy for that person (unless you felt compelled to buy for someone else). We put a $100 limit on each person.

Christopher & I, coincidentally, both drew Sara & Jason's names. We had the best time deciding what to get each of them! Sara had asked for just gift cards for her Christmas, & I made note of that. But, I also thought how disappointing those were going to be to wrap & give... so I creatively figured out how to wrap each one so that the presentation & moment of opening them would be so much fun! I first, bought a gift card to Charming Charlie & "wrapped" it in a leopard print luggage tag with a hot pink "D" on the front. I also bought her a gift card to the GAP. I then, put both of these gift cards into a HUGE bag that looked like a snowman, that was filled with lots of "stuffing." This made it especially fun to open, since she had to search for her gift cards! I had also bought her a gift card to Starbucks, and slipped it inside of a pink & green monogrammed travel coffee mug! & last but not least, I bought her an under-the-cabinet cd/radio player that she had asked for! Chris bought Jason an $80 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods & bought him a CD case & filled it to capacity with DVD's of T.V. series & movies Jason can watch while on the road! :) I really think they both loved all of their gifts!

My dad had drawn Chris's name, and got him the most thoughtful gift! Since Chris's favorite hobby is to burn DVD's, Dad got him a label maker so that he no longer has to just write the titles on with a Sharpie marker. Instead, they now look like real DVD's! He also got him a PS3 game that Chris has been wanting, Assassins Creed 2. Chris loved his gifts! Meme had my name, and had so thoughtfully surprised me with the digital scrapbooking software I've been wanting from Creative Memories. She had to do a lot of special planning to get this gift for me, since it had to be ordered through Chris's aunt, Laura. They both did such a good job of not spoiling it for me! :) Since I've gotten it home, I have already completed one project (our wedding scrapbook), and started on several others! :) This gift was right up my alley & I love it!!

We went home to Milledgeville a few days later, and before we knew it, it was New Year's Eve! We spent the evening at Kacie & Wesley, as we do each year, and ate Old Clinton BBQ. Neither, Kacie nor Macie were feeling well, so we left there kind of early & just came back to the house to ring in the new decade with Ryan Seacrest & the New Year's Rockin' Eve special on T.V. Chris fell asleep before midnight, but I did not! I woke him up just in time to help me bring in 2010 with a special New Year's kiss!

Speaking of 2010, I know it holds big things for me & for us as a married couple! I have several New Year's Resolutions. 1.) To go to church more often/regularly -- Northridge Christian Church. Christopher & I searched for a church home that we both felt comfortable attending, and really do enjoy it when we go. However, between trips to Newnan & laziness on the weekends, we just don't get around to it. This will change this year!!! 2.) Clean my house more often! I just feel that there are too many times that I sit here and try to "move the mess" with my eyes! Ha! 3.) Start flossing every day! This is such a hard thing to remember to do everyday & is so tedious especially when you have a mouth as small as mine, but this too, shall be done! 4.) Become healthier. I do go to the gym...not as often as I should, but I need to go more often. Although, I do not need to lose weight, I simply need to be more active. I also need to eat healthier (as I sit here & dream of milk & cookies.... ahh!). Besides, if Chris & I want to have a baby -- I need to be in tip-top shape! 5.) Learn to do something new creatively. Perhaps sewing? Knitting? Who knows! 6.) Blog more often! I want to start documenting what our lives consist of at least on a weekly basis, even if we didn't do anything interesting.

"But, Rebecca, did we hear you say "baby"????"

Why, yes you did! Christopher & I have decided we want to have babies! It is something we have always wanted, but were waiting for both of us to feel mature enough to raise a child. If I am able to get a job for this next school year, Chris & I will be trying next year! Yay! :) In the mean time, I am researching top baby products, nursery collections, crib bedding, & baby names!

"Wait! Did we hear you say "get a job for this next school year????"

In fact, you did!! I will be graduating this coming up May 2010. (May 07, 2010 to be exact!!!) I have already started trying to network & make impressions that show I am eager to work & will be a good asset to any school team! :) After all, that is the last piece of advice I've received from my Papa Perkins. He said to me "You tell those Principals, I know that you like to have good teachers working at your school, and I'm here to tell you... I'm a GREAT teacher & would be an asset to your school!" I love him!

Unfortunately, Papa Perkins has not been doing well. On Wednesday, December 30, 2009, he had a massive heart attack that put him in ICU at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. He had to be put into a medically-induced coma so that they could try to build his heart back up to recovery. The news on his health updates change day-to-day, hour-to-hour, and right now things just aren't looking good. But, like my daddy says "He's got people on both sides of Heaven that love him!" & he's right. I know of at least one angel that's been missing him for a while... My Memaw! :)

Today, I plan to clean my house until it's spotless, pack my bags, and wait on Chris to get home. We're going to Newnan this weekend because the end to Papa's battle is going to end today.

That's it for us this week! We hope to update you next week on what all the special things this week held for us!

What are your New Year's Resolutions?