A Louisiana Wedding

Callaway's niece, Carol, got married on December 4. Granny, Natalee & I traveled the 3/4 hours to Monroe, Louisiana that morning. Mom, Callaway, Brandi & Dustin were already there. They went that Friday night because Brandi & Dustin had to be at the rehearsal. We met mom, Callaway & Dustin at the mall & followed them back to the hotel, where everyone stayed, which was also the location of the reception. The wedding was not until 5 that night, so we had some time to socialize with some of the other guests before we had to get ready.

Before I go into wedding details, I want to tell you a little story.
Carol was marrying her long time boyfriend, Mark Beezley. They were supposed to get married in September 2007. Carol bought her dress then & was still going to where that dress instead of getting another one. She had her bridal portraits done & had gotten it a little dirty, so she took it to the cleaners. A few days later, the cleaners burned down...along with her dress!!! She was in a frantic 2 weeks before the wedding to find another dress. The dress she had was no longer made so they searched everywhere! They finally found one up north & had it shipped. Luckily they got it altered & it fit perfectly!! Well, the night of the rehearsal, they go to pick up the tuxes. They had sent in white coats instead of black! They tux rental shop promised they would have it fixed the next morning & they did. We kept telling her these were signs! Now on to the wedding...

The wedding was held at the chapel of the Louisiana Children's Home. It was gorgeous! I really can't say how the wedding went, because Natalee was acting up after she saw Aunt BB walk down the aisle. I had to take her outside during the ceremony. Luckily, she wasn't the only child that had to be taken outside. Madison did not like being the flower girl. She was carried down the aisle then acted up & called for her mama the entire time. One of Mark's, best friend's wives, brought her & their little girl outside also.

The reception was held at The Atrium Hotel. The lobby was decorated beautifully! A full meal, consisting of pasta salad, tossed green salad, grilled rosemary chicken, prime rib au jus, green beans almondine, seasonal veggies, herb roasted potatoes, rolls and fruit was served, along with an open bar (beer only). The bride's cake was Italian Creme cake & the groom's was a football field with a LSU helmet. The DJ played some great music & everyone danced the night away.

The next morning Carol & Mark were heading off to Las Vegas, their new home, so everyone met at Cracker Barrel, had breakfast & saw the happy couple off. It was a very fun weekend!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Beezley! We will miss you & hope you two have a very long & happy life together. I also pray Madison adjusts well to her new home & her new daddy! Love you guys & hope to see you in May!!



The groom's table



The bride's table



The hotel lobby where the reception was held



The birdseed bag table



Aunt BB & Natalee before the ceremony



Madison



The Church



The Happy Couple after the Ceremony



The entrance table



The registry book



The wedding party





Madison, Carol, Brandi & Natalee...together for the last time until next year



Brandi & Dustin...brother & sister caught the garter & bouquet



Brandi & Byron



Natalee wanted to play with Aunt BB's flowers



Someone was getting sleepy

Thanksgiving

Ok, I know I'm a month behind but I figured I better post it before Christmas!

Thanksgiving morning, I got Natalee bathed & dressed & we went to moms to have some pics made. We took them with my camera and they turned out really cute!



Natalee & Katie...she LOVES this dog!








This was my favorite!





We had Thanksgiving with the Mitchell's around 2 that afternoon. We met at Mr. Roger's sister's house in Kilmichael. We visited & ate & visited some more. We had a kite in the back of the truck, so Terry got it out & tried to fly it. The wind was perfect, it just wouldn't stay up very long! The kids had a lot of fun playing outside & watching him with the kite.

Later that afternoon, around 6ish, we went to my grandmother's for supper, which is tradition. We enjoyed each others company, ate, talked, talked about what the plans were for shopping Friday & the kids played.

My plans were to go shopping early Friday morning but everyone else had to be crazy & go to Wal-Mart at 9:30 Thanksgiving night, so I didn't go! There really wasn't anything I needed anyways. Terry's parents came to the house about 8:30/9:00 Friday morning & we went to town shopping. I didn't buy much. I mainly went just to go & get out of the house. I did get a few stocking stuffers for Terry & Natalee, but that's about it. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Catching Up!

I was doing good with getting caught up but work picked back up & now my laptop has crashed & I have lost everything! The only thing I'm upset about is that it happened right before Christmas when I'm supposed to be getting my external hard drive to put all my pictures on! Thank goodness I have most of them on Facebook and family members have a ton! So I am so far behind I don't know where to start!

The first weekend of November, Dustin's senior class held a Senior Play. Check Please, Take 2 was the name of it. It lasted about an hour & was really cute! Lots of cute parts were played. I promise I have pics...just not uploaded to this computer. Luckily I haven't deleted them off my computer!

On Nov. 19, Debbie turned 40! We surprised her with a party at a local fish house. Brandi & mom went & decorated the room after work, with black balloons & had a really cute cake. Callaway gave her a gift of Depends!

I promise I will post some pics as soon as I get them uploaded onto a computer!

CSN Stores Review

CSN is an online retailer with over 200 stores. You can find just about anything you are looking for from awesome children's backpacks



to boots & shoes.



They also have a great selection of toys, baby gear, holiday decor, kitchen & dining items, home decor...you name it, they more than likely have it! I have already bought 2 Christmas presents from them & look forward to buying more! I bought them on Monday & received one on Tuesday & the other should be here today, so that goes to show they have a great shipping department!

When asked if I wanted to do a review, I was leaning toward reviewing something for me. Something like this Paula Deen set.



But I think I'm leaning more toward getting something for Natalee. I'm not sure if we will just give it to her or save it for a birthday/Christmas present. Since both is just 3 days apart, we may just save it & use it as a present. I am thinking something like this




or this.



Either way, Natalee will be satisfied with whatever we chose.
So be sure to check out CSNStores.com. I am sure they will be able to satisfy some, if not all of your holiday needs!

30

Yesterday was my wonderful husband's 30th birthday! He got off work yesterday morning & I had breakfast waiting on him when he got home. I had left for work, so I left it in the oven so it would still be warm. We went to his parent's house for a birthday supper last night. I surprised him with a cake. He said he did not want me to make him one...he wanted a Wal-Mart cake, so that's what I got him. Anyways, I just wanted to wish him a happy birthday! I love you!!

This is one of our favorite pics from our wedding day.


Here Terry is with Natalee. She was only a few hours old.


Terry & Natalee getting ready for a 4 wheeler ride, earlier this summer

Happy Halloween!

We didn't do much this year. Carrollton & Greenwood let the kids go trick or treating on Saturday night instead of Sunday, because of church. Saturday morning we had a birthday party at 10 at the park and Natalee was supposed to wear her costume. After the party, Natalee & I met the Mitchell's at Pizza Inn for lunch, we did a little shopping, then went back to the park for a little while. Natalee had a great time! I put Natalee's costume back on her to go see Terry at work. On our way, Natalee got sick so we had to come straight home. After I got her costume clean, we got her redressed & went trick or treating.

Minnie Mouse!!




Going to the first house....Aunt Betty's!

I think Aunt Betty & Uncle Charles spoiled her a little bit. They gave her 2 big bags of m&ms, some earrings & a necklace! Our next stop was Pedro's Place, the neighborhood convenience store. They were having a costume contest for the kids. Natalee won first place in her age group & won $10! We then headed to Mrs. Kay & Mr. Allen's. They had her some suckers & a kit kat! When we left there, we stopped to get Granny before heading to Carrollton. There we ran into Henry, Hope, Carter, & Hope's parents. Carter was a doctor.




Dr. Carter!

Natalee had so much fun! She would hold my hand & granny's hand while we walked down the road. When we got ready to go to a house, she would let go of my hand & ask for her "butet" or "punkdin". When she got to the house, she would say "Tick or Teat" & "Dank You". She loved it and was so cute doing it!

Terry had carved us a pumpkin about a week before Halloween. It was rotten before Halloween even got here! Here it is lit up the night he did it.

Awards!

I have actually received 2 awards but it's been a while since I received one, I'm not sure that I can find it, so here is the most recent one!

I have Jennifer over at Life with the Lebedas to thank for the Versatile Blogger Award! I really enjoy her blog!



This is just a fun way to meet other bloggers and get to know one another, by passing these fun bloggy awards to other bloggers that we like! There are some fun rules in accepting this bloggy award.
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 other bloggers who you recently discovered and think are fabulous.
4. Contact the bloggers you choose and let them know they won the award.

Now to the 7 things about me....hmmm...where to start....

1. I am a typesetter for a local printing company & believe it or not, I actually like my job.

2. I love some Dr. Pepper!

3. I live in T-shirts & jeans!

4. We live in the country & I hate it because it is too far away from everything, but I can't live in the city either because there is too much violence that goes on here.

5. I have been planning Natalee's birthday party which is Dec. 11, for about 4/5 months now & still haven't bought a thing!

6. I have most of my Christmas bought...usually by now, I'm just getting started!

7. Ok...you will probably laugh about this one, but I love to watch Nickelodeon. ICarly, Victorious & The Suite Life on Deck. I know they are kids shows, but I watch them when I'm home alone, especially when there is nothing else on to watch.

Now time to chose 15 other bloggers to pass the award on to...well I don't think I could chose 15 so here are the top 5...

1. Brandy at You Don't Know
Love her blog! She always has something crazy to say & her Grayson is too cute!

2. Sarah over at Crazy House
Another great blog! Her kids are adorable & she has some great giveaways going on!

3. Nichole over at Nichole's Life as a Mommy & a Wife
Love her blog! She recently had a new baby!

4. Natalee at Raising Normal Kids
She is on vacay right now, but she will be back before too long! She always has
something crazy to say too!

5. And lastly is Carol at Songberries
Her blog is about cooking, crafting, her family & life. She also has giveaways.
Right now she has a great looking recipe up!

Happy Birthday Katie Lauren!

Katie Lauren turns 10 today. We will celebrate this weekend. Hope you have a great day! We love you!


This is Katie Lauren in her Beauty Review earlier this year


As a giraffe in her 3rd grade play


And enjoying a hot dog (her favorite food) with Natalee earlier this year

Senior Night

As I said last week, last Friday was Senior Night at Carroll. Mom & I left work early so we could go to the pep rally. It was so sad knowing my brother is growing up. He had Ashley B. as a secret cheerleader and she had Dustin. The poems they wrote for each other were so cute! Dustin got her a basket full of goodies, including candy, a ring, a necklace, a picture frame, a candle...and I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but he did good at picking things out! She got him a bucket of candy (he has candy for days!), a polo hat, Polo Blue cologne & a couple of other things Dustin likes.

Before the game that night, all of the senior dancers, cheerleaders & football players were recognized. I don't have my pictures, because, well, ever since football season began...I'm not allowed to use my camera unless my mother doesn't need it. No, but seriously, she does have it, so I haven't uploaded my pictures yet, but I will get them on here soon! Promise! Anyways, about the game....they played a great game, but they did not win. The needed to win this game by 8 points in order to go to playoffs. We lost by 8 points.

Trip to LA

No, not Los Angeles...Louisiana! Madison turned 2 on Sept. 15. Natalee, Terry, mom, Brandi, & I took a trip to Louisiana on Sept. 17 & 18 to help her celebrate. Her party was at Rockin R Ranch in Monroe. They had hay rides, horse rides, petting zoo and everything for the party. All Carol had to do was provide the birthday girl! Madison got lots of nice gifts, more clothes than toys. The party was great! Terry, Natalee & I came back home that Saturday while mom, Brandi & Joyce stayed til Sunday. On the way home, we decided to come back through Vicksburg instead of Greenville. I am glad we did! We stopped at the Carter's outlet & I got Natalee $250 worth of clothes for $100! Some will be birthday gifts & some will be Christmas gifts, so you will see pics of them later! Again...Happy 2nd Birthday Madison! We love you!