Jackson's B-day

Here are some photos from my nephew Jackson's 8th birthday party! I can't believe he is already 8! I feel so old! He has come a long way from the little preemie who was in the NICU! He had a rodeo party where the kids rode a mechanical bull, chased chickens, and rode a horse. It was so much fun!! The chicken chases were hilarious, about 15 kids that have never seen a chicken in real life trying to catch them! Good times.

Snow Days?

I can't believe the freaky weather we have been having lately. By the end of school on Friday, everyone was gearing up for snow. Saturday morning, we were awoken by a phone call from JD, who was in Vicksburg, asking if we were getting any snow. To add to my disappointment of being awoken early, I looked outside to see that we didn't have a drop of snow!! This is Columbus, which is north of Vicksburg, how the heck did we not get snow?! And to rub in the irony even more, my parents, and everyone in Collinsville, got about 2-3 inches of snow, not a light little dusting. The last time I saw snow was in 2000; Starkville got more than Collinsville, but I was down home then. Ever since I've become a "northern" Mississippian I have yet to reap the benefits of the "northern" weather. Not only was it freezing cold this weekend, but we had no snow to play in :( At least it was a long weekend! :)

Tornado experiences

If you live in Mississippi, you've been under a tornado watch today. If you're in the Golden Triangle area, you know that not only were we under a watch, but that watch turned into a warning. There was some damage to the Caledonia schools, but as far as I know, no one was hurt. Thank God, but not to play down the seriousness of the situation, but guess where Ashley got stuck during the tornado warning? WALMART!! My friend Shelly and I were going to make a quick run after we were at Belk's, and right before we got our last item, it was announced for all customers and employees to move to the middle of the store. We were there for at least 45 minutes in the middle of the lingerie section, listening to some very annoying employees for 45 minutes. Now, Walmart's not my most favorite place on most days anyway, a necessary evil, but it is certainly the last place I want to be put on lock down in!! If there is a next time, I'm going to the camping section for a chair, then run by the magazines, then I'm going to get me some chips and dip, and have a little party in the lingerie section, and maybe go get a UNO deck too! Don't get me wrong I'm glad they were safety minded, but 45 minutes!! This definitely goes down as a new experience for the new year!

Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

As you can tell from the time that has passed from my last blog, once I finished my papers and turned in my grades I was MIA for the rest of the break. We had a great Christmas with Alan's mom and then down in Collinsville with my family. We played WAY TOO MUCH Guitar Hero on Christmas day at my folks. I now think of guitar solos that I hear in songs as colors and not notes (if you've ever played Guitar Hero you understand, if you don't, let me know and I'll explain). The weekend after Christmas we went to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, which if you haven't heard the news by now, where have you been? GO DAWGS!! We had a blast; it was the best experience, and I froze my butt off and almost got into a fight with a smoker that sat in front of us at the game. Good times :) I'll post some pictures when I get them downloaded, but right now, I'm sure all good educators know what I'm getting ready for,yep, the return to school. I'm getting my classes in order and fixing up a new batch of syllabi for next semester. And since it's the new year, I catch myself trying to remember all that happened the previous year, and I find I can't quite remember it all. Don't you hate when that happens? So here is a questionnaire that I found on another website I love to look at. Some of the questions I changed to work more for me.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? Painted pottery, was a matron of honor (Amanda's wedding), painted a room by myself, went to Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry, bought a car, and went to a bowl game.
2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year? I didn't really make any last year, but this year I'm going to work on not procrastinating and sticking to working out :)
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Oh yeah! JD and Rachel had John Micheal, Travis and Julie had Addison, Tori and Bo had Brayden, my cousin Tori had Cade, Haley and Patrick had Grayson, and Morgan and Matt had Ella.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Not closely related, but a very nice man, Mr. Cecil Fitch, that helped us cut hay passed away this year.

5. What countries did you visit? None

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? a vacation during the summer and more time

7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Right now it's Dec. 29th because of the Liberty Bowl, but there is also Amanda's wedding and John Austin's birth

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I got a permanent position at MSU as an instructor.

9. What was your biggest failure? Allowing myself to get so stressed out about work and other people

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing more than a sinus infection or 2.

11. What was the best thing you bought? My car!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Alan! He got back into teaching and coaching.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The President and some of the world's leaders.

14. Where did most of your money go? Mortgage!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Going to see John Mayer, going to Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry, and going to Memphis

16. What song will always remind you of 2007? "Go Rest High on That Mountain" I know it's an older song by Vince Gill, but he sang that when we were at the Grand Ole Opry, so I'll always remember that trip when I hear it.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: Happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer? About the same in all categories, except a little richer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? home improvements and just chilling with friends

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Getting stressed

20. How will you be spending Christmas? We spent Christmas with our families

21. Did you fall in love in 2007? Oh yeah! with my husband

23. How many one-night stands? Zero

24. What was your favorite TV show? CSIs, Starter Wife

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I try not to hate, but I really dislike that smoker guy at the football game :)

26. What was the best book you read? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? John Mayer and Josh Turner

28. What did you want and get? Job security for the both of us!!

29. What did you want and not get? A million dollars

30. What was your favorite film of this year? Transformers, Bourne Ultimatium, Order of the Phoenix and The Queen.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 27, and Alan had a surprise birthday party for me with some of my friends in Columbus and my friends from back home
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Tivo

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Tried to develop a better work wardrobe and better shoes!

34. What kept you sane? God, Alan, and my friends and family

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Harry Potter

36. What political issue stirred you the most? War and the upcoming elections

38. Who was the best new person you met? A couple of people through church and work

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Enjoy the quiet moments in life. You don't always have to be doing something to have good time. Sometimes the best moments are when there is nothing to do. So, enjoy those times that you have and enjoy every day.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"Good friend and a glass of wine, Someone to say it's going
to be alright...Evey now and then Every girl needs a good
friend and a glass of wine" - Leann Rimes