The Good Stuff

Is that a chocolate milk mustache I see?
And a toddler frantically signing "more"?

That's what I thought.
Someone has been hanging out with his Mimi...

Merry and Bright

Ready for Christmas

Favorite Things

Last Saturday my sister-in-law Amy hosted a Favorite Things party, and it was so much fun! Everyone picked one favorite thing under $6 and brought 5 of them to share. We wrote our name on 5 slips of paper, and then each person picked 5 slips from the bowl. After we shared about why our favorite thing was, well, our favorite thing, we got to give them away to the 5 people whose names we drew. Are you still with me??

I chose to take something I use almost every day: Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Basil Countertop Spray. It smells SO good, and it does a great job cleaning my counters. Add in a cute dish towel, and you definitely have one of my favorite things!


Just in case you are curious, I came home with a cute cookie scoop, a Tervis tumbler, truffles, white chocolate peanut butter (yum!), and some fun lip gloss. Amy told me she got the idea on Pinterest, and it looks like this may have been the party she was talking about. Check it out!

Source: angbrimwil.blogspot.com via Gerry on Pinterest

Must Be Santa

This year, Max decided Santa is not very jolly at all. It was bound to happen, I suppose, but I still wanted a picture for the record books. We tried a couple of times, and in the end, I think they turned out pretty cute (with minimal crying).

Attempt 1 at North Park. This is right before he completely lost it.

Attempt 2 in Arlington. Blissfully unaware.
We thought this was a nice way for them to get a
cute picture without completely flipping him out.

Santa tried to be nice and say hi.
Max was not a fan.

He sat here just long enough to snap this picture.
As soon as I grabbed him he was fine.
And he was all about the coloring book Santa gave him...

Thank You

I have a lot of blogging and life to catch up on, but first I just wanted to say a quick thank you. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send prayers and messages our way. It means so much to know that we are surrounded by wonderful family and friends while we learn what it means to live without our dad.

It goes without saying that we wish it hadn't ended this way. But ultimately, it is not up to us. Our purpose on this earth is to bring glory to God. And although sometimes we don't understand, we trust that the way my dad's story ended will bring glory to God in ways that we cannot comprehend. And in the end, that's all we can ask for.

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. Acts 20:24

Saying Goodbye

Gregory Marshall
aka "Grumps"

December 30, 1957 - December 10, 2011

We love you. We'll miss you.
We are so grateful that we will see you again.

Sick Day

Hanging out getting a breathing treatment.
Hoping for a happier baby real soon!

Some Early Snow

It is still pretty early in December, and we have already had two pretty good snows here in Mississippi. That may be no big deal to my Northern friends, but here in the south we're not as used to it. It may shape up to be an interesting winter around here...

I planted these less than a week ago. I knew they weren't going to last long, but I wasn't counting on this. I hope they can hold on!

Bookworm

Although I am now a "stay-at-home" librarian, when I saw this shirt in Dallas a few months ago I obviously had to get it. Mike rolls his eyes every time he sees it, but I think it's pretty awesome. Added benefit? You can wear it to the library for quick reference. Score.

Hanging Out

We are back in Mississippi for the time being, but here are a few iPhone (thus the red eye) pictures I took of Max and me with my dad right before we came home.

Baylor Proud

Someone doesn't exactly stop and pose for pictures anymore, but I had to snap a few pictures of our Baylor pride! As I've said before, we live in SEC country now, but we still have to show our support for our bears. Sic 'em!

Black Friday

What I am about to say is very controversial. Ready? I love Black Friday. It is seriously one of my favorite days of the year. And no, it's not because I am crazy materialistic and hate being thankful for the blessings in my life. It's because I love the waking up early, getting out there, seeing crazy people, being a little crazy myself, and mostly, spending the day with my mom and family. It's just fun. It's a tradition. And I really like saving money. I'm a fan.

Now this year, things were a little different. First of all, the stores have all gone a little nutso and started opening at midnight. You know who is more likely to get out at midnight than at 4:00 in the morning? Everyone. And their babies. So, I have to admit it was a lot crazier this year. A lot. And it messed with our tried and true perfected schedule of stops. But...it was still fun. And we got some great deals. And I got to wear a fun headband. Overall? A success.

A Big Six Wedding

On November 5th my friend Micah got married. She is one of The Big Six, my college roommates and best friends. It was such a fun wedding (um...frozen sweet tea?...yes please!), and I'm glad I was able to travel to Texas to see her walk down the aisle!

(Just for the record, we didn't call ourselves the Big Six in college. But if we had, I would have made us all t-shirts.)

Oh yes. We did.