If you ask me plainly, I would gladly say I'd like to have you round just for them rainy days...

Happy New Year!

I'm really excited for the new year, and the things that it may have in store for us! (I hope it involves a cruise!!) Looking ahead is great, but 2009 was a good year for us! Here are my 10 favorite moments of last year, complete with pictures. Most of these are stolen, as I am terrible at remembering to take pictures. Or else they are taken with my iPhone. Meh.

In no particular order:

1) We got married! Best. Day. Ever.

2) St. Johns. Twice. Most amazing place ever. I hope to live there one day. Seriously.

3) Painted our kitchen! I'm so in love with it now :)

4) Learning to sew. I made my first pair of pajama pants! I'm grateful I have so many talented ladies in my life who can teach me! (Not only did I learn to sew, I learned to sew on my mom's first sewing machine. I had Heather take some pics of it so I could frame them and give it to her, since she has given me the machine now. I love the shots Heather took!)

5) My Jizninifer came home! She was serving a mission for our church in Mongolia, and I know that she didn't really want to come home...but I sure missed her while she was gone! She did so much for the people there. I love hearing her stories about the people and the things she did there. Most of all, I love her and her testimony and the example she set by going to share it with others. I love her!

6) Labor Day Weekend beach trip. I love the weekend trips that we take. I do seriously have some of the best friends in the world, and I love that we go and do all kinds of things together. Beach trips are some of my favorite types of trips. (I stole this picture from Heather...)

7) Speaking of awesome friends, I took a trip to see Mary. It was long overdue and so much fun! I definitely don't get to see her enough, so here's to another trip in 2010! Hopefully more than one...

8) Bowser. I know I just posted on him...but he is a totally one of our highlights of 2009!

9) Trying a fried oreo. I have always wanted too, but I never have. It. Was. Amazing. So good! Also, I love going to the Apple Festival and Pumpkin Patch, but eating a friend oreo sounds cooler than going to see pumpkins... :)

10) Brittany bought us concert tickets for my birthday!! We went to see No Doubt and Paramore. Oh my goodness....Gwen Stefani is so amazing. I love her!!! They played tons of old songs and sounded awesome. What an awesome friend! I'm lucky she has put up with me for so long :)

The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear!

So, my Christmas came a little early this year and I couldn't be more excited! Guess what I got...

A PUPPY!!!

His name is Bowser (yes, we named him after the character from the Nintendo games!) and he's 9 weeks old. Look at his adorable wrinkles and his big old paws! He's going to be a big guy when he's full grown. He's seriously adorable...I'm not even exaggerating! He won over Jacob - that says a lot right there! (Yes, Bowser enjoys to watch TV...)

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am!! I have a bit of guilt that I have a puppy and Nelson, my dog who lives with my mom, can't live with us, but the circumstances don't really allow for that to be a feasible option. Nelson will always be my number one, but this little guy is a really close second!

Jacob and some awesome friends/family built a fabulous fence for the house, and it's almost finished! Once it is, Bowser will have a great yard to run around and get a lot of his energy out. I will post some pictures of the fence when I post about all the work we have been doing on the house. It's been a busy last month or two.

Bowser's personality comes out more and more every day. He's such a great dog. He loves to play, but he also love to cuddle. It's rather adorable. He sleeps through the night, and has from the first night we brought him home. He doesn't make a mess at night...during the day is a different story though. We are crate training him, but since he's in there while we are at work, we let him sleep in our room and that's worked out great. He still has a lot to learn though, but we are (well, at least I am) super happy and excited to have him! He came at the perfect time, and we definitely got a wonderful little guy.

I had a dog and his name was King, I told the dog about everything...

So, life has been busy and somewhat crazy, but it's good as usual. I don't have much time to update now, but I did want to mention that I have recently started volunteering with the Atlanta Boxer Rescue and that this Saturday, September 19, is the big fundraiser - Boxerstock!

ABR works with local animal shelters to identify Boxer dogs that need to be rescued, move those Boxers to foster homes for care and rehabilitation, spay/neuter and vaccinate the Boxers as needed, and seek qualified adopters to give those Boxers new, loving homes. (I stole that from the website!) Recently, a lot of the dogs they have rescued have heartworms, and the treatment can get costly. So, if you want to help out this organization, come out to Boxerstock! The money earned will help cover the costs of the health care for these adorable little guys! I'm really excited about being a volunteer with this organization, and want to spread the word.

I am a huge fan of boxers in general, but in particular, Nelson. He's not from ABR, he's my puppy, who is now nearing the age of 13. We have had him since he was 6 weeks old, and he's been one amazing puppy. (Yes, I am fully aware he's not technically a puppy anymore, but he will always be one to me.) I would write more about the amazingness of Nelson, how much he means to me and how much I love him, but that will be saved for another day. He deserves his own post :)

Boooooring

Are you interested in unbelievably dry analysis of the iPhone? Well, great! Then you're in good company, because I've written some.

Oh wait, you aren't? Oh. Well, then here's some pictures of our garden. I'm thinking I'll write a "What I learned in my first year of gardening" post in the next month or so.

I can't see the stars anymore living here, let's go to the hills where the outlines are clear...

I am absolutely ready to explode with excitement!!!

I get to see my BEAUTIFUL Jiznin in less than two weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so proud of her and her service to the Lord and the people of Mongolia. She's amazing!! I have missed her so much, and I can't even believe it's already time for her to come home. I'm so blessed to have her in my life, and I'm so grateful for all that she has done for me and taught me through her amazing example. I can't wait to hear her stories and tell her mine. OH MY GOSH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HER!

I LOVE YOU JIZNIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Can you tell I'm a little excited?!

:)

Where are you now; as I'm swimming through the stereo, I'm writing you a symphony of sound..

I have been having trouble thinking of things to write lately, so instead of telling stories about what we have been up to, or how much I HATE Atlanta traffic/drivers, I thought I would write a list of things that make me happy lately...or always. Things that I love. So, in no particular order:

I love...

- My husband.

- Text messages that make me laugh.

- Peeling Clementine oranges. Mmmm.

- Going to see live music. I love seeing other peoples talents.

- Hugs from Jacob. They are the best thing in the world.

- Watching my husband play Tiger Woods on the Wii.

- So You Think You Can Dance

- My Smiths. All 3 of them. They are the best!!!

- Clint's sense of humor and taste in music! It's seriously my favorite. I also love it when he helps me cook. It is always a lot funnier/more fun when he's there! He's my favorite Martin...hahah!! Get it?!

- Pep talks from Calien. She makes me feel like I can take on the world.

- Baking yummy treats.

-Walking in the rain (even when it's a DOWNPOUR!)

- Looking at pictures from my childhood. My brother and I are awesome :)

- Watermelon

- Seeing a rainbow.

- Etsy.com

- Our new couches!!

- Having a really clean kitchen.

- Watching Food Network.

- Seeing midnight showings of Harry Potter movies.

- Trips to see Mary.

- Tweaking recipes to make them taste even better.

- Pedicures with Heather.

- Having FHE with the Smiths and the Eltons.

- Key lime pie

- SmartWater

- The Burkes. 'Nough said!

- Reading other peoples blogs. People are so interesting!!

- 4th of July BBQ's with amazing friends. (I was sad I didn't get to spend the weekend with all of the Williams clan though...)

- No Doubt concerts with Brittany.

- Brittany: No one knows me quite like she does :)

- Beating Jacob at Buzz Quiz (that doesn't happen as much as I'd like).

- Hanging out with my brother.

- My family. I have a really amazing family. I also have really amazing in-laws. I sure got lucky! Wonderful family makes life so much better.

- Zesting a lemon.

- My iPod.

- Decorating our house.

That's enough for now. I'm a very blessed individual! I love my life and all the people in it!

But until then I'll spend my money up right down to my last dime, callin Baton Rouge...

I love trips. I love seeing new places. And I love doing that with amazing friends!! This time, I went to Louisiana to visit my wonderful friend Mary. It has been way to long since we last saw each other (well, her and her family came in town for my wedding, but we didn't get any quality time together...it meant the world to me that they came!) but when she picked me up from the airport, it was like we hadn't skipped a beat. I have to say, the trip was just what I needed, on so many levels. I am so grateful for Mary and her friendship over the years. I had a blast traveling over the South with her! We went to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Gulfport MS, some beaches in AL, and lets not forget all the fun outlets we stopped at along the way!

I also really loved seeing her home, hanging out with her little (and ADORABLE) little boy Hudson and her husband. I loved the Spirit in their home. I felt the love that they all had for each other when I walked through the front door. I'm really blessed to have Mary and her friendship in my life! I can't wait until I get to see her again!! (Don't worry, it won't be another 5 years!!)

I took some pictures of our adventures, but I can't find my camera cord. SAD! She has some posted on her blog, so if you are really curious you can check them out. Isn't Hudson precious?!

Thanks for letting me come to see you!! It was perfect :)