Very Merry Christmas

We had a very busy but Merry Christmas this year. I ended up having to work Christmas Eve after being told I would be called off work because of low census. I had to work on another floor and was not happy about it. I had to miss dinner at Nanny and Granddaddy's. I did get off about 15 minutes early and rushed to their house for our dirty Santa gift swap. I got to eat my yummy steak while we played the game. Everyone played dirty which made it a lot of fun. I ended up with a Home Depot gift card and a California Pizza Kitchen gift card. I was happy.

Christmas morning and afternoon was spent at my parents house. We had a yummy brunch and then opened presents.

Ben, me, Leslie, Clay, & Kyle (yes they have on matching jackets)

Phoebe really wishing we would hurry up

Ben got two hunting games and a cross bow for the Wii. He was pumped.

Mom and Kyle playing tennis on the Wii.

While opening presents, there was quite a big surprise. All the kids had gone in together to get mom and dad a digital frame. I thought it would be neat to go ahead and put some pics on it for them since there was no telling when they would get around to it. I had mom and dad look through the pics because I told them there were a couple on there that I didn't think they had seen. In the middle of the pics was a picture of a Clear Blue Easy positive pregnancy test! Yep, we're preggers!!! Everyone was very surprised. Mom screamed then balled. Dad was clapping. The boys and Leslie were a little confused at first because they couldn't see the picture and mom was crying and dad was clapping. Ben had to tell them "we're having a baby!" Everyone was thrilled and we immediately started calling the family. It's been over a year of trying, and we're so excited and grateful to have this wonderful gift. I'll be due August 26th, 2009, or thereabouts.

Mom and me with her favorite picture ever!

I went to the doctor today for my 6 week ultrasound. Everything looks great! The baby is the teeny, tiny dot at the top of the round black space. And there is only ONE! I really had a feeling there would be two. While that would have been great, I am excited to have the experience of only one.

I've been feeling ok so far. Nausea started this week, but no vomiting so far. I'm really tired and hungry. I can totally see why women gain so much weight while pregnant! I am literally starving after an hour or two. It was great news when my doctor told me today that I can eat cooked sushi. I was going to be really upset at not having any for 9 months, but I could have done it. I've also given up coffee! Only one decaf Starbucks a week for me now. Please keep us in your prayers that everything goes well, and we have a healthy baby. I'll be keeping everyone posted. I go back to the doctor in 2 weeks for another check up.

My Girls

I have been keeping Becca and Jenna now for almost 10 years. I feel like they are my own. I've helped raise these two and am extremely proud of them. They are "the girls" when I talk about them. Becca is now 12 and Jenna is 10. My babies are all grown up. You know they are getting old when you can have a meaningful conversation with a 12 year old about Coach purses and their Xmas lists have nothing under $100 on them!
This weekend, I got to spend two days with them. Friday night I kept Jenna and her friend Trevey after work while John and Vanessa went to a Christmas party. Today, I kept both the girls for the Titans game. I took them to eat at the Cheesecake Factory for a Christmas treat. It was so much fun. Jenna was texting Ben on my phone and knew how to use it better than I did. Becca wants a Coach purse for Christmas, so I was instructing her about how to pick one with a "timeless" pattern and color. I can't believe they are so old which makes me even older! Jenna can't sit still and dances and cheers all over the place. She can move her body in ways that should be illegal. Becca is the smartest kid I know. She's so intellectual and athletic. She plays travel soccer on an Olympic development team. We will see her on TV someday for soccer. I love these two so much! They will always be my babies no matter how old they get.

Jenna being goofy. She loves the camera.

Very talented! Becca's salad was as big as her, and it was the lunch portion.

We had to get cheesecake.

Ready to eat it up.

Merry Christmas from the Millers

From our family to yours....we wish you a Merry Christmas!! We were actually able to get a pretty decent family shot this year. I expected the worst with the three dogs, but they did pretty well. Bless Leslie and her patience of taking multiple shots to make sure we had all the dogs looking. Poor Buster can't hear much anymore, so he wouldn't even look at Leslie when she called his name. Ben and I just kept smiling and Leslie kept snapping. Turned out pretty well. Those who haven't received cards yet will get them on Monday...CVS ran out of envelopes when I picked up our cards so I had to mail them in two batches.

You know it's the Holiday season when your refrigerator is full of party invitations. We had our dinner group from church over last night (Huffards, Rosenblums, and Walkers) and had a blast as usual. We ate, told stories, played Dirty Santa, and finished with Rock Band. We never wind down before midnight. This morning I went to Drennon's first wedding shower! It was a Christmas shower out at the Baker's farm. It was so nice and Drennon is going to have to have a party next year for Christmas after all the decorations she received. Ben would say "it looks like it vomited Christmas!" Bah humbug. Tonight we are going to another Christmas party at Stewart and Angie Bronson's. Tomorrow afternoon is my annual high schools girls and moms ornament swap. This year it's at Lu's. And finally, Monday is my Belmont party for the teachers of the Intro to Nursing class. Five parties in four days is a lot. Did I mention I have a project due Monday for school? We are blessed to have so many great friends who fill our fridge up with invitations!! Wouldn't have it any other way. Merry Christmas y'all!

Fun Party

Last night I attended a Lingerie shower/Bachelorette party for Megan Cook, soon to be Megan Daniel. Drennon and Rach Heff hosted the event at Drennon's house. It was a lot of fun. The party was Christmas themed, so everyone was decked out in hilarious Christmas sweaters and dresses. There were a few elves present too. Drennon had on a HO HO HO dickie under her sweater. Priceless! Megan was the cutest elf ever. I was festive with my reindeer antlers Drennon and I bought at Walgreens. After the shower, we went down to Decades and had a blast dancing to 80's and 90's music. I'm definitely not as young as I used to be! My feet were hurting, and I am very tired today. It was a fun night, and I can't wait to celebrate with Megan and Barry on the 20th! Congrats!

Me, Drennon, Megan, & Rach Heff

Drennon and me in our antlers

Megan was a dancing elf at Decades. Her hat lit up, jingled, and sang HOHOHO, and had a veil attached. Her cute striped socks had "faux" fur on the top.

Meet Ralph

I do so much writing about my dogs that I've never mentioned that I have a fish too! I got Ralph when I bought my first house almost 4 years ago! He's a very healthy fish. He lives in a vase with a peace lily plant and never complains about the lack of attention. Ben says Ralph would die if something happened to me since he always forgets we have a fish. If you want to know how Ralph got his name, you'll have to ask my dad.

Hard to see him in this pic b/c of the black rocks on the bottom. You can see his tail below the long plant roots. He appreciates it when I change his water. He swims a lot more.

Ralph getting his water changed.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Well, in the spirit of Christmas it is snowing today on December 1st! I tried to get a pic of it, but it wasn't snowing hard enough to see the snow. I did get some pug pics in front of the Christmas tree. Hoover doesn't like to sit for pics so I didn't even try. I'm just not sure there is anything cuter than two pugs in front of the Christmas tree! We're going to try and get a family pic this year with all the dogs but we haven't found time yet for someone to come and take the pic. Hopefully this weekend sometime.

It's hard to get two pugs to look at the camera at the same time! Buster is used to posing for the camera. Belle's attention span is pretty short.

Finally, success! Notice Belle's tongue sticking out. It's too long for her mouth.
This weekend Ben and I went to see the movie Twilight. It was awesome! Ben has been reading the books which I think is so funny since I've only heard of women reading the books. He said it's a love story but there's a lot of action. Since he was so sad that there were no more Harry Potter books, he had to start reading another series. I will definitely be reading the books now since the movie was so good. I highly recommend it.

I am thankful for...

This Thanksgiving for me will be spent at Baptist Hospital taking care of my Oncology patients. It's part of the price I have to pay for working in the hospital. We rotate holidays. Since I won't be with my family tomorrow, I decided to think about for what I am thankful...

1. My wonderful husband-he leaves me notes, gives me little gifts, tells me I'm beautiful and smart, almost always lets me have my way, and loves my dogs almost as much as I do!
2. My family-we are so close, and I'm grateful that almost all of them (immediate and extended) live within a few miles. I am thankful that I have grown much closer to my brothers in the past several years.
3. My house-though it is not completely finished the way I would like, I love our house.
4. My three dogs-they bring me a ridiculous amount of joy and are always happy to see me. They make me laugh every day. They are my loves.
5. My friends and church family-I have the best group of friends that I can always count on. Friends I've known my entire life to new friends at church are such a blessing.
6. My new LCD TV that is on it's way!! I got it for $450 off because I have been stalking the internet the past few months. Can't wait to play Rock Band on it.
7. My noise machine that I use at night to help me sleep. I can't sleep in silence. I turn it way up.
8. A great job in a field that will never lay anyone off. I have such appreciative patients and get to really take care of people.
9. Nylabones-they keeps the dogs entertained for hours!
10. Last but certainly not least-a forgiving God. I make a lot of mistakes!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and gets to spend it with the ones you love. Eat extra sweet potatoes for me (my mom made me my own batch so I wouldn't miss out!).

Big Decision

Well, I have nothing to blog about now that Clay and Leslie are married! Just kidding. Unfortunately, my life is crazy, and I can't wait for it to slow down. Since August, I have been teaching a weekly nursing skills lab at Belmont, while getting my Master's, while working on a HUGE practicum project, while meeting with faculty at Bemont for my project, while working full-time at Baptist, and while trying to be a good wife, daughter, sister, and friend. I AM TIRED! This past week I sat down with one of my former teachers at Belmont and discussed what my role there would be in the Spring semester. They asked me to teach an Adult Health clinical in the hospital one day a week. This would mean an 8 hour clinical with 8 students and 8 care plans to grade each week. Not to mention that I would have to go to the hospital the day before to pick out patients for my students. Did I mention that I'm not done with my Master's until March 9th and I'll still be working full-time? Being the overachiever that I am, I immediately said no problem! Then I talked to Ben, my mom, and Jennifer who all said ARE YOU CRAZY??!! Evidently, yes. After I thought about it...working full-time, finishing school and my project, teaching an 8 hour clinical, grading 8 care plans and getting them to the students before the next clinical, all while trying to stay sane seemed impossible. All three said there was no doubt that I could do it, but that I might just lose my mind trying. Long story short, I made the decision to not teach next semester and just RELAX! After March 9th, I will only be working 3, 12 hour shifts each week and nothing else! I get giddy just thinking about it. I will get to read again, go to Destin more, maybe I'll start cooking again, and maybe I'll just do nothing. I am really excited to be free. I told a girl at work that my life begins again on March 9th. Hopefully next Fall I'll be working prn at Baptist and teaching a couple of clinicals and/or labs at Belmont. Please pray for me that I keep my sanity these last few months of school and that I finish my project! I'm not even close to being done....

Wedding Pics

Cheryl from McNeal video has posted pics from Clay and Leslie's wedding on her very funny blog. It's so funny and sweet. Check it out!

http://mcnealvideo.squarespace.com/httpmcnealvidecheryls-notes/2008/11/11/leslie-clay.html

Rock Band

Sorry for the multitude of posts today, but I've had a lot going on and am going to be really busy the rest of the week. Last night Kyle and Amy came over to pick up Ben's tux from the wedding and ended up staying for hours playing Rock Band. Kyle told Amy he would stay for a song or two and then they would have to leave. Well, he found out Rock Band is highly addictive. He was begging to play more songs, Ben finally asked him to leave! He's quite good at the drums. I love playing the guitar. I'm already on medium level. Amy is really good at the drums too. Ben tried to sing.....We had a blast forming our own little band. Just let us know if you want to come and play too!

Band Amy, Ben and Kyle

Band Beth, Kyle and Ben

The entertainer. You'll see a similar pic of Clay at his wedding below. Very interesting.

Ben trying out the drums. Not his forte.

Mr. and Mrs. Clay Robinson!!

Clay and Leslie are finally married. Right now they should be in Jamaica scuba diving. Their wedding day was beautiful and they were so happy. The wedding was at Hillsboro and the reception was at Hillwood Country Club. Mom, Leslie, and Clay did a wonderful job planning the entire event. I include Clay because he was not the typical groom. He definitely had opinions, and I nicknamed him "Bridezilla!" The ceremony was so sweet. I even cried! I just couldn't handle seeing my little brother all dressed up getting married. Leslie was a vison and was one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen. Clay is very lucky and so am I. The reception was so much fun. The band, Love, Peace, and Happiness was very entertaining. We were all up on the stage at one time or another. You could tell Clay and Leslie had a ball. The food was fabulous too! I wish them a lifetime of happiness. I'm so excited to have a sister living down the street!
Vendor spotlight includes:
James Brown, wedding planner
John Conger, flowers
McNeal Video, videographer
Gambill Photography
The White Room, wedding gown and BM dresses
Street Tuxedo, Tuxes
Hillwood Country Club, reception

Leslie getting ready

The topiaries outside the church

Leslie getting ready. Brittney did her makeup.

The back view of her dress. Gorgeous!

Me and Mom

The reception at Hillwood

Clay and Leslie on the dance floor

The six of us

Clay was quite the entertainer!

The garter toss

Walking out in bubbles

I'll make a post when their pictures are available. I know they will be awesome. Lynette McNeal will also have a post on her blog this week of all of us singing and dancing with the band. Stay tuned!

Rehearsal Dinner

Friday night was Clay and Leslie's wedding rehearsal and dinner. Since the wedding was at Hillsboro, Mom and Dad decided to host the dinner in the chapel so we wouldn't have to drive anywhere. It was great. James Brown and Mom did a fabulous job decorating for the event. The food was catered by Betty Dean. We had ham, stuffed chicken, green beans, pineapple casserole, potatoes, creamed corn, and rolls. It was good comfort food. Leslie's dad did the slide show/video for the event. I think the theme of the evening was Clay's never ending quote from the years "All the good ones are taken!" Obviously not, since he found Leslie. It was a fun night listening to their friends talk about them over the years.

Dad, Kyle, and Clay goofing around during rehearsal

Rehearsal time

The table decorations, purple and red

Mom and Dad with James Brown

The happy couple

Bridesmaid's Luncheon

Friday was Leslie's Bridesmaid's Luncheon at Martha's at the Plantation. It was given by Mrs. Ruby, Leslie's sister's mother-in-law. She hosted a beautiful luncheon! We had wonderful food and the decorations were beautiful. I finally was able to give Leslie the wedding scrapbook I have been working on for the past 6 months. It was a challenge to keep it a secret, but she was suprised. I did pages for all her showers and had each BM do a couple of pages. It turned out great and will be something for her to cherish forever. After the luncheon, many of us went to get pedicures for the big day!

All the Bridesmaids except Lindsey

Our side of the family: Janene, Mom, Me, Grandmom, Leslie, Nanny, Abby, Alex,

Aunt Kim, and Paige

I thought this table looked so cute!

The delicious cake! It had strawberry filling.

This was when I gave Leslie the scrapbook I have been working on for 6 months! She was suprised!

Leslie's Bachelorette Party

A pic of our food setup.

All the girls at the wine tasting. We got to try four wines. Some of us had five!

Being silly with all the bottles of wine. Most were still full...we weren't THAT bad.

Front row: Shana, Brittney, Brandi, me

Back row: Lindsey, Elizabeth, Leslie, Catherine, Callie

Last night we celebrated Leslie's last weekend as a single gal. We went to Arrington Vineyards in Franklin. I had never been there, and I was really impressed. Lindsey Felts planned the party, and we all brought finger foods so we could have a picnic on the grounds. We didn't have a picnic, we had a feast which attracted all kinds drunk wine tasters. It was quite interesting. We did get two bottles of wine given to us by a guy who was facinated by our bachelorette party. He quickly was scolded by his girlfriend/wife who then proceeded to steal four of Lindsey's homemade cupcakes! It got out of hand, but all ended well when they were asked to leave! We had a great time at the wine tasting. We all had some Raspberry dessert wine that was really good! They were a little skimpy with the wine at the tasting, but some of us were able to manage to taste five wines instead of four. It's not our fault if they couldn't keep up with how many we had tried already. All in all it was a fun night to end Leslie's party season. Next week is the wedding, and I know they can't wait. Me either! I've been waiting my whole life for a sister!

Monday Night Football

Ben and I were very fortunate to be in attendance of the Titans/Colts game last night. I always ask for the tickets to the Colts game b/c I love Peyton Manning. We (really Dad) have great seats on the 40 yard line, 5 rows from the field. We sit with a bunch of our Ezell family, so it makes for a fun game. Last night's game was great! I was so glad we went. It was a little chilly, but that's football weather. They gave out light blue t-shirts to everyone as we entered the game so we could have a "code blue" in the stands for Monday Night Football. I already had on light blue, so I didn't wear mine. I was especially glad to have my new camera at the game last night b/c I got some great pics. I've posted some below. Way to go Titans! 7-0!

T-Rac driving out on his cart with sparklers as the Titans are introduced.

Titans on offense

Colts on offense. Peyton is in the middle of the three guys on the left.