DECORATED...

Surely I am not the only one that lets out a HUGE sigh of relief once the decorating is done.  It's so much work but once it is done and the boxes are back in the attic, you can actually enjoy it for a couple weeks.  This year I went simple, simple, simple...

I got something new for the front door...Anna Lauren informed me it was SO tacky, but I thought it was fun and it shows up from the street.  Little did I know it was blinking red and green lights...I just assumed clear lights.  It's a bit much but growing on me.

This year we added another stocking...I bought Sam a stocking (have to go get it monogrammed).  I sent her a picture of the mantle and her response was...that makes me so happy!  See...it's not about me...it's about something so little that can make someone so happy. Love opening up our little family and allowing her to be a part.

The tree is by far my least favorite...I get it up and then Matt and the kids are in charge of the ornaments.  Surprisingly, they actually helped him this year.

Nanna added a new little something to our Christmas decorations...we have got to count the days and start our countdown...

May be my most favorite thing...Matt and I have been together on Christmas for 14 years.  Every year we have sent a Christmas card, and I love, love, love pulling out all the cards and displaying them each year.  Each year I find a new way to display them...gets harder the more we get.

Nanna buys the grandsons nutcrackers for Christmas.  Cooper thinks he should play with them like any other toy...so...they are living up high this year.

Anna Lauren decorated her pink tree for her room..

And Cooper was ok with me decorating his tree for his room...

And in the hustle and the bustle of the Christmas season, may we continue to remember the TRUE meaning of Christmas.  Nothing sweeter than listening to Cooper play with this nativity and say all the Bible stories he knows.  Yes, there is Santa and there is fun...but...more than anything I want our children to know and understand why we REALLY celebrate Christmas.

Christmas Decorating...

We got back from Nanna's on Friday afternoon, and we pulled out the Christmas decorations.  I like to decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving so we have time to actually enjoy the decorations.

Anna Lauren was much more excited than Matt...

Matt "tried" to say he was done...I had other plans for him. Ha ha!

This was the first year the kids actually enjoyed putting the ornaments on the tree...

My canvas for the mantle is still one of my very favorites...

Wow...14 years of Christmas with Matt!  So fun to watch our little journey through our Christmas cards every year...

When you take a step back and can say..."it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"...

Thankful...

We had a great Thanksgiving Day at Nanna's and somehow some way, I didn't take one picture.  But...I am very thankful I got the spend a little time Thankgiving afternoon with my oldest nephew trying to take a few "senior" pictures of him.  I can remember like yesterday...it was my senior year, and I slept on the floor of the hospital waiting room waiting for him to arrive.  And now...he's the senior!  We could not be more proud of him, and we look forward to seeing what he becomes...his plans right now are Mississippi State with a degree in Aerospace Engineering.  And he just happens to have a 34 on his ACT, be a national merit semi-finalist (hopefully find out in February he is a finalist), will most likely be valedictorian, and hopefully star student.  So yes, we are proud!

Mailing Christmas Joy...

It makes me sad that some of our favorites are far away, and we do not always get to see them at Christmas time.  This year is one of those years that we will not see Matt's sisters and their families. So...I decided to send them a little Christmas "joy" that hopefully they can enjoy this Christmas season.

Headed to Atlanta are some Christmas pajamas for Spencer, Madeline, and Callie (the girls match...I couldn't resist) and a Christmas movie.  Then...a Mississippi ornament to hopefully remind them this Christmas season they are missed and loved by their Mississippi family.

The same type of package is headed to Minneapolis for James and Mary Martin...

And then there is our Sam...we are missing her, and we want her to be reminded that she is missed and loved so sending a little "Mississippi" Christmas her way too.

I had so much fun doing this for those loved ones that are far away, and I actually mailed them the week of Thanksgiving so their packages will arrive right around the time they are switching gears from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  Hopefully they will feel the love that comes from these packages and have a good Christmas season!

Just Cooper...

I love my kids equally but sometimes it sure is fun to spend one on one time with them.  Anna Lauren is out of school this week so she went to Nanna's on Saturday while we stayed here to work/Cooper go to school.  So...it has been just Cooper since Saturday, and we have had so much fun with him!  

I mean look at this cute little boy...how could you not have fun with him?  He truly is the sweetest, funniest, and loving little boy!  We love him to pieces and are thankful for some one on one time with him this week!

Cruise to Nowhere...

A while back our best friends, Jeremy and Christy, asked us if we wanted to go with them on a "Cruise to Nowhere" out of New Orleans.  Of course we wanted to go, but we decided we didn't need to spend the money so close to Christmas time.  Little did I know Matt was looking at the cruise every day...when it got to $99 a person, he gave me the "look" and said, can we go?  So...the week before the cruise I agreed to go (big deal for me..I don't typically do last minute).  

Two weekends ago we boarded the Norwegian Dawn for the weekend...we got on the ship Friday and off on Sunday.  And literally...it was a cruise to nowhere...we just sailed out and back.

At $99 a person, we were guaranteed an inside room.  Surprisingly, we got a room with two little windows...obstructed view but still a view...ha ha!

You would have thought we were cruising for 7 days...we were all so excited just to getaway for the weekend!

We all agreed to do our own thing Saturday morning/sleep in...and wow...cannot tell you the last time I stayed in bed until 11 AM...it was FABULOUS!

We met up at noon for lunch...

These two...sometimes you wonder if you are with your husband or your teenage son.



I'm all smiles at the beginning of lunch...this however, went downhill quickly.  This was by far the ROUGHEST day at sea we have EVER experienced in all our cruising.  Even with the patch, I got sick.  I bailed half way through lunch and spent the rest of the day in bed.  I for sure got my wish...I rested ALOT!

Matt spent the afternoon with these fun friends, and I hear they had a pretty intense game of Monopoly.



This picture is just kind of us...Matt aggravating me and me giving him the look.  I was determined to enjoy this night...so...I got up and showered/dressed with high expectations of a fun night!

Feeling pretty good and excited to be out of the bed...

These are the kinds of things that happen when your husbands are nerds...I mean IT guys.

These two...always up to something silly!

Half way through the show, the boat is still just a rocking, and I'm going downhill fast.  I was so sad!

But...I'm still determined to make it to dinner...

At this point I am not feeling great, and Matt is making fun of me...he was like, lean on this cold marble, Mandi.  Unfortunately, I only made it half way through dinner, but I cannot say I didn't try.  

Then there is this lady who totally photo bombed a picture of Jeremy and Christy, and we all laughed so hard.  She was like...delete that, delete that!!!

After we got off the boat we enjoyed beignets at Rivewalk before heading back home to reality.

And who says you have to act your age?

So thankful for these sweet friends and the time we were able to spend together if only for just a couple days.  

And...thankful for grandparents that keep our children so we can getaway every once in a while.