Moments with the Mays: November 2009

11.30.2009

And we only have dogs...

This past Saturday, we got our boys & little girl all dressed up in their Christmas collars.

Jack, posing in his holly berries...

Ellie turned into Jingle Bellie...

And Huddy sported his handsome & festive holiday gear...

Why you ask?

Because Aunt Kristy came over to take our Christmas card pictures! I knew it would be difficult with 3 dogs this year in our picture..but seriously, it was tough! Thanks, Kristy, for taking our pictures! She finally figured out a way to get the pups to all look in one direction when she whipped out the dog food! Here are just SOME (we took 96...) of the pictures so you can see how hard it is to get 2 people & 3 furbabies to all look good in a picture. :)

Hudson was not happy about sitting on the cold concrete...and to think...he was once a wandering homeless baby! My how his life has changed...

Where is Huddy?

Oh! There he is:)

Jack is obviously admiring his mama!

Jack & Ellie: fascinated by Mexican workers building houses down the street.

Huddy: Just sharin' the love.

Not sure why my big boy looks asian right here...

We live in a brand new neighborhood. Seriously. They see workers every day...of course they chose this day to be fascinated.

We did have a few good ones and I just ordered our Christmas cards on Sunday. It was so hard with 3 dogs...I can't even imagine what it will be like when kids are added to the mix!

11.25.2009

Thankful

This year I have a lot to be thankful for. Here are some things that make my list...

My husband. He loves me. He makes me laugh. He puts up with me. He loves his furbabies. He is wonderful!
My family. I have the greatest parents...seriously. My mom is my best friend and my dad just cracks me up! They are great! I am thankful for Ben's family, too. I have great in-laws and I FINALLY have a little brother!
Ridiculously great friends!
3 healthy dogs that make me smile every single day.
My beautiful home complete with a front porch and swing:)
A stocked pantry. Enough said.
A j-o-b. Not only do I have a job, but I have a job that I actually enjoy! AND I work with girls that I love!!
Christmas decorations. 'Tis the season to be jolly!

Seriously, I have a lot to be thankful. I am very thankful for everything that God has given me in this life. It sure is a good one:) I hope that everyone has a great Turkey Day tomorrow! Gobble, gobble!

11.20.2009

Ode to my (fur)babies

Over at Kelly's Korner today she did a Show Us Your Life: Pets. How could I pass that up?! I LOVE my pets! In fact, I don't really consider them my pets. They are my little babies. I love them more than anything!! So I thought I would give a little background knowledge on each of these special babies...

Meet Jack. Everyone thinks he is a baby, but he is our oldest! He is 5 years old...which is really hard for me to believe! He is my little chihuahua baby that weighs only 6.2lbs:)

One weekend during my sophomore year at Ole Miss, I ventured down to Jackson with my roommate. We had wanted a dog for our apartment & spent MANY occasions at the Oxford Shelter playing with pups. So that Friday afternoon we decided to stop at the Briarwood Vet/Pet Store. It had a wall of glass cages filled with teeny little puppies. Then in the corner I spotted the tiniest puppy I had ever seen. He was the only one without any litter mates. He looked so lonely! I put my finger on the glass and he put his paw out to touch me! It was love at first sight! I knew that I HAD to have him. I bought him and kept it a secret from my parents for 2 days. My mom called me that Sunday and asked what I was doing. I responded with "playing with my new puppy!" I will never forget that. She was mad..but later fell in love with this little boy:) He is my first baby and I love him so much!

Meet Hudson. He is about 2 1/2 years old. If you have ever driven through Mississippi, you will notice the abundance of stray dogs. It truly breaks my heart. Oxford is no acception. This little guy found his way into my yard during my senior year of college. We lived across from a pretty rough neighborhood that had tons of stray dogs. Hudson was so skinny when we first met. He would come up to me & my roommates and just want some love. We left out a big bowl of water and some blankets at first. He eventually started sleeping on our porch:) Then, we started giving him some food. He would come to our house every day and wait for us to come see him. When our neighbor threatened to take him the shelter, I panicked. I called Ben frantic and begged him to go pick him & take him to his backyard. When I came home from school that day, Huddy was ours! He had an embedded collar & has a nasty scar that proves his icky early life. He is so sweet with the best personality. He loves his mama but is a total daddy's boy! He is our BIG lap dog:)

This is my little girl, Ellie. Isn't she precious? She was definitely not planned! We walked into PetSmart this past May and there she was! She was 6 months old and had been in the shelter pretty much her whole life. The lady gave us a sob story about how this was her last chance at being adopted. Our hearts sank...and it didn't help that she looks JUST like Hudson! I mean really...they could pass for litter mates! We took her home that day & she immediately fit in with our little family. She ADORES her big brother, Hudson. They are best friends. She thinks her other big brother, Jack, is a little funny when he tries to fight her:) She is a crazy little girl but we love her fun personality. She completes the fur family:)

11.18.2009

Making a list & checking it twice!

Am I too old to make a Christmas list? I told Ben I was going to make one. He kinda laughed at me:) You can NEVER be too old for a Christmas list!

Here are a few of my current wants...

new Patagonia Synchilla hoodie (aka: fluffly fleece hoodie) I can feel the warmth just from looking at this!!!

I like martinis. I registered for martini glasses. I did not recieve martini glasses. Therefore, I would still like some martini glasses. I love these from Sur La Table. I think they are so fun!

I need a new weekend bag. Seriously, I actually need this. Mine is too small, it is ripping, and the zipper periodically breaks. This does me no good. I like this one. Really, I like any bag with a cute pattern that I can potentially monogram. (shout out Caron!)

What do you want for Christmas?

11.16.2009

Oxford: post graduation.

This may have been the best weekend ever. It was long overdue. I got a great dose of some of my best friends. I went back to the quaint Mississippi college town where I did much of my growing up. It was wonderful.

Whit, Cathleen, & I in the grove...you must go there before you die. I promise, it is superb SEC tailgating & fantastic people watching!

The newly engaged bestie...soon-to-be Mrs. McGraw!

Yep. I love her.

The best part: the Rebels beat those icky orange Vols! HOTTY TODDY!

Ben & Ryan

The Grove...Eli was actually there! Sad I didn't see him...you know how I love celebrities!

We were driving home yesterday & I glanced down at the calendar on my phone. I realized something. This past Saturday was exactly, to the day, 5 years since we met. AND we were in Oxford. Pretty funny, right? I can't believe I have known this boy for 5 years! :)

Of course we ended our Saturday night at the Library dancing to DJ Mario. Perfect ending to a perfect weekend! I am itching to go back for a girls only weekend!!! Pretty soon, we will back for Whit & Matt's wedding!

11.08.2009

Engaged!!

I left out one minor detail of Halloween in my last post.

My best friend, Whitney, called (well, screamed) to tell me that she had JUST gotten ENGAGED!!

I was so excited that I ran in the backyard and screamed right along with her! I am going to Oxford on Friday for the first time since graduation and I am SO excited to see Whitney, Matt, & her new bling! YAY future McGraw's!!