The Christmas Post

Lots of "firsts" for me this Christmas. Wes and I stayed up here Christmas Eve night, I hosted the Christmas Eve dinner, sterling silver was used, Wes and I opened up gifts with just the three of us (Wes, Emmett, and me) on Christmas morning, and we had a white Christmas! It was all lovely, and I really enjoyed the quality time I got to spend with my family and Wes'. I'll just give the photo tour because that's really what you guys probably want to see anyways...(pictures are in random order)

Christmas Day picture with the Frost family...Uncle Buzz, Lovemore (Hendrix alum from Zimbabwe who mom and dad "adopted" when he came to school), Dad, Wes, Granny, Allen, Mom, Patsy, me.

Our beautiful front door on Christmas morning.

And the front porch.

Opening gifts on Christmas morning at our house.

Wes' completed Christmas card puzzle...a tradition.

Christmas Eve post dinner...Jayme and JB with a couple of the girls.

Our house. I love it at Christmas. However, I was in a cleaning mood today, and it's all boxed up for next year.

Walker family photo.

Mema and her great grandkids.

Our Christmas card picture.

I pray you all had a merry Christmas, and I wish you all Happy New Year, too!

Susie...a picture of the chair will come soon. It looks GREAT in our living room! Thanks again to you and mom! :)

Daily Dilemmas at the Beach

1. Which pool do we lay out by next?

2. Do we start with the beach or pool today?

3. Which swimsuit should I wear?

4. Where should we go for dinner? Mexican, French, Mediterranean, Italian, etc?

5. Do I want anything from the poolside/beachside waiter?

Okay, so you get the point...Mexico was fabulous and completely opposite of my typical trip. I normally like to go and do, get out and explore, soak in the culture, see the sights, etc. However, with the extreme busyness of this past semester, I needed a complete veg out vacay. That's exactly what Wes and I got last week when we headed out to the Excellence Riviera Cancun all-inclusive resort. I feel revived, energized, and ready for these next three weeks! Then...another two weeks off for Christmas! Enjoy taking a stroll through our relaxing days in Mexico.

Dining at Chez Isabelle...French restaurant.

Just enjoying the great (and may I say, handsome) company.

My view from one of my favorite lay out spots.

View of the resort from the pier.

The other half of the resort.

Picturesque, don't you think?

My new cover-up that I've been eyeing for over 2 years! (and breakfast)

Caribbean Night...my favorite dining of the week.

Finally Recorded

Yes, I finally remembered to record Emmett's daily retrieval of the newspaper. Take into consideration that this morning's paper is much larger than others throughout the week. It's the hardest retrieval of the week, but Emmett was successful as always. The Sunday paper used to be quite the challenge...but Emmett found a technique that has consistently worked for him. Enjoy.

Chef Emmett

While Wes and I were stripping the sheets off the bed to wash them, Emmett jumped up on the bed, and we decided to capitalize on the opportunity to mess with our little guy. This is right when he emerged from being completely tangled up in the fitted sheet. He looks like a chef, right?

Frost Family Visit

Last weekend was grand for many reasons.

1. Allen flew in Thursday, and he picked me up after school...somewhat reminiscent of my 9th and 10th grade years at CHS.

2. We went to Mimi's Cafe for a late afternoon lunch...and ate several "signature" dishes.

3. Kirksey went 6-0 that night...and they are now 7-0 after this week's game.

4. The rain held off until the end of the B game, so Mom and Dad got there in time to see some of the game and my cheerleaders cheer!

5. We ate pizza at Guido's during the storm.

6. Allen, Mom, Dad, and Wes all took the day off on Friday and got to play.

7. Mom and Dad brought me lunch at school on Friday.

8. The whole crew showed up for my Pre-AP class and got in on some interesting discussions.

9. Allen got to witness a high school football game Friday night.

10. The "kids" went to the Razorback game to watch them dominate over Auburn. Good job to Rhett, though. Lauren, he's a natural.

11. I got to show off Highway 112's beauty on our way to dinner Saturday.

12. Mary Maestri's for dinner...enough said.

13. A very relaxing and laid back Sunday morning...newspaper reading, waffles, pumpkin bread, talking.

14. Lots of good home cooked meals by Mom.

I could go on and on, but you can see that I thoroughly enjoyed spending the weekend with my family. I loved getting to have them stay at my house for the first time all together.

Til next time!

All Things Bright and Beautiful

At the end of my street in Conway stands a tree. Every time I leave my house, regardless of where I'm headed, this tree stares right at me as I turn onto the main street. Around the end of September every year, every member in my family starts to really analyze the top of the tree at every passing. Now that Allen and I are out of the house, I assume we both get phone calls when mom has noticed that a few leaves have changed colors. That's our sign that fall is here. I'm not sure how it all started, but for some reason, we all believe that this tree is pretty significant in telling whether fall has begun. Last weekend while I was in Conway for a baby shower, mom and I were on our way out of the neighborhood, and mom casually mentioned how she is starting to see some color on our tree.

Fall is here. And it's bright and beautiful.

If you know me at all, it makes sense to you that I have already found our tree here in Bentonville. It's actually a group of trees alongside the road that takes me from my house to most every place I travel. As Wes and I were headed out the other night for his birthday dinner, we both noticed the bits of color coming to the leaves. Ahhhh...I love it. I think God really had a lot of fun when He created fall. Every year He keeps me amazed with the beauty He has given this place.

All things bright and beautiful. All creatures great and small. All things wise and wonderful. The Lord God made them all.

So Crazy Right Now

Here are the reasons why the title of this post is indicative of my life:

-Wes and I are going on a date tonight because, although we live together in the same house without kids, we haven't really had a lot of "us" time lately.

-I get up at 4:30 a.m. to go to the gym several mornings a week.

-I forget that I have to wake up at 4:30, so I don't go to sleep until around 10:30 or later.

-I have four classes back-to-back without breaks.

-The French teacher uses my room during my two off-periods, so I really don't get to catch up on emails or anything else of that matter all day.  

-By the time I can sit at my desk, it's 3:00, and cheer practice starts at 3:15.

-I coach 12 teenage girls in many things other than just cheerleading skills.

-I teach 13-14 year-olds English all day, every day.

-I lead an 8th grade small group every Sunday night.

-Of course Sunday night study can't be all that small group is composed of...retreats, one-on-one get togethers, etc. are also important aspects of this job.

-My adult small group meets every week to discuss sermons on God's grace.

-I have family living around here, so I make sure to see them as often as possible.

As you may have noticed, lots of those started with "I," but I'm not the one with the energy to do all of these things.  The Lord has poured excitement, love, passion, and energy into me so that He can work through me in these many jobs.  I absolutely ADORE what I'm doing right now, and I'm just so stinkin' thankful for my amazing husband who is probably just as busy as I am with his work.  We are going on a date tonight, as mentioned above.  Papers are graded, and grocery shopping is done.  The house is clean, and laundry isn't stacked "too" high.  Off to take my shower for our night on the town.  Life is good.