Need a little Christmas, Right this very minute

This blog needs some Christmas spirit so here are a few pics of Mary Reeves enjoying the season! We've been favorite watching Christmas movies, drinking hot chocolate, enjoying the Christmas decorations, sending cards and getting ready to meet Santa.
A cropped version of the photo below made the Christmas card. I like it because it's natural...she wasn't posing at all (that doesn't happen very often, as you can tell from the other snapshots!), instead she was just chasing LuLu the cat through the yard a couple of Sunday afternoons ago. I just had to stand between her and the cat!

Mary Reeves LOVES Christmas trees! In this picture, she is showing me the Santa ornament. We've been getting ready to see him by looking at pictures from last year, pointing out Santas everywhere and saying Ho Ho. I hope she likes him when we head to the mall next week!!

She helped decorate the little tree in her room, and she's so proud of it. Every time we walk into her room, she head straight for the tree. Luckily, she hasn't broken any ornaments yet (wish I could say the same!) so I let her touch a couple of them.

We're also getting into the spirit by listening to Christmas music nonstop!! MR can really break it down to the more upbeat tunes...she really is quite the dancer and we're trying to get her original moves on video (I'm HORRIBLE at getting videos of her, so I'm working on capturing the memories...and avoiding the guilt).

M's program at FBC-Starkville was great! Nothing like a good church cantata to put you in the mood. I'm helping with costumes for our kids' musical in Livingston...can't wait to see those kiddos on stage!!Another way we are feeling the holiday cheer is by shopping for our Salvation Army Angels! We adopted an Angel off the tree last year, and we picked two kids this year (so many people need help this year and the number of adoptions are down). We are starting to establish our own family traditions, and I hope this is one we continue every year because we have been blessed with more than we deserve. If you are still looking for a way to give back this holiday season, please consider adopting an Angel!

I can't wait to go home and dig into our popcorn tin! The caramel corn is calling my name! I also hope to bake Christmas cookies, make fudge, etc. this weekend so we'll have a few more holiday snacks around the house! With several Christmas gatherings planned for next week, I've got to get to cooking! I wish December lasted longer...it's definitely so much fun!!!

Thanksgiving recap

The Gordon family had a fabulous Thanksgiving week visiting with friends and family, eating too much and watching the Bulldogs bring home the Egg!

We finally got to meet baby Ford and visit with his sweet momma Lana at their new home! I'm so sorry it took me to long to get there, but we had fun playing with the babies! Mary Reeves loved on him a little bit and showed his momma everything that needs babyproofing in the coming months!

This is just a sweet pic I took while playing in the backyard...

There was lots more backyard playing to be done on Thanksgiving day! After a wonderful lunch at my Mammaw's, MR did her best to keep up with her big cousins and their football!

She loves being outside, and the weather was perfect!

My Aunt Amy, momma, sister-in-law Rhonda and I just watched the guys (and MR) play.

After celebrating with Wes' fam on Friday, we were ready for our final football game of the season (for those of you keeping count, I cheering on my teams at 15 college games just since August!!! Whew! I'm worn out!)....the EGG BOWL!

It was so much fun because our family and friends were all there......

The Gordons

My mom's side


The Carthage tailgate babies: Mitchell, Mary Reeves, Mary Ella, Carter, Anderson and Wyatt

These kids have so much fun together at every game. Too bad none of them actually live in Carthage! ha!

The Tailgate Grannies and their grandbabies

Wendy and Lauren...I really wish all my friends didn't live so far away! We got some cute pics of MR and Ella Kate on Wesley's camera after my batteries died, but I don't have any for the blog!

Of course, State's big win was the best way to end a fabulous week!! I was so happy that Mary Reeves got to see the Dawgs win her very first Egg Bowl!!

She was so good during the game, and really during the whole season! I'm glad to get a break though....I laid on my couch most of the weekend just enjoying the Christmas tree, the fire and my sweet baby girl. I think it was my first weekend with NOTHING to do since the summer! Only a week and a half of work and I get to be off for 3 whole weeks!! YEA! Hope you're getting into the Christmas spirit too!

Tigers Win! & Pumpkin Pics

We had a great weekend in Albany, Ga., watching the Tigers win their first round playoff game!! It was such an exciting game, and although it came down to the wire, UWA pulled it out! Now, it's on to Carson-Newman waaaay up in East Tennessee this weekend! Can't wait to cheer on the Tigers again!!

A family pic with Luie...I swear Mary Reeves likes him more that her own parents! Sorry we look so gross....it was HOT!

Wes, (passed out) MR and our head Coach Bobby Wallace

We stayed right across the street from a great park overlooking the Flint River. We let MR play for awhile before riding in the car for five hours. Although she did great on the trip, we're leaving her with the Gordons this weekend because the ride to Jefferson City, Tenn., is just too far!

I think I only posted once in October, so I want to rewind a little bit and include pics from our trip to the pumpkin patch and our family pumpkin cut. Mary Reeves LOVES her little pumpkin that still sits by the door. She picks it up and carries it around every time we go outside or come home.

Picking the perfect one! My Uncle Danny was passing through so he went with us to the patch.
Mary Reeves was not so sure about her first pony ride, but she LOVED the inflatable pumpkin bouncy house.....we could hardly get her out!
We had a great time at the patch, and I can't wait to take her every year! We (by that, of course I mean Wes) also carved a pair of pumpkins a few nights before Halloween. We (he) carved a dog (Molly) and a cat (LuLu). He did a great job!!


The final pumpkin pic is Raggedy Ann carrying around her beloved pumpkin on Halloween. I'm not sure what I'll do when that thing finally rots! She's going to be really sad!


Ok, now I feel caught up! I'm so excited to be off all next week and take plenty more fall pictures with our families and friends!! I'm also stressing out about the Christmas card picture that has yet to be taken and the cards that have yet to be ordered, addressed, stamped, etc. Everything gets so busy this time of year, but I'm going to try my best to keep everything in perspective. This week is Operation Christmas Child collection week. This year, if you pay for your shoeboxes online, you get a tracking number to put on your box, and in a few months, you'll receive an e-mail letting you know where the boxes went and info about the country! I'm really excited about that!! Godspeed little boxes!

Playoffs!!

UWA is going to the playoffs for the first time since 1975!! As you can imagine, Livingston is buzzing!


We had already booked our room for Tabor's wedding in Memphis this weekend...but apparently the Tigers had different plans! Wes, Mary Reeves and I went to Florence last weekend for what we thought was UWA's final game of the season....but upsetting the University of North Alabama, the previously undefeated No. 1 team in the nation, in four overtimes on their home field gave us the push we needed to sneak in the playoffs at the very last second! I'm so proud of our Tigers...the coaches and players have worked so hard this year, and I'm so excited to watch them play Saturday at Albany State. UWA is one of only 24 Division II teams that will continue playing football this weekend....such a great feeling!!

Not only did Coach Bobby Wallace get his 100th Gulf South Conference win last weekend, he did it on the field where he led his former team to three consecutive national championships in the early '90s! Our offensive coordinator is also a UNA grad and a football hero...he won the Harlon Hill Trophy (basically the Division II Heisman) as North Alabama's quarterback. All in all, it was an unbelievable game for so many reasons! We spent yesterday lining everything up for a fan bus, pregame tailgate party, etc.....I hope we're doing the same thing next Monday as the Tigers advance!!

These are my two favorite pics from the BIG win.....

IT'S GOOD!!!


I'm so proud of these guys!!!

It's hard to be a State fan in Alabama, so I'm hoping for two big wins this weekend.....GO TIGERS and GO BULLDOGS!!

Raggedy Ann

We had a great (and very busy!) Halloween! Mary Reeves didn't get to go door to door this year because UWA's Homecoming was Saturday, but she did enjoy the parade, fall festival and our big win. Can you tell that she LOVES Luie, our mascot??!! Although Wes and I were pulled in different directions for the tons of events that take place on Homecoming weekend, we did get to hang out a lot...guess that's a benefit of working in the same office!

I think this pic is pretty cute....she was trying to get the camera right before I snapped the pic.

My momma, or "M" to Mary Reeves, came to help babysit while we worked. I'm glad she was there to see Mary Reeves in her adorable costume! MR is laughing at something in the pic above...her new thing is to cover her mouth when she giggles....I don't know where she learned that, but it's cute!

Playing in the inflatable castle was probably her fave part of the day (besides hugging Luie about 5 times!)....we'll probably look into one of those for her birthday.

Now that Halloween is over, I'm counting down the days until my week-long Thanksgiving break...Yahoo!

October fun

I'm so behind on updating my four readers, which totally stresses me out. This month has been a blur, but it's been so much fun for so many reasons! Here's a run down....

Wes' 28th birthday was Oct. 5, and since I'm always known for my promptness, I started a tribute post weeks ago but never finished it...better late than never! As I pondered how we're both getting closer to 30 every day, it dawned on me that I've known my wonderful husband for exactly one-third of my life. Wes is truly my best friend...I tell him daily that it's a good thing that we like each other and not just simply love each other since we live together, work down the hall from each other and hang out pretty much 24/7. Mary Reeves and I got him the new watch he's sporting in the pic. She LOVES her Daddy!!

We also celebrated our 4th anniversary on Oct. 15 with a family date to Meridian for dinner and shopping. I had also planned a cute post for that with lots of pics of Wes and I, but that would require a lot of scanning, and I'm just not that into blogging! So Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary to my wonderful man! I thank my God every time I remember you! Phil 1:3

We've also attended five football games this month (including an MSU-UWA doubleheader a couple of weeks ago!) and cheered on our teams in good times (Tigers beat Delta State!) and bad (Dawgs lose to Houston!).

We love football season because we get to see our family and friends almost every weekend! These are just a few shots from last weekend, which was so great because it started Friday with me getting to see Alyssa and baby Mac and eating at Anthony's (Chicken Anthony..YUMMM..but sadly, no pics of our super fun group!).

The fun continued on the beautiful Starkville day with tons of QT with college friends (like Sally and Wesley) and both of our families.
Of course, MR had a get a little lovin' from her boyfriend, Mitchell!

Saturday was also one of the best atmospheres ever at Scott Field!! I was sooo hoarse until Tuesday, but that's only because I did my job, along with 57,000+ other fans and yelled every single time the ball was in play! SOOO MUCH FUN!

As for Mary Reeves, we are still chasing her all the time! It's super hard to get a posed, smiling pic of her, so I picked the best ones for this post from tons of those that weren't blog-worthy!

She's also learning to eat with her spoon...a very messy new skill....but she loves it and feels like such a Big Girl! She's getting pretty independent too. She wants to get dressed by herself (if only she could get all the proper appendages in the proper openings), feed herself, bathe herself, etc. I swear she looks more grown-up every day!!

This week is UWA's Homecoming (on Halloween!) so we are staying super busy, but I'm going to do a pumpkin post ASAP with our pics from the patch and our family carving session! LOVE this time of year!!

Bedhead

Mary Reeves woke up for church yesterday with this lovely 'do...I promise it didn't enhance it. I just snapped the pics. From the look on her face, I can tell she is still sad about the Bulldogs loss.