It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas!

...and taste like Christmas! One of Wesley's favorite snacks during the holidays is homemade Chex Mix! I've already made 2 batches and we are about ready for a third! I use the traditional Chex Mix recipe but add Cheese-its and Cheerios per Wesley's request :)


We picked up our Christmas tree last night and it immediately made our home smell wonderful! We might have spent a little more than I would like to admit, but I can honestly say that the fun of decorating a tree is worth it!




Here are some pics of our other Christmas decorations...I still have some decorating to do.





Santa Claus is coming to town....and he let me go shopping with him and pick out what I wanted! :) Santa (aka Wesley) let me have one gift a little early. I've been watching the Reebok Easy Tone commercials and decided that I wanted my legs and butt to look like the girls' on the commercials! I asked the guy at the check out counter if they really worked and his reply was, "Well you can't just wear them on the couch and expect results!" They supposedly work by throwing you off balance and you have to use different muscles to walk in them. I KNOW that I will actually have to exercise in the shoes...I will keep you posted on the results!



In other Christmas news, I tried and tried to think of a creative Christmas card idea this year, but when we were in Montgomery for Erin's wedding, Alana set me straight by telling me that I only had ONE YEAR that I could use a wedding photo for our Christmas card, and that I would be crazy if I didn't! That is all the convincing that I needed! I ordered our cards from Shutterfly.com last Sunday night and they were at my doorstep three days later on Wednesday morning! I plan on mailing them out this week.

I am so excited that Wesley and I are both going to have a week off for Christmas. We are going to be able to go spend a couple of days celebrating with each of our families!

So Very Thankful :)

This year I feel like I have more to be thankful for than ever before! Here is my Top 10 list of things that I am thankful for this year:

1. Jesus was sent to die on the cross so that I could have eternal life! If I had nothing else, that would be reason enough to be thankful!

2. I have been blessed with a wonderful husband who loves me so well! He is so selfless! If I had known that being married to him would be this wonderful, I would have married him after our first date (ok, maybe our 3rd date...I wasn't sure that I even liked him after our first date! ha!). Seriously, I didn't even know that it was possible to love someone as much as I love him!

3. I have such a wonderful family who I love so much!

4. Our good health.

5. The fact that Wesley got accepted to CRNA school after being an ICU nurse for only two years, and that he has been so successful so far with a 4.o grade point average! The Lord is truly blessing him and continues to reassure us that this is His plan for our lives.

6. Our home in Panama City and the fact that we have cars to drive.

7. My job as a NICU nurse and the fact that I am able to support us while Wesley is in school.

8. Great friends in our lives!!! Friends make life so much more fun, and the Lord has blessed us richly with people that we LOVE to hang out with.

9. The fact that our pantry, refrigerator, and freezer are FULL. There are so many people in the world that can't say that, and we take this for granted everyday.

10. Last but not least, I am thankful for our country and for the people that fight and have fought to give us our freedom.


I am a little sad that I have to work this Thanksgiving, but Wesley is going to drive to Dothan and eat with my family...that way he can also bring me back a plate of Thanksgiving food to eat before work tomorrow night!

I hope that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and will take the time to count your blessings!

Mr. and Mrs. Neal Pettus

This past weekend Wesley and I headed to Montgomery for Erin and Neal's wedding weekend. We picked Alana up in Dothan on our way and it was so great getting to catch up with her and hear all about their new life in Washington! When we got into town we went straight to the bridesmaid luncheon at Michael's Table.



The rehearsal dinner was Friday night at the Capitol City Club. It was so much fun getting to celebrate with so many friends!


The wedding was absolutely beautiful and the reception was so much fun! Delicious food, a wondeful band, and a great location!!! Plus, all of my best friends from high school and college were there!!!






I met Erin at Camp War Eagle before college and we have been best friends since. We pledged Chi O together and she was my suite mate in the dorms Sophomore year, roommate Junior and Senior year at the Chi O Mansion, and then we lived together while I was a nurse and she was in grad school. Erin has the ability to make a complete stranger feel like a best friend! She has seen me at my worst (when I would freak out becuase I got ANOTHER speeding ticket or the time our house got broken in to and I had a meltdown!!) and at my best! I hope that she and Neal are having a wonderful time in Big Sky, Montana!

AUBURN

These are a few reasons why I LOVE the "loveliest village on the plains":

-It is where I met my husband
-It is where I made LIFELONG friends
-My freshman year our football team went undefeated thanks to Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown, Courtney Taylor, and Jason Campbell
-My sisters and I made it our new family tradition...I don't think our my kids will have a choice :)
-It is where I got my bachelors degree in Nursing which has allowed me to do what I love
-Aubie!
-Big Blue Bagel, Niffer's, Mama G's, Amsterdam's, Mike and Ed's, and Laredo's
-First Baptist Opelika
-I had the best co-workers and made many new friendships at East Alabama Medical Center
-It was where Wesley and I came home from our honeymoon and we began our marriage
-Samford Hall
-Memories of band parties, formals, swaps, and socials
-The McMillan's tailgate
-Cam Newton!!!!! (despite the allegations)
-The Chi O Mansion

....and these are just to name a few

Wesley and I FINALLY got to go back to Auburn this weekend for the Georgia game! It is hard to describe the feeling when we pulled into the Auburn city limits- we were thrilled!

When we got into town on Friday night we met a group friends for dinner at Laredo's. Adam and Elena Robertson brought their precious baby Reese to dinner. We were so glad to finally get to meet her! I felt like a "baby hog" at dinner but I just couldn't put that sweet baby down. After dinner we drove around town to see all of the tailgaters and drive around the campus. Fortunately, not much had changed. (Except for the fact that Wesley and I had NO desire to be standing in the long line to get into SkyBar...we feel old!)



Saturday we started tailgating at 9:30am. Wesley's parents met up with us and we walked around from tailgate to tailgate. It was so much fun running into so many friends from college! We never got tickets to the game, so we watched it on TV with Wesley's parents.





After having 3 tests last week, it was great for Wesley to take a break from studying and get out of town for the weekend. The weather was wonderful and the Tigers pulled off another big win! It was a pretty perfect weekend!