Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Again??


I cannot believe our state is experiencing a devastating tornado...again...less than 9 months since the last one.
I knew we were supposed to have bad weather Sunday night/Monday morning, but I honestly didn't realize it was supposed to get that bad.
Before, we went to bed Sunday night, I asked Steven if he had a flashlight nearby and he set the alarm on his phone, in the event we lost power.
Turning on the news Monday morning was absolutely devastating!

While I did not know anyone personally that was affected by the storms, a good friend of mine's cousin's home was severely damaged. Luckily, he and his family were in their basement and were not physically hurt.

I am so very thankful and fortunate to be spared yet again...

It is amazing how our state (and many others) has rallied together after the April tornadoes, and now again to help those that need it the most.
Toomer's for Tuscaloosa has done as awesome job in getting donation sights set up for those to drop off items and then getting those items to those in need.

Another organization, the Christian Service Mission is collecting donated items, delivering supplies, organizing meals, amongst countless other things to help those directly effected.
Top Alarm System is offering to donate $25 to the Christian Service Mission for every blog post written about the storms.



If you are a blogger, please consider writing a post about the storms and then leave a comment on their page linking your blog post.
At a minimum, please pray for those who lost their homes...as they begin the process of rebuilding their lives.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Happy Birthday Steven!


Steven's birthday was last Thursday. His birthday celebrations started that night...just the two of us...dinner, gifts, and birthday cupcakes. There were several other cupcakes, I just forgot to take a picture...


strawberry cupcake...his request

Saturday, his parents came down and we drove to Tuscaloosa for lunch and then checked out some championship merchandise

lunch at Wings U

checking out the Nick Saban statue

We continued with the celebrations on Sunday too...with lunch with my family at Baumhower's (which just happens to the be the same owner from the place we had lunch at on Saturday in Tuscaloosa).

our sweet little nephew


Happy Birthday my dear Steven!

Monday, January 16, 2012

14

This time last week, Steven and I were in New Orleans, getting ready to watch the BCS Championship game between Alabama and LSU. I didn't take too many pictures and the ones that I did were taken with my phone. Although, we did not make it to the actual game, we had an absolute fabulous time hanging out in NOLA and celebrating Alabama's 14th national championship with our friends.
I will have to say that I've had my NOLA fix for quite a while...


After searching all over town for a place to watch the game, we settled for the room. It was hard to find a place that wasn't full of purple and gold...not to mention we wanted to be able to hear the TV...so the hotel room it was. We had our own little tailgate during the game...turned out quite nice.

Until next year...ROLL TIDE!!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Ringing in the new year


Well if you read my sister's blog, then the last few of my posts look fairly similar to hers. She is a rock star in getting things posted to her blog...unlike me, the one with no children, pets, etc.

We kind of decided last minute (not as last minute as Kristen), to go to the beach this past weekend. Steven, Mom and I went down Friday morning. The weather was beautiful!

A little Fulton overload, I know...


Fulton enjoying his first time on the beach




You would never know by the pictures above, but the fog was so bad on Saturday. We could hardly see the building next to us, but once we got to Tacky Jacks's there was none. It was crazy!
After a late lunch Steven and I met up with some friends to hang out and watch the Chick-fil-A bowl.


I'm sure the next trip to the beach will bring lots of fun with this little guy!

Christmas


Steven and I had a wonderful Christmas!

We spent Christmas Eve with Steven's parents at their house.

After a great meal, we headed to the local park to see it all decorated with lights. It was a fun night with family and friends!

Christmas morning Steven and I spent some time just the two of us opening gifts from each other. This was actually my first Christmas not to wake up in the same house as my parents. If you remember...Steven and I were with my family last year in Gatlinburg in the dreaded snow. So this year was our first Christmas just the two of us...and it was so nice. Here's to new traditions with each other :)

We had breakfast (around lunch time) and it was a little change from normal, but I think everyone enjoyed it.




Then it was time to dig into some gifts. Fulton slept through all of it, but we showed him all of his cute stuff after he woke up.

Love my new Bama door hanger from the Howard's. It went right up on my door as soon as the wreath came down.

Fulton ready for some playing after his nap

Can't believe Christmas has come and gone, but it was a great one!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

Two days before Christmas, my dad celebrated his 60th birthday.
We had lunch at Grandma's house, Dad enjoyed some gluten free cupcakes and then we exchange a few presents...both birthday and Christmas.

Dad was very proud of his birthday card from Fulton
Grandma enjoyed all of her goodies from the family
Later that evening, me, mom and Kristen had a little surprise planned for Dad. With this being the big 60, we didn't want this birthday to go by unnoticed.
Dad "says" he was surprised until they pulled up and saw Matt standing inside with a camera in his hand. He then began to be a little suspicious...
He was however excited to see lots of great friends and family there to celebrate his birthday!


The guest enjoying BBQ, potato salad, slaw, baked beans, and shrimp and grits (all of Dad's favorites)

Dad blowing out his candles and Kristen serving up a little cake
It was definitely a fun night celebrating a special day!